England in 1966: Racism and ignorance in the Midlands

Summary: Fifty years ago a groundbreaking documentary shone a spotlight on to Smethwick, West Midlands, as racial tensions reached boiling point. Two years on from arguably the most racist election campaign in British history, people were continuing to shun their new black and Asian neighbours.

By Rebecca WoodsBBC News Smethwick, in 1966, was a community divided. Landlords would not let their houses to them. Churches closed their doors to well-dressed families, so as not to upset the white congregation. And - as a 1966 BBC documentary showed - even haircuts were off limits as racist barbers refused to let immigrants into their salons. The programme, Smethwick: A Straw in the Wind, shone a spotlight on the attitudes of people who were furious at the influx of the thousands of foreigners who had travelled over to the Midlands to find work in factories. "They should live in a district by themselves. They're not clean," one young mother told the documentary. Another man complained: "They're a nuisance when you've got to walk past them in the street, they won't move. They're a nuisance at work." Another claimed: "They're content with Kitekat [cat food] and dog food, instead of ordinary meat." Narrator James Mossman, the BBC journalist behind the film, commented: "So far in Britain, few things could have been so ill-prepared as immigration." About 75,000 immigrants a year were arriving in Britain in the mid 1960s and yet there had been precious little information given to natives or newcomers about what either could expect. Echoes of the terrible racial tensions that tore many communities apart in the 1960s are still around today. Could they have been avoided if the authorities had taken the time to prepare people for the sudden changes? It is a theory first-wave immigrants watching the footage 50 years on believe. Jaswinder Chaggar arrived with his family in 1966 from India. "The working-class person had no idea what was about to hit them," he said. "It does raise the question why, with cinema, TV and radio, why was this information not put forward?" "[They could have said] 'We're inviting the nig-nogs over because we need them, the factories are empty.'" Shirley Cooper, who came from the Caribbean to live in Birmingham at the same time, says: "People weren't prepared. They came here and didn't have all the things that they thought they'd have. "With a bit more planning things might have been different." Information about the influx of immigrants had been virtually non-existent. The vast majority of West Midlanders did not want to live side by side with them at all. At the 1964 election, Conservative MP Peter Griffiths infamously won the Smethwick seat after a campaign employing the slogan: "If you want a nigger for a neighbour, vote Liberal or Labour". Mossman, a Panorama journalist known for his acerbic interviewing style, put it to Griffiths that he had exploited the anger surrounding the sudden change in cultures to win votes. "I haven't exploited it at all," said the MP. "I have been the only political leader in the town that has been prepared to face up to the problems." The problems were deep in all walks of life. In what was an innovative approach for the time, an Indian man was fitted with a BBC radio microphone to record his experience of trying to get a haircut. "We're closed now," he recorded the barber saying. "Will you clear off?" When his visitor challenged him, insisting there was no sign in the window, and that the salon was not closed, the hairdresser replies: "Well I am. To you." Immigrant families would arrive for church services in their Sunday best, only to be told by clergymen to come back later so as not to upset the congregation. They were often forced to worship in their own homes. They were used to seeing signs in windows, reading: "No Blacks. No Irish. No Dogs." A study by the University of Birmingham at the time suggested 80% of the city's population would not let a room to any of the thousands of migrants who had come to work in Midlands factories. They had no option but to cram their often large families into tiny homes. In response to the growing overcrowding crisis, councils demolished cramped back-to-backs and built upwards instead - creating dozens of tower blocks. With their mod-cons, inside toilets and lifts, they were initially viewed as the height of modern living. But according to Birmingham historian Prof Carl Chinn, the creation of high-rise flats eradicated community spirit. "When people first moved in they thought it was great. But soon people started to realise 'where are my neighbours?' "So what was destroyed were neighbourhoods that had taken generations to build up. "Neighbourhood building and community building should be organic. Councils and officials can provide facilities... but they were in a hurry. "Birmingham got 10,000 properties destroyed in the war... you can understand the need to rush forward, but perhaps they went a bit too fast. "We should be learning lessons. It's about consultation and empowering people in their own neighbourhoods. That's the key lesson." Mossman's use of undercover recordings to capture examples of racism was "groundbreaking", said Jenny Phillamore, professor of migration and superdiversity at University of Birmingham. "I have not heard of anything like that happening before and even today that would be quite groundbreaking and controversial," she said. Fifty years on, Prof Phillamore says the West Midlands has made huge leaps forward - but the same undercover exercise could bring similar results. "Back in the 60s, racism would have been an everyday experience for migrants," she said. "Now, actually people feel they fit in, they [live in] quite convivial areas. But if you move out of those very diverse areas, people are still likely to experience racism. "If you went undercover here I imagine you would still get racist responses but they are more complicated today. "That tends to make people want to remain in the super-diverse areas. In Birmingham, we do now embrace the fact that we are a super-diverse city." But Shirley Cooper says she still lives with prejudice five decades after arriving. "A lot of what they were saying [in the documentary] is still being said now," she said. "I've been going round trying to use a contactless card for the last month. They're not saying 'we're not going to accept your card because you're black' - they're giving me conversations about fraud. "Or 'the machine doesn't work' and yet it worked for the person before me and after." Living in '66, presented by Adrian Chiles, is on BBC One West Midlands on Wednesday, 1 June at 19:30 BST

पचास साल पहले एक अभूतपूर्व वृत्तचित्र ने स्मेथविक, वेस्ट मिडलैंड्स में सुर्खियां बटोरी, क्योंकि नस्लीय तनाव उबलते बिंदु पर पहुंच गया था। ब्रिटिश इतिहास में यकीनन सबसे नस्लवादी चुनाव अभियान के दो साल बाद, लोग अपने नए अश्वेत और एशियाई पड़ोसियों से दूर रहना जारी रख रहे थे।


China's Chang'e-5 Moon mission probe touches down

Summary: China has successfully put another probe on the Moon.

By Jonathan AmosBBC Science Correspondent Its robotic Chang'e-5 mission touched down a short while ago with the aim of collecting samples of rock and dust to bring back to Earth. The venture has targeted Mons Rümker, a high volcanic complex in a nearside region known as Oceanus Procellarum. The lander is expected to spend the next couple of days examining its surroundings and gathering up surface materials. It has a number of instruments to facilitate this, including a camera, spectrometer, radar, a scoop and a drill. The intention is to package about 2kg of "soil", or regolith, to send up to an orbiting vehicle that can then transport the samples to Earth. It's 44 years since this was last achieved. That was the Soviet Luna 24 mission, which picked up just under 200g. Unlike the launch of the mission a week ago, the landing was not covered live by Chinese TV channels. Only after the touchdown was confirmed did they break into their programming to relay the news. Images taken on the descent were quickly released with the final frame showing one of the probe's legs casting a shadow on to the dusty lunar surface. The US space agency congratulated China. Nasa's top science official, Dr Thomas Zurbuchen, said he hoped the international research community would eventually get the chance to analyse any samples sent home. "When the samples collected on the Moon are returned to Earth, we hope everyone will benefit from being able to study this precious cargo that could advance the international science community," he tweeted. The 8.2-tonne Chang'e-5 spacecraft "stack" was launched from the Wenchang spaceport in southern China on 24 November (local time). It arrived above the Moon at the weekend and then set about circularising its orbit before splitting in two. One half - a service vehicle and return module - stayed in orbit, while a lander-ascender segment was prepared for a touchdown attempt. The Chinese space agency said this lander-ascender element put down at 15:11 GMT (23:11 China Standard Time). The precise position was reported as 51.8 degrees West longitude and 43.1 degrees North latitude. Chang'e-5's success follows China's two previous Moon landings - those of Chang'e-3 in 2013 and Chang'e-4 last year. Both of these earlier missions incorporated a static lander and small rover. A total of just under 400kg of rock and soil were retrieved by American Apollo astronauts and the Soviets' robotic Luna programme - the vast majority of these materials coming back with the crewed missions. But all these samples were very old - more than three billion years in age. The Mons Rümker materials, on the other hand, promise to be no more than 1.2 or 1.3 billion years old. And this should provide additional insights on the geological history of the Moon. The samples will also allow scientists to more precisely calibrate the "chronometer" they use to age surfaces on the inner Solar System planets. This is done by counting craters (the more craters, the older the surface), but it depends on having some definitive dating at a number of locations, and the Apollo and Soviet samples were key to this. Chang'e-5 would offer a further data point. Reports from China suggest the effort to retrieve surface samples may last no longer than a couple of days. Any retrieved materials will be blasted back into orbit on the ascent portion of the landing mechanism, and then transferred across to the service vehicle and placed in the return module. The orbiter will shepherd the return module to the Earth's vicinity, jettisoning it to make an atmospheric entry and landing in the Siziwang Banner grasslands of the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia. This is where China's astronauts also return to Earth. "Chang'e-5 is a very complex mission," commented Dr James Carpenter, exploration science coordinator for human and robotic exploration at the European Space Agency. "I think it's extremely impressive what they're trying to do. And what I think is fascinating is you see this very systematic, step by step approach to increasing their exploration capabilities - from the early Chang'e missions to this latest one." Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

चीन ने चंद्रमा पर एक और जांच सफलतापूर्वक की है।


Ethiopia's Tigray crisis: How a soldier survived an 11-hour gun battle

Summary: Two Ethiopian soldiers have given BBC Afaan Oromoo dramatic accounts of a co-ordinated night-time raid on their camps at the start of the conflict in Tigray last month by fighters linked to the now-overthrown regional administration.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front - which previously controlled the government in the northern region - said it had carried out a pre-emptive strike, when the world's attention was focused on the US election, as it believed that it was about to be attacked by federal troops. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed retaliated by ordering a military operation which culminated with the overthrow of the local government, forcing the TPLF to retreat to mountains to fight what it calls "invaders". It has been difficult to get accurate information about the conflict because of a communication blackout in the region. The accounts of the soldiers highlight ethnic divisions in the Ethiopian military, with some Tigrayan soldiers accused of siding with the TPLF. Sergeant Bulcha: I was at a camp near Adigrat city, near the border with Eritrea. At around 23.30 on 3 November, I, and other soldiers, received text messages from our comrades at the base in Agula town - about 30km (18 miles) north-east of the Tigray capital, Mekelle - saying: "We are surrounded. If you can come and rescue us, come." Not long thereafter, our camp was also surrounded, with hundreds of TPLF special forces and militias having taken up positions outside. Some of the Tigrayan soldiers - who had left our camp earlier - were with them. We went to the colonel who held the key to the storeroom where our weapons were kept. We told him to open it. He refused, saying he did not have orders to do so. He was a Tigrayan, and we suspected he was part of the plan to attack us. Some soldiers argued with him to open the storeroom; others tried to break open the door. Eventually, we got our weapons. The TPLF forces were already shooting by now. We took up our positions, inside and outside the camp, using rocks, barrels, walls as shields. It was around 01:00 when the battle started. There was a distance of no more than 50m (164ft) between us and them. We killed more than 100 of them. They killed 32 of us. In my unit, one died and nine were wounded. Most of our deaths were caused by the Tigrayan soldiers who had defected to the other side. The battle lasted for about 11 hours until noon when our senior commanders ordered us to stop fighting, return our weapons to the storeroom, and to go back to our rooms. We obeyed. Shortly thereafter the priests and elders of the town came. They negotiated a surrender. At around 16:00, we were ordered to hand over all our army belongings to the TPLF forces. Again, we obeyed. Then, we were told to collect our personal belongings and made to climb into lorries. We took our wounded with us. We were forced to leave the dead behind. 'I gave a false name' The TPLF forces transported us to one of their bases in the town of Abiy Addi, 150km south-west of Adigrat. The wounded soldiers got no medical treatment throughout this period. Each morning there was a roll call. We had to give our names, ethnicity and role in the army. I used to give a false name. This was like a desert area, and it was very, very hot. We had little water to drink. Every morning, we were given tea, with no sugar, in a plastic water bottle that had been cut in half. Our food for the day were two small loaves of bread. Soldiers from other bases were also brought to Abiy Addi. They told us they too had been attacked. Some of them surrendered without fighting; others put up more resistance than us, fighting for four days. Kalashnikovs, heavy weapons and even short-range rockets were used in the battle. Some of our soldiers fled to Eritrea. 'Uniforms burned' After about two weeks, the TPLF forces gave us three options - join them, live in Tigray as civilians or go back to our homes. We took the last option. But our senior commanders, radio operators, female soldiers and those who could use heavy weaponry were not given the option. They were kept at Abiy Addi, thousands of them. The rest of us were told to take off our uniforms. We refused, saying they could kill us but we would not do it - that our military code did not allow it; that our uniform was our pride. In the end there was an agreement. We would take off our uniforms, and they would all be burnt [so they could not be used by others]. The TPLF recorded the burning on camera. They took our personal belongings - rings, watches, money. More on the Tigray crisis: It was at around 15:00 on a Friday that we were all made to climb into lorries. Again, we took our wounded with us, but there were none in my lorry. There were about 500 of us in each lorry, and I'd say about 9,000 soldiers in all the lorries. We sat in the lorries crammed until we left Abiy Addi at around 23:00. We travelled for hours on back roads until the TPLF special forces - who were escorting our lorries - dropped us off on the banks of the Tekeze River so we could go to neighbouring Amhara state. The lorries came at different times. We all broke into groups and crossed the river in boats. About six hours had passed before my group reached the other side. We then walked for about 16 hours to reach Sekota town in Amhara. We are now in a police station compound in the town. We are being well fed and well looked after. The wounded are being treated in hospital, more than three weeks after the attack. I heard that some of them died on the way, and their bodies were left behind. Corporal Ibrahim Hassan: I have been in the army for about eight years. I was also in Adigrat, but at another camp. I was the guard on duty on 3 November, watching the camp from 22:00 to midnight. Some of the soldiers were already sleeping. Right after I finished my shift I heard gunshots. I had no idea what was happening. I went to see. TPLF special forces and militia had already surrounded our camp, and they entered it. Most of us were unarmed. They ordered the soldiers, including myself, to surrender. We refused, saying federal troops could not surrender to regional troops. But in the end we agreed on the orders of our seniors, who were Tigrayans. We were kept in the camp until 6 November. The TPLF forces then transported us in lorries to a small town, Idaga Hamus, which is about 26km from where we were. We were kept there for a week and then taken to Abiy Addi. There, we found many people loyal to the federal government, from the police, army and air force. We were divided into groups, and kept in three different places - a military camp, a training school and a compound. There was no water to shower, little water to drink. It was as though we were left to die in that heat. We slept in small rooms in very crammed conditions. Then more than three weeks later, we were given three options - if we were married with children in Tigray, we could live as civilians, or we could join the TPLF or we could leave. Most of us chose the third option. But radio operators, those who could use heavy weaponry and senior commanders had to stay behind. 'Jewellery stolen' I am a radio operator but I lied about my role so I was able to leave. My guess is that we left 3,000 to 4,000 behind, and close to 9,000 of us managed to leave. We were put in about 28 lorries and were driven for hours, through desert areas, until we reached the Tekeze River. The journey was very difficult. Some soldiers fell off the lorries and broke their legs. Others got sick. But we are now in Sekota. Some of the soldiers resent the fact that there was no rescue operation, but they understand that the situation was difficult. This was an unprecedented attack on the federal army. Soldiers who were at other bases reported that the TPLF forces stole watches and necklaces from dead soldiers. They even took their uniforms, and left the bodies behind naked. In the eight years I was in Tigray, I never thought this would happen. Just a week earlier, we were helping farmers to harvest their crops and to fight a locust invasion.

दो इथियोपियाई सैनिकों ने बीबीसी अफान ओरोमू को पिछले महीने टाइग्रे में संघर्ष की शुरुआत में अब-पराजित क्षेत्रीय प्रशासन से जुड़े लड़ाकों द्वारा उनके शिविरों पर रात के समय एक समन्वित छापे के नाटकीय विवरण दिए हैं।


Pheasant trapped in car grille survives 40-mile trip

Summary: A pheasant stuck in the front grille of a car after being hit is recovering at a wildlife rescue centre after surviving a 40-mile journey.

The male bird was hit near the A46 on the road leaving Bath. The driver did not stop and carried on driving to his job in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire. The pheasant remained "well and truly wedged" until it was spotted and rescued, an RSPCA spokesman said. It is now at Oak and Furrows Wildlife Rescue Centre near Cirencester. "We couldn't be more thrilled about how well he is getting on," said RSPCA inspector Rachel Hayward. "He was quiet on arrival, but now he is much livelier and is eating very well. "Miracles do happen and I would urge anyone who does hit a bird or animal when they are driving to please stop. "Either call for help or collect the animal if possible and take it to a local vet."

टक्कर लगने के बाद कार के सामने की ग्रिल में फंसा एक तीतर 40 मील की यात्रा में जीवित रहने के बाद वन्यजीव बचाव केंद्र में ठीक हो रहा है।


In pictures: Sheringham Snorkel Trail underwater reef caught on camera

Summary: An underwater photographer has caught the beauty of a lesser-seen area of Norfolk, just metres from the shore.

The Sheringham Snorkel Trail, formed on top of a disused Victorian sewage pipe, boasts a "huge array of colourful and interesting sea life". Photographer Chris Taylor said the recent warm weather had created near-perfect conditions for the reef - only 50m (164ft) off the coast - to be seen. Divers can make their way along the trail, which features ropes and buoys. Photos by Chris Taylor Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk

एक पानी के नीचे के फोटोग्राफर ने तट से कुछ ही मीटर की दूरी पर नॉरफ़ॉक के एक कम देखे जाने वाले क्षेत्र की सुंदरता को कैद किया है।


Palantir: The controversial data firm now worth £17bn

Summary: US tech firm Palantir, known for supplying controversial data-sifting software to government agencies, has fetched a market value of nearly $22bn (£17bn) in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

By Natalie ShermanBusiness reporter, New York It's a lofty figure for a firm that has never turned a profit, been hit by privacy concerns and relies on public agencies for nearly half of its business. But the company, which takes its name from the "seeing stones" known for their power and potential to corrupt in Lord of the Rings, says the need for the kind of software it sells "has never been greater". The firm, which launched in 2003 with backing from right-wing libertarian tech investor Peter Thiel and America's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), builds programs that integrate massive data sets and spit out connections and patterns in user-friendly formats. Palantir expansion The firm - sometimes described as the "scariest" of America's tech giants - got its start working with US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, but now supplies software to police departments, other public agencies and corporate clients. It is active in more than 150 countries, including the UK, where it was one of the tech firms the government enlisted this spring to help respond to coronavirus. In the first half of 2020, Palantir revenue rose 49% year-on-year, topping $480m (£373m). And at its direct listing on Wednesday, in which investors sold some of their existing shares to the public, shares opened at $10 each - above the $7.25 reference price - giving it a value of roughly $22bn. Mark Cash, equity research analyst at Morningstar, who has estimated the firm's value at $28bn - even higher than the valuation reached on Wednesday - said the firm is well-positioned in a growing industry. "Data integration at this scale for the government is very complex and I think if you tried to stop spending on that and it just goes away, you're going to have some big problems," he said. "We think it's very hard to switch away from once you're in as a customer." ICE and privacy protests But Palantir's rise has been shadowed by concerns from privacy experts, who say the firm's tools enable surveillance and analysis of data - everything from drivers licenses and social media posts to DNA swabs - that skirts people's right to privacy and is ripe for abuse. In the US, the use of its technology by immigration authorities to help round up undocumented immigrants has drawn heated protests and in the UK, the health data handled by the firm has also raised alarms. Ahead of the firm's listing, Amnesty International issued a report saying the firm was failing its responsibility as a company to protect human rights with inadequate due diligence into who it is working for. "We have to move away from the idea that data analytics and data collection is objective or clean or immune from all the pathologies that we're seeing play out right now," said Paromita Shah, executive director at Just Futures Law, which focuses on immigration law. "Our governments are the problem because they don't want to set up oversight, but Palantir takes advantage of it." 'We have chosen sides' Palantir told Amnesty that it had deliberately declined some work with border authorities in the US due to the concerns. But the company has also vigorously defended its government work, maintaining that its clients own and control the data. It says it has a team focused on civil liberties issues, but it is the government's job to craft policy, not Silicon Valley's. It has contrasted its commitment to some other tech firms, such as Google, which stopped work on an artificial intelligence project with the Pentagon after a backlash from employees. "Our company was founded in Silicon Valley. But we seem to share fewer and fewer of the technology sector's values and commitments," chief executive Alex Karp wrote in the filing announcing its plans to sell shares to the public. "We have chosen sides, and we know that our partners value our commitment." The outspoken defence is perhaps little surprise, coming from a firm co-founded by Mr Thiel, who famously abandoned Silicon Valley in 2018, decrying its liberal politics. Mr Thiel, whose estimated $2.1bn fortune was fuelled by the sale of PayPal and an early investment in Facebook, funded the Hulk Hogan invasion of privacy case that bankrupted gossip news site Gawker and has given generously to conservative politicians. In 2016, he donated more than $1m to US President Donald Trump, though he is reportedly sitting out this election cycle. By contrast, chief executive Alex Karp, who met Mr Thiel when they both attended Stanford Law School, is a self-described neo-Marxist and "card-carrying progressive", with a doctorate degree in neo-classical social theory from a Goethe University in Germany. He displays Tai Chi swords in his offices, according to Bloomberg, and the firm's presentation to investors this month opened with a video of him racing up a hill in orange exercise gear. Prospective investors have to be "comfortable" with the firm's leaders - especially since, under the terms of the listing, they will continue to wield outsize voting power over the firm, even after ownership shifts to the public, said Mark Moerdler, senior research analyst at Bernstein Research. His team also warned in a recent note that the controversies could hurt the firm's efforts to win private-sector clients. "Politics has entered business in a way we haven't seen before and you see large companies being influenced by employees and others in interesting ways," Mr Moerdler told the BBC. But, he added, "I don't think it will fundamentally impact their ability to grow the business if the opportunities are as large as they believe they are." Palantir may be an American company, but it actually employs more people in London - just shy of 600 - than in either its Silicon Valley base or Denver headquarters. That reflects both the work it does for European clients including BP, Airbus and Ferrari - but also its UK government contracts, which predate the coronavirus pandemic by several years. These - a source told me - have included work with GCHQ's cyber-spies as well as publicly declared work for the Ministry of Defence. Big data analytics may sound like a dry subject, but speak to the firm's staff and they can speak passionately about a job that they say has involved helping fight drug cartels, catch child predators and prevent terrorist attacks. But while Palantir might like to highlight the lives it helps save, it has also been accused of having "blood on its hands" by civil rights protesters. They object to its tech being used to identify places where illegal immigrants are working so the properties can be raided and those arrested deported. In fact, the firm has effectively become the bogeyman of surveillance tech. Shareholders will have to be aware that while many states and companies see benefit from using its software, there are also many with an interest in exposing any further controversies it might be involved in. Palantir financial prospects Just how big those opportunities are remains an open question. While its efforts to make inroads in the corporate world were rocky initially, Palantir's commercial business has grown. It now accounts for 53% of revenue and includes customers such as French plane maker Airbus and energy giant BP. And Palantir has said it is well-poised to continue to win government work, thanks to a lawsuit it won against the US military in 2016, which requires the government to consider commercially available products first. The firm's finances have also improved in recent years, amid pressure from early backers to list shares publicly and allow them to cash out. In 2019, the firm brought in $743m in revenue, up 25% from the year before, with some 60% of sales from outside the US. But Palantir still posted a loss of nearly $580m last year and relies on a relatively small number of clients for the majority of its revenue. Its nearly $22bn opening valuation was only a bit higher than the $20bn private investors valued the firm when it fundraised five years ago. And as Palantir starts to trade publicly, scrutiny has only grown. This month, liberal US politicians, including Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, asked financial regulators to investigate the firm, saying the information it had provided to investors lacked transparency on key areas of risk, including data protection and work with foreign governments. Growth will depend on landing new, large deals every year while retaining their profitable clients - and the firm hasn't shared much about its record, said Mr Moerdler. "If they can make the product critical to an organisation, it can be sticky, but the road there is long," he said. "In terms of growing, it still needs to be proven."

अमेरिकी तकनीकी फर्म पलांतिर, जो सरकारी एजेंसियों को विवादास्पद डेटा-शिफ्टिंग सॉफ्टवेयर की आपूर्ति के लिए जानी जाती है, ने न्यूयॉर्क स्टॉक एक्सचेंज में अपनी शुरुआत में लगभग $22bn (£17bn) का बाजार मूल्य प्राप्त किया है।


Denbigh car parking charges cut after business concern

Summary: The price of parking at two Denbighshire car parks will be slashed to support businesses in the area.

Nine free spaces have been added at Denbigh's Factory Ward car park and from 1 September all charges will change to long stay rates. Vale Street car park will have a new subsidised rate of £1 for two hours. Denbighshire council said it had listened to businesses' concerns about increases in charges.

दो डेनबिघशायर कार पार्कों में पार्किंग की कीमत में कटौती की जाएगी ताकि क्षेत्र में व्यवसायों का समर्थन किया जा सके।


Man admits air gun possession at John Radcliffe Hospital

Summary: A man has admitting being in possession of an air gun at a hospital.

Police were called to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford shortly after 16:30 BST on 29 August. Benedict Tanudjojo, 25, of London Road, Headington, pleaded guilty to possession of an air weapon in a public place on Monday. He was fined a total of £525 at Oxford Magistrates' Court. His air pistol was also forfeited and would be destroyed, the court said.

एक आदमी ने अस्पताल में हवाई बंदूक रखने की बात स्वीकार की है।


Should we pay for plastic bags?

Summary: Plans to introduce a charge for receiving plastic shopping bags are to be introduced in England in 2015 at the earliest - some time after the rest of the UK. But critics say the law will be much weaker than those in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

What's the point? More than eight billion disposable carrier bags are used in England every year. Many are thrown away after just one use, filling up landfill sites, or littering rivers, hedgerows and town centres. They can be a threat to wildlife, especially marine life. Globally, they contribute to the vast floating plastic "islands" in the oceans. Ministers and activists want people to get in the habit of reusing bags, not discarding them. What should be done about plastic bags? Big rise in Pacific plastic flotsam What are long term threats of plastic in our seas? What difference will a charge make? Figures from Wales and Northern Ireland show their charges have had a dramatic and immediate effect, reducing bag use by 80% or more, since introduction in 2011 and 2013 respectively. The Irish Republic introduced its 15 cent (13p) plastic bag tax back in 2002 - and estimates a 90% drop in single bag use. What's exempted and why? The government wants the 5p charge to apply only in supermarkets and larger stores, with at least 250 employees, but smaller shops and takeaway outlets to be exempted to reduce the admin and financial cost to small business. The plan would also exempt biodegradable bags, paper bags and reusable "bags for life", which are seen as greener. Axe-men and goldfish buyers exempted What's wrong with exemptions? Critics say they confuse the issue, and may give people the impression they do not need to reuse other types of bag. Joan Walley MP, chair of the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), says they are "unnecessarily complicated". "We should keep it simple, learn from Northern Ireland and Wales, and have a level playing field across England," she adds. The Association of Convenience Stores, or ACS, ("the voice of local shops") says the scheme is "too complex". It says its members are keen to take part and the proposed charge should apply "to all bag types and all retailers". Convenience stores back charge What happens to the money? It is supposed to go to charity. Big stores will be expected to donate it to environmental charities, but there will be no reporting rules for small shops, who may decide to support local causes instead. Although shops currently bear a small cost in providing bags free, the ACS says research suggests shops in Wales have not been covering this cost from the charge, but giving it all to charity. Are other bags better? The very thin modern plastic bags used by supermarkets are actually cleaner to produce, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, than paper bags, heavier plastic "bags for life" and textile bags. Those bags are only more efficient when reused a number of times - more than 100 times in the case of a cotton bag - which is, of course, the idea. Thin plastic bags can be made less wasteful if reused, and then used as a bin liner.

प्लास्टिक की खरीदारी के थैले प्राप्त करने के लिए शुल्क लागू करने की योजना जल्द से जल्द 2015 में इंग्लैंड में शुरू की जानी है-बाकी ब्रिटेन के कुछ समय बाद। लेकिन आलोचकों का कहना है कि कानून वेल्स, उत्तरी आयरलैंड और स्कॉटलैंड की तुलना में बहुत कमजोर होगा।


Trump presidency week two: Foot still on accelerator

Summary: President Trump's first week in office was widely regarded as a whirlwind. His second week has been no less hectic. Despite the mass protests of week one and falling approval ratings , the administration appears to be doubling down on its pledge to shake up the Washington playbook.

In a divided America, many people are repelled by the agenda and tone of this administration, while many others are pleased that their president is taking a bold stand and getting things done. Here are five key things from week two in Trumpland. 1. The travel ban that's *not* a ban On Friday, a week after his inauguration, President Trump issued an executive order suspending all refugee admissions for 120 days, banning Syrian refugees indefinitely and suspending arrivals from seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days. The immediacy of the announcement, which Mr Trump said was necessary to not allow any lag time for "bad dudes" to sneak in, caused widespread confusion at airports around the world. Families were separated, and even Green Card holders from the affected countries were initially included in the ban. An Iraqi who put his life at risk as an interpreter for the US army was among hundreds of people detained at airports. Around the world, travellers were prevented from boarding planes, and in some cases, were pulled off flights. Vetted refugees waiting to travel to the US despaired. An Iran-born BBC reporter with British citizenship was among those temporarily detained. Demonstrators flocked to airports in protest, with many lawyers offering their services for free and filing emergency motions to have people released. Mr Trump said the restrictions were required so new security measures could be put in place to protect America from possible terrorist attacks. Things were working out "very nicely", he said. Steve Gruber, a popular talk-show host in Michigan, summed up the mood among many Trump voters. Listeners, he said, "are encouraged that a politician, albeit a new one, is actually doing the things he said he would do". Several courts moved to block parts of the order being implemented, but reports said that border officers in some places were not complying with the rulings. As condemnation grew, including from a few top Republicans, many foreign governments and major US companies, the White House insisted it was not a Muslim ban, pointing to the many Muslim-majority countries not involved. Thousands join protests across UK But former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani undermined that claim, admitting to Fox News that Mr Trump had previously asked him how to legally implement a ban on Muslims. He said, however, that the ban implemented was based on "danger", not religion. Sean Spicer, the White House's combative press secretary, blasted journalists for reporting it as a travel "ban", even though his boss used that very wording on Twitter. Meanwhile, the world tried to figure out the unique language on display at protests in Scotland. The immigration order's fallout dominated headlines for most of this week. "This has proven to be an embarrassing episode in what looks like a not-ready-for-primetime White House," our correspondent Anthony Zurcher wrote. Amateur hour at the White House? But President Trump's supporters think he's doing a great job. 2. "You're fired!" The former reality TV star now in the White House was this week finally given a chance to fire someone. In the middle of the furore over the immigration ban, acting attorney general Sally Yates ordered justice department lawyers not to enforce President Trump's executive order. Within hours, she was dismissed and accused by President Trump of "betraying" her department and being "weak on borders". Some observers and journalists asked whether the dismissal would have a chilling effect across government. But the White House said justice department lawyers had deemed the order legal and thus Ms Yates was not fulfilling her duty. The move came on the heels of other comments from the administration suggesting that dissent from officials would not be tolerated. As news spread on Monday that hundreds of US diplomats around the world were planning to use a "dissent channel" to argue that the immigration restrictions would not make the US safer, Sean Spicer said "they should either get with the programme or they can go". That seemed like a pretty direct message to US government employees with independent views. 3. Showdown over the Supreme Court On Tuesday evening at a White House ceremony, Donald Trump unveiled his pick to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court - Judge Neil Gorsuch, of Colorado. The Democrats, whom the administration has chastised for seeking to stymie them at every opportunity, have hinted they will use all means at their disposal to block his confirmation in the Senate. The Supreme Court has the final say on such divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and gay rights. Since Judge Antonin Scalia died a year ago, the court has been split equally between liberal and conservative justices, at four each. Whoever holds the ninth seat is thus pretty significant, though justices don't always split on clear ideological lines. Barack Obama tried to replace Mr Scalia with a nominee of his choice, but the Republicans didn't allow it given an election was forthcoming. Like the late Mr Scalia, the Ivy-League educated Mr Gorsuch is known to support textualism, or the interpretation of law according to its plain text. He also maintains a strict interpretation of the US Constitution, or how it was originally understood by the Founding Fathers. Who is Neil Gorsuch? Why is the US Supreme Court so important? House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi called the nominee "a very hostile appointment" and "a very bad decision, well outside the mainstream of American legal thought". And of course, there were more protests. 4. President Bannon? Stephen Bannon, Donald Trump's chief strategist, is a man who many people believe is behind much of what has come out of the White House in the past two weeks. The former executive chairman of populist, conservative news website Breitbart has been described as a "rumpled right-wing agitator" by the New York Times. On Saturday night, he was given a seat on the National Security Council's inner circle, or principals' committee. Under the restructuring, the Joint Chiefs and director of national intelligence have been told only to attend when discussions pertain to their areas. The move shocked many Washington veterans. "It's completely unprecedented to have a political adviser as a member of that group," Eliot Cohen, director of the Strategic Studies Program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, told the BBC. Mr Bannon has a "destructive" world view and has accumulated an "unhealthy" level of power, he said, describing it as an "ominous" move. What exactly is his destructive world view? Well, according to the Daily Beast, in 2013 Bannon said he wanted "to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today's establishment". The White House tried to brush the changes off, pointing to the fact that Obama adviser David Axelrod had been included in some council meetings. Mr Bannon jokingly referred to himself as "Darth Vader" in a recent interview where he described US media as "the opposition party". Steve Bannon will now sit at a table where issues pertaining to US national security, and thus global stability, are discussed at a very, very senior level. 5. Hung up on refugees Refugees are very much on President Trump's radar at the moment and it is well known that he likes to talk about deals. But a phone call on the subject on Saturday between the US president and the Australian PM, which was scheduled to last for an hour, was cut short from the White House after just 25 minutes. President Trump said the conversation with Malcolm Turnbull, in which they discussed a refugee resettlement deal between the two nations, was not a favourite among calls he had taken with world leaders. In fact, the Washington Post reported that Mr Trump described the conversation as "the worst by far". He appeared to be somewhat irritated by the subject matter - a deal struck with the Obama administration which would see up to 1,250 asylum seekers to Australia resettled in the US. What next? President Trump was so worked up after discussing "the worst deal ever" that he decided to issue a statement in his preferred manner - via Twitter. Mr Trump tweeted that he would "study this dumb deal". Later, Mr Spicer gave an official version of his boss's 25-minute call with Mr Turnbull. He said that both leaders had "emphasised the enduring strength and closeness of the US-Australia relationship". Mr Turnbull later thanked President Trump for agreeing to uphold the deal. Read more: Trump's first week: Well, that was intense

राष्ट्रपति ट्रम्प के कार्यालय में पहले सप्ताह को व्यापक रूप से एक बवंडर के रूप में माना जाता था। उनका दूसरा सप्ताह कम व्यस्त नहीं रहा है। पहले सप्ताह के बड़े पैमाने पर विरोध और अनुमोदन रेटिंग में गिरावट के बावजूद, प्रशासन वाशिंगटन प्लेबुक को हिलाने की अपनी प्रतिज्ञा को दोगुना करता दिख रहा है।


Cambridge Folk Festival: Joan Baez and Passenger to headline event

Summary: International folk star Joan Baez and chart-topper Passenger have been announced as the headliners for this year's Cambridge Folk Festival.

The event at Cherry Hinton Hall, between 30 July and 2 August, will also feature singer songwriters Frank Turner and Joan Armatrading. Folk singer Peggy Seeger, who appeared at the first festival in 1965, is also on the bill. The festival has a capacity of 14,000. Other acts appearing at the festival are the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, the John Butler Trio, Wilko Johnson, Show of Hands, Martin Simpson, Andy Cutting and Nancy Kerr, and Keston Cobblers Club.

अंतर्राष्ट्रीय लोक स्टार जोन बेज और चार्ट-टॉपर पैसेंजर को इस साल के कैम्ब्रिज लोक महोत्सव के लिए प्रमुख के रूप में घोषित किया गया है।


Protest against Koran-burning turns violent in Sweden

Summary: Protesters against the burning of a Koran by far-right supporters in Sweden have clashed with police during several hours of rioting.

Cars were set on fire and shop fronts were damaged in the clashes in the southern city of Malmö which have now been brought under control. There were several arrests. Earlier on Friday, police barred far-right Danish politician Rasmus Paludan from attending the Koran-burning rally. His supporters went ahead regardless. Swedish police turned Mr Paludan back at the border, saying there was a two-year entry ban for him. The head of the Danish far-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party was given a month in jail for a string of offences including racism in Denmark early this year. He was convicted of posting anti-Islam videos on his party's social media channels.

स्वीडन में दूर-दराज़ समर्थकों द्वारा कुरान को जलाने के खिलाफ प्रदर्शनकारियों की कई घंटों के दंगों के दौरान पुलिस के साथ झड़प हुई है।


Isle of Man hospital review set to begin

Summary: An independent UK health watchdog is due to begin a two-year review into the Isle of Man's national health service.

Thirteen experts from the West Midlands Quality Review Service (WMQRS), will visit Nobles Hospital on Tuesday. A government spokesman said the team is made up of clinicians, patient representatives and health managers. The first areas to be reviewed are theatre and anaesthetic services, the emergency department and critical care. The probe is expected to take about two years and cost in the region of £200,000. The Isle of Man government said it will cover the whole of the island's health service - not just hospital services. The report compiled by the WMQRS is expected to be published in full.

ब्रिटेन की एक स्वतंत्र स्वास्थ्य निगरानी संस्था आइल ऑफ मैन की राष्ट्रीय स्वास्थ्य सेवा की दो साल की समीक्षा शुरू करने वाली है।


Meet the ‘micro-Pacs’ buying political ads on Facebook

Summary: Alongside the main parties, small groups and even individuals are jockeying for political influence by buying micro-targeted ads on Facebook.

Filter Bubbles of BritainBy BBC Trending They are not-for-profit organisations, small informal groups and - in at least one case - a student with a personal mission and a bit of spare cash. They're bypassing the political parties and buying political advertisements directly on Facebook. BBC Trending and Newsnight have been asking people to send in examples of the political ads they have been seeing on the UK's biggest social network. We've seen plenty of advertising put out by the major parties, but also ones promoting about a dozen politically themed pages unaffiliated with any official campaigns. Given the relatively small size of our sample - a few hundred people have been in touch compared to more than 30 million monthly Facebook users in the UK - it's likely there are many more of what we at BBC Trending are calling "micro-Pacs" (in the US, independent campaign groups are called "political action committees") than our survey has picked up. Crowdfunding campaign Chris Henderson runs one of these groups. He's clearly left-leaning, though some of the groups also come from the right of politics. Henderson's Facebook page is called "Stop the Tories 2017". Henderson is a postgraduate psychology student and a former local communications officer for the Green Party, but says that his current initiative is not endorsed by or co-ordinated with the official Green campaign. Henderson says he's opposed to a number of Tory policies - singling out work capability assessments that were introduced as part of welfare reforms - and that he would like Conservative candidates to be defeated by opponents from the broad left, including Labour, the Lib Dems, the Greens and the Scottish and Welsh nationalists. "I think that the landscape that we have in this election is different than anything that's been in the playbook before," he says. "The only way the Tories are going to be removed from office is through some sort of progressive alliance." Henderson said he has spent around £1,800 on Facebook ads, initially using the site's tools to target people interested in left-wing causes, but later targeting concentrating on 18-25 year olds in marginal constituencies. He says he crowdfunded the money from around 50 people and also used personal funds. His ads are very different from traditional party campaign material. One campaign featured a disability campaigner who was quoted saying: "If you vote Conservative on June 8th, you are voting to kill people like me." "Non-party publishers have much greater freedom to tell it like it is without the constraints of working within a political party," Henderson says. "Everybody gets to decide their own framing on social media." Despite the relatively modest outlay, Henderson says his posts, boosted by the paid ads, have racked up around 8 million Facebook impressions. More from Trending: The rise of Tory attack ads on Facebook The secret yearnings of pro-Tory Facebook groups Inside the Corbynista Facebook 'army' Ladies for Davies Labour seem to have endorsed the "DIY" approach to political advertising. Last year, the party reportedly rolled out a campaigning tool called "Labour Promote" which enabled activists to upload adverts directly to Facebook. Perhaps as a result, most - but not all - of the ads seen by Trending come from a left-wing or anti-Conservative perspective, but there are exceptions. One such page is titled "Ladies for Philip Davies" - a group of five women who describe themselves as anti-feminists. The Facebook group was formed, says Natoya Raymond, to support Davies, elected to represent Shipley for the Conservatives in 2015, and a critic of feminism who has argued that men's voices are being "neutered" and that their rights must be more strongly defended. He previously sat on the Women and Equalities Select Committee. None of the five - the group includes stay-at-home mothers, a self-employed woman, a student and a full-time carer - actually live in Davies' constituency. The Facebook group was formed, by coincidence, shortly before the General Election was called. Raymond says she spent £40 of her own money to promote the page, but that the campaign was not designed to influence the vote in Davies' Shipley constituency. Ads for "Ladies for Philip Davies" were targeted towards people who, according to Facebook's data and algorithms, are interested in news about women's rights and men's rights. "The reason we created the pressure group is that we are sick of him repeatedly being called a misogynist," Raymond says. "We are anti-feminist campaigners, we don't have any affiliation with any political party." Davies tells Trending: "Ladies for Philip Davies are nothing to do with me or my campaign. Naturally I am grateful to them for their support." Other candidates running for Parliament in Shipley are Steve Clapcote, Labour; Caroline Jones, Liberal Democrat; and Sophie Walker, Women's Equality Party. Concentrated - and anonymous - campaign Other campaigns are much smaller and even more personal. One campaigner, who did not want to give his name for fear of attracting a backlash, has spent £40 on an ad campaign targeting his local MP, Conservative Caroline Ansell, who is defending her seat in Eastbourne. The activist, a university student, says he and members of his family have been directly affected by polices that Ansell has voted for. He told us he had no connections to any political party. "The cuts to tax credits and disability benefits directly affect my family members. When Caroline voted to remove bursary grants from poor university students, she burdened me with £12,000 extra debt over the course of my degree," he says. His page is called, simply, "Do Not Vote Caroline Ansell" and his ads are simple text messages, with links to more information. "A donation of £40 to any given political party may have paid for a few leaflets, but my online campaign has reached thousands of people. It's remarkable how much influence such a small investment may hold on the election, particularly at the local level," he says. Trending has contacted Caroline Ansell for comment, but she declined. Other candidates running in Eastbourne are Alex Hough, Green Party; Jake Lambert, Labour; and Stephen Lloyd, Liberal Democrat. What does election law say? Political advertising on TV is banned in the UK, but social media advertising doesn't face the same restrictions. Campaigners outside of a political party who spend or plan to spend more than £20,000 in England or £10,000 in any of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland on campaign-related activities are required to register with the Electoral Commission. Just 11 groups have done so. None of the advertisers Trending saw are registered, but at the same time it doesn't appear that any of them would come close to reaching the financial threshold. Most of the advertisers we've noticed are very small, but a number of seemingly larger campaigns have been run by groups from the left including Progressive Alliance and Collective Voice. There's nothing to indicate that these "micro-Pacs" are exceeding the spending limit, however. Henderson, who runs the "Stop the Tories" page, says he follows the Electoral Commission's best practice guidelines and that his Facebook page includes a link to a site where he lists his name and address. But there's no obligation on independent advertisers to do the same. He says he's concerned about the lack of regulation, but that "clearly the law in this area was drafted well before social media existed." New political force? The Electoral Commission said in a statement: "We continue to develop our understanding of how social media is used, and are pro-active in monitoring this type of campaigning, taking regulatory action where the rules are breached in order to ensure transparency on where money is being spent to influence voting." Some experts think the "micro-Pac" trend could be just the start of a new political force. "Increasingly as more and more groups, individuals and organisations are trying to get involved in politics, social media broadly is giving them a big microphone to do so," says Andrew Bleeker of Bully Pulpit Interactive, who was a top digital strategist on former US President Barack Obama's presidential campaigns. "And they can do so at the local level for very small amounts of money." At the same time, Bleeker says: "The future of digital media is that it's very difficult to police." "There's no ability where any kind of government in real time is going to regulate individual pieces of content, nor do I think they should," he says. "Where I've seen the line be very helpful is some sort of registration or disclaimer to say who this person is, who is behind this. Who are you for? It's really where things are unmarked and undisclosed where there's most potential for error." Blog by Mike Wendling We're still keen to get a better understanding of social media advertising during the general election. If you spot an advert in your social media feed which looks political then please send us a screengrab or a link to the content. Please also tell us your age, gender, location (including constituency), job and general political affiliation (if you are happy to tell us). And please let us know if you're happy to be contacted by a BBC reporter. You can send us your political messages in the following ways: Email: electionmessages@bbc.co.uk Tweet: @bbcnewsnight or @bbctrending SMS or WhatsApp: +44 7380 405603 The personal data you share with the BBC (age, gender, location, job and political affiliation) will be kept confidential by the BBC and will only be used for the purposes outlined above. Please only share your personal data if your are 18 years old or over. Your personal data will not be shared outside of the BBC. The BBC will retain your personal data for the duration of the election after which your personal data will be securely destroyed. By submitting your personal information you are consenting to the BBC to hold personal and sensitive personal information about you. For more information about how the BBC handles your data please go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/privacy/privacy-policy All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

मुख्य दलों के साथ-साथ, छोटे समूह और यहां तक कि व्यक्ति भी फेसबुक पर सूक्ष्म-लक्षित विज्ञापन खरीदकर राजनीतिक प्रभाव के लिए जॉकी कर रहे हैं।


Baby names: Is Muhammad the most popular?

Summary: Oliver was declared the most popular boys' name for the fourth year running, but some readers asked if there were actually more babies called Muhammad. They also wanted to know which names were given to an equal number of girls and boys and when the name Doris was popular. Here are the answers:

By Jennifer Meierhans & Rob EnglandBBC News Is Muhammad really the most popular boys' name? Oliver held its position as the most popular boys' name since 2013, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). A number of readers asked whether adding together all of the different spellings of Muhammad would mean more babies were given that name than Oliver. Muhammad, the most common spelling given to babies born in 2017, was the 10th most popular name for boys overall. Oliver topped the 2017 list with 6,259 babies while Muhammad was registered 3,691 times - not including hyphenated names, such as Muhammad-Ali. If we combine 14 different spellings included in the data we get 7,307 boys, which is more than 1,000 ahead of Oliver. Variations included Muhammad, Mohammed, Mohammad, Muhammed, Mohamed, Mohamad, Muhamad, Muhamed, Mohamud, Mohummad, Mohummed, Mouhamed, Mohammod and Mouhamad. However the ONS treats each spelling of a name separately and ranks them according to the number of times that individual spelling appears on birth certificates. "Combining spellings of one particular name distorts the list - for example combining Sophie, Sophia and Sofia on the 2015 girls list would knock Amelia off the top spot," the ONS said in 2016. Statisticians say combining names which have a similar spelling would require individuals to make a "subjective decision" about whether certain names are distinctive or not. For example, they would have to decide whether or not to treat Sara and Sarah as variations of the same name, even though many people would pronounce them differently. A modern browser with JavaScript and a stable internet connection is required to view this interactive. How popular is your name? If you cannot see the baby names tracker, click to launch the interactive content. You might also like: Which is the most gender balanced name? "What name is the most gender-balanced with similar numbers for boys and girls?" asked Gregory Shorter. There were 28 entries in the list of 6,164 boys' names and 7,508 for girls that were given to an equal number of each gender. Avery was the most popular gender balanced name in 2017. It was given to 130 children, 65 boys and 65 girls. The name was ranked 581st for boys and 637th for girls in 2017. The other 27 identically gender balanced names were given to far fewer babies by comparison. In joint second place were Lamar and Darby with 11 baby boys and girls with these names. When was Doris a popular girls' name? Doris was one of the top 10 most popular names between 1904 and 1944. The name came in at number three in 1904 and 1914, and dropped to seventh most popular in 1924 and 33rd in 1934. From there it plummeted to the 99th most popular name, before dropping out of the top 100 entirely. There were just 10 baby girls called Doris in 2017, ranking the name 2,502 out of 7,508 names for girls in 2017.

ओलिवर को लगातार चौथे वर्ष लड़कों का सबसे लोकप्रिय नाम घोषित किया गया था, लेकिन कुछ पाठकों ने पूछा कि क्या वास्तव में मुहम्मद नामक और बच्चे हैं। वे यह भी जानना चाहते थे कि लड़कियों और लड़कों की समान संख्या को कौन से नाम दिए गए थे और डोरिस नाम कब लोकप्रिय था। यहाँ उत्तर दिए गए हैंः


Aberdeen City Council to assess possible First Bus bid

Summary: Aberdeen City Council is to investigate how it could make a bid to buy the First Aberdeen bus operation.

Aberdeen-based transport firm FirstGroup is looking at spinning off its UK buses arm. A motion was passed instructing officers to contact those involved in the sale of First Aberdeen and report back on how the council might bid. The motion, from co-leader Jenny Laing, said the city needed "high quality, affordable, reliable public transport". The director of resources will now report back to the city growth and resources committee or urgent business committee about how to move forward its interest in operating a council-run bus service.

एबरडीन सिटी काउंसिल इस बात की जांच करेगी कि वह फर्स्ट एबरडीन बस संचालन को खरीदने के लिए बोली कैसे लगा सकती है।


Isle of Man motorists told to 'Keep Claer' in road-painting error

Summary: A freshly painted road marking on the Isle of Man will have to be changed after workers made a spelling mistake.

The words "keep claer" rather than "keep clear" were painted on a section of road on the outskirts of St John's, in the west of the island. A spokesman for the Department of Infrastructure said it had been made aware of the error. "We'd like to make it absolutely CLEAR that the issue will, of course, be rectified," he added.

श्रमिकों द्वारा वर्तनी की गलती करने के बाद आइल ऑफ मैन पर एक नए चित्रित सड़क चिह्न को बदलना होगा।


Isle of Man NI shortfall signals welfare 'turning point'

Summary: A £10m shortfall in the Isle of Man's National Insurance fund has signalled a "turning point" in the Manx welfare state, the treasury minister said.

The government said state pension spending exceeded NI contributions for the second year running. The fund went into deficit for the first time in 2012/2013, with a shortfall of £14 million. Minister Eddie Teare said: "It's confirmation the island has reached a turning point in its welfare system." He added: "We must now start to make changes to ensure that our social security system is sustainable, fair and that it does not put an undue burden on future generations". A government spokesman said this year's shortfall was covered by a transfer from the fund's investment income. In May a report from the UK Government Actuary's Department (GAD) estimated that unless changes were made, the Manx NI Fund would be exhausted by 2054.

ट्रेजरी मंत्री ने कहा कि आइल ऑफ मैन के राष्ट्रीय बीमा कोष में 10 मिलियन पाउंड की कमी ने मैनक्स कल्याण राज्य में एक "महत्वपूर्ण मोड़" का संकेत दिया है।


Is China gaining an edge in artificial intelligence?

Summary: "China is betting on AI and investing in AI and deploying AI on a scale no other country is doing," says Abishur Prakash, a futurist and author of books about the effect of artificial intelligence (AI) on geopolitics.

By Natalie ShermanBusiness reporter, New York As developments in AI accelerate, some in the US fear that the ability of China's powerful central government to marshal data and pour resources into the field will push it ahead. The country has announced billions in funding for start-ups, launched programmes to woo researchers from overseas and streamlined its data policies. It has announced news-reading robots and AI-powered strategy for foreign relations. Perhaps most alarming to the US are its efforts to incorporate it into its military. In the last few years, Washington has toughened oversight of Chinese investments, banned US firms from doing business with certain Chinese companies and increased criminal prosecution of alleged technology theft. "What the Trump administration is doing is a sign... the US knows that its geopolitical power will be redefined and reconfigured by this era," said Mr Prakash, who works at the Toronto-based Center for Innovating the Future. These developments come amid political tension between the two nations. Yet, some analysts worry the US response is counterproductive, arguing that cutting off access to US microchips, for example, could simply accelerate Chinese efforts to develop their own alternatives. The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods - retaliation for "unfair" practices it says are aimed at giving China an advantage in the field. The White House has also pressed universities to review their relationships with Chinese partners and threatened to restrict student visas. It is even said to be looking at rules against certain US investments in China - once nearly unthinkable in free-market America. Rivals is a season of in-depth coverage on BBC News about the contest for supremacy between the US and China across trade, tech, defence and soft power. Read more here. The actions are aimed at preserving US leadership in technologies expected to determine economic and military power for generations to come. "That China will grow to be an economy as large as ours may be inevitable; that we aid their mercantilist strategy through free trade and open investment in our technology sector is a choice," US Department of Defense officials wrote in a widely cited 2018 report. China advances As the US and China race to capitalise on advances in machine learning, facial recognition and other forms of artificial intelligence, Tom Mitchell has a front row seat. The professor of computer science founded the world's first research centre for artificial intelligence at Carnegie Mellon in the US. Since 2018, he has also served as chief scientist at Squirrel, a leading tutoring company in China. He says the US has more experience building tech companies, but China may have the advantage when it comes to AI applications relying on big data sets - and points to the medical field as an example. "In the US we've had electronic medical records for over 20 years but we still have not put together all the records in the country to run machine-learning algorithms on those." He says the US has been inhibited by privacy concerns, as well as a fractured, for-profit industry. "In China, it's a different situation. If the government decides that it's going to have country-wide electronic medical records... then it's going to happen." Prof Mitchell, who is working on using AI to improve education, says working in both the US and China puts him in the best position to invent and apply cutting-edge technology. But that kind of cross-border collaboration is facing increasing scrutiny, given rising political tensions. Scaling back Last year, Chinese investment in the US dropped to $4.8bn (£3.7bn) - its lowest level since 2011 - while US investment in China dipped from $14bn to $13bn, according to the Rhodium Group's annual report. High-profile Chinese firms, like insurance giant Anbang and Kai-Fu Lee's Sinovation Ventures, have reportedly sold or scaled back US operations, while China's Huawei and ZTE have suffered serious losses after being subject to US bans. In US academic circles, universities are rethinking their ties to China, while US firms doing business in China have also grown more cautious. Mr Prakash, who works with start-ups, tech firms and governments on questions of artificial intelligence, says while many western firms continue to pursue opportunities in China, current tensions have changed the discussions. "Geopolitics is now front and centre for all of them," he says. "They're forced to say, hey, we're based in Silicon Valley, we're selling to part of Asia and now as this tech war unfolds we need to understand what's possible, what can we do, what are our options." More Technology of Business Will it work? Prof Mitchell says policymakers need to distinguish between AI applications that are win-win and those that are truly competitive, such as those for the military. In the meantime, he says Washington's increasingly nationalist tone risks alienating America's foreign students and researchers - many of them Chinese - who have played a critical role in US tech leadership to date. "To start thinking about putting up export control walls around the US could be as damaging to the US research enterprise as anything that a foreign adversary might try to do to us. I hope we will act rationally and not just out of fear." While US concerns about technology theft have merit, "I feel like we're over-reacting," says Prof Mitchell. "The fact that China or the UK or anybody decides they want to be a leader in AI - it would be surprising if they did not. It's not something to be reviled," he says. American national plans have also called for boosting investment, reforming the immigration system and improving education, but those are much more difficult to achieve, says William Carter, deputy director of technology policy at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Being hard on China is an easy political sell," he says, but warns that, "I think we're shooting ourselves in the foot in a lot of ways". The race between the US and China is now moving to other countries, which are being pushed to take sides as tech firms from the two compete for turf. The US has pressed its allies to stop using equipment from China's Huawei, for example, citing concerns that Beijing could use the firm's equipment for hacking. It has also raised human rights concerns. At a recent conference, a US official argued that Chinese tech companies are "de facto tools" of the state's Communist Party, saying they "have become deeply enmeshed in Beijing's system of oppression at home and its increasingly assertive strategic ambitions globally." As artificial intelligence technologies drive debates over values like surveillance and privacy, free speech and censorship, conflicts between the two countries are likely to increase, says Nicholas Wright, a fellow at the New America think tank in Washington, who has worked with the US and UK governments. "To some extent, this is just a generic challenge, where you have a new set of technologies and whomever manages to implement them first and best will gain an advantage... but then there's also another set of issues which is to do with the specifics of these new digital technologies," he says. For now, it may take artificial intelligence to know how the race will end.

भविष्यवादी और भू-राजनीति पर कृत्रिम बुद्धिमत्ता (ए. आई.) के प्रभाव के बारे में पुस्तकों के लेखक अबिशूर प्रकाश कहते हैं, "चीन ए. आई. पर दांव लगा रहा है और ए. आई. में निवेश कर रहा है और ए. आई. को उस पैमाने पर तैनात कर रहा है जो कोई अन्य देश नहीं कर रहा है।


Poppi Iris Worthington death: Secrecy continues

Summary: Almost two years of secrecy surrounding the death of a 13-month-old child in Cumbria must continue because of further police investigations, a High Court judge has said.

Last week, a coroner took seven minutes to declare the December 2012 death of Poppi Worthington was unexplained. Many details have not been made public prompting what Mr Justice Peter Jackson called "some concern". However, the judge said the case must be allowed to be investigated fully. A 46-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman have been arrested in connection with the death and are on conditional police bail until December. The judge said he had deliberately not made public his own "fact-finding judgement" into the case. He said: "As a result of the judgment further police investigations into Poppi's death are now taking place. "A decision by the Crown Prosecution Service may then follow. "In the interests of justice it is essential that this process is allowed to take place without interference and that any criminal proceedings are not prejudiced."

उच्च न्यायालय के एक न्यायाधीश ने कहा है कि कुंब्रिया में 13 महीने के बच्चे की मौत के बारे में लगभग दो साल की गोपनीयता जारी रखनी चाहिए क्योंकि आगे की पुलिस जांच जारी है।


Of fake customers and virtual 'likes'

Summary: My virtual bagels certainly started some real conversations. Our story questioning the value of "likes" on Facebook pages , and the contribution ads could make, got a lot of reaction - much of it cries of rage from the social media marketing industry.

Rory Cellan-JonesTechnology correspondent@BBCRoryCJon Twitter They pointed out - fairly enough - that my ad for my imaginary business VirtualBagel was poorly targeted. That may be true, although when I targeted it more precisely at the UK, the results proved very disappointing. And is poor targeting by advertisers any justification for getting them to pay for traffic from thousands of fake customers? Small businesses that have tried Facebook ads have been telling me of somewhat lacklustre results. One beer retailer who targeted his adverts carefully at UK beer lovers quickly got 600 new "likes", only to find that they were then completely inactive on his own website. "Like 600 wooden soldiers," he told me. But the social media marketing industry was also united in telling me that chasing after "likes" was no longer considered best practice. On another blog, someone came up with this line: "Any marketing director still chasing "'likes'... shouldn't be a marketing director." That message does not seem to have reached some major brands. Look at the Facebook page for BMW's Mini. A banner across the top trumpets: "3,000,000! Thanks to all our Mini Facebook fans!" But look at where those "likes" come from - the Mini page is most popular amongst 18- to 24-year-olds in Bangkok. Is that the campaign's target demographic? And who told brands that "likes" were a valuable currency in the first place? Err, Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg. In a speech in London last year, she told the world that 50 million users liked a Facebook brand page every day. Still, various people wanted to tell me about their very successful Facebook campaigns, and the social network itself points to companies such as Asos and Ford which have seen good results. Someone got in touch last week to tell me how well the government "GREAT" campaign to promote Britain abroad had used Facebook. A number of "GREAT" Facebook pages have been set up: And so on, and in all they have now attracted nearly half a million likes. So who are these fans of our country and its products? The lead page is most popular amongst 18- to 24-year-olds in Rio de Janeiro - perhaps not the target market? - but the music page is hot in Hong Kong, which may be nearer the mark. But has the campaign delivered value for the taxpayer? I asked the Cabinet Office how much of the campaign's £37m marketing budget had been spent on Facebook ads. I was told that this could not be disclosed, but someone close to the campaign reckons £70,000 has been spent so far with the social network. If true, that works out at about 14p a "like", which sounds reasonable value - if the "likes" are real people delivering that new marketing buzzword, engagement. Which brings me back to VirtualBagel. I gained about 3,000 "likes" with no content and an advertising spend of £40, but the level of engagement on my page was close to zero. In other words, people weren't posting, or asking questions or even visiting the page at all. Since I stopped advertising and started adding real content, I've only added about 300 "likes", but the level of engagement has soared, with vibrant discussions about the value of Facebook ads, and many more people listed as actually visiting the page. Which chimes with what some other small businesses have told me - that Facebook can be a powerful way of having a conversation with your customers, but you don't necessarily need to pay for that. "Our free marketing tools can be really powerful," a Facebook executive told me last week. I'm sure that is true - but it may not be the best message for a business that needs to convince investors that more and more companies want to pay for its advertisements.

मेरे आभासी बैगलों ने निश्चित रूप से कुछ वास्तविक बातचीत शुरू की। हमारी कहानी फेसबुक पृष्ठों पर "पसंद" के मूल्य पर सवाल उठाती है, और योगदान विज्ञापन कर सकते हैं, बहुत प्रतिक्रिया मिली-इसमें से अधिकांश सोशल मीडिया विपणन उद्योग से गुस्से की आवाज़ें हैं।


Hells Angels biker cleared of Hastings assault

Summary: A Hells Angels biker has been acquitted of partially blinding another man in an attack after a jury in his second trial also failed to reach a verdict.

Matthew Barnes, 48, denied causing grievous bodily harm with intent in the attack outside a Hastings pub in February 2016. A formal not guilty verdict was entered by the court after the prosecution said it would not seek a re-trial. A jury had also been dismissed following a trial in August last year. Mr Barnes, the president of the Sussex chapter of the Hells Angels, was accused of partially blinding Christopher Harrison after he refused to join the club. Oliver Wilkinson, 50, of St Leonards-on-Sea was acquitted of the same charge following the first trial.

एक हेल्स एंजेल्स बाइकर को एक हमले में एक अन्य व्यक्ति को आंशिक रूप से अंधा करने के आरोप से बरी कर दिया गया है, क्योंकि उसके दूसरे मुकदमे में एक जूरी भी फैसले तक पहुंचने में विफल रही थी।


Obituary: Freddie Starr

Summary: Freddie Starr, who has died aged 76, was known for his zany, high-energy performances and impersonations of Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger, Max Wall and a wellington-boot wearing Adolf Hitler.

Born Frederick Leslie Fowell in Lancashire in 1943, Starr had a troubled childhood. In an interview with Devon newspaper the Herald Express, Starr said his father, a bricklayer and part-time bare-knuckle boxer, broke both his legs when he was a child. He said he was taken into care for two years aged six. He did not mention this in his 2001 autobiography, which its publisher described as depicting him "spending years in a children's home when he'd stopped talking". In the same year Starr spoke to the Evening Standard about his father, saying: "Never mind slap me, he used to punch me - sometimes spark out." "He was very Victorian. But he never picked a fight in his life. He always tried to talk to people first and ask for a word in their ear. But if they cornered him, he would let go." As a teenager, he appeared under his own name as a gang member in the 1958 film Violent Playground, about teenage delinquents, starring Stanley Baker, Peter Cushing and David McCallum. By the early 1960s, Starr was the lead singer of the Merseybeat pop group The Midnighters. The band released three records on the Decca label, produced by the legendary Joe Meek but all three failed to make the charts, despite some promotion by the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein. Starr left the band in 1965. He would eventually go on to have some chart success though, with the number nine single It's You in 1974. His big break came when he was "discovered" through the talent show, Opportunity Knocks, a precursor to shows like The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent. But he became a household name on the 1970 Royal Variety Performance where his preening, rubber-legged impersonation of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger had the audiences in the theatre and at home rolling in the aisles. It led to a period of solid television work. Between 1972 and 1976, Starr worked alongside the rising stars of British comedy like Russ Abbott, Les Dennis, David Copperfield and Little and Large on the comedy sketch show Who Do You Do? for London Weekend Television on ITV. The Freddie Starr show was broadcast on the BBC in 1976 and ITV gave him two series of his own in the 90s along with 1996's An Audience with Freddie Starr. It proved so popular that a sequel, Another Audience with Freddie Starr, was broadcast the following year. At his peak, the comedian was reported to be earning in excess of £2m a year, often playing live gigs seven nights a week but it played havoc with his personal life. Hamster story debunked But as a new generation of subversive, often political British comics began to emerge, work dried up for Starr. Demand fell for his once edgy and near-the-knuckle brand of comedy, and he become almost as well-known for his colourful personal life as his zany stage performances. In 1986, The Sun newspaper printed the headline "Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster". The comedian was accused of putting the live pet of a friend between two pieces of bread and devouring it live. The story was a complete fabrication, devised by the disgraced late PR man Max Clifford. In his 2001 autobiography Unwrapped, Starr said: "I have never eaten or even nibbled a live hamster, gerbil, guinea pig, mouse, shrew, vole or any other small mammal". Away from comedy, Starr's horse Miinnehoma - ridden by Richard Dunwoody - won the 1994 Grand National at Aintree Racecourse in his home county of Merseyside. Afterwards, BBC Sport presenter Des Lynam conducted a live phone interview with the winning owner, in front of a crowd of race-goers, as Starr was unable to attend due to prior TV commitments. Addiction battle The father-of-six married his first wife Betty when he was 17. His second marriage to Sandy lasted 15 years and he married his third wife, Donna, who was 27 years his junior, in 1998. They married and divorced twice. He separated from his fourth wife Sophie in 2015. He was accused of infidelity and violent behaviour, including towards his son and remained largely estranged from most of his children until his death. Though a teetotaller, Starr battled a 20-year addiction to Valium which he told the Standard "makes you feel you are never wrong". "When you have a clear mind you can look in the mirror and face your own image. I've done that." "I was destroying myself, destroying my marriage, destroying a lot of things. And that was self-inflicted. I hold myself totally responsible. Now I am clear and I can see what I have done and I am very sorry." 'Swindlers and villains' Starr had a brief career resurgence in 2009, when he appeared in the reality ghost-hunting show Living with the Dead, but a 2010 tour was cancelled when he suffered a major heart attack and underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery. The tour was rescheduled for 2011, the same year he participated in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here. He pulled out of the show following a "bushtucker trial" that included eating mouse tails and turkey testicles. "I was sick not to finish the show. The decision's been made and I have to live with that. I wish everyone on the show all the best," he said. Writing about his years spent in the showbiz wilderness, he called former agents and managers "smooth talking crooks, swindlers and villains", adding: "As soon as your ratings start dropping and people stop coming to see you when you're touring, you find all your 'best friends' disappearing into the woodwork. "I'm not saying it's right. I'm just telling that's how the business works." Arrest and defamation claim If frustrations over his stalled career were his biggest problems, his life was about to hit a even lower point when, in 2012, he was arrested in the police inquiry investigating sex abuse claims against Jimmy Savile. The comic was accused of groping a teenage girl backstage on Savile's Clunk Click TV show. The Crown Prosecution Service decided no charges would be brought against him but in 2015, he took one accuser Karin Ward to court accusing her of defamation. His legal action failed and in his judgment Mr Justice Nicol said Ms Ward's testimony was found to be true, but too much time had lapsed since the offence. It landed Starr with a large legal bill and in an interview with the Mail on Sunday, he revealed he was moving to Spain. In an eerily accurate prediction, he told the paper: "No matter which way I turned there was a... revolver pointing at my head so I thought 'I'm not going to tell anyone, I'm just going to get on a plane and go to Spain, the place I love, and this is where I'm going to die'." Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

फ़्रेडी स्टार, जिनकी 76 वर्ष की आयु में मृत्यु हो गई है, को उनके विलक्षण, उच्च-ऊर्जा प्रदर्शन और एल्विस प्रेस्ली, मिक जैगर, मैक्स वॉल और एडॉल्फ़ हिटलर पहने हुए एक वेलिंगटन-बूट के प्रतिरूपण के लिए जाना जाता था।


AirBnB: A freshen-up for virtual neighbours

Summary: Short term lets of property have boomed in recent years, and are seen as worsening conspicuous pressure points in rural and urban Scotland. Housing shortages, noisy neighbours and safety have become a pressing concern for some. But online lets are good news for the tourism industry, and for household income. A Scottish government consultation has been asking how to better regulate the sector, with pressure from landlords not to use "a sledgehammer to crack a nut".

Douglas FraserBusiness/economy editor, Scotland It's the height of the tourist season. English schools have joined Scottish schools on holiday. Anyone waiting to decide on their destination may be encouraged by the burst of heat to stay in the UK, as if the exchange rates for sterling were not reason enough. So it's peak season for concern about "over-tourism" - the notion that we can have too much of this good thing. While we want to welcome visitors, goes the argument, there are either limits to our hospitality, or the crowds and congestion make for a declining quality of experience for those who visit. Today sees the close of a Scottish government consultation on what has become one of the most conspicuous pressure points - the sharp growth in short term lets. It's widely perceived as the problem of AirBnB, though I'm obliged to point out that other online short-term letting brokerages are available. For most of us, AirBnB is not a problem at all. On the contrary, it's an opportunity to travel with more flexibility, often at lower prices, with a closer sense of the people and the culture being visited. It cuts out many layers of travel brokerage and cost. Its original role as an online shop for sofa surfers gave way to letting out a spare room, perhaps while a family member was away at university, to help offset that cost. And then it allowed many more people to let out their home while they're away from it. At astonishing speed, this classic case of a disruptive technology has opened up investment in properties that are solely intended for the short-term let (STL) market. The income for part of the year can make a holiday home affordable, thus pushing up the cost of properties in the second home bracket. Croft caravan Scotland is now one of the countries with hot spots of AirBnB activity that have forced the Scottish government to act. The first minister made it one of the stand-out pledges in a recent SNP conference speech. For some, this has become a big and pressing issue. The two areas best known to face this pressure are Skye and Edinburgh, with very different profiles for the problems caused. Skye has long had housing pressures exacerbated by second homes. But at least seasonal workers in hotels, restaurants and bars used to be able to rent somewhere, even if it was a caravan on a croft. Less so now. Rural hoteliers tell me their recruitment problems are worsened because every available space is available for short-term lets, because AirBnB doesn't set a minimum standard but allows for every segment of the market. Thus, the cost of employment goes up, and the margins for sometimes precariously seasonal businesses become alarmingly thin. This isn't just about Skye. On a recent visit to east Ross-shire and the Black Isle, I heard growing talk of the impact of AirBnB. In Cromarty, for instance, which has developed as a thriving village community within commuting reach of Inverness, it is reckoned that 50 homes are not occupied permanently. Second and holiday homes were already an issue, but with AirBnB, it looks to make second homes more financially viable, and therefore more of a housing pressure. David Ross, a retired journalist colleague in the village, who sits on the local community trust, and used to chair the school board, says the cost of housing for young families means that the primary has gone from 90 pupils to below 50 in his 30 years there. The school could lose another teacher, and looks all the more vulnerable for it. Edinburgh has parallel problems of rising housing costs, though it's not clear in either case that short-term lets have to take all the blame. The capital's property market has been heating up in recent years anyway - a far cry from the concerns of economic collapse that accompanied its twin bank meltdown 10 years ago. In the city centre and in the north of the city towards Leith, short-term lets are blamed for undermining community cohesion and making tenement life unbearable for some. There's a visible presence in the key boxes, unlocked by code, padlocked to railings near the each property. In planning speak, it's 'a loss of amenity'. Strangers I heard, for a recent report on Good Morning Scotland, from Deirdre Henderson, one of those co-ordinating a new pressure group pushing back at the growth of AirBnB. Her family had a tenement flat in the Powderhall area of Edinburgh. The flat downstairs was stripped of much of its interior decor, making any activity echo more loudly than it would do in a normally furnished home. It typically slept more people than a normal flat would have, as bookings were used for parties, with costs widely shared. Several times each week, there would be different strangers using the stair, which made Deirdre worry for the safety of herself and her children. "It can make you feel very low in a place that should make you happy and secure," she says. For some, it is impossible to find out who the owner of the property is, so they can be informed of the nuisance caused. For others, the owner becomes aware of complaints to the city council, and makes an intimidating appearance at the front door. This is in the past tense, because Deirdre and her family moved. Soon after, the owner of the downstairs flat sold up. She reckons they had had enough of the complaints she was making. If there's hassle for "normal" occupants of tenement flats, there can be hassle too for owners. AirBnB makes some effort to rein in unwelcome behaviour by guests, removing or suspending landlords from its platform if there are multiple complaints. An enforcement order by a council can be served for a number of reasons, including anti-social behaviour, and after that, the property ceases to work as a business proposition. Deirdre Henderson's complaint about Edinburgh Council is that it was inadequately resourced with staff to enforce the enforcement notices. Sledgehammer Could that be the plight of all short term lets - that the law is changed to enforce a tough regime in planning, the use of properties, licensing, regulation and taxation? Those are among the questions being asked in the St Andrew's House consultation, which has been extended as a result of bringing in an unusually high number of responses. It raises an unusually wide-ranging set of issues: housing, tourism, business rates and rates relief, safety, the capacity for council enforcement, local pressure points and the interests of the formal hospitality sector. It pits the desire for a stronger tourism sector, and a thriving private rented property market with, on the other hand, the issues of housing availability and cost, in rural and urban areas, and the community cohesion in tourist-heavy pressure points. While stories such as Deirdre Henderson's are not difficult to find, landlords and those who rely on short-term lets have been fighting a fierce defensive action to ensure the consultation does not lead to "a sledgehammer to crack a nut". That's the fear of Fiona Campbell, who leads Scotland's short term letting association. For her, ownership of a small number of homes for holiday lets is a legitimate small business, deserving of respect like any other. These lets are not run as merely a hobby or some extra income for the already well-off. And the economic impact is substantial. AirBnB, by no coincidence, recently issued figures for 2018 that showed owners of Scottish properties who let through the website took £162m from doing so. They assume every visitor to such a property goes out and spends £100 per day on food, drink, entertainment and visitor attractions, so the value spirals up to nearly £500m. A number like that is not one that ministers, in responding to the consultation, can simply ignore. Festival lets Fiona Campbell pushes back at each of the claims being made by those pushing for tighter regulation on STLs. On claims that it's taking away scarce housing from local people, she counters that councils and central government should have been building or allowing more social housing. Some 79,000 homes are reckoned to be lying empty - though not necessarily in the locations visitors might want to rent, let alone homeless people. On claims that whole tenement blocks have been changed for the worse, Fiona, says complaints are there but the numbers are low, the data isn't clear, and policy should not be set until it is. If it's true that there are more than 12,000 AirBnB properties in Edinburgh - half of the Scottish total - they are not all rented all of the time. Some may be a room in a house or flat, some may be let once or twice a year. Around 60% of Edinburgh listings in Edinburgh were for fewer than 30 days last year. On that, Deirdre Henderson and Fiona Campbell can agree - that people should have a right to let out their home to make some extra income from it, for at least a short time each year - say during the Edinburgh festivals or when the owners are on holiday. They can also agree on the need for registration, and an effort to ensure that renters are aware of obligations on visitor safety, including hard-wired smoke alarms. There's also a concern that many STL landlords lack public liability insurance, and have mortgage or household insurance policies that do not cover their leasing activities. Where Deirdre and Fiona diverge is what happens after a month of letting, and particularly if there are numerous turnovers. City of Edinburgh Council offered its own views to the Scottish government, in a submission published at the end of last week. It has resisted advice to follow the example of Glasgow, in interpreting planning law in such a way that it can and does clamp down on short term lets. The capital's council cites figures about those not living in a property while renting for more than 90 days a year, at which point the home has probably ceased to be anyone's home. Bolted Edinburgh council wants a licensing regime. That's because the planning route to reform has been closed off, for now at least. Any hopes from campaigners that a much tougher regime on planning controls could be introduced to tackle STLs were dashed in the complex voting frenzy at Holyrood that saw amendments decided on what is now the Planning Act 2019. The Greens' Andy Whiteman pushed for a change that would require anyone running such a business to have the property recognised as such within planning law. It was defeated in favour of an amendment backed by Conservatives that allows councils to impose a licensing regime, but only in housing pressure spots. For that, the more detailed legislation had already been put in place, to deal with high rental costs. So if not planning, registration seems the least that can be expected, and possibly licensing. That's until technology brings along the next disruptive website. "The horse has bolted," says Fiona Campbell. "Now, we need to train the horse."

हाल के वर्षों में संपत्ति के अल्पकालिक किराए में तेजी आई है, और इसे ग्रामीण और शहरी स्कॉटलैंड में बिगड़ते विशिष्ट दबाव बिंदुओं के रूप में देखा जाता है। आवास की कमी, शोर-शराबे वाले पड़ोसी और सुरक्षा कुछ लोगों के लिए एक दबाव वाली चिंता बन गई है। लेकिन ऑनलाइन लेट्स पर्यटन उद्योग और घरेलू आय के लिए अच्छी खबर है। एक स्कॉटिश सरकार परामर्श यह पूछ रही है कि इस क्षेत्र को बेहतर तरीके से कैसे विनियमित किया जाए, मकान मालिकों के दबाव के साथ कि "एक नट को तोड़ने के लिए एक स्लेजहैमर" का उपयोग न करें।