Westminster attack: Could Khalid Masood have been stopped?

Summary: Inquests into the March 2017 Westminster Bridge attack have revealed, for the first time, what the authorities knew about the attacker.

Dominic CascianiHome affairs correspondent@BBCDomCon Twitter The inquests heard evidence from police officers, an MI5 witness and Masood's mother and wife, which revealed key information about the attacker's past, his mindset - and whether he could have been spotted and maybe stopped.

मार्च 2017 के वेस्टमिंस्टर ब्रिज हमले की जांच में पहली बार पता चला है कि अधिकारियों को हमलावर के बारे में क्या पता था।


North Wales sheep thefts by 'organised criminal gangs'

Summary: Organised criminal gangs are believed to be behind the thefts of more than 100 sheep and other animals.

North Wales Police have warned farmers after livestock was taken from farms in Gwynedd, Conwy county and Denbighshire in the last few weeks. Officers have said 80 sheep have gone missing in Bala, Llanrwst, Betws y Coed and Rhuallt in the last week They said the thefts appeared to be a professional operation. Rob Taylor, from the force's rural crime team, said the animals are likely being sold on or slaughtered illegally.

माना जाता है कि 100 से अधिक भेड़ों और अन्य जानवरों की चोरी के पीछे संगठित आपराधिक गिरोह हैं।


This is what happened to the Saudi comic who sneered at Islamic State

Summary: One of Saudi Arabia's most popular comedians received death threats from Islamic State supporters after his latest series sneered at IS - but the comic's supporters answered back with a hashtag mocking the militants.

BBC TrendingWhat's popular and why It's a Ramadan tradition. Every year during the Islamic holy month, Arabs gather after they break their fast at sunset to start a TV-watching marathon that lasts until the early hours of the morning. And among this year's broadcasts is Saudi comic Nasser al-Qasabi's satirical series Selfie, which takes aim at sensitive social topics. Qasabi's programmes over the years have became some of the most-anticipated shows in the Arab world, and this one was no exception - after first airing, Selfie was mentioned in tens of thousands of tweets. It's also caused controversy on several fronts. An investigation is underway after a conservative cleric denounced al-Qasabi when he made fun of Saudi imams smashing musical instruments. But it was much darker jokes about Islamic State that provoked a huge response on social media. In the first few episodes of Selfie, al-Qasabi plays the role of a father who travels to Syria under the pretence of being a fighter in an attempt to find his son who joined IS. He encounters clueless militants who parrot bizarre ideological slogans, but the story ends not with humour but tragedy - the father is executed after he refuses to take part in a suicide mission. The grim subject matter stirred strong emotions in some. "I got tears, could feel my stomach squeezing, my heart was hurt, I went speechless. That was art, thanks to the amazing team of Selfie," a Saudi woman wrote on Twitter. "Hats off to Nasser Al-Qasabi for his outstanding performance in portraying the ugly truth of ISIS!" one Iraqi man tweeted. But not everyone got the joke. Among those who didn't take to the show were a number of IS-related Twitter accounts - one sent al-Qasabi a message: "The Mujahedeen will not rest until we separate your head from your body." The account has since been suspended but a screen grab of the tweet is circulating online. Shortly after this and other threatening tweets started appearing, a new hashtag calling for the "beheading" of the Saudi actor started trending with over 12,000 tweets in Arabic. The hashtag fooled many into thinking it was started by IS accounts. But it turns out the hashtag was actually launched to mock the threats. The first tweet under this hashtag came from a fan of al-Qasabi's show: "Maybe you can wait until the end of the episode before you behead him?" the fan joked. Al-Qasabi responded to the threats he received online in an interview with the Saudi news channel al-Arabyia: "God is my protector and the work I do on Selfie is my jihad against those who think they are fighting the real jihad." Blog by Mai Noman Next story: Chinese respond to 'rude' stereotype "What is happening culturally in China that can account for their poor reputation as tourists or immigrants elsewhere in the world?" It was a potentially inflammatory question, posted on in an online forum on Reddit by an American. (Although she added afterwards, "This is a genuine question so I am not interested in racist or hateful replies"). READ MORE You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

सऊदी अरब के सबसे लोकप्रिय कॉमेडियनों में से एक को इस्लामिक स्टेट के समर्थकों से जान से मारने की धमकियां मिलीं, जब उनकी नवीनतम श्रृंखला ने आईएस पर उपहास किया-लेकिन कॉमिक के समर्थकों ने आतंकवादियों का मजाक उड़ाते हुए हैशटैग के साथ जवाब दिया।


Nets warning after Banff fishing boat capsize off Scilly

Summary: A warning has been issued to fishing boat skippers about the dangers of trying to recover lost nets following the sinking of a trawler.

The Kairos, from Banff, Aberdeenshire, was fishing in very rough conditions 70 miles west of the Isles of Scilly when it lost its nets last May. The crew tried to recover them but the boat developed a list and capsized. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch said in a report the capsize was from the attempts to recover the net. The five-man crew abandoned the vessel, boarded a life raft and were picked up by another fishing boat. The 46-year-old skipper fell into the sea but was quickly rescued. They were then taken ashore in Ireland and no-one was injured.

मछली पकड़ने वाली नाव के चालकों को एक ट्रॉलर के डूबने के बाद खोए हुए जाल को फिर से प्राप्त करने की कोशिश करने के खतरों के बारे में चेतावनी जारी की गई है।


Spain's vaccine delays hamper fight against pandemic

Summary: The Isabel Zendal hospital in Madrid only opened in December, but already it's feeling the strain. Spain's third wave of Covid-19 broke after the Christmas holiday, making January the worst month the country has had in terms of infections.

By Guy HedgecoeBBC News, Madrid "We had a terrible January," said Javier Marco, medical director of the hospital. It was built in just three months specifically to manage the Covid crisis. "It's been stressful." The country's infection rate has stabilised in recent days, at just below 900 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, but the pressure is still on the healthcare system. Vaccine impact 'won't come till end of 2021' The roll-out of vaccines is a boon for a country whose death toll from Covid-19 is now approaching 60,000. However, the recent problems with deliveries and distribution of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have directly hampered the vaccination campaign. The regions of Catalonia and Madrid both announced alterations to their plans at the end of January. Catalonia's secretary general for health, Marc Ramentol, said the region had been "very affected" by the drop in supply. In Madrid, second, follow-up vaccines have been prioritised over first jabs, which have been temporarily suspended. "The impact of the vaccine won't be visible until a good percentage of the population has been vaccinated," says Javier Marco. "That was not going to happen until the end of the summer. With this delay we won't be able to see that until the end of the year, being optimistic." Spain takes regional approach Since coming out of one of the world's tightest national lockdowns last year, Spain has taken a more localised approach to restrictions. Local governments have been imposing and lifting measures in towns, cities, or whole regions, according to infection rates. In many areas bars, restaurants and cultural spaces have severe restrictions. A curfew is also in place nationwide, its timing varying according to each region. Many of Spain's local politicians have also been in the headlines recently, for a very different reason: a number of public figures have been accused of using their position in order to get vaccinated early. Last month the Socialist Party (PSOE) said it was investigating four of its mayors of small towns on the Mediterranean coast and in Andalusia. Several other mayors have faced similar accusations, with some resigning. Manuel Villegas, the conservative head of healthcare in the Murcia region, also stepped down after it emerged he had been vaccinated early, as did the head of the armed forces, General Miguel Ángel Villaroya. "Everybody that I'm seeing is just really tired of the situation, we are just sick of it and we don't see the end," said Catalina Lizasoain, an architecture student. "And it's really upsetting that you have to act really responsibly and then the people that are in charge are not acting responsibly at all."

मैड्रिड में इसाबेल ज़ेंडल अस्पताल केवल दिसंबर में खोला गया था, लेकिन पहले से ही यह तनाव महसूस कर रहा है। स्पेन की कोविड-19 की तीसरी लहर क्रिसमस की छुट्टी के बाद टूट गई, जिससे जनवरी संक्रमण के मामले में देश का सबसे खराब महीना बन गया।


Work begins on South Wiltshire UTC college

Summary: Work has begun on a university technical college in Salisbury.

The £8.5m South Wiltshire UTC will be built on the site of the former Wilton Road police station, which was vacated by Wiltshire Police at the end of June. The UTC, specialising in science and engineering, will cater for 14 to 18 year olds, teaching vocational courses alongside mainstream academic subjects. It is due to open on 1 September 2015 and will eventually have 600 pupils. It had been due to open in September 2014. However, it was announced in August 2013 that the police station was to remain open for another year. 'Next generation' Principal designate Gordon Aitken said UTCs were "brand new types of schools". "I think the nice thing with UTCs is that there is no identikit of what they should look like," he said. "What we will do is add a little bit of new build to it [and] merge the two existing buildings into one. "We will be totally gutting the inside of the two buildings, and turning them into really modern learning studios and spaces, where the students can learn to become the next generation of scientists and engineers." As well as refurbishing the two existing buildings, the UTC is adding 1,000 sq m of new build, including a 160-seat lecture theatre and a canteen.

सैलिसबरी में एक विश्वविद्यालय तकनीकी महाविद्यालय पर काम शुरू हो गया है।


Welsh singer Charlotte Church loses unborn baby

Summary: Singer Charlotte Church has lost her unborn baby, she has announced.

The 31-year-old had publicly revealed she was expecting her third child during a concert in May. A statement on her Twitter account on Monday said: "Charlotte and Jonny are very sad to announce that they lost their baby. Now is a time for grieving and being together as a family. "We kindly ask everyone to respect that peace." The Cardiff-born star and her partner, musician Jonny Powell, have been together for seven years. She is already a mother to nine-year-old Ruby and Dexter, eight, from her previous relationship with Gavin Henson. Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning

गायिका शार्लट चर्च ने घोषणा की है कि उन्होंने अपने अजन्मे बच्चे को खो दिया है।


Aberystwyth's Hospice at Home to replace Beacon of Hope

Summary: A new project to care for the terminally ill will be launched to replace a charity that went into liquidation in 2012.

Hospice at Home, Aberystwyth, replaces Beacon of Hope to support patients and their families in their home. The Ceredigion charity will co-operate with other charities as well and the Hywel Dda University Health Board. Around 100 volunteers joined a public meeting on Tuesday to support the new charity, which launches in April. Beacon of Hope had offices in Aberystwyth, Cardigan and Machynlleth.

गंभीर रूप से बीमार लोगों की देखभाल के लिए एक नई परियोजना शुरू की जाएगी जो 2012 में परिसमापन में गए एक दान को प्रतिस्थापित करेगी।


Grace Millane: Murder accused naming decision reserved

Summary: The identity of a man accused of murdering a British backpacker in New Zealand remains secret after a judge reserved a decision on naming him.

Grace Millane, 22, of Wickford, Essex, was found dead on 8 December, a week after she was last seen at a hostel. A 27-year-old man has denied her murder and is set to go on trial in Auckland in November. A name suppression order against identifying him remains in place after a High Court hearing on Thursday. Miss Millane had been travelling alone in New Zealand for two weeks, following a six-week group trip through South America. Her family became concerned when the University of Lincoln graduate failed to respond to birthday messages on 2 December. Miss Millane's father flew to New Zealand and was there when police discovered the body of his daughter. She was last seen at a hostel in Auckland.

न्यूजीलैंड में एक ब्रिटिश बैकपैकर की हत्या के आरोपी व्यक्ति की पहचान गुप्त है क्योंकि एक न्यायाधीश ने उसका नाम रखने पर फैसला सुरक्षित रखा है।


The racism denier in charge of defending black rights in Brazil

Summary: Jair Bolsonaro isn't new to controversial hires.

By Katy WatsonBBC South America correspondent, São Paulo When Damares Alves was appointed Minister of Women, Family and Human Rights, she proclaimed that this was a "new era in Brazil: boys wear blue and girls wear pink". "Nobody will stop us calling girls princesses and boys princes, we are going to end this abuse of ideological indoctrination," she said in her inaugural speech as minister. Her supporters cheered; her detractors saw her as outdated. And her controversial views on expanding rights for women continues. Alves, who is also an evangelical pastor, opposes abortion and she's recently backed a campaign to encourage abstinence in an effort to bring down a stubbornly high rate of teenage pregnancies in Brazil. But Jair Bolsonaro's government likes to stir. He's ripping up the way politics is done in Brazil. And has done it again with another divisive appointment: Sergio Camargo. Victim mentality This week, the president confirmed that Mr Camargo, a black journalist, would head up the Palmares Cultural Foundation. The influential government-funded institute is responsible for promoting and preserving the cultural, historic, social and economic values of black society in Brazil. Mr Camargo describes himself on social media as a "black right-winger, an anti-victimist" - he's also denied real racism exists in Brazil, comparing it to the US where he considers it a serious problem. Sergio Camargo's appointment was contentious from the start. His nomination was suspended at the end of last year after huge criticism. But earlier this week, the Supreme Court overruled the decision, allowing him to take up the role and paving the way for Mr Bolsonaro to reinstate him. Mr Camargo responded to the news, calling it a "defeat for the racists on the left - the victory of a black person who thinks for himself and is free." Nutella racism In a social media post last year, he used the term "Nutella racism" to describe the problem in Brazil. It's a disparaging phrase designed to put down the younger generation - substitute Nutella for avocado toast in the English-speaking world perhaps and you get the gist. "Black people complain because they are stupid and misinformed by the left," he said in the post. He has argued that "Brazil needs a black movement that is free with its opinions and political choices otherwise the victim mentality of the left will prevail". Bolsonaro's son Eduardo also tweeted after the appointment, arguing that his work would be "immensely important in the fight against the handcuffs of ideological slavery that Brazil is subjected to". But racial justice academics from the Brazilian Centre of Analysis and Planning said they viewed his nomination with "fear and indignation", arguing that "he didn't represent the anti-racist organisations and civil groups that have built this space over the past decades". Sergio Camargo's attitude is a minority view now but one that many in Brazil used to share - this idea that the country was a racial democracy, a place where there was little or no racism unlike the US or Europe. "A lot of people believed the national ideology that there was little or no racism," says sociologist Edward Telles. Attitudes changed, especially after the World Conference against Racism in South Africa in 2001, he says. "Before that, people hardly mentioned race, it was a taboo subject. Then there was this tidal wave and it completely changed," adds Dr Telles. "After that, by the mid- to late-2000s, it was clear that few people believed that." But these people exist - and now they sit in positions of power. Bolsonaro 'a true disaster' Jair Bolsonaro has himself defended Brazil's slave trade - the biggest in the Americas. "The Portuguese didn't even set foot in Africa," he said, erroneously, in a television interview before being elected in 2018. "It was the Africans themselves who handed the slaves over." Ana-Lucia Araujo, a Brazilian Professor of History at Howard University in Washington DC, says that Mr Camargo's appointment "is an attempt to destroy what was conquered by Afro-Brazilians and Brazilian black movements since the end of the military dictatorship. "The current government is a true disaster regarding the fight against racism and racial inequalities that are at heart of Brazilian history." Indigenous rights under threat too This is second controversial appointment made in the past week. A former evangelical missionary, Ricardo Lopes Dias, was also named head of the government department that protects isolated indigenous tribes from contact with non-indigenous people. His previous role as a missionary aimed to convert those communities to Christianity. Again, it's an appointment that has come under attack. "It's clearly deliberate. Bolsonaro knows exactly what he's doing. He is putting the fox in charge of the hen house," says Jonathan Mazower of Survival International. "It is such a naked assault, an overt and explicit assault on the consensus of the last three or four decades which has been all about protecting such peoples who are incredibly vulnerable to outsiders bringing in diseases quite apart from the violent attacks that many of them have suffered in the past," adds Mr Mazower. Bolsonaro's administration often accuses previous leftist governments of sowing divisions in Brazil that never existed. But so far his attempts to unite Brazilians seem to have failed.

जायर बोल्सोनारो विवादास्पद नियुक्तियों के लिए नए नहीं हैं।


Shake-up of Aberdeen catchment areas 'could see school closures'

Summary: Parents who are unhappy at plans for a major shake-up of primary school catchment areas in Aberdeen - which could lead to closures - can still have a say on the proposals, it has been claimed.

The suggestions are to be discussed by a special meeting of the education committee next week. Some pupils could be sent to different primaries and secondary schools. The city council said doing nothing is not an option. Committee convenor Jenny Laing told BBC Scotland that the opinions of parents are still important. The plans could see schools in Bridge of Don, Kincorth and Northfield merged with neighbouring schools.

यह दावा किया गया है कि जो माता-पिता एबरडीन में प्राथमिक विद्यालय जलग्रहण क्षेत्रों को बड़े पैमाने पर बदलने की योजना से नाखुश हैं-जिससे बंद हो सकता है-वे अभी भी प्रस्तावों पर अपनी बात रख सकते हैं।


Who will want YouView?

Summary: The call came through from the great man's office. "Please present yourself at County Hall at 09:30 Lord Sugar has something very exciting that he wants to show you." OK, that's not quite how it went but it did feel like an episode of The Apprentice as we trooped into the grand if poorly lit former London County Council chamber for the unveiling of YouView.

Rory Cellan-JonesTechnology correspondent@BBCRoryCJon Twitter Lord Sugar and the bosses of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, BT and TalkTalk were launching a service which makes a big promise. YouView is supposed to be the missing link which finally brings TV and the internet together, finally putting services like the iPlayer and 4OD direct onto your television in a seamless way. But in this episode of The Apprentice, the boot was on the other foot with Lord Sugar facing some tough questions about the business and its prospects of success. The veteran entrepreneur turned reality television star was brought in as chairman of YouView last year. The much-delayed project appeared to be going nowhere and his job was to knock heads together and get various partners from the broadcasters and internet providers to agree on a way forward. That he seems to have achieved, and by getting a product out in time for the Olympics - just - one target has been hit. The interface we saw demonstrated by Richard Halton, YouView's chief executive, looked like a user-friendly way of finding and viewing programmes from all the main Freeview channels. The electronic programme guide for the Humax set-top box - the only device available at launch - allows you to record future programmes in a way which will be familiar to owners of Sky+ and other personal video recorders. But you can also go back several days to view programmes you have missed on the BBC, ITV, and Channels 4 and 5. There should be more content from other providers too, notably Sky's forthcoming Now TV which will enable viewers to pay for movies and later sport without needing a satellite dish. So far, so good Lord Sugar - but then came the tricky questions from the panel of experts in the form of a pack of cynical media correspondents - £299 for a set-top box - isn't that a bit steep for a product aimed at people who don't want to pay for satellite or cable? We were told that launch products always looked pricey, and that Lord Sugar would not be surprised if YouView boxes were selling at £99 in a couple of years. Which begs the question - why would you buy one now? The prospects for YouView may actually depend on the two ISP partners, BT and TalkTalk. Together they have millions of broadband customers - if they can offer them attractive packages which include a YouView box, then maybe we will see substantial numbers coming to the platform in the coming months. But there are also questions over the hardware on offer. Why, Lord Sugar was asked, were there not alternative cut-down devices which just allowed consumers to stream with YouView without recording programmes? I'm not sure we got a satisfactory answer, though it seems likely that more devices and maybe even televisions with an integrated YouView service will be available soon. The biggest disappointment for me was that the Humax box is not wi-fi capable. You'll have to plug in an ethernet cable to get it online, and for many people whose internet connection isn't in their living room that will be an issue. When I spoke to Lord Sugar after the launch, he was in typically combative mood, amazed that I could possibly think that the YouView box was a bit expensive and a bit late. When I suggested that there were other cheaper devices out there he dismissed them as not providing anything like the same user experience. Google TV, for instance, was just Chrome stuck on a television. In some ways he is right - nobody has quite cracked the conundrum of combining the ease of use of television with the choice and flexibility of the internet. YouView does look as though it offers something new, but the question is how big an audience will want it at the current price. Lord Sugar ended our chat with an invitation. Come back in two years, he told me, and you'll find that YouView has become the standard way for people who want TV but don't want a subscription to get it. That's a big claim - so I've put an entry in my diary for 4 July 2014 to meet Lord Sugar and confirm that his prediction has come true.

कॉल महान व्यक्ति के कार्यालय से आया। "कृपया काउंटी हॉल में 09:30 पर खुद को पेश करें लॉर्ड शुगर के पास कुछ बहुत ही रोमांचक है जो वह आपको दिखाना चाहता है।" ठीक है, यह बिल्कुल वैसा नहीं था जैसा कि यह हुआ, लेकिन यह द अप्रेंटिस के एक एपिसोड की तरह महसूस हुआ जब हम यूव्यू के अनावरण के लिए लंदन काउंटी काउंसिल के पूर्व कक्ष में बड़े पैमाने पर घुसे थे।


What will Opec do about the oil supply?

Summary: With oil prices down some 40% in a year, the oil ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) are once again getting together in Vienna this week to decide whether to cut output or keep pumping crude oil into a market that is already oversupplied.

By Amir PaivarBBC Persian business reporter, Vienna Six months ago, Opec's lack of consensus on a similar decision cost them almost $6 a barrel. Some may argue that in a changing world, Opec is no longer as relevant to global oil markets, but Opec summits still command attention in both the industry and the global media and this week's meeting is no exception. Opec has 12 member countries that between them sit on 80% of the world's oil reserves and produce four in every 10 barrels of oil. The bloc is divided into two camps. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar say Opec should keep current production levels, in order to maintain its market share, although that means low oil prices for all. These so-called "price doves" can afford this policy thanks to their high per capita income and massive oil-generated sovereign wealth funds. In Saudi Arabia's case, there is also the motivating factor of a growing domestic demand for energy. "In a sense… it's no longer Opec's decision, it's Saudi Arabia's decision," says Paul Stevens, senior fellow for energy at the Royal Institute of Foreign Affairs. "The reason they decided not to cut [last year] was because Saudi Arabia said they were not going to cut. "If there is a decision in June, it will be effectively Saudi Arabia's decision." Poorer camp In the other camp are the poorer countries - Venezuela, Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Angola and Ecuador, who favour cutting production to boost prices and increase their revenues. Most of the so-called "price hawks" struggle to balance the books when oil prices fall under $100 a barrel - a situation they've been grappling with for the past nine months. However, the views of one of the price hawks, Iran, are somewhat harder to predict. Tehran has indicated it will increase productions levels if it succeeds in reaching a deal with world powers over its nuclear programme later this month, and international sanctions on its oil exports are lifted. It's not clear at this stage how quickly this could happen. With the US fast becoming energy independent due to new fracking technology, Opec is already pumping 2 million barrels of crude a day more than current demand. Shale oil helps US producers churn out more than 12 million barrels a day, comfortably overtaking Saudi Arabia, once the world's largest producer, whose output was around 11 million barrels a day last year. But shale oil is expensive to produce. The break-even price for a barrel has a range of $60-$70 depending on production location. By comparison, it costs less than $10 to produce a barrel of oil in most of the Gulf states. Many analysts suspect that the Saudi strategy is to allow low prices to stay long enough to wipe US shale producers off the market. Observers say American shale producers have now practically replaced Opec as the so-called "swing producer" of the oil market, cutting output when prices fall. "When the price goes back up again or as it begins to go back up, you will suddenly see a lot of these wells coming on stream," says Paul Stevens. "We're talking in terms of weeks and months rather than years. So their significance is that they effectively put a ceiling on the oil price." Key difference Yet, there is a key difference between how Opec used to balance the market and how shale producers behave. This is because the US is not a major oil-producing Opec member like Iran or Saudi Arabia, says Iman Nasseri, from the FGE energy consultancy group. "US producers are numerous. They are not governed by one oil minister who can decide on and dictate the level of shale production." Opec: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was founded in Baghdad, Iraq, with the signing of an agreement in September 1960 by five countries: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. They were joined by Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), the United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973), Gabon (1975) and Angola (2007). From December 1992 until October 2007, Ecuador suspended its membership. Gabon terminated its membership in 1995. Indonesia suspended its membership effective from January 2009. What is OPEC - in 60 seconds Saudi Arabia is said to agree to a cut in Opec output only if the world's third largest producer, Russia follows suit. The Saudis worry Russia may steal their market share, by replacing Opec oil. Just as with mobile phone services, once you change provider there is seldom any going back. Once an oil buyer has to adjust its refinery's settings to a new kind of crude, from a new supplier, they rarely bother changing again. This year the main Opec ministerial meeting on Friday is preceded by a two-day seminar at Vienna's Hofburg Palace where non-Opec oil ministers will rub shoulders with top executives from the worlds's biggest energy companies. Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Total, Chevron, Exxonmobil and even China's Sinopec are all on the guest list. Opec ministers are expected to lobby heavily with their counterparts from Russia and other countries to come up with a co-ordinated response to the rise of the Americans. But very few actually expect that this will happen. US oil producers may be scattered and disparate, but so too are the Opec countries.

एक साल में तेल की कीमतों में लगभग 40 प्रतिशत की गिरावट के साथ, पेट्रोलियम निर्यातक देशों के संगठन (ओपेक) के तेल मंत्री इस सप्ताह एक बार फिर वियना में यह तय करने के लिए एक साथ आ रहे हैं कि उत्पादन में कटौती की जाए या कच्चे तेल को एक ऐसे बाजार में पंप करना जारी रखा जाए जो पहले से ही अधिक आपूर्ति कर रहा है।


Peterloo: The man who ordered a massacre

Summary: In 1819, a troop of sabre-wielding cavalrymen charged into a huge workers' rights protest in Manchester. The carnage that followed is the subject of a new film starring Maxine Peake. But who was the man who ordered the Peterloo Massacre?

By Paul BurnellBBC News In a cafe in Sloane Square, the screenwriter and Conservative peer Julian Fellowes is contemplating his most notorious ancestor. The creator of the hit ITV drama Downton Abbey is considering how, as a screenwriter used to drawing dramatic characters, he would assess the personality of William Hulton. "Most characters have shades of grey because, on the whole, I think that in life people don't tend to be all evil or all good," Fellowes says. "But actually William Hulton was pushing it for 'all evil'... I don't think he had much to redeem him." The Oscar-winning writer is Hulton's great-great-great grandson - but this is not a source of pride. He was, he says, a "cruel and horrible man". It was Hulton who, as a magistrate in north-west England, gave the notorious order for troops to violently disperse a peaceful, pro-democracy protest in the centre of the UK's first industrial city. Screenwriters make much of a character's motives, so what does Fellowes think drove Hulton, who was born into a family of wealthy landowners? "He was clearly a sort of hysteric," he says. "He was clearly terrified of any overthrow of the established social order." Two hundred years ago, working-class people in Manchester and other industrial towns in the north of England were becoming increasingly vocal in their demands for political reform. They were angry about the fact that most of the population could not vote, that corruption was rife, and that urban areas were grossly underrepresented in Parliament. At least 50,000 people arrived at St Peter's Fields on 16 August 1819 to hear radical speaker Henry Hunt campaign for parliamentary reform. At this time, Manchester had no police force so the Manchester Yeomanry was sent in to prevent any disturbances. When Hunt began to speak the army tried to arrest him, and attacked anybody who got in its way. At least 11 people were killed and 400 injured. The events soon became notorious in the press, where they were dubbed Peterloo, an ironic reference to the Battle of Waterloo that had taken place four years previously. "It was only the barest of beginnings for any kind of workers' movement," says Fellowes. "But Hulton immediately went into some kind of overdrive, attacking a group that included a group of many women and many children - a lot of whom hadn't done anything." He describes Hulton's heavy-handed response as a total misreading of the situation. "Instead of lining up across the field and reading some sort of 'go home!' message, which clearly would have been the reasonable thing to do, he sent the yeomanry to a crowd who could not at once disperse. "They were seen by him to be resisting but they were unarmed - they weren't resisting them with weapons." The film Peterloo, which goes on general release on 2 November, is directed by Salford-born Mike Leigh, who is known for his gritty tales of working-class life. "Although I don't think Mike Leigh and I are as one politically... I certainly agree with him about who were the bad guys," said Fellowes. Seven years before Peterloo, as a justice of the peace, Hulton had already sentenced four Luddites to death for setting fire to a weaving mill in Westhoughton, near Bolton. One of those hanged was a 12-year-old boy. While history is full of monsters, historians tend to temper criticism when actions are in keeping with the standards of the time. But, in Hulton's case, even this does not save his reputation. "They thought it was cruel and unnecessary and inhuman," Fellowes says. "And so, in a sense, he was already an offender before the demonstration at St Peter's Field had ever happened. "I feel extremely sorry for the men, women and children who were cut down at Peterloo. "I think they were doing no more than making clear to those who would listen - the writing was on the wall, workers were bound to have some rights. "What people like Hulton were trying to do was to fight history, and to fight the inevitable." Among those on the receiving end of the cavalry charge was Mary Heys, who was pregnant with her sixth child. She had joined the hordes gathered near her ramshackle home in Oxford Street, which nearly two centuries later is occupied by a McDonald's restaurant. Heys's story has been researched by her five times great-granddaughter Denise Southworth. The 57-year-old said Heys was one of the massacre's "forgotten victims". Indeed, estimates of the final death toll vary widely and the true number will never be known. "She was trampled by a horse," said Ms Southworth. "Why would a woman in her 40s who was pregnant want to take part in a riot?" The day after Heys was injured, she began having fits. Four months later she gave birth to a premature baby, Henry. "[Mary] died just before Christmas - because she didn't die straight away, she wasn't counted among the dead," said Ms Southworth, who is Manchester born and bred. "We gave more significance in my school in Manchester to the Battle of Waterloo than to Peterloo. "I think it has been overlooked even in Manchester. "I knew nothing about it - in my history books they were too busy talking about Napoleon and Waterloo." Ms Southworth's sense of outrage has prompted her to join the Peterloo Memorial Campaign, which has the backing of Peterloo star Maxine Peake. It is fighting for a permanent memorial to those who died, rather than just the small plaque which currently sits on the wall of the Radisson Hotel. Ms Southworth said: "You look round here - the middle of Manchester - and see all these beautiful, fabulous, glass, expensive buildings - do people know what happened here 200 years ago? "Do they know about how the ordinary working people came for a peaceful demonstration and were butchered? "We are always told about Manchester's achievements, but let's not forget the spot where people were killed for trying get a decent standard of living. "We owe it as educated people to remember those who didn't have a vote and did not have any rights."

1819 में, तलवार चलाने वाले घुड़सवारों की एक टुकड़ी ने मैनचेस्टर में श्रमिकों के अधिकारों के विरोध में एक विशाल प्रदर्शन किया। इसके बाद जो नरसंहार हुआ वह मैक्सिन पीक अभिनीत एक नई फिल्म का विषय है। लेकिन वह व्यक्ति कौन था जिसने पीटरलू नरसंहार का आदेश दिया था?


Sarah Everard vigil: 'All I wanted was to stand with other women'

Summary: When Jaidah Chambers set out for Clapham Common on Saturday, she had no idea that by the end of the evening she'd be under arrest. She wanted to attend a vigil for Sarah Everard because she grew up in the south London street where the 33-year-old was last seen, even though the organisers had been forced to cancel it.

"I felt obliged to pay my respects given it could've been anyone that I have known my whole life," Ms Chambers told BBC News. But what began as a peaceful coming together with candles and flowers ended with arrests and bitter argument over the role of police in dispersing the crowds. So why did she and so many other women feel compelled to take part - and what went so badly wrong? The vigil's original organisers Reclaim These Streets had called it off and the Met Police discouraged attendance after the High Court declined to approve it on Friday evening. But hundreds of women went anyway - alongside activist groups - as well as the Duchess of Cambridge. Many wanted to express their concerns over safety in public places. Some were drawn to what they saw as a safe space to pay respects to Ms Everard - while others were expecting a demonstration. "It was a bit of both - and was different things to different women - and you know what? That's OK," tweeted commentator Kate Maltby, who was among the crowds. Katharine Hurwitz, who lives nearby, said: "I mainly wanted to pay respects to Sarah Everard and her family. It's had a massive impact on me as a woman living around here and I think it has so many others." Dania Al'Obeid, who was also later arrested, said: "I didn't know that there was going to be a large gathering. There was no way I was going to stay at home and let the trauma and upset and frustration brew inside me so, as many other women were feeling, I needed to go and pay my respect." It was "sorrow, frustration and solidarity" that inspired Rahila Gupta, a feminist writer and member of activist group Southall Black Sisters, to travel to Clapham Common. "Already as a black woman I feel like a second-class citizen and then the misogyny compounds it. So I felt I had to go, I absolutely had to be there to show solidarity with other women who were there," she said. The scene in the park when she arrived struck Louise McLoughlin as "really lovely". "The bandstand was the focal point and there were flowers, tributes, signs to Sarah," she said. But by the time Ms Chambers arrived, it was "very crowded". She said: "We arrived, we found our position, it was very emotionally charged." With the police walking the difficult line between allowing freedom of expression and enforcing social distancing rules, Ms Chambers says she felt they wanted to "get rid of us", saying: "If that wasn't the intention it was how it looked." Though, "I spoke to some beautiful officers that night who seemed human to me, I could see compassion," she added. How things turned Shortly after sunset, around 18:00 GMT, attendees described feeling the atmosphere turn "very tense". Around the same time, the Metropolitan Police say said they believed the event became "unlawful". Mindful of the coronavirus rules, they felt the vigil was posing "a considerable risk to people's health", as Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick later said. At 18:38, Times journalist Emma Yeomans reported police were "moving in to Clapham Common bandstand, preventing speakers from talking to the crowd". Tweeting again at 18:48, Ms Yeomans said the atmosphere had become "very tense" and reported she had been knocked down by police officers moving through the crowd. "Mostly men now at the front pushing against police line," she added. At the same time, the PA news agency reported "boos, jeers and shouts of 'shame on you'" as officers reached the bandstand. Sisters Uncut, a group describing itself as an "intersectional feminist direct-action collective", tweeted at 19:05 that, "as soon as the sun went down, police stormed the bandstand". Kate Maltby said activists from Sisters Uncut were making speeches from the bandstand shortly before the police moved in - and that she was worried the content of the speeches might be in contempt of court. Another journalist, Helen Lewis, said later that she had heard police officers discussing an attempt to move into the crowd to start "dispersing" people. Then at 19:21, Lambeth Police tweeted that the gathering had become unsafe, urging people to leave. And PA reported a tussle between police officers and some of the crowd. According to Dame Cressida, the officers were in a "really invidious position". They tried "to get people to disperse from this unlawful gathering, and many, many, many people did, but unfortunately a small minority did not". Ms McLoughlin later recalled: "At that point, it became a bit of a push and pull and there were a few scuffles and all of the candles and glass and the signs and the flowers that would have been put down for Sarah, you could just hear the breaking of glass now and again as these things were trampled on." One woman said officers were "being really aggressive, twisting my arms". Ms Lewis added in a tweet: "The mood really turned when the police decided to move in and disperse the crowd, particularly when they formed a ring around the bandstand." Several people were arrested. Among them was Patsy Stevenson - a science student who said she only went to the vigil to light a candle. Things happened in a "whirlwind", she said, after she agreed to stand in solidarity beside activists on the Clapham Common bandstand. Photos of her being carried by police officers was later to dominate the front pages of Sundays papers. But "I've never been arrested, I've never been to one of these things, I'm not like an activist or a protester," she told ITV. Dania Al'Obeid was also left astonished by what had happened. After her arrest, she later said, she "sat in the van, as my hands were handcuffed... just thinking: 'Gosh, all I wanted was to stand with other women.'" Just after midnight, the Met Police confirmed four people had been arrested for public order offences and breaches of coronavirus regulations. Ms Stevenson and Ms Chambers both said they were quickly released after providing details to officers. According to Sir Peter Fahy, a former chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, some of the tactics used by the officers and captured in photographs may have appeared "heavy handed" but were in fact standard procedures designed to protect those being detained. Family tribute Ms Everard's family was not involved in Saturday's event. In their only public comments since her body was discovered, the family described Ms Everard as "bright and beautiful - a wonderful daughter and sister". "She was strong and principled and a shining example to us all," they said. Not everyone who knew Ms Everard is happy about what the vigil has come to symbolise. Her friend, Helena Edwards, wrote in a comment article for the political magazine Spiked!: "When I first heard of the vigil for Sarah on Clapham Common I was looking forward to attending - it felt good to be able to 'do something' and express my love for Sarah and my sorrow for what has happened to her. "Less than a day later, I decided not to attend, as have many of her friends. I can't speak for all of them, but my reason for not attending is this: my friend's tragic death has been hijacked. It is not a tribute to her any more, it's about something else - and I don't like what it has become." What happens next? Two separate investigations, one conducted by the Met Police and another by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, will review the role and conduct of police at Saturday's vigil - with their initial findings reportedly expected within the next fortnight. Despite coming under pressure, Dame Cressida has refused to step down over Saturday's events, saying that what happened to Ms Everard had made her "more determined not less" to lead the Met. Ms Everard's body was found in Kent last week, while a serving Met Police officer, Wayne Couzens, 48, has been charged with her murder and kidnap. Detectives continue to investigate. But for Jaidah Chambers, the priority now should be healing division. "I don't want the narrative to be lost that we were there for Sarah and her family - that is the primary reason we were there to begin with," she said. "For me, I just want us to work together - men and women - to try our best to drive out what is causing to such pain between us." All pictures subject to copyright

जब जैदा चैम्बर्स शनिवार को क्लैफम कॉमन के लिए निकली, तो उसे पता नहीं था कि शाम के अंत तक वह गिरफ्तार हो जाएगी। वह सारा एवरार्ड के लिए एक चौकसी में भाग लेना चाहती थी क्योंकि वह दक्षिण लंदन की सड़क पर पली-बढ़ी थी जहाँ 33 वर्षीय को आखिरी बार देखा गया था, भले ही आयोजकों को इसे रद्द करने के लिए मजबूर किया गया था।


Manx Santa Dash: Pouring rain leaves runners soaked

Summary: Nearly 170 people dressed as Father Christmas have completed a Santa Dash in the pouring rain.

The one-mile (1.6km) race around the streets of Douglas was won by Jack Okell in four minutes 35 seconds on Wednesday. He finished three seconds ahead of last year's winner Jamie Newton with the leading lady Rachel Franklin in fifth. Since it started in 2001 participants have raised more than £200,000 for charities on the Isle of Man. In total 168 people completed the course despite a torrential downpour.

फादर क्रिसमस के रूप में तैयार लगभग 170 लोगों ने बारिश में सांता दास पूरा किया है।


Woman is found dead in the sea off Brixham

Summary: A woman has been found dead in the sea off south Devon.

The body of the woman, in her 40s, was recovered after police were called to water near Brixham's Freshwater Quarry car park, in Torbay, early on Sunday. A man in his 60s was found on rocks nearby with "a number of injuries", Devon and Cornwall Police said. The death is being treated as unexplained but is not thought suspicious, they added. The man and woman are believed to have been visiting Devon from Huddersfield together, police said. A dog that was with them has been taken to kennels. Police were called to the area at about 05:45 BST on Sunday. The woman was confirmed dead at the scene. The latest stories from Devon A file was being prepared for the coroner and her next of kin had been informed, they added. The man was taken to hospital in Plymouth. where he remains in a "serious condition". Police appealed for witnesses, saying they wanted to hear from anyone in the area of Brixham Laboratory, Oxon Cove and Freshwater Quarry car park between 22:00 on Saturday 10 August and 05:45 on Sunday 11.

दक्षिण डेवोन के समुद्र में एक महिला मृत पाई गई है।


Devon woman dies in Gloucestershire diving incident

Summary: A woman has died and a man is seriously ill after an incident at a diving centre in Gloucestershire.

Paramedics were called to the National Diving and Activity Centre at Tidenham in the Forest of Dean on Saturday. The woman, aged in her 50s, from Tavistock in Devon, died at the scene, police said. Her husband was airlifted to a decompression unit in Plymouth. He is in hospital in a critical but stable condition. The Health and Safety Executive and the coroner have been informed and police are investigating. Gloucestershire Police said the pair were diving with a friend who is an instructor.

ग्लूस्टरशायर के एक गोताखोर केंद्र में एक घटना के बाद एक महिला की मौत हो गई और एक पुरुष गंभीर रूप से बीमार है।


Two manslaughter arrests after woman's Tesco death

Summary: Two men have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after a woman died having been taken ill at a Tesco store.

Detectives are investigating whether the 59-year-old's death on Monday is linked to an incident at the supermarket on Corporation Road, Middlesbrough, at about 19:00 BST. The men, aged 33 and 38, have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and attempted theft from a shop. Police said the woman's death is being treated as unexplained. Related Internet Links Cleveland Police Tesco

टेस्को स्टोर में एक महिला की बीमार पड़ने से मौत के बाद हत्या के संदेह में दो लोगों को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


Faroe and Iceland mackerel sanctions welcomed by Scottish fishing leaders

Summary: Scottish fishing leaders have welcomed European sanctions being agreed against the Faroe Islands and Iceland amid concerns over mackerel catches.

Scottish fishermen have been voicing concern since the two nations announced a sizeable quota increase. Mackerel is the most valuable stock for the Scottish fleet. A package of measures has now been agreed including restrictions of mackerel landings in EU ports. Ian Gatt, chief executive of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen's Association, said: "We have been calling for these sanction measures for a long time and we are delighted at this sanctions package."

स्कॉटिश मछली पकड़ने वाले नेताओं ने मैकेरल पकड़ने की चिंताओं के बीच फरो आइलैंड्स और आइसलैंड के खिलाफ यूरोपीय प्रतिबंधों पर सहमति का स्वागत किया है।


Cutting plastic pollution from bottle to bin and beyond

Summary: For the last few weeks I've been looking at the problems posed by plastic pollution. From the companies that make and use plastic bottles through to the people who pick up plastic litter on our canals. There have been huge steps forward in reducing and recycling plastic waste but all of us could be doing more.

David Gregory-KumarScience, Environment & Rural Affairs Correspondent Inspired by the BBC's Blue Planet II we set out to learn more about the problems posed by plastic. But first, if we're going to talk about plastic, we need to accept that sometimes plastic is a really useful material. As a director of a Midlands spring water firm said to me: "No one wants to take a glass bottle of water to the gym." At Wenlock Spring in Shropshire they produce about 20 million bottles of water every year in the shadow of Wenlock Edge itself - that actually makes them a smaller player in the Midlands bottled water firmament. They use both glass and plastic for their bottles but are focused on reducing the environmental impact of the plastic containers. First, it is worth saying the amount of plastic that goes into a bottle has been drastically reduced over the last few years. A typical 500ml bottle of Wenlock Spring used to contain 25g of plastic but thanks to new manufacturing techniques, they now use half that amount. But the company wants to move beyond that and use recycled plastic in the bottles themselves. 100% recycled plastic The aim is to use 50% recycled plastic, rising to 100% eventually. But it is not easy and indeed makes no sense from a financial point of view as the company says a bottle containing recycled plastic will actually cost them 20% more. There are aesthetic difficulties with using recycled plastic in this country too. The stream of plastic we collect for reuse is made of plastics of many colours and that can give a browish tinge to bottles that use it. However Wenlock Spring is hopeful a new process will give its bottles a blueish tinge with which it believes consumers will be happy. The company has also found it hard to source acceptable recycled plastic and only found one firm that could supply the right material it needs for the new bottles. The Norway way All of this shows up a bit of a problem with our plastics recycling. In theory, a clear polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottle could go round and round the recycling system pretty successfully, as happens in Norway. But in Norway there is a deposit-and-return scheme in place which controls the type of bottle right down to the glue used on the label. The end result is a 97% recycling rate and a very pure source of plastics. Here, of course, we use kerbside recycling and that produces a complex mix of plastics that makes it much harder to extract the right material for a company like Wenlock Spring and their new bottles. Although this switch to recycled plastic bottles will cost a company like Wenlock Spring in the short term, it hopes it will encourage others to follow its lead and increase demand for recycled plastic as a material. As demand increases, that should start to push costs down and perhaps even lead to us looking again at how we collect and recycle plastic in this country. Ironically, to tackle plastic pollution, one thing we could do as consumers is continue to buy products like bottled spring water - but make sure those bottles are made of recycled plastic. Meanwhile, here is the first of our Plastic Hacks - short films on Midlands people, companies and charities with ideas and products that can help reduce our plastic use.

पिछले कुछ हफ्तों से मैं प्लास्टिक प्रदूषण से उत्पन्न समस्याओं को देख रहा हूं। प्लास्टिक की बोतलें बनाने और उपयोग करने वाली कंपनियों से लेकर हमारी नहरों पर प्लास्टिक का कचरा उठाने वाले लोगों तक। प्लास्टिक कचरे को कम करने और पुनर्चक्रण करने में बहुत बड़े कदम उठाए गए हैं लेकिन हम सभी और अधिक कर सकते थे।


Call to end 'taboo' of talking about death

Summary: A charity is calling for a "national conversation" about dying, saying the topic has become "taboo" and a source of anxiety for many. The Sue Ryder charity says people should talk to their loved ones about their final wishes as well as making sure they look after themselves.

Emily Maybanks said she struggled to cope when her dad, Michael, died from lung cancer in 2012 at the age of 53. Emily, who was 17 at the time, said she became withdrawn and unhappy, in part because she didn't have anyone she felt she could talk to about her loss. She took up a place at Chichester University but ended up dropping out in her first year. "I had moved away from home and then I realised I couldn't cope. A lot of that was because I didn't let myself grieve properly at the time," she said. How to talk about dying? Sue Ryder says the prospect of dealing with loved ones at the end of their lives can be distressing and difficult to talk about. It is now calling for a greater dialogue around dying and death. Heidi Travis, chief executive of Sue Ryder, said: "Death is an inevitable part of all our lives, and yet in modern society we have become far more distanced from the first-hand reality of it. "It's really time to open up a national conversation on death and dying with greater education and dialogue." The charity has given these tips to help people cope when they have a loved one who is dying: 'I was afraid' After taking a year out - in which she volunteered in a charity shop and gained confidence - Emily started a new degree in languages, this time at Swansea University. However, she said it was her own cancer experience last year that really helped her to see the loss of her father differently. Aged 21, she became unwell and had an operation to have what she thought was an ovarian cyst removed but turned out to be cancer. "It taught me what my dad was going through. It gave me an appreciation for life and living in the moment." Now 23 and a couple of weeks away from the sixth anniversary of her father's death, Emily's cancer is in remission. She is in her final year at university and says she feels much more able to cope. Asked what advice she would give to someone else in a similar situation, she added: "Make the most of the time you have left. "One thing I was afraid of was actually going in to see my dad in the hospice because he wasn't really recognising people and that scared me. "But I think what I'd say to other people is obviously it's scary but don't let that put you off just sitting down and talking to them, even if they're out of it or asleep. "I think it's important to spend time with people you love."

एक चैरिटी ने मरने के बारे में "राष्ट्रीय बातचीत" का आह्वान करते हुए कहा कि यह विषय "वर्जित" हो गया है और कई लोगों के लिए चिंता का विषय बन गया है। सू राइडर चैरिटी का कहना है कि लोगों को अपनी अंतिम इच्छाओं के बारे में अपने प्रियजनों से बात करनी चाहिए और साथ ही यह भी सुनिश्चित करना चाहिए कि वे अपनी देखभाल करें।


Pride and Passion: Jane Austen novels the Brazilian way

Summary: It is Pride and Prejudice, but not as Jane Austen fans know it. Lydia Bennet leaves her groom at the altar, running out of the church in pursuit of Mr Wickham, the father of her unborn child.

By Matt SandyRio de Janeiro "Help!" shouts Mr Wickham, who was tricked into coming and did not know she was pregnant. "He came back to rescue me," Lydia exclaims to her mother, a little optimistically. "Let's get married and take care of our little boy together. It's going to be beautiful." Mrs Bennet, meanwhile, all but faints. The scene comes from the novela Orgulho e Paixão (Pride and Passion), which recently finished its six-month run on Brazil's Globo television network. The lavishly funded drama had several radical twists on five of Jane Austen's novels, introducing sex, violence and intrigue. "Taking inspiration from Jane Austen we created a new story with new characters," said artistic director Fred Mayrink. "A new universe that speaks clearly to a Brazilian novela audience." Similarities and disparities Indeed, the show ended up in dispute with regulators over explicit content in its 18:00 timeslot but it also won praise for the way it dealt with storylines about homosexuality and feminism. You may also be interested in: With 100 hours of airtime to fill, the soap opera blended the novels Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Lady Susan. Writer Marcos Bernstein said he wished he could have integrated a sixth novel, Persuasion, but could not find a way. Like Pride and Prejudice, the central Benedito family has five daughters whom the matriarch Ofélia is keen to see married to appropriate men. And similarly, the lead character, Elisabeta, is a free spirit ahead of her time who is capable of charming or alienating suitors. But then the disparities start. Only three of the daughters - Elisabeta, Jane and Lídia - are from that novel. The other two - Mariana and Cecília - are from Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey. Elisabeta's best friend is Ema Cavalcante, from the novel Emma. "The plot of Pride and Prejudice is great but not particularly complex," Mr Bernstein said. "Even a series adaptation takes up about eight hours. With the dynamic rhythm of a telenovela, things need to happen fast. If I had used only one book, it would have finished in three days." Instead of being set in the rarefied country houses of 19th-century England, Bernstein moved it forward 100 years to the era of wealthy coffee barons in the countryside of southern Brazil. "It allowed us to have these characters who are the children of rich families that don't work and go to lavish parties," he said. "At the time, female emancipation was already beginning." Deemed not suitable for children Pride and Passion has scenes to make the original Mrs Bennet raise her eyebrows. In one, Darcy's friend Camilo (Charles Bingley from Pride and Prejudice) signs up for a clandestine fight club. In another, his mother Julieta overcomes the trauma of having been raped by her husband by having a night of passion with her new fiance. Such scenes led the ministry of justice to reject it as unsuitable for anyone under the age of 12. There are also more subtle differences in the translation from the original English characters. Couples are seen kissing and touching each other, even bathing together in a waterfall. "It isn't possible to make the characters as reserved or as restrained. Our story takes place 100 years later," said Mr Bernstein. "It is more Downton Abbey than Jane Austen." But a major plotline, when Elisabeta faces internal conflict when she meets a rich and aristocratic man called Darcy, will be familiar to any Jane Austen fan. "We decided to try and introduce softer elements to his behaviour," said the actor Thiago Lacerda. "People immediately understood there was some rigidity but our Darcy was a more Brazilian Darcy." Pregnancy not a drama And the Brazilian Mrs Bennet is also more relaxed. Even when Lídia gets pregnant, "she sees it as something that will pass and as part of everyday life", says actress Vera Holtz. The show has also sought to push boundaries, in one scene featuring a precedent-setting gay kiss. In another, Elisabeta goes to a party dressed in trousers as a feminist statement. Fans of the Jane Austen Society, which has 4,000 members in Brazil, keenly anticipated the arrival of the novela. Its president, Adriana Sales, who recently completed her PhD titled Jane Austen and her Digital Fandom, said reaction among hardcore fans was strongly divided. "There were two separate groups, those who thought it was enjoyable and those who were very disappointed as they were hoping for a more faithful adaptation." But, she thought, "it was valid as it disseminated the author to a wide Brazilian audience." For the director Fred Mayrink, "It's beautiful to borrow cultural references from other countries and develop a story based on that literature. Jane Austen permeates the entire novela because she is present in its universe, its tone, and the day-to-day life of the characters." Additional reporting by Shanna Hanbury.

यह गर्व और पूर्वाग्रह है, लेकिन ऐसा नहीं है जैसा कि जेन ऑस्टेन के प्रशंसक इसे जानते हैं। लिडिया बेनेट अपने दूल्हे को वेदी पर छोड़ देती है, अपने अजन्मे बच्चे के पिता श्री विकम का पीछा करने के लिए चर्च से बाहर भागती है।


Florida shooting: Senators singled out over gun lobby funds

Summary: As the US reels over the latest shooting at a high school campus in Parkland, Florida - the 18th so far in 2018 - "thoughts and prayers" from public figures are not all being well received on social media.

By Sherie RyderBBC News Screenwriter Bess Kalb, who writes for Jimmy Kimmel Live, has been singling out senators who are tweeting their condolences by responding with the amount of money they have received from the National Rifle Association (NRA): When GOP chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tweeted that her heart was breaking for those affected, Ms Kalb's response that GOP candidates took more than $17m (£12m) from the NRA was retweeted more than 7,500 times and liked 11,000 times. The figures that Ms Kalb used are based on an article from the New York Times in October 2017 following the Las Vegas shooting. The paper produced a list of all the thoughts and prayers expressed by senators and the money they had received from the NRA during the year 2016-2017. In response to Florida's senator Marco Rubio's post that "Today is that terrible day you pray never comes" Ms Kalb wrote the figure $3.303,355. However, not everyone agreed with Ms Kalb. One response to her tweet was that the people donated to campaigns for politicians that vow to protect the second amendment. You might also be interested: After Congressman Ken Buck wrote how devastated he felt about the shooting, Ms Kalb simply posted "$800,544 from the NRA." Several hashtags have emerged on Twitter, including #NRABloodMoney, #ParklandShooting and #Florida. Whilst Jimmy Kimmel has not linked to Ms Kalb's comments, he tweeted his own message of sympathy, demanding "our leaders do something to stop this tomorrow. How many have to suffer before we stop looking the other way?". Gun control always provokes heated debate across the media. Radio host Wayne Dupree asked if news anchor Shephard Smith realised who was called to neutralise the shooter: "Men with guns, not pies, cakes and cookies". Ms Kalb has clearly used the entire list of senators from the New York Times article, tweeting them all with messages between two sisters, one of whom was caught up in the shootings:

जैसा कि अमेरिका पार्कलैंड, फ्लोरिडा में एक हाई स्कूल परिसर में नवीनतम शूटिंग पर रील्स करता है-2018 में अब तक की 18वीं-सार्वजनिक हस्तियों के "विचारों और प्रार्थनाओं" को सोशल मीडिया पर अच्छी तरह से प्राप्त नहीं किया जा रहा है।


The Piracy Code, episode 47

Summary: Today's news of the latest phase in the war against internet piracy takes me back to my O-Level history lessons. As we learned about the Schleswig Holstein question our teacher told us of the quote from Palmerston - only three people understood it, one was dead, another was mad, and he himself had forgotten what the question was.

Rory Cellan-JonesTechnology correspondent@BBCRoryCJon Twitter That's how I feel about the Digital Economy Act (DEA). The passage of this controversial law through Parliament in the dying hours of the last government was marked by fevered arguments. To copyright holders in the music, TV and software industries the legislation was a much needed protection against what they saw as the scourge of online piracy. To web freedom campaigners and Internet Service Providers it was an expensive and illiberal assault on consumer rights that would cripple the open internet. Two years on they've both been proved wrong because the law hasn't been put into effect. But today Ofcom has published the code which sets out how the letters to alleged copyright infringers - the key measure in the act - will be sent out. So now we will finally see who's right about the benefits/dangers of the legislation. Err, no - the first letters will not be sent until 2014 and there is still room for plenty of argument because we now get another consultation process on the code, after which it gets sent to the European Commission. Within a couple of hours of the code's publication, Consumer Focus was objecting to the £20 fee that consumers will have to pay to challenge accusations of copyright infringement. For its part, the Open Rights Group said Ofcom had been asked to put lipstick on a pig, and predicted that some people would end up in court having done nothing wrong. Amongst the most vociferous - and effective - critics of the DEA so far has been BT, which as an Internet Service Provider has been unhappy about what it saw as the act's assault on the freedom of its customers. Along with TalkTalk, BT mounted a judicial review of the legislation. That failed eventually, but it played a big part in delaying the law's implementation. Last week Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, criticised BT for its delaying tactics. He mused that its approach might change now that it had spent a huge sum on Premier League football rights which it might want to protect from online piracy. No word yet from BT on those new rules on the piracy letters - which will not arrive at households until after its new football service is launched. So, expect plenty more arguments before we finally discover whether the Digital Economy Act really has the potential to be as good for the creative industries or as bad for the consumer as the different lobbies claim. Meanwhile you could argue that the whole enterprise already looks obsolete. The copyright holders have found that existing laws enable them to take action against piracy sites, with court rulings forcing ISPs to block access to Newzbin and the Pirate Bay. And the focus seems to be switching from targeting consumers to going after the money - cutting off the funds to piracy sites which are becoming very big businesses. Later this week I'm expecting to see some interesting research on the business models behind these sites, which collect large sums from advertising and through legitimate payments systems. The government is beginning - extremely slowly - to contemplate legislation to cut those connections, in the form a Communications Act due by the end of this parliament. So by the time the Schleswig Holstein question of the Digital Economy Act is resolved, we may have another law to fight over. If we're not all mad or dead by then…

इंटरनेट पायरेसी के खिलाफ युद्ध के नवीनतम चरण की आज की खबर मुझे अपने ओ-लेवल इतिहास के सबक पर वापस ले जाती है। जैसे ही हमने श्लेसविग होल्स्टीन के सवाल के बारे में सीखा, हमारे शिक्षक ने हमें पामरस्टन के उद्धरण के बारे में बताया-केवल तीन लोग इसे समझते थे, एक मर गया था, दूसरा पागल था, और वह खुद भूल गया था कि सवाल क्या था।


How to win the private members' bill battle

Summary: A new Parliamentary year means a new set of private members' bills, and the ballot (more like a prize draw, really) which gives 20 MPs a chance to bring in a bill has been revealed.

Mark D'ArcyParliamentary correspondent What they're really winning is debating time - any MP can introduce a bill anytime they like. But the magic ingredient for success is the allocation of time for a second reading debate, the debate in which MPs are invited to approve a measure in principle and send it off for detailed scrutiny. In top place this time is Labour's Mike Amesbury, followed by Labour MPs Darren Jones and Anna McMorran. The highest place Conservative is newcomer Laura Trott, followed by another new Tory, Chris Loader, and Paula Barker from Labour's new intake. Seventh is a relative veteran, the former health minister, Philip Dunne. These top seven MPs are guaranteed a debate - they get the opening slot in one of seven sitting Fridays in the Commons, which will be reserved for second readings of private members' bills. Those further down the list can claim second place on the Order Paper for those days, but the sting in the tail is that, if the debate on the first bill rambles on too long, they may not be reached at all, and then they go to the back of the queue for priority… So a key problem for MPs later in the list is to gauge which bills ahead of them on a particular day might go long, and crowd them out of debating time. Remember that the preferred method of killing off private members bills is "talking out," using up the available debating time, by droning on interminably, and so preventing the bill being put to a vote. So if the top bill on the agenda is one that will attract the attentions of filibusterers, try to avoid being the next bill on that day's list; you won't get enough time to make progress. Some private members' bills are pretty uncontroversial - the Conservative Wendy Morton had a bill to ensure Great Ormond St Hospital continued to enjoy the royalties from JM Barrie's Peter Pan in perpetuity. Others will attract determined opposition - assisted dying, legalisation of cannabis or votes at 16. So the winning MPs will have to choose between safe subjects that will allow them to get a law onto the statute book, and controversial measures that will require solid support and tactical streetsmarts to succeed. Like folk in ancient times making a sacrifice to placate the dark powers, MPs with a bill that might attract opposition from those who regard most private members' bills as vexatious flabby nonsense are well advised to try and persuade those sceptics not to block their proposal. That might entail making concessions or simply explaining their case - but it is foolish not to try and defuse the likes of Conservatives Sir Christopher Chope and Philip Davies at an early stage. Otherwise they may need to persuade a hundred or more colleagues to make the supreme sacrifice of attending the Commons on a Friday, to vote through a "closure motion" which would force their bill to a vote on its second reading - and if won, get it past that dangerous first parliamentary hurdle. Plenty more obstacles will then lie in wait - a deluge of amendments when the bill returns from committee consideration, for its report stage, and then the vagaries of the Lords private members bill process. But most controversial private members' bills are killed off in their infancy, unless their promoters are very smart. Already the phones of the winning MPs in the latest ballot will be ringing incessantly. Pressure groups like Macmillan, the Taxpayers' Alliance and the homelessness charity St Mungo's are already contacting them to offer up their own reform proposals - suddenly they are very popular. It is completely up to the winning MP to decide what they want to do with this opportunity; but it is an important chance to win friends, impress influential people, and make a name for themselves, as well as a bit of actual law.

एक नए संसदीय वर्ष का अर्थ है निजी सदस्यों के बिलों का एक नया सेट, और बैलेट (वास्तव में एक पुरस्कार ड्रॉ की तरह) जो 20 सांसदों को एक बिल लाने का मौका देता है, का खुलासा किया गया है।


How do you solve a problem like Operation Stack?

Summary: With cross-Channel disruption set to continue through the summer as French ferry workers strike, calls are mounting for solutions to be found to the traffic gridlock that hits Kent as a result - but how do you solve a problem like Operation Stack?

By Tanya GuptaBBC News Operation Stack is the name given to a queuing system where lorries waiting to cross the Channel park on closed sections of the M20. Last week, it reached unprecedented levels when Stack was extended to phase four for the first time in its history - residents nearby reported "absolute bedlam". Queues of 4,600 lorries stretched back 30 miles, the daily cost to the UK economy was estimated at £250m, and emergency teams handed out more than 18,000 bottles of water to truckers stranded during a heatwave. It followed strike action in France by MyFerryLink workers who closed the Port of Calais. And Stack was again brought in days later after about 150 migrants tried to storm the Channel Tunnel in a bid to board UK-bound freight trains. But problems are not only caused by strikes and migrants - Stack is also a regular occurrence during winter months when storms and high winds hit the Channel and disrupt sailings. For years, there have been calls to find an alternative solution, amid complaints about the impact of traffic disruption on Kent's businesses and residents - from commuters and traders to parents on the school run. So how do you solve a problem like Operation Stack? 'Super ferry port needed' Firstly, not everyone believes Stack is a problem. Pat Fleming, from Galway City, west Ireland, a driver who waited for 26 hours to cross the Channel, said it was part of his job and just "one of those things". He said Operation Stack worked as long as it was properly policed and added: "It's not a big issue. It doesn't happen that often. The last time was during bad weather in February." Alan Overton, from Grimsby, who waited on the M20 for 33 hours to cross to France said he believed there was no way of preventing Stack, unless operations were completely moved from Dover to a "super ferry port" that could hold 6,000 vehicles and was built away from towns. Both drivers agreed facilities provided during Stack could be better. Out of the two, only Mr Overton ran out of supplies and needed the fruit and water handed out by emergency teams - but both drivers said the toilet facilities - portable loos put up at intervals along the closed motorway - were "absolutely disgusting". Kent 'shut for days' Matt Clarke, manager at Castledene Transport which has a fleet of lorries in Aylesford, said his fleet was left unable to access the M20, and the firm needed to use the motorway 24 hours a day. He said the media focus on the Calais strikes meant no-one noticed Kent was "shut for days". Stack hit the headlines last week because of the French strikes and migrant activity, but Kent dealt with the problem more often than anyone thought, he added. Calling for a lorry park to "take the sting out of Stack", he asked asked how hard it was to "build a field and put some concrete on it". Suggestions on how to cope with cross-Channel disruption have come from hauliers, ferry operators, politicians and residents. Ferry operator P&O called on the British and French authorities to keep Calais open. And in the case of the migrants, the UK and France agreed to increase funds to improve security at the port and tunnel. The UK's Road Haulage Association called for the military to be deployed to break up the French strike. Chief executive Richard Burnett said the "time for talking" had passed. And Dan Cook, operations director of Europa Worldwide Group, a transport, distribution and logistics firm, said the fundamental problem was there was no sign of active policing in Calais. Dover MP Charlie Elphicke said the problems underlined the need to consider expanding the port at Dunkirk, 45 miles from Calais. Meanwhile, Kent residents in Hollingbourne village, close by the M20, said people should have the right to sue French strikers in European courts for delays, inconveniences and wasted goods. Resident Chris Childs reported seeing 40 lorries drive through the village in 15 minutes to avoid the queues. He also said the journey time from Tonbridge to Hollingbourne - normally a 35-minute drive of 22 miles - increased to nearly two hours. 'More strikes likely' Helen Whately, MP for Faversham and mid-Kent, described the impact on her constituents as "incredibly inconvenient". She said: "People taking their children to school have long delays, and people getting to work - commuters - it's a nightmare. And it really seriously affects businesses." Calling for alternatives to Stack, she added: "We know there are going to be more strikes likely during the summer and ongoing." She said short-term solutions needed to include better communications about delays to haulage companies so drivers could potentially postpone their journeys, and she said pressure must be placed on the French government to ensure as many routes as possible were kept running. But she also backed plans for lorry parks to be provided. Plans have already been put forward for a 3,300-space lorry park - although the size of the scheme has been criticised with calls for a smaller facility that would take up to a thousand vehicles. A report by Kent County Council in conjunction with Kent Police and Highways England is to be published soon, she said. The Port of Dover has said last week's events will have shattered any illusion their operation is a quaint little port doing ferry trips for holidaymakers and booze cruisers. But the port has also warned a very busy summer is rapidly approaching - and ferry companies have highlighted their concerns that routes stay open as the holiday season gets under way.

फ्रांसीसी नौका श्रमिकों की हड़ताल के रूप में गर्मियों के दौरान क्रॉस-चैनल व्यवधान जारी रहने के साथ, केंट से टकराने वाले ट्रैफिक ग्रिडलक के समाधान के लिए कॉल बढ़ रहे हैं-लेकिन आप ऑपरेशन स्टैक जैसी समस्या को कैसे हल करते हैं?


Humberside Police deputy chief 'selfie' job post filled

Summary: The successful applicant for a senior police role that called for candidates to send a "selfie" with their CV has published the picture he submitted.

Humberside Police advertised the £117,078-a-year post on its website. Garry Forsyth, currently Assistant Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, provided a close-up self portrait Mr Forsyth, who is expected to start his new role as deputy chief constable in the summer, said he was "delighted". Humberside Police Chief Constable Justine Curran said Mr Forsyth was a "motivated and driven individual" who would help to oversee "significant changes" within the force. The force was criticised over its advert for the role, with one marketing expert saying the bid to fill a senior position should not have been publicised in such a way. But Ms Curran said it was "vital candidates embraced new technology".

एक वरिष्ठ पुलिस भूमिका के लिए सफल आवेदक जिसने उम्मीदवारों को अपने सीवी के साथ एक "सेल्फी" भेजने के लिए कहा था, ने अपनी प्रस्तुत की गई तस्वीर प्रकाशित कर दी है।


Cosplay: It's effort, not bare skin, that matters most

Summary: Arriving at the Hyatt Century City Plaza hotel, or rather the massive tent that had been erected just outside it, all that could be heard was the tell-tale thump-thump-thump of the biggest viral hit the internet has ever known - Gangnam Style.

By Dave LeeTechnology reporter, BBC News Inside the venue, row after row of empty seats which had been laid out to line a catwalk and small stage. Empty because right there, on the catwalk, was the strangest mix of dancers you're ever likely to see - Super Mario. Wonder Woman, The Doctor and dozens more. All up there. Gangnam Styling. Thump-thump-thump. It was the climactic point of LA Cosplay Con, the first of what the organisers hope will be an annual gathering of "cosplayers" - people who dress up like characters from, mostly, video games and comics. Los Angeles is a fitting place to hold an event like this, as it was in this city where the term cosplay - a portmanteau of costume and play - was apparently coined back in the 80s. It's a hobby known to some as one of those typically eccentric Japanese pastimes that "normal" people just can't fathom, but in reality, its popularity is sweeping the world. For one day in sunny California, a slice of that diversity had come together. "This is basically where a bunch of kids, who never outgrew the dressing-up phase of our lives, now spend a lot more time and money than we probably should into these costumes," explained Kevin, who'd come as a cosplay classic, Super Mario - a get-up slightly spoiled, if we're to be picky, by his thick beard - he'd opted not to shave into Mario's trademark 'tache. So close. "It's about embodying the character that you love so dearly," he said, through the beard. "This is a chance to come and see other people who do the same thing and not be judged - in fact, you get praised." Praised indeed. As part of the event, prizes were given out for the best costumes. The winner this year was a man who had come dressed as Black Panther. To be clear, that's Black Panther from Marvel Comics - not to be confused with the Black Panther movement of the 1960s and 70s. On its website, Marvel Comics explained that Black Panther - widely regarded as the first mainstream black comic-book hero - is a "brilliant tactician, strategist, scientist, tracker and a master of all forms of unarmed combat whose unique hybrid fighting style incorporates acrobatics and aspects of animal mimicry". Impressive. Here, Black Panther is being ably represented by Shawn - a bus driver. "In the future I can see cosplay becoming really big," he said. "It will be something you see a lot more - people enjoying themselves like this." It's hard to disagree when surrounded by people of the same mind as Shawn. To an outsider, cosplaying sits at the very edge of the nerd spectrum, the most public display of geekiness imaginable. But here, it does look fun. Less fun, at least some of the people here would argue, was what was happening just down the road during that very same week: E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo. It's the Western world's biggest video games show. And while there are lots of dressed-up people at E3, the two groups could not be more different. "The booth babes," said Shawn, who has been to E3, but doesn't make a habit of it. "Some of them may be really interested in the character they dress up as... but my experience is that they're there just to get paid. "The big difference is the heart. The heart you get into that character versus someone who is just there getting paid. "It takes a lot of heart, a lot of courage." The criticism of booth babes - on these pages and elsewhere - is that it's an exercise in skin-flashing to pull in businessmen. If the quality of a product doesn't sell it, maybe the tightness of the hotpants will. But it isn't the bare flesh that cosplayers disapprove of, according to Becky Young, one of the organisers of LA Cosplay Con, and a prolific and well-known cosplayer (if you're into that sort of thing). "A lot of people criticise the tiny clothes in our culture as well," she said, while dressed as Osgood, a character who has appeared in just one episode of Doctor Who. "That's because the artists make characters that don't have many clothes," she reasoned. So what's the difference? "There's a little more artistry and passion in cosplay which is kind of what makes it so exciting. The people here make their clothing from scratch, or they go out and modify clothing that's out there." For a competition that is, in one form or other, about looks - the atmosphere is overwhelmingly welcoming. These are nice people, keen to demonstrate to an outsider that cosplaying is a hobby worth having, but that no, "baffled British journalist" was not a passable cosplay attempt. It goes beyond dressing up. The people here feel their community - cosplayers and gamers - sometimes come in for the wrong kind of attention. It's not just the perception of cosplayers, they argued, but gamers as a whole. Blaming violent games for mass shootings is a safer political bet, one attendee suggested, than blaming US gun laws. "They had a time when they targeted film, then they targeted music, now it's video games," said Heather Ellertson, LA Cosplay Con's organiser, and vice-president of the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA), Her group was set up to represent what they say are the rights of gamers - principally, a right to not be misunderstood and used as a scapegoat. "We wanted to give our members, this group, an opportunity to have their voice heard." And it's a voice worth hearing, because despite the fierce weaponry on show here - a home-made axe, for instance - you'd be hard-pushed to find an event in this city that came close to being as welcoming and inclusive as this. So Gangnam on, fearless cosplayers. Gangnam on. Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

हयात सेंचुरी सिटी प्लाजा होटल, या इसके ठीक बाहर बनाए गए विशाल तम्बू में पहुंचने पर, जो कुछ भी सुना जा सकता था, वह था इंटरनेट पर अब तक के सबसे बड़े वायरल हिट-गंगनम स्टाइल की कहानी-थम्प-थम्प-थम्प।


Veterans' long battle for nuclear tests' compensation

Summary: The Court of Appeal's decision to deny ex-servicemen compensation for the injuries they say they suffered during Cold War nuclear tests more than 50 years ago, is a setback for the thousands who were watching the test cases anxiously.

More than 1,000 ex-servicemen say their lives were destroyed after the UK carried out a series of nuclear weapons tests in mainland Australia, the Montebello islands off the west Australian coast and on Christmas Island, in the Pacific, between 1952 and 1958. The six nuclear tests were carried out against a backdrop of decolonisation and the growing threat of the , with the UK desperate to establish and show herself as a nuclear power. White, brilliant light Veterans who served in the Army, Royal Navy and Air Force - as well as personnel from New Zealand and Fiji - were all exposed to radiation. Last year Dougie Hern, from Spalding, Lincs, told the BBC that he was just a 21-year-old naval cook when he was caught up in an explosion. "We saw a bright, brilliant light," he recalled. "It was as if someone had switched a firebar on in your head. It grew brighter and you could see the bones in your hands, like pink X-rays, in front of your closed eyes." He said after the mushroom cloud had exploded, those on the islands were told to dust themselves down and return to work. But Mr Hern, now 73, believes radiation exposure on that day and four others is the cause of his diabetes, the spurs growing on his sternum and the death of his 13-year-old daughter from cancer. He was among those at the London court on Monday whose cases were rejected. Radiation exposure The veterans have been battling for recompense and a recognition of their claim that their poor health was caused by radiation exposure. Other chronic health problems reported by the veterans include cancers, skin defects and fertility problems. But the MoD has always denied their claims of negligence. The Court of Appeal, which on Monday said it had seen no evidence to show the tests were the only causes of the men's illnesses, referred to previous cases. Lady Justice Smith told the court that in 1985 war veteran Melvyn Pearce won a significant victory in the House of Lords when it was established the MoD could not rely on Crown immunity to stop it from being sued. But he was forced to abandon his claim as his advisers realised they could not prove radiation exposure was the root cause of his cancer - this, she said, was a warning that causation was a difficult and important issue to address. Twice as many cancers In 1998, research from Durham University suggested that one in three servicemen died from bone cancers or leukaemia linked to the atomic and hydrogen bomb tests. It was widely reported that Sue Rabbit-Roff, a researcher at Durham University, had contacted 2,500 veterans in Britain and New Zealand and established that twice as many of them were suffering from multiple myeloma, a radiogenic cancer, than had been admitted by successive British governments. Veterans bringing their case in the UK were also buoyed by the way similar cases have been dealt with elsewhere. The US has awarded compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to veterans, including at least one Briton, involved in nuclear testing in the 1960s. Roy Prescott, of Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, was given £40,000 in 2006. Last month, the US government gave Pat Spackman $75,000 (£47,000) compensation after her husband, former RAF navigator Derek, died from throat cancer. He was stationed in Darwin in 1954 and was sent on missions to test radioactivity following US nuclear tests around the Marshall Islands. The MoD had refused to give Mrs Spackman a war widow's pension. In France last year, the government agreed to compensate those who contracted illnesses attributed to the country's nuclear tests in the Sahara and French Polynesia between 1960 and 1996. But British veterans Ken McGinley from Renfrewshire and Edward Egan from Glasgow were twice defeated when they applied to the European Court of Human Rights to find out if the government of the day had violated their human rights. However, in June last year, the High Court gave the current group of veterans the right to sue the Ministry of Defence. In his judgement, Mr Justice Foskett said all the veterans were "entitled to a day in court". He did acknowledge, though, that many of those who could have provided witness statements for the MoD about the planning and execution of the tests had either died or were untraceable. This time the appeal judges said the nine test cases were launched outside the legal time limit and so stopped them from proceeding. But the latest judgement is far from the end of the matter. The Court of Appeal judges have agreed that the case of one veteran - the late Bert Sinfield - could proceed to trial, while the the others are expected to try to take their case to the Supreme Court.

50 साल से अधिक समय पहले शीत युद्ध के परमाणु परीक्षणों के दौरान पूर्व सैनिकों को लगी चोटों के लिए मुआवजे से इनकार करने का अपील न्यायालय का निर्णय उन हजारों लोगों के लिए एक झटका है जो परीक्षण मामलों को उत्सुकता से देख रहे थे।


Neurons to inspire future computers

Summary: The way neurons communicate could inspire the next generation of computers.

Researchers are developing novel computers by mimicking the way that neurons are built and how they talk to each other. Basing computers around neurons could lead to improvements in visual and audio processing on computers. It might mean that computers learn to see or to hear in the future rather than just rely on sensors. As well as building computers, the researchers are also helping to improve understanding of nerve cells and how they operate. Smarter seeing While artificial neural networks have been around for more than 50 years they typically do not copy real neurons very closely. By contrast the project being co-ordinated by computer scientist Dr Thomas Wennekers from the University of Plymouth wants to model specific physiological features of the way that neurons in one part of the brain communicate. "We want to learn from biology to build future computers," said Dr Wennekers. "The brain is much more complex than the neural networks that have been implemented so far." The early work of the project has been collecting data about neurons and how they are connected in one part of the brain. The researchers are focussing on the laminar microcircuitry of the neocortex which is involved in higher brain functions such as seeing and hearing. The data gathered has fed highly detailed simulations of groups of nerve cells as well as microcircuits of neurons that are spread across larger scale structures such as the visual cortex. "We build pretty detailed models of the visual cortex and study specific properties of the microcircuits," he said. "We're working out which aspects are crucial for certain functional properties like object or word recognition." There are hopes that the work will produce more than just improved sensory networks, said Dr Wennekers. "It might lead to smart components that are intelligent," he said. "They may have added cognitive components such as memory and decision making." They might even, said Dr Wennekers, start to be endowed with emotion. "We'll be computing in a completely different way," he said. Big brain While Dr Wennekers and his team are working largely with software simulations, Professor Steve Furber from Manchester is using the inspiration from neurons to produce novel hardware. Called Spinnaker, Prof Furber's project is trying to create a computer specifically optimised to run like biology does. Based around Arm chips, the Spinnaker system simulates in hardware the workings of relatively large numbers of neurons. "We've got models of biological spiking neurons," said Prof Furber. "Neurons whose only communication with the rest of the world is that they go ping. When it goes ping it lobs a packet into a small computer network." Spinnaker uses Arm processors each one of which runs about 1,000 neuron models. The current system uses an eight processor system but, said Prof Furber, the team is in the final stages of designing the chip with 18 Arm processors on board, 16 of which will model neurons. The ultimate goal, he said, was a system that controlled one billion neurons on a million ARM processors. "The primary objective is just to understand what's happening in the biology," said Prof Furber. "Our understanding of processing in the brain is extremely thin." The hope is also that the simulation leads to innovative computer processing systems and insights into the way that lots of computational elements can be hooked up to each other. "The computer industry is faced with no future other than parallel," said Prof Furber. Despite this, he said, industry understanding of how to get the most out of all those computational elements was lacking. The big problem, he said, was how to run the system without being swamped by the management overhead of co-ordinating those processors. Spinnaker might show a way to overcome some of these problems as the individual elements will be far smaller than the monolithic processors in use now and will, to an extent, to self-organise. They will also offer advantages in that they are likely to use a lot less power than existing machines. "We think there's a change in the game there," said Prof Furber.

जिस तरह से न्यूरॉन्स संवाद करते हैं, वह कंप्यूटर की अगली पीढ़ी को प्रेरित कर सकता है।