Ethiopia's Ambo city: 'From freedom to repression under Abiy Ahmed'

Summary: Under Ethiopian Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed, the city of Ambo has turned from being a symbol of freedom into a symbol of repression, as the security forces try to curb the growth of ethnically inspired rebel and opposition groups that threaten his "coming together" vision.

By Bekele AtomaBBC Afaan Oromoo Ambo, which has a large student population because of its university, was at the centre of mass protests that saw Mr Abiy rise to power in April 2018 with a promise to end decades of authoritarian rule in a nation with more than 100 million people belonging to at least 80 ethnic groups. Most of Ambo's residents are Oromos - and the protests were largely driven by anger that despite being Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, they were marginalised from political and economic power, with no Oromo ever serving as prime minister. Acknowledging Ambo's role in bringing about change during a visit to the city within days of becoming the first Oromo to hold the prime minister's post, Mr Abiy said: "Ambo is where we are going to build the statue of our liberty, our New York." At a fund-raising event in February 2019, the prime minister sold his watch for 5m birr (about $155,000, £120,000) to kick-start development in the city. It was a further indication of the huge political significance he attached to Ambo, traditionally regarded as a stronghold of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a former rebel group which laid down arms following peace talks with Mr Abiy. But a year later, there are few signs of development in Ambo, which is about 100km (60 miles) west of the capital Addis Ababa. Instead, residents are once again complaining of a return of police brutality, with young men being randomly beaten up or detained as they go about their daily lives. 'I was lucky' I witnessed some of this during a visit to Ambo. In one instance about six policemen forced two young men to kneel in front of pedestrians, before kicking them and hitting them with sticks. In another instance, two young men were forcibly taken to a police station. Their elbows were tied behind their backs. One of them pleaded, in vain, with the officers to untie him. No-one dared to intervene for fear that the police would assault them too. The policemen were from the regional force - and their numbers were swelled last Sunday when hundreds more graduated, raising fears that the crackdown will intensify ahead of the general election slated for August. That is the first time that Mr Abiy will face the voters since the ruling coalition chose him as prime minister to order to quell the nationwide protests. I also saw policemen walking around Ambo with scissors, giving haircuts on the spot to young men whom they perceive to have long hair or afros. They considered my hair to be an afro but I was lucky - they let me off with a warning to chop it off myself, which I did not do as I was going to leave Ambo in two days' time. 'I was unable to access the internet' Police just assume that men with such looks are troublemakers and supporters of rebel leader Kumsa Diriba, who they see as a major threat to western Oromia's stability and Mr Abiy's vision of forcing a new sense of national unity, known as "coming together" . Having spurned Mr Abiy's peace overtures in 2018, Mr Kumsa, who is also known as Jaal Maro, is continuing to push for the "liberation" of Oromia from his forest hideout in the remote west. He split from the OLF, the biggest Oromo rebel group, after it decided to turn into a political party, taking with him an unspecified number of fighters under his command. The government suspects that Mr Kumsa's rebels have infiltrated Ambo, and were responsible for the bomb blast at a pro-Abiy rally held last month to show that the prime minister still commands significant support in the city. The rebels, via their supporters and anonymous accounts, have also been slowly gaining a profile on social media in an attempt to raise discontent against the government, especially through the circulation of the names of victims of alleged brutality by the security forces. The government's attempt to keep a lid on dissent has led to frequent internet shutdowns in much of western Oromia since January, and in some areas people cannot even make or receive phone calls. This is despite the fact that Mr Abiy has promised to liberalise the telecom sector and end the monopoly of state-owned Ethio Telecom. Read more about Ethiopia: In an interview with BBC Afaan Oromoo, the deputy chief of staff of Ethiopia's Defence Force, Gen Berhanu Jula, hinted that the shutdowns were linked to military operations to dismantle camps under Mr Kumsa's control, while a senior official of Mr Abiy's newly formed Prosperity Party (PP), Taye Dendea, denied that innocent people were victims of the security force operation. "The government has no reason to target civilians, we care about our people more than anyone else," Mr Taye told BBC Afaan Oromoo. In Ambo, I was unable to access the internet over my mobile phone throughout my three-week stay. On the two occasions I went to an internet cafe, it had poor broadband connection and I had to wait for a long time before I could check my emails and social media accounts. Residents suspect that apart from government concerns about the rebels, the shutdowns are intended to limit political campaigning and starve young people of news ahead of the general election. Residents point out that Jawar Mohammed - who is probably the most prominent and controversial Ethiopian social media activist - is now also making life difficult for the prime minister. When exiled in the US, Mr Jawar used Facebook effectively to get Oromos on to the streets to rise against the former government. Having returned to Ethiopia after Mr Abiy took power, he briefly became a supporter of the prime minister but is now a fierce opponent. Nobel laureate booed Mr Jawar put out a video on Facebook soon after Mr Abiy was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October, accusing the government of trying to remove his guards from his home in Addis Ababa as part of a ploy to orchestrate an attack on him. Despite government denials of any such plan, Mr Jawar's supporters staged protests against Mr Abiy in parts of Oromia - in one instance, burning copies of the prime minister's newly published book, which outlines his "coming together" vision. When Mr Abiy subsequently visited Ambo for a meeting with selected guests in a hotel, pro-Jawar youths staged a protest and booed the prime minister, who had been awarded the Nobel prize for his "decisive initiative" to end the border conflict with Eritrea, and for the "important reforms" he had initiated in Ethiopia with a pledge to "strengthen democracy". Bornto a Muslim father and a Christian mother on 15 August 1976 Joinedthe armed struggle against the Marxist Derg regime in 1990 Served as a UN peacekeeper in Rwanda in 1995 Enteredpolitics in 2010 Becameprime minister in 2018 Wonthe Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 Mr Jawar has joined the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), which has formed an alliance with the OLF and the Oromo National Party (ONP) to contest the election on what is expected to be a strong ethno-nationalist ticket. In Oromia, it is likely to pose the biggest electoral challenge to Mr Abiy's PP, which was launched in December after a merger of eight of the nine regional parties which make up Ethiopia's ruling coalition. Mr Abiy hopes that the PP will foster national unity and keep ethnic nationalism in check. But he has taken a huge risk as the mass protests that propelled him to power were not just about political freedom - but also about the right of each group to express their ethnic identities more freely and to have greater autonomy for their regions. So, as far as ethno-nationalists in Ambo and elsewhere in Oromia are concerned, Mr Abiy has sold out. Worrying for the Nobel laureate, Defence Minister Lemma Megersa, a fellow Oromo with political clout, also expressed doubts about the PP's formation in November, though party officials say he and Mr Abiy have been ironing out their differences since then. "The merger is not right and timely, as we are in transition, we are on borrowed time. Dissolving the regional party to which the public entrusted their demands is betraying them," Mr Lemma said at the time. For Mr Abiy's supporters, he offers the best hope of getting Ethiopia's myriad ethnic groups to work together, and avoid the country's disintegration. They are confident that he will demonstrate his popularity by leading the PP to victory in the election, though its legitimacy is bound to be questioned if the crackdown in Ambo continues. You may also want to watch:

इथियोपियाई प्रधान मंत्री और नोबेल शांति पुरस्कार विजेता अबी अहमद के तहत, अम्बो शहर स्वतंत्रता के प्रतीक से दमन के प्रतीक में बदल गया है, क्योंकि सुरक्षा बल जातीय रूप से प्रेरित विद्रोही और विपक्षी समूहों के विकास को रोकने की कोशिश करते हैं जो उनकी "एक साथ आने" की दृष्टि के लिए खतरा हैं।


Detroit: From American dream to American nightmare

Summary: Three months ago, Detroit became the largest city to file for bankruptcy in US history. The trial to determine whether a city of Detroit's size can stop paying its bills will have huge potential repercussions for cities and states across the country.

By Kim GittlesonBBC News, Detroit Perhaps no-one is awaiting the trial's outcome as much as Erma and Gordon MacDonald, who have been married for 63 years. "I'm smarter than her," jokes Mr MacDonald, 87. "Only a stupid person would agree to marry me." A jester at heart, Mr MacDonald says people always ask him why he laughs so much. Mrs MacDonald, 82, has an easy answer: "It's so we don't cry." In their tiny one-bedroom flat decorated with photos of their children and grandchildren, the MacDonalds grow silent. They contemplate a future in which the pension that Mr MacDonald earned over 39 years with the Detroit Police disappears - a potential casualty of Detroit's bankruptcy filing. "I don't know what else to say - we're up in the air," Mr MacDonald says. He worries more about his wife, who is in poor health, than about himself. "I take 15 prescriptions," says Mrs MacDonald, "and I kind of jokingly said if they take [my healthcare] away, which pills do I stop without dying?" 'American nightmare' While it might seem unfathomable that the MacDonalds could face such a choice, the reality is that if Detroit's bankruptcy filing is allowed to proceed, the city will face extremely difficult decisions. Kevyn Orr, the emergency manager brought in to run the city by the state of Michigan, argues there is no way forward for Detroit other than through the fresh financial start that bankruptcy brings. The city is anywhere from $18bn (£11bn) to $20bn in debt - with $9bn a result of ballooning pension and healthcare costs. It has already cut basic services to the bone, pushing more residents to flee. The city's population now stands at 700,000, down from two million at Detroit's peak. Wait times for emergency calls now top one hour, and less than a third of the streetlights function. More than 80,000 properties have been abandoned. Nature, it seems, moves faster than federal court. Despite all the hardship, those representing the city's pension schemes say a bankruptcy filing would allow the city to renege on promises made long ago. They dispute Mr Orr's calculations, and say it's unfair that the 23,500 retirees who spent their lives working to keep Detroit safe and clean could be left with nothing. "They're taking away the American dream and turning it into the American nightmare," says Donald Hall, who spent 29 years as a detention centre officer and now depends on the $850 he receives from the city every month. All eyes on Detroit There's no question that Detroit is unique among US cities, to fly so high and fall so far, to build landmarks like the majestic Michigan Central Station that less than a hundred years later have the aura of Roman ruins. So then what impact, if any, could a successful bankruptcy filing have on other cities? "On the one hand, Detroit is in an unusual position because it has had massive depopulation coupled with a collapse of the industrial sector," says University of Michigan law professor John Pottow, an expert in bankruptcy law. "On the other hand, Detroit was not alone in making legal commitments to people which it had no funding for." According to a study by economists at Northwestern University, cities and counties across the US have a total of $574bn in unfunded pension obligations. Already, cities such as Providence, Rhode Island, and San Diego, California, have shown signs they are crumbling under the weight of the financial promises made to retirees. "If Detroit is able to file for bankruptcy, then every other big city is going to be watching this," says Prof Pottow. Can it be fixed? James Canty is a lifelong Detroit resident and manager of the city's parking department. I followed him on his daily rounds as he tried to rid the city of some of the thousands of abandoned cars that line its streets. The job was once done by the police. Now, Mr Canty's team has taken on the role of enforcer in an attempt to free up overworked officers. In neighbourhoods where it's hard to tell which, if any, of the houses are occupied, Mr Canty points to a white Chevrolet sedan with shattered windows here, a pick-up truck missing a wheel there. Frequently, as soon as a tow truck arrives to remove the offending vehicle, the vehicle's owner suddenly appears, as if by magic. The excuses are often similar - what looks like a derelict car is in fact in the process of being mended. It's not hard to see Detroit's financial position in the same way as these dented and decrepit cars - they may or may not be broken, depending on who is looking at them. Is it better to clear the way for something new - or to be forced to fix what only appears beyond repair?

तीन महीने पहले, डेट्रॉइट अमेरिकी इतिहास में दिवालियापन के लिए आवेदन करने वाला सबसे बड़ा शहर बन गया। यह निर्धारित करने के लिए परीक्षण कि क्या डेट्रॉइट के आकार का शहर अपने बिलों का भुगतान करना बंद कर सकता है, देश भर के शहरों और राज्यों के लिए भारी संभावित परिणाम होगा।


Can mobile phone networks cope with the Olympics?

Summary: Finally, the day has come. After years of planning and building and a very sizeable investment, we will now find out whether it's been worthwhile. I'm talking, of course about the UK's mobile phone networks which will come under huge strain as the Olympics get underway.

Rory Cellan-JonesTechnology correspondent@BBCRoryCJon Twitter As the opening ceremony starts at 21:00 BST, thousands of people at the Olympic Park and millions across the UK will be texting, tweeting and uploading photos at an unprecedented rate. Some years back, the regulator Ofcom expressed concern as to whether the networks would buckle under pressure. But, thanks to an unusual degree of co-operation between the big mobile operators and BT - the communications partner for London 2012 - they seem sure that they can meet the challenge. Ofcom's Ed Richards has recently expressed confidence that the networks have got their act together. At the Olympic Park in Stratford, 30 extra phone masts have been installed to be shared between the operators, so that the spectators, athletes and organisers should all be able to use smartphones at once. But the hope is that many will use the wi-fi zones installed by BT. It's described as the largest single wi-fi installation ever in the UK, capable of handling more users than any other project before. BT says it is expecting peak traffic on the park of 1.7Gbps - the equivalent of 100 pictures a second from an iPhone 4S. Then there's the wider challenge of making sure there is enough mobile and fixed broadband capacity across London and the rest of the UK, as people at home react to what is happening, sharing texts, social media updates and pictures. The co-ordinating group bringing BT and the mobile operators together is run by Stuart Newstead. I caught up with him and asked if he was confident that all would go according to plan. He told me that while there would of course be many thousands of people all trying to use the networks from the opening ceremony, he felt that the traffic across the capital and the rest of the UK would not be unmanageable. "I'm pretty confident it will be like a regular busy day - something like the Royal Wedding last year." He thought a bigger challenge might come later in the Games. "Think of next Friday, when the athletics start, when the rowing and the cycling and the swimming are still underway, and people are communicating from all sorts of venues at once." But he remained calmly confident. "We're as prepared as we can be." One man who will be watching very carefully is David Cleevely, a veteran of the telecoms industry who is running an interesting research project. His company Cambridge Radio Frequency Services has installed monitoring equipment at a number of houses across the London area, mine included, to see what happens to the mobile networks over a six-month period. He thinks there will be some difficulties in getting texts and pictures out of the Olympic Park on Friday night, but we should not be too dismayed. "It already happens at any major sporting event where you get thousands of people online at the same time. The networks won't go down - you just have to accept that occasionally you'll have difficulties connecting with your mobile phone." The wider question many will ask, though, is that if the networks do manage to provide decent coverage at the Olympics, why can't they do it the rest of the time? Preliminary results from the mast Mr Cleevely has attached to my home suggest that at least one mobile network is virtually useless indoors. With Ofcom making it a condition of the 4G auction that indoor coverage is available to 98% of the population by 2017, there will have to be plenty of investment in new masts once the Olympics are over.

आखिरकार, वह दिन आ गया है। वर्षों की योजना और निर्माण और एक बहुत बड़े निवेश के बाद, अब हम यह पता लगाएंगे कि क्या यह सार्थक रहा है। मैं बात कर रहा हूं, निश्चित रूप से ब्रिटेन के मोबाइल फोन नेटवर्क के बारे में जो ओलंपिक शुरू होने पर भारी दबाव में आ जाएंगे।


Smoke alert delays Channel Tunnel services

Summary: Cross-Channel rail services were hit by delays after smoke was seen coming from a maintenance train.

The Channel Tunnel was closed for about 45 minutes at about 05:30 BST. Eurotunnel said checks were carried out but the smoke had come from engineering equipment and not a fire. Eurostar said "two or three" services were slightly delayed but operations were now running normally. Eurotunnel also said there were residual delays but services were back to normal.

एक रखरखाव ट्रेन से धुआं आते देखने के बाद क्रॉस-चैनल रेल सेवाओं में देरी हुई।


Do cycle cameras make the roads any safer?

Summary: A foul-mouthed verbal assault by a motorist on the BBC's Jeremy Vine as he rode his bicycle was captured on camera. The video is the latest to be posted on social media by a cyclist, but what difference does such footage make to road safety?

By Claire BatesBBC News Magazine Jeremy Vine was cycling home down a narrow road last Friday when he was tailgated by an impatient driver who jumped out of her car, shouted at him and appeared to kick his bike. Later she threatened to "knock [Vine] out" and warned: "I could be done for murder." Like many other cyclists who've experienced similar treatment, Vine had filmed the incident and posted footage on Facebook, as well as passing it on to police. Cycle cameras were first sold as accessories for recreational riders to allow them to edit and create films of their journeys. One of the first was the GoPro video camera, which launched in 2006. But it soon became apparent they were useful for recording collisions. Cyclists began posting near-misses and other dangerous driving on video-sharing websites like YouTube. The roads can be dangerous places for cyclists, who are particularly vulnerable to injury. In 2014, 21,287 cyclists were injured in reported road accidents, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). This included 3,514 who were killed or seriously injured. There aren't any statistics showing if helmet cameras have made the roads any safer for cyclists. However, motoring journalist Quentin Willson thinks the more cameras - including dashboard cameras in cars - there are on the roads the better, because they are more likely to deter bad behaviour. "I think cars should have dashcams and cyclist should have headcams. If drivers and cyclists are driving properly, then neither should have a problem with being filmed," he says. Conventional methods enforcing road safety aren't working, Willson says. He'd like to see insurance companies offering discounts to drivers with dashboard cameras to help tackle problems caused by a "motoring underclass" of bad and often uninsured drivers: "They may be angry being filmed but anything that brings them to book is good, I think." Footage of road rage attacks on cyclists has a habit of going viral. A driver caught on camera verbally abusing a cyclist in south London last year suffered a torrent of abuse online after the footage was shared on social media. But there are concerns that as well as inflaming confrontations, such footage may also be fuelling a motorist vs cyclist mentality. In 2014, The Daily Telegraph's Andrew Critchlow warned that "self-appointed digital road vigilantes" were doing more harm than good. Comment boards under road rage videos often descend into a war of words between motorist and cyclists, each accusing the other of unsafe road use. Facebook comments under Jeremy Vine's video are also mixed. Michael Hutchinson, former Commonwealth Games cyclist and columnist for Cycling Weekly, is sceptical about the effectiveness of cycle and dashboard cameras. "I don't think, day-to-day, it makes a difference to safety on the roads. I think cameras aren't that common at the moment and so people who are reacting on the roads, like in the Jeremy Vine case, probably don't stop to consider if they are being filmed before taking action," Hutchinson says. "In these incidents I suspect the perpetrators aren't rationally thinking their behaviour through." Hutchinson does think that they can play an important part after a road rage attack has taken place, however: "One problem cyclists often have is when they report an incident to police, they are told 'prove it', and helmet camera provides some evidence. It also helps with insurance providers if it's one person's word against another." Today, both helmetcam and dashcam footage are increasingly used as evidence in both civil and criminal courts, according to personal injury solicitors Claims Action. They play the same role as CCTV footage. According to the company's website, in order to admit a video recording from a helmet camera as evidence, it must be downloaded onto a CD and be accompanied by a certificate countersigned by a solicitor stating that it has not been altered. However, while road rage incidents may generate clicks and shares, this kind of assault doesn't appear to be the biggest danger facing cyclists. According to RoSPA figures for 2013, "failing to look properly" was the highest known contributory factor to an accident involving at least one cyclist and another vehicle. Their records showed that one third of the 9,375 incidents were caused by cyclists while two thirds were caused by drivers of other vehicles. And while the presence of a camera might conceivably make a motorist think twice about launching a road rage attack, it's less clear whether it will encourage drivers and cyclists alike to pay attention to the road. Follow @BBCNewsMagazine on Twitter and on Facebook

साइकिल चलाते समय बी. बी. सी. के जेरेमी वाइन पर एक मोटर चालक द्वारा अभद्र भाषा में हमला कैमरे में कैद हो गया था। यह वीडियो एक साइकिल चालक द्वारा सोशल मीडिया पर पोस्ट किया जाने वाला नवीनतम वीडियो है, लेकिन इस तरह के फुटेज से सड़क सुरक्षा में क्या अंतर पड़ता है?


Conservative MP's researcher charged with sex assault

Summary: A political researcher for a Conservative MP is due to stand trial for an alleged sexual assault on a woman at the Houses of Parliament.

Callum Warren, 26, of Lilliput Court, Chipping Sodbury, is charged with assaulting a female in the Norman Shaw North building in Westminster in July. He worked as a researcher for Kingswood MP Chris Skidmore. Mr Warren appeared before Westminster magistrates on Thursday and is due at Southwark Crown Court on 24 January. He has been released on bail and was ordered not to contact the alleged victim.

एक रूढ़िवादी सांसद के लिए एक राजनीतिक शोधकर्ता पर संसद के सदनों में एक महिला पर कथित यौन उत्पीड़न के लिए मुकदमा चलाया जाना है।


Leicestershire and Rutland: Ask us your questions

Summary: Have you got a question about Leicestershire or Rutland?

Is there something you have seen or heard that you would like us to investigate? It could be a burning issue, or something you have always wondered about. Use the tool below to send us your question. We could be in touch and your question could make the news. Your contact info Please don't publish my name I am over 16 years old I accept the Terms of Service

क्या आपके पास लीसेस्टरशायर या रटलैंड के बारे में कोई सवाल है?


Lufthansa pushed into loss by BMI

Summary: Lufthansa has announced an annual loss of 13m euros ($17m; £11m), as a result of losses and disposal costs at its British Midland International (BMI) subsidiary.

The net loss for 2011 compares with a profit of 1.1bn euros a year earlier. Lufthansa agreed in December to sell BMI to International Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways, but the deal still needs regulatory approval. BMI cost Lufthansa 285m euros in losses and disposal fees in 2011. Lufthansa's annual revenues rose 8% to 28.7bn euros.

लुफ्थांसा ने अपनी ब्रिटिश मिडलैंड इंटरनेशनल (बीएमआई) सहायक कंपनी में नुकसान और निपटान लागत के परिणामस्वरूप 13 मिलियन यूरो (17 मिलियन डॉलर; 11 मिलियन पाउंड) के वार्षिक नुकसान की घोषणा की है।


Primary school league tables: Lowest results

Summary: In these schools one in five, or fewer, of the pupils assessed in reading, writing and maths achieved the results the government says they need to thrive in secondary school. This is known as good Level 4.

English primary school tables Compare schools in your area on Department for Education website Our table shows the schools with lowest results first. In schools marked * the Department for Education says results were annulled due to maladministration during the test process. These results only cover schools in England. Worst performing schools Good level 4 % of pupils achieving Level 4B or higher in reading and maths tests and Level 4+ in writing This year's data for England's primary schools is available on the Department for Education's website, along with a guide to the terms used.

इन विद्यालयों में पढ़ने, लिखने और गणित में मूल्यांकन किए गए छात्रों में से पाँच में से एक या उससे कम ने वे परिणाम प्राप्त किए जो सरकार कहती है कि उन्हें माध्यमिक विद्यालय में फलने-फूलने की आवश्यकता है। इसे अच्छे स्तर 4 के रूप में जाना जाता है।


Spurn Point: Stricken cargo ship rescued after power loss

Summary: A cargo ship lost power and drifted during rough weather off the East Yorkshire coast, sparking a rescue mission.

The Thea II vessel got into difficulty three nautical miles east of Spurn Point at 15:00 GMT on Saturday after a power outage, the coastguard said. The rescue team tried to use a tow line to help move the stricken ship but both Thea II and a tug boat ran aground. At 01:30 the ship was refloated and moved to deeper waters. The Thea II had 11 crew on board. South-easterly winds of 52 knots (60mph) were recorded on Saturday night in the area.

एक मालवाहक जहाज ने बिजली खो दी और पूर्वी यॉर्कशायर तट पर खराब मौसम के दौरान बह गया, जिससे एक बचाव अभियान शुरू हो गया।


London's dirty air: How bad is it?

Summary: The cold, calm weather of the past few days has seen London and the South East experience very high levels of air pollution. Emissions from cars and wood burning stoves have seen levels of particulate matter soar to their highest concentrations since 2011.

By Matt McGrathEnvironment correspondent We look at how scientists assess the scale of dirty air across the UK and the long term trends. And just how dangerous is the air that we breathe? How do you measure air pollution? There are air quality monitors dotted all across the UK - The major, government-run national network is called the Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN). Under the control of the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (Defra) it consists of 133 stations that automatically monitor a wide variety of pollution measures. Local authorities also run networks of monitoring stations across the UK. In the capital, a key monitoring and forecasting network which works alongside local councils is London Air, run by King's College London. The scientists at King's monitor pollution from over 100 measuring stations, in parks, back gardens and alongside major roads. Observers believe that when it comes to the more accurate forecasting of conditions in London, the King's network is more "on the spot" than the national system. "If you look at the forecast that Defra put out for Tuesday, they were only expecting a few patches of moderate level pollution across the country," said Andrea Lee, from Client Earth, which has brought a number of court cases on the question of air pollution. "This morning that had been revised and upped to 'high', but they are not picking up the very high levels that are being measured in London and in places like Norwich." The government air quality forecasts are produced by the Met Office, using a 1km x 1km grid system that some experts argue doesn't give you the spatial accuracy that's needed. Those who run the King's College network believe the differences come from the fact that many of their monitoring stations are focused on problem areas such as big roads. "The forecasts are done from different perspectives," said Dr Gary Fuller from King's College London. "The Met Office air pollution is forecasting air pollution very much in the way it forecasts the weather, it is intensely model-based. We are coming from the opposite end with less use of modelling and much more use of measurement." How does the UK rank when it comes to air pollution? The current air pollution episode in London and the South East differs from the norm in the sense that the pollution mainly consists of high levels of particulate matter (PM). These tiny particles are coming from traffic and the burning of wood, while the windless weather means they have concentrated at high levels in several parts of the city. While this is a short term problem that occurs in many other cities, where London and the UK fall down more often is on the question of nitrogen dioxide, (NO2), produced mainly by diesel cars. In fact, so great are concentrations of NO2 in London that by January 5, Brixton had already exceeded the EU permitted amount for the whole year. The UK has one of the highest rates of deaths linked to NO2, according to research from the European Environment Agency published last year. The reason the UK is consistently in trouble on NO2 is because the government and the EU adopted the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the safe level of exposure. Some argue these should be further tightened - and the WHO is starting to review the guidelines. When it came to particulate matter, the government didn't accept the WHO guidance, and set higher levels which the UK consistently comes in under. But there is concern that many health problems linked to exposure to particulate matter may well be missed since the UK is consistently below EU levels. "We literally took the WHO evidence for NO2 and hence we have huge compliance problems," said Dr Fuller. "But we didn't take them for PM2.5 and PM10. Even though we are meeting legal limits for these pollutants, they are causing a huge health burden - an estimated 29,000 early deaths each year in the UK. This illustrates the fact that our standards are relaxed compared to [those of the] WHO." Comparisons to other countries are difficult to make. Western European countries are more likely to have air pollution that comes from cars, while in Eastern Europe and other regions, the pollution comes from the use of different fuels. "People see images from China and India and say our pollution is nothing like that," said Andrea Lee from Client Earth. "But the problem is that they are suffering from coal pollution which is very bad but very visible. The most you could probably notice is a bit of brown tinge over London, otherwise it's so hard to see that most people are unaware of the harm that's being caused." How much of a role does the weather play in air pollution? Experts believe that the UK's location on the western fringe of Europe is a major asset when it comes to eliminating air pollution, especially with particulate matter. "We do better on PM than many of the other European cities," said Dr Fuller. "We sit on the edge and normally the winds blow off the Atlantic so when it comes to the fresh air we are first in line, but when the air gets to Poland it's passed over many kilometres of pollution sources." The absence of a breeze has made the current episode much worse but those in the field believe that focusing too much on the weather obscures the real problem. Huge progress has been made in eliminating many air pollutants over the past 30 years. But efforts to limit and reduce NO2 have proved increasingly difficult. "If you look at NO2, we set limits in 1999 to be met by 2010. Here we are in 2017 with levels in places [that are] two or three times the legal limit," said Dr Fuller. "It's not really a success story." Others say there is little doubt as to the cause of this persistent problem. It has been caused by the decision to encourage the purchase of diesel cars to reduce emissions of CO2 taken back in 2001. "The fact that it has happened here in the UK is a serious indictment of the UK government," said Dr Jo Barnes from the University of the West of England. "The fact is that we really haven't taken air pollution as seriously as necessary to do something about it. There's more pressure on the government now, but whether they are actually doing anything is another matter." Follow Matt on Twitter and on Facebook

पिछले कुछ दिनों के ठंडे, शांत मौसम ने लंदन और दक्षिण पूर्व को वायु प्रदूषण के बहुत उच्च स्तर का अनुभव करते देखा है। कारों और लकड़ी के जलते चूल्हे से उत्सर्जन में कणों के स्तर को 2011 के बाद से अपने उच्चतम सांद्रता तक बढ़ते देखा गया है।


The transgender acid attack survivor running for parliament

Summary: Forced to leave home when she was only 13, physically and sexually abused by relatives, and later attacked with acid by her former boyfriend, Nayyab Ali's life as a transgender woman in Pakistan has been turbulent.

By Zulfiqar Ali & Victoria BissetBBC News But now, the university graduate is one of four transgender candidates standing in Pakistan's general election next week. "I realised that without political power and without being part of the country's institutions, you cannot gain your rights," she told the BBC. More people from the community are contesting than ever before, in what has proven to be a significant period for transgender rights in Pakistan. 'Leading in the region' Shunned and ridiculed by Pakistan's largely conservative society, the transgender community, also known as hijra or khawaja sira, has long been the subject of widespread discrimination and struggled to access basic services such as education, employment and healthcare. During the Mughal empire, eunuchs served as singers, dancers and even advisers in the royal courts. However, when the British colonised India, they vigorously sought to criminalise the transgender community, whom they considered to be deviants, and denied them basic civil rights. But Pakistan is now "leading in the region" in terms of transgender rights, according to Uzma Yaqoob, founder and executive director of transgender rights group, the Forum for Dignity Initiative. Pakistan became one of the first countries to legally recognise a third sex on its national ID cards almost a decade ago and extended this to its passports last year, an option which is still not available to transgender and non-binary people in many Western nations. In May, Pakistan passed new legislation guaranteeing basic rights for its estimated 500,000 transgender citizens - including intersex people, transvestites and eunuchs - and banning discrimination against them. The community is also becoming increasingly visible in public life, with a private TV station hiring its first transgender news anchor in March and a transgender actress making her cinematic debut alongside Pakistan's top film stars last month. 'These days they just kill us' However, violence and prejudice against transgender people in Pakistan has continued. Transgender men, on the one hand, are barely visible in the public sphere as a result of the social and cultural expectations of those who are assigned female at birth. Transgender women, meanwhile, are marginalised by society from an early age and are often forced to dance, beg or engage in prostitution to make a living, leaving them vulnerable to harassment, physical abuse and rape. Many seek safety with gurus - leaders of small, scattered transgender communities - who give them food and shelter in return for their service and contribution to the group. "When you leave home, the transgender groups are the only place you feel safe," explains Maria Khan, who ran away after being bullied by her siblings and neighbours at the age of 10. "There no one mocks you, beats you or calls you names, because everyone is like you." But many within the community believe that the threats against them are growing. "Transgender people are being murdered now. There used to be incidents of beating and acid attacks and we were spared, but these days they just kill us," Nayyab says. According to local activists, almost 60 transgender women have been killed over the past three years in the highly conservative north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the Pakistani Taliban maintained a presence until relatively recently. One of these women was Alisha, a 23-year-old activist who was shot multiple times by a local gang in 2016. She died without receiving medical treatment after hospital workers spent hours unable to decide whether to admit her to a male or female ward. 'Murdered by their own family' Maria, from the city of Mansehra, understands these dangers better than most. She is standing as an independent candidate for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly and says that hate crimes, or so-called honour killings, are the biggest threat to the local transgender community. "Our own family hires people to murder us," she explains. "I barely survived an assassination attempt when shots were fired at my house in Mansehra. There are still bullet holes all over my front door." But Maria, who recently graduated from Hazara University, says the local community's response to her decision to run has been overwhelmingly positive, with many donating to her largely self-funded campaign. She believes that previous politicians "did nothing for the people" and says her first step if elected will be to address a months-long water shortage that has affected her city. 'A game for rich men' Being able to run is one thing - but winning is something else entirely, as Nadeem Kashish knows. She is standing against the two frontrunners in the race to become Pakistan's next prime minister: cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and the prime minister in the outgoing government, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Her constituency in the capital Islamabad is one of the most important in Pakistan and is home to the parliament, the Supreme Court and many of the city's most affluent areas. A transgender rights activist and former makeup artist, Nadeem now hosts her own radio programme on the issues facing her community. She says that despite the recent legislation, "no political party in Pakistan wants to work on transgender rights, we are not in their agenda. This is the reason I want to run for parliament. "I don't have a lot of money to spend on banners, flags, transport and other traditional campaigning resources, like these big politicians. I am spreading my message through my radio programme." Politicians in Pakistan spend huge amounts on their election campaigns, despite the restrictions placed on candidates by the electoral commission. "Everyone knows it's a game for rich men," says Nadeem. "I didn't even have the money to file my nomination papers." Pakistan's Election Commission charges 30,000 rupees (£185; $245) for those running for a seat in parliament and 20,000 rupees for those standing for provincial assemblies. According to reports, at least eight transgender candidates were forced to withdraw their candidacy due to a lack of funds. But Nadeem is determined to challenge traditional Pakistani politics. "This is our time. Only with the participation of transgender people is Pakistan's democratic process complete."

जब वह केवल 13 साल की थी, तब घर छोड़ने के लिए मजबूर किया गया, रिश्तेदारों द्वारा शारीरिक और यौन शोषण किया गया, और बाद में अपने पूर्व प्रेमी द्वारा तेजाब से हमला किया गया, पाकिस्तान में एक ट्रांसजेंडर महिला के रूप में नायब अली का जीवन अशांत रहा है।


Shooting Fashion Week: Catwalk and celebrity

Summary: Gareth Cattermole, chief entertainment photographer for Getty Images, talks about photographing London Fashion Week - one of the world's premier showcases for new fashion - from the front row of the catwalk to the backstage and beyond over the past sixteen years.

During Fashion Week we expect the usual front row celebrities, stylists, editors and influencers. Season to season it doesn't really change and we are always on the lookout for interesting characters. On this particular day it was of the animal variety. He caught my attention sitting casually front row during the Jean Muir show (2005), patiently watching each model walk past. Trying to create distinctive and interesting imagery is a real challenge during Fashion Week because the schedules are so tight that you are often running from show to show. You push yourself to look for something that most people don't see as they are focusing on the straightforward fashion photography - the clothing and the models. Playing with shadows allows for an interesting angle during the shows like this image from J Maskrey in September 2003. Each season it is important to look for new ways to tell the Fashion Week story and show people different angles and perspectives of what goes on. I use a multitude of techniques to produce creative imagery during the shows, showing something other than straight up and down catwalk fashion. Here I have used multiple exposure and twisted the camera while it shoots to create a rotating model and lighting scene during the Jasper Conran show in 2013. Sometimes you can take for granted how lucky you are to have a front row seat for some of the best fashion shows around the world, which most people are only able to watch online or on social media. As the years have gone on and technology progresses, it is interesting to see how guests engage and view the actual event. Over time this has evolved, and we see a shift from editors frantically scribbling in notebooks on the front row to viewing the show through their smart phones. I love to look for these moments while the catwalk is happening, again looking for that different angle or moment not often witnessed. The finales are an important aspect of the show; while ensuring we get every look and model, we also need to ensure we have great coverage of the finales. This is the culmination of all the hard work of the designers, models and the show itself. This image from 2007 - taken during the finale of the Jasper Conran show - I really love. Jasper Conran is one of my favourite designers and I captured him embracing one of my favourite models, Lily Cole. I love the colours and the moment caught in between the red confetti as it falls through the air. Something one of my favourite photographers Bill Cunningham once said was that "…the best fashion show is definitely on the street." So, during London Fashion Week I love to spend a lot of my time outside the shows, shooting what goes on before and after each show as the guests mingle. To me it is the people and faces out on the street that I find most fascinating. For this shot I turned to my love of portraiture to document these moments outside Somerset House in 2014. Backstage before a show is an extremely busy and stressful time for the designers as they make the finishing touches to the looks, ensuring the models' hair and make-up is complete. The buzz is electrifying and it is the perfect place to produce some interesting angles. Here a model is reflected in a make-up artists' mirror moments before the Huishan Zhang show in February 2019. Often backstage I try to keep out of sight as much as possible, blending in so I can capture more quiet, unobserved moments in the madness. A big part of Fashion Week is the celebrity guests who are invited to the shows and quite a few make an appearance at the very last minute, right before the show is about to start. Most of the time you have absolutely no idea who will turn up, so it is important to keep one eye on the door and one on the start of the show. Here Kanye West makes an appearance at the House of Holland show in 2009. One of my favourite designers is Vivienne Westwood - the spectacle, the passion and the aesthetics all make for an amazing show to shoot. She is extremely welcoming to photographers backstage, so we can roam around and capture the buzz. I captured her in this quiet moment in 2009 sitting down relaxing, eating her lunch, just before her show surrounded by her creations. All photographs by Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images for the British Fashion Council.

गैरेथ कैटरमोल, गेटी इमेजेज के मुख्य मनोरंजन फोटोग्राफर, लंदन फैशन वीक की तस्वीरें लेने के बारे में बात करते हैं-जो पिछले सोलह वर्षों में कैटवॉक की अगली पंक्ति से लेकर मंच के पीछे और उससे आगे तक नए फैशन के लिए दुनिया के प्रमुख प्रदर्शनों में से एक है।


Donald Trump flies into Aberdeen amid latest moves over wind farm plans

Summary: Donald Trump has flown into Aberdeen, as Scottish Natural Heritage became the latest organisation to drop opposition to plans for an 11-turbine wind farm off the US billionaire's golf course.

The £230m project is a joint venture by Vattenfall, Technip and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (Areg). SNH lifted its objection subject to a number of conditions. Mr Trump claims the turbines would spoil the sea views for golfers on his course at Menie. The Ministry of Defence (MoD), National Air Traffic Services (Nats), Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and RSPB Scotland had also voiced concerns about the project. However, it was announced on Tuesday that they had dropped their opposition after agreeing conditions with the developers.

डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प ने एबरडीन में उड़ान भरी है, क्योंकि स्कॉटिश नेचुरल हेरिटेज अमेरिकी अरबपति के गोल्फ कोर्स से 11-टर्बाइन पवन फार्म की योजनाओं का विरोध करने वाला नवीनतम संगठन बन गया है।


Will beef undo Narendra Modi's chances in Bihar election?

Summary: Voting has begun in the final stage of polling in the northern Indian state of Bihar. The contest has seen incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar pitted against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But while Mr Modi has talked up development during campaigning, the lynching of a Muslim man in northern India on suspicion that he ate beef and a number of related incidents may harm the prime minister's party, writes BBC Hindi's Nitin Srivastava.

"Narendra Modi won in 2014 because he spoke only of development, but now his party and ministers try and defend killers of people eating beef in India. This won't work in Bihar," says Radhe Shyam. We are at an election rally for Mr Modi, who has been the star campaigner for his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bihar. The BJP has never been able to win an outright majority in the state and Mr Modi is trying his best to change that. He has addressed at least 30 public meetings there in two months. The BJP is hoping for a repeat of its performance in the 2014 general elections, where a wave of support for Mr Modi saw the party decimate the opposition across the country, including in Bihar. Many believe that the BJP was in a strong position to win this election even as recently as three months ago. Modi's silence But a growing controversy, especially in the north of India where a Muslim man was lynched on suspicion that he consumed beef appears to have endangered the BJP's chances here. "Forget zero support from Muslims, even Hindus here are progressive and don't want to be preached to on whether to have beef or whether to observe Valentines Day," Rajeev Kumar, a technocrat, told the BBC. This fact has also been seized upon by Nitish Kumar, a savvy politician. Mr Kumar, along with his ally Laloo Prasad Yadav, has frequently questioned Mr Modi's silence on the lynching and accused the BJP of trying to consolidate the majority Hindu votes. "Mr Modi's prolonged silence on the beef killing has baffled many people. He tried to clarify on the beef issue during an election rally in Bihar, but his party members thrashed a Muslim politician in Kashmir that same day. This shows that there is a clear difference in what's being practiced and preached," senior journalist Nalin Verma said. Analyst Sanjay Sinha says that "the more the beef killing incident has been condemned, the more it has influenced voter sentiment". In spite of the beef issue, Mr Modi's public meetings in Bihar have been well attended with thousands arriving well in advance and waiting for hours just to catch a glimpse of the prime minister. But even here, not everyone is a supporter. One man looks cynically at the hoardings, posters and the stage. "Why is Narendra Modi always flying in and out of Bihar? Doesn't he have an entire country to run?"

उत्तर भारतीय राज्य बिहार में मतदान के अंतिम चरण में मतदान शुरू हो गया है। चुनाव में निवर्तमान मुख्यमंत्री नितीश कुमार को प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी के खिलाफ खड़ा होते देखा गया है। लेकिन जहां श्री मोदी ने चुनाव प्रचार के दौरान विकास की बात की है, वहीं उत्तर भारत में एक मुस्लिम व्यक्ति की गोमांस खाने के संदेह में पीट-पीटकर हत्या और कई संबंधित घटनाएं प्रधानमंत्री की पार्टी को नुकसान पहुंचा सकती हैं, बीबीसी हिंदी के नितिन श्रीवास्तव लिखते हैं।


2019 Australia election: The weird, wild politics of Queensland

Summary: Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison made a last-minute dash to north Queensland on Friday to back local candidates in key electorates. The outcome in Queensland could be decided in a handful of marginal seats, where voter dissatisfaction and a crop of minor parties - some with extreme views - could disrupt the established order, writes Tim McDonald.

Between frames at a crowded bowling alley at Ayr in north Queensland, Peter Whelan says he's "sick" of the two major parties. "One, they're just feathering their own nests. And two, they've been backstabbing each other," he says of the current government, adding that Labor are "going to rip us off like you wouldn't believe". He picks up a ball and bowls a lousy frame, then declares that talking about politics put him off his game. It's a neat summation of the electoral landscape in north Queensland, where voters are frustrated and the election seems an unwelcome intrusion into the real business of making a living. A very tight race Yet Queensland is hotly contested electoral turf. Of the 30 seats in this state, 12 are held by a small and very losable majority - eight of them are on margins of less than 2%. North Queensland is so important that Mr Morrison swung through its major centres, Townsville and Cairns, on the last day of the campaign. When asked why he had chosen it for an election-eve blitz, Mr Morrison said: "It says that I take nothing for granted anywhere in the country." It was hardly his first visit to the region: Townsville was also the final stop in a much-publicised week-long bus tour by Mr Morrison last year. Dubbed the "ScoMo Express", the tour drew ridicule and many saw it as simply a populist stunt - especially when it emerged that Mr Morrison had travelled part-way by plane. But it did reinforce the importance of a state that was perceived as key to the government's decision to dump Malcolm Turnbull, a moderate, from office last year - triggering a complex series of events that ultimately installed Mr Morrison. Opposition leader Bill Shorten, too, visited Townsville earlier in the campaign and went jogging with retired rugby league star Johnathan Thurston. Enter the colourful politicians So the weird, wild and disaffected politics of Queensland could tip the balance in Saturday's election. In Dawson, where Peter Whelan votes, the margin is 3.4%. The sitting government MP George Christensen has been the subject of negative headlines over the amount of time he has spent overseas in Manila with his Filipina fiancée. Nearby is the seat Herbert, which Labor claimed by just 37 votes in 2016. Further south, Capricornia and Flynn are both held narrowly by the government. In Brisbane, Labor has its eyes on five marginal government seats - including Dickson, held by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton. "Labor has not always polled well in Queensland, so if the government's going to change, they need to do well here," said Prof Anne Tiernan, a politics expert at Griffith University. A recent study by polling group Ipsos found that fewer than 41% of Australians are satisfied with the way democracy works in the country, down from 86% in 2007. The intervening years have seen a rotating cast of prime ministers, often torn down internally, and a dual citizenship crisis which made 15 sitting MPs suddenly ineligible for office. As confidence in the two major parties has eroded, minor parties and independents have smelled opportunity. Pauline Hanson, a longstanding critic of immigration and multiculturalism, is running for the Senate and her One Nation party is running candidates for the lower house across the state. She's flanked further to the right by Senator Fraser Anning's National Conservative Party. Mr Anning has called for a return to a "European Christian" Australia and even blamed the Christchurch massacre on New Zealand's immigration programme. Added to the mix is Clive Palmer, a businessman who rather self-consciously mimics Donald Trump with the slogan "Make Australia Great". He's spending millions of dollars on advertising, with gaudy yellow billboards hovering over highways across Queensland. The colourful Bob Katter is running a number of candidates though the Katter's Australia Party, promising to put "Australia's interests first". A city-rural divide In Australia's typically left-leaning inner cities, voters tend to look at the right in smaller towns with bewilderment. In an urban park in inner Brisbane, Henry Ladd - out walking his dogs - sees it as "a real race to the bottom in some of these electorates". "It's on a spectrum of climate change denialism to full-on racism on the right. It's kind of scary." But there are certainly many people who hold anti-immigration views in Queensland, like Robyn Warhurst, who lives 1330km up the coast in Townsville and expects to vote One Nation. "The most important thing I think is to stop immigration, and start looking after our own people. You know - pensioners, schools, hospitals. Put the money to that first." Environmentally-minded city-dwellers are also troubled by the view that mining - for decades a key industry for the state - is the best solution for unemployment. "Rather than training people to go to a mining course, why don't you train them for solar electric? Why don't we shift to renewables in Queensland? We've got an abundance of sun," said Mr Ladd. But in places like Townsville many people think the city folks don't get it. Unemployment there is around 8% (compared with about 5% nationally), and many locals say the problem is too urgent to pass up a mining project while they wait for another industry to create jobs. Jobs Vs the environment? Steve Malcolm, a building consultant, scoffs at suggestions that there's any alternative to mining to boost the local economy. "They say, 'we're going to produce jobs with tourism.' Well the fact is, that just doesn't happen." He has a sign hanging over his fence supporting Adani, an Indian company that's establishing one of Australia's largest thermal coal mines in Queensland. It's a A$2bn ($1.3bn; £1bn) project. Adani's economics expert told the Queensland Land Court the mine would generate 1,464 jobs in Australia, with most of them in Queensland. Critics worry about its contribution to global warming, as well as possible local environmental impacts. They're also concerned that a green light for Adani could mean a number of neighbouring mining projects also get approval. The support for Adani is strongest closest to the mine site, but it's unpopular elsewhere. So all parties face a choice about who they please and who they upset on this key question. A pro-coal agenda might win votes in the north at the expense of votes in Brisbane and vice-versa. The government has positioned itself as pro-coal, which it hopes will shore up its vote in north Queensland. Labor, being conscious of the city vote, has been more circumspect, insisting it will honour existing approvals. Still, various Labor candidates have expressed different views. The right-leaning minor parties, who favour the project, inject additional complexity into the major parties' well-laid strategies. Many voters in north Queensland seem in a foul mood with the entire political class, resulting in protest votes, or "donkey votes" - a term that means simply voting for candidates in the order they appear on the ballot paper. "I think I speak for a few people when I say a lot of people are disenchanted with what's going on in Australian politics," said Townsville resident Aaron Green. Mr Morrison will be hoping that his last-minute sandbagging will be enough to hold up his support, and potentially, the fate of his government.

ऑस्ट्रेलिया के प्रधान मंत्री स्कॉट मॉरिसन ने शुक्रवार को प्रमुख निर्वाचन क्षेत्रों में स्थानीय उम्मीदवारों का समर्थन करने के लिए अंतिम समय में उत्तरी क्वींसलैंड की यात्रा की। क्वींसलैंड में परिणाम कुछ मामूली सीटों पर तय किया जा सकता है, जहां मतदाताओं का असंतोष और छोटे दलों की फसल-कुछ चरम विचारों वाले-स्थापित व्यवस्था को बाधित कर सकते हैं, टिम मैकडॉनल्ड्स लिखते हैं।


Bloodhound Diary: It's going to get toasty

Summary: A British team is developing a car that will be capable of reaching 1,000mph (1,610km/h). Powered by a rocket bolted to a Eurofighter-Typhoon jet engine, the vehicle aims to show its potential by going progressively faster, year after year. In mid-2019, Bloodhound wants to run above 500mph. In late 2019, the goal is to raise the existing world land speed record (763mph; 1,228km/h) to 800mph. And in 2020, the intention is to exceed 1,000mph. The racing will take place on Hakskeen Pan in Northern Cape, South Africa.

By Andy GreenWorld Land Speed Record Holder As the UK continues to turn brown and curl up at the edges, we're having a busy summer of (very hot) public events across the country. Not surprisingly, a lot of people have been asking about how the Bloodhound supersonic car will cope with the heat. While it's tempting to say "don't worry about it, deserts in Africa are not this hot", heat management is a big part of running a 1,000mph car, so it's a fair question. During the summer, the Kalahari desert hits 40+ C, triggering thunderstorms and making December to April the rainy season on the Pan. By contrast, the winters are cool (night-time temperatures can drop to freezing) and dry, so winter is the preferred time for us to run the world's fastest car. The cold weather will help to keep everything cool, including the team, but when the car starts to run then equipment (and people!) will warm up pretty quickly. The first bit of the car that will see heat is the nose. The air friction caused by a run to 1,000mph could heat the nose cone up to over 130C. The tip of the nose cone is 3D-printed in titanium, so this is fine. The rest of the nose is carbon fibre, which is basically reinforced plastic, so high temperatures are more of a problem. The carbon fibre bodywork will also be subject to around 138,000 Newtons/square metre of aerodynamic load, which is the same load as two fully grown elephants sitting on the nose. Heating it up to 130+ C would soften the carbon fibre, which is trying to support those two elephants. This might initially seem like an issue. Fortunately, the car is only supersonic for a few seconds, so we shouldn't see temperatures anywhere near this high. Just behind the nose is the front wheel bay, containing a pair of 95kg aluminium desert wheels spinning at over 10,000rpm. During our wheel spin test (completed Rolls-Royce's jet engine spin test rig), we measured the wheel stresses and temperatures at the equivalent of over 1,000mph. The loads were comfortably within limits, but the air friction for the three-minute test heated the wheel up to over 95C. For a Bloodhound record run, the time at high speed will be much shorter, but the friction levels on the desert surface will be much higher. As a result, we don't know exactly what temperature the wheel rims will reach during a run. Even less certain is how hot they will be after the two runs within one hour, which is the requirement to set a Land Speed record. Hence, we'll be watching the wheel temperatures closely during testing. The Timkin high-speed wheel bearings are less of a problem. They are more than strong enough to cope and will sit in a bath of lubricating oil, which will help to keep them cool. Given that wheel bearings are safety-critical, there is also plenty of redundancy. Our engineers have put three bearings into each wheel hub, further reducing the loads (and hence temperatures) that each wheel bearing is likely to see. Behind the front wheels sits the cockpit, a sealed carbon-fibre box designed to keep me safe at speeds of up to 1,000mph. Note that I said safe, not comfortable. In addition to the high G levels and the high noise levels, it's likely to get pretty warm in there. The usual race engineer's expression of sympathy applies: "Of course it's hot in there, now get in and stop complaining." The air flowing over the top of the cockpit will create some huge shockwaves at 1,000mph (nearly 1.4 times the speed of sound), which is the main reason it's going to be so noisy in my "1,000mph office". The shockwaves around Bloodhound will add extra drag to the car as the airflow reaches the speed of sound. The speed of sound is not fixed, as it varies with temperature - in hot air, the air molecules vibrate faster, so they transmit pressure waves (including sound) faster, hence the speed of sound is higher. For those who like the details, the speed of sound is proportional to the square root of the absolute temperature. In the real world, that means that for a 5 deg C increase in air temperature, the speed of sound goes up by about 7mph. With a higher speed of sound, the airflow around the car reaches supersonic later into the run, so the shockwave drag starts later as well. Therefore, at higher temperatures, we accelerate faster with less drag, which is good. Unfortunately, if the air temperature is higher, then the air being fed into the jet engine is hotter and less dense, so the jet engine produces less power, which is bad. The reverse effect is also true. At lower air temperatures, there is more aerodynamic drag on the car, but there is correspondingly more jet power available to overcome it. The effect of air temperature on maximum speed will vary for different cars. In 1983, Richard Noble found that Thrust 2 was faster is hotter conditions, as the change in drag affected peak speed more than the engine power. As a result, Thrust 2 set the World Land Speed Record by running in the afternoon, when the warmer temperatures gave lower drag. By contrast, our predictions show that Bloodhound SSC will run slightly faster in cooler air, as the increase in power from the EJ200 jet engine power outweighs the increased shockwave drag. In performance terms, the cold dry winter months in South Africa are just perfect for us, with high-speed runs planned for first thing in the morning when the air is cooler. Some of the high-speed airflow down the sides of the car is fed into small "auxiliary" intakes just behind the cockpit. These intakes provide airflow into the rear chassis and jet engine bay. However, at high speed it's not that useful for cooling things. As we slow the airflow down from supersonic speeds, it is compressed, which heats it up. This is the same effect that makes a bicycle pump gets warm when you blow up a tyre, but it's rather more dramatic: our compressed air will get to over 150C. Instead of the air cooling things down, it will be heating them up while the car is running at high speeds, which is not the effect that we want. Hence, key elements of the car will need to be water-cooled. Electric water pumps circulate cooling water from the water tanks either side of the cockpit to key components like the jet engine gearbox and the computers. The base of the tailfin is another area that we will be watching closely. After a supersonic run, the fin will be a little warm, but this is not a big deal. Sitting just over the very hot EJ200 jet engine, as it cools down at the end of the first run, is the challenge. The heat from the jet will "soak" into the chassis and structure supporting the fin. Aluminium starts to lose its strength if it gets much above 100C, so we will monitor the fin temperature and probably use forced-air cooling during the turn round, to make sure it stays cool. At the back of the car we will be creating our very own version of the seventh circle of hell. The EJ200 jet engine in full reheat is a massively powerful and (potentially destructive) force, creating huge amounts of heat and vibration. That's the easy bit to deal with. The difficult part is the Nammo hybrid rocket system, which will be much louder and hotter - the rocket exhaust is about 3,000C, which is about twice the temperature of molten lava, which is very hot indeed. The back of the car is festooned with temperature and vibration sensors, to make sure the structure is going to survive. The drag chutes also live at the back of the car, as that's where they are needed. The chutes and lines are made from nylon, to give the stretch required to absorb the shock loads as they open. Nylon hates high temperatures, so we've put a lot of heat insulation on the chute cans to keep them cool during the run. Hot nose, hot wheels, hot cockpit, hot computers, hot tailfin and really hot exhaust gasses. Suddenly, this year's UK summer temperatures don't look quite so bad after all. If you want to see how expert engineering can help to keep cool as we push the limits of modern technology at 1,000mph, join our supersonic "Engineering Adventure".

एक ब्रिटिश टीम एक ऐसी कार विकसित कर रही है जो 1,000 मील प्रति घंटे (1,610 किमी/घंटा) तक पहुंचने में सक्षम होगी। एक यूरोफाइटर-टाइफून जेट इंजन के लिए बोल्ट किए गए रॉकेट द्वारा संचालित, वाहन का लक्ष्य साल दर साल तेजी से अपनी क्षमता दिखाना है। 2019 के मध्य में, ब्लडहाउंड 500 मील प्रति घंटे से ऊपर भागना चाहता है। 2019 के अंत में, लक्ष्य मौजूदा विश्व भूमि गति रिकॉर्ड (763 मील प्रति घंटे; 1,228 किमी/घंटा) को 800 मील प्रति घंटे तक बढ़ाना है। और 2020 में, इरादा 1,000 मील प्रति घंटे से अधिक है। रेसिंग उत्तरी केप, दक्षिण अफ्रीका में हक्सकीन पैन पर होगी।


The town in Belarus from where cigarettes are smuggled to the UK

Summary: A town in Belarus is producing billions of cigarettes a year, about a third of which are thought to be smuggled to the EU. How do they end up in the UK and what measures are taken to stop the illegal trade?

By Angus CrawfordBBC News We pull into Grodno in the west of Belarus - effectively the last communist state in Europe and some say the "last dictatorship" too. In the most recent elections President Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected with 83% of the vote. On the outskirts stand Soviet-era tower blocks, 15 storeys of cracked paint and crumbling brickwork. But it's the long, yellow building with grilles on its windows stretching along Harnavych Street that we have come to see - the "Neman" cigarette factory. It produces more than 20 billion cigarettes per year, but a third of them are thought to end up being smuggled into the European Union. In the UK, 610 million cigarettes illegally sold in 2015 were estimated to have originated from Belarus. Packets can be bought in Belarus for the equivalent of 40p but sold in the UK for as much as £3, making the illegal trade highly lucrative. The cigarettes, with brand names such as NZ, Minsk and Fest, are made only for the market in Belarus and cannot be legally sold in the UK because no tax is paid on them. Recent figures from HMRC put the amount of tax lost to the Treasury from the sale of illegal cigarettes at £1.6bn last year. We did not receive permission to enter the factory or talk to the management. "The production of tobacco products is a commercial secret of the enterprise," we were told. There is no evidence that the factory promotes the illegal trade. Within a mile of the factory on the road to the Polish border we find a shop selling cigarettes 24 hours a day. I ask the shop assistant how many I can buy and am asked "How many do you want?" I tell her I want to take them to Lithuania and she advises me to hide them in the car. Later we meet Viktor, who used to smuggle back in the 1990s and even wrote a book about it. He says people smuggle because the economy is in trouble and if you do not have a job in Belarus you have to pay the government a fine. Smuggling is how some people get the money for the fine. On the same road closer to the border we found another shop, again open 24 hours a day. The rules about taking cigarettes into the EU are clear - only two packs per person. The assistant again says we can buy as many as we like and even gives us advice on how to get them past customs and into the EU. She suggests hiding them "about your body" and says people also make holes in their cars to hide them. The assistant freely admits her shop is used by smugglers. A recent report suggested 12% of all the cigarettes smuggled out of Belarus ended up in the UK. 'Two priorities' Countries on the edge of the EU are stepping up efforts against the trade. A patrol of Lithuanian border guards is checking the border fence with Belarus. "We have two priorities, illegal immigrants and cigarette smuggling" says Border Guard Karolis Tumosa. Smugglers often arrange to meet and simply throw packs over the fence. They have also used drones and GPS-tracked rafts on the Neman river. At the nearby border post we are shown a lorry, found to have a false roof with 12,000 packets hidden underneath. The Grodno cigarettes can be bought in markets across Lithuania for the equivalent of £1.50. But the real money is to be made sending shipments on to Germany, Italy and the UK. So how do they get there? Channel Tunnel Jonas, not his real name, was a Lithuanian police officer who also had a sideline in smuggling. He was caught, sacked and sent to prison. He tells us smuggling is easy. "Mostly they use minivans, or take the cigarettes on planes," he says. "It's more difficult to smuggle large amounts. "The main route is through Calais and the Channel Tunnel. I went that way myself. "Some go in large shipping containers, but most go on minibuses which have had hiding places prepared beforehand. "You can fit up to five boxes into one bus or truck, all hidden so that nobody can find them." We do our own research in shops and online in east London. Within two hours we have bought the same brands from four separate sources. The first is a newsagent, a woman then meets us in the street, and another seller turns up in her car with a baby in the passenger seat. We also spend a morning with Liverpool trading standards officers searching shops in the city. In one shop Bert the sniffer dog leads his handler to a concrete step covered by a piece of carpet. Hidden behind fake bricks are a secret compartment and a hidden drawer. Inside are cigarettes from Grodno; NZ, Fest and Minsk. Mark Wainwright from Trading standards describes the problem as "huge". As he loads another evidence bag into the van, he says simply, "On to the next one." Newsagents who allow illegal cigarettes to be sold may have to pay a penalty of £5,000. People caught smuggling large quantities of cigarettes into the UK can face up to 10 years in prison and an unlimited fine. An HMRC spokesman said: "We are continuing to reduce the amount of illicit tobacco entering the UK from around the globe. "Our close work with other enforcement agencies to tackle this practice is producing clear results, with over 3.5 billion illicit cigarettes and 599 tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco seized in last two years alone."

बेलारूस का एक शहर एक साल में अरबों सिगरेट का उत्पादन कर रहा है, जिनमें से लगभग एक तिहाई की यूरोपीय संघ में तस्करी की जाती है। वे ब्रिटेन में कैसे पहुंचते हैं और अवैध व्यापार को रोकने के लिए क्या उपाय किए जाते हैं?


Eddie Maher: How I took my family on the run for 19 years

Summary: Five years ago a woman walked into a police station in Ozark, Missouri, and claimed her father-in-law was a British fugitive. It was the end of the road for Eddie Maher, who had been on the run - with wife and children in tow - for 19 years. How did one of the UK's most wanted men evade capture for so long?

By Claire BatesBBC News In January 1993, Securicor driver Eddie Maher sped away from Lloyds Bank in Felixstowe in a van containing £1.2m ($1.6m). Then he disappeared. Police pursued leads from Cyprus to the Caribbean, but found no trace of Maher - or the money - despite offering a £100,000 reward. "You can live off the grid in plain sight if you're not silly," says Maher, now 61. "Most people get caught because they are ridiculously extravagant." He succeeded for nearly two decades, choosing the US because he thought it would be the easiest place to lie low. "The United States is a huge country and everyone speaks the same language, so you don't stand out," he says. "Travelling was more comfortable back then. It was pre-9/11 and there weren't as many checks." The fireman-turned-security-van-driver flew business class from Heathrow to Dallas, a few weeks after the heist, carrying a suitcase with banknotes wrapped in towels and a fake passport in the name of Stephen King. Maher estimates he had around £125,000 ($160,000), the cut he was given by a shadowy gang that he says pressurised him into committing the crime. (Police have always rejected the claim that he was acting under duress.) He had sent his partner, Debbie Brett, on holiday to Boston a few weeks earlier with their toddler, Lee. He only explained to her they were on the run when they met at a pre-arranged spot in Dallas airport, he says. "She wasn't over the moon when I told her but we're a couple. She's my best friend," he says. "Plus I convinced her she could contact her family after a while." In fact, Maher knew they couldn't risk contacting loved ones in the UK. He only made one phone call home during his 19 years away - a call to his sick mother, one year after he vanished. "It was difficult not seeing family, especially for Debbie. Every now and then I'd get a twinge of regret but I made the decision that we were better off over there," Maher says. After spending a few weeks assessing their options, Maher and Brett settled with their son in Woodland Park, a small town in Colorado. It was far from the tourist trail so the risk of being recognised was low, and as it was growing quickly, new faces were accepted without too many questions being asked. They paid cash for a four-bedroom house and soon bedded into the community. Proof of address was sufficient to get Lee into nursery and later into elementary school. They introduced themselves as Stephen and Sarah King. According to their cover story, Stephen was a photocopier salesman from Essex who had sold his business and was deciding what to do next. They had a well-rehearsed line when people asked about family and friends in the UK. "We'd say, 'They've already been over and are welcome to visit any time,'" Maher says. "It never got easier telling those stories. I hated lying every day but we had no choice." The couple went on hunting and fishing trips with the neighbours, Brett volunteered at the nursery and Maher joined the mountain search and rescue team. He also made friends with people on the local airfield and was given flying lessons in exchange for driving the fuel truck. He later bought his own plane, a Piper Warrior, which he rented back to the flying school. "I've seen those reality shows like Hunted and I find them quite laughable," Maher says. "Hiding in plain sight is easier." Maher enjoyed life in Colorado but lived in constant fear of capture. Although his moments of paranoia and anxiety became less frequent over time they never completely went away. In 1994 Maher and Brett got married under their fake names in Las Vegas, acquiring a wedding certificate in the process - another useful document that would help to confirm their fake identities. Maher had already taken driving lessons, even though he had driven for decades, to get a licence in the name of Stephen King. He had used that to open a bank account. In addition, he had forged a California birth certificate for Lee, and applied for a social security card for him so that he could work when he was older. However, he couldn't get Lee a passport. For that he needed a genuine birth certificate, one that could be traced to a birth record in a state ledger. Another document Maher couldn't forge was a green card, and without one neither he nor Brett could work. "I tried to find jobs where you didn't need ID, like illegal immigrants do. But there isn't much unless you want to go orange-picking in California," Maher says. As their funds dwindled, Maher made some money playing blackjack in Las Vegas. The family also moved to a smaller home and sold their plane - and it was when the buyer only paid a quarter of what he had promised that Maher realised it was time to leave. "When I asked for the money, he said, 'I think there's something shady about you. Maybe I'll call the cops,'" Maher says. The couple moved hastily to Concord, New Hampshire. At the same time, Maher decided to give up being Stephen King, and hatched a risky plan to assume a different identity. "My brother, Michael, had married an American years before but had since moved to the UK. I knew he had a legitimate green card and I knew all his details," he says. So Maher wrote to the authorities as Michael, claiming he had lost his green card. Then he waited anxiously. But no-one raised the alarm and before long he was sent a replacement in the post. Maher then applied for a commercial driver's licence in his brother's name and started work as a lorry driver. With a steady income now, Maher and Brett settled in to life in Concord. Maher started coaching Little League baseball and in 1997 the couple had another son, Mark. They became friendly with a couple who had a weekend home on a nearby lake, and would often visit. A year later Maher got a job installing Nielsen TV systems, which are used to calculate ratings for TV shows. He only needed one reference from the UK, which he forged. The family stayed in New Hampshire for five years. Then came the 9/11 attacks, and neighbours seemed to become more curious about them. "It got to the point where our friends would joke, 'You must be in the witness protection programme.' I thought that was a sign we'd probably been there too long," Maher says. He successfully applied for a promotion at Nielsen and the family relocated to Dunedin in Florida. Maher was now in tech support and Brett worked cash-in-hand for a house-cleaning business. They rented a home by the beach and Maher took up golf. They would only visit Disney World off-season, to reduce the risk of meeting British tourists. After a few more years, and a few more house moves, Maher and Brett decided to settle down permanently. In 2008 they moved to the small town of Ozark in Missouri, where Maher found work as a broadband technician, while Brett got another cash-in-hand job, this time with a property-letting agency. Despite this, they began running up credit card bills, and Maher ended up declaring bankruptcy in 2010. But even this didn't lead to his exposure. His weak spot turned out to be his own son, Lee. As a teenager, Lee had begun asking questions about his English relatives and Maher says he began to rebel when he didn't get a straight answer - embarking on a series of short-term relationships, fathering a number of children and regularly getting into trouble. "My sons had a good upbringing. I taught them to be law-abiding citizens. But when Lee got to the age of being headstrong and stupid that put pressure on us," Maher says. "He was a problem and in the end that's the problem that brought everything to a head." Lee Maher met and married Jessica Butler but they soon started quarrelling. According to Eddie, a drunken Lee once told Jessica he thought his father was a fugitive. He believes she then searched for his surname online and found old news reports of the Securicor heist, along with the promise of a reward. On 6 February 2012 she walked into Ozark police station and said she knew the whereabouts of the British fugitive, "Fast Eddie" Maher. Maher was then told by a police officer that the authorities knew who he was, and the FBI noted his furious response. "Maher told his son they would have to leave again and threatened to kill the person who tipped off police about his identity," reported federal agent Jeffrey Atwood. But Maher decided not to run. Instead he came clean to his sons. "My real name is Eddie," he said. "And your mum isn't Sarah. She's Debbie." In July 2012 he was extradited to the UK. Eight months later he was sentenced to five years for theft, but was released in January 2015. "I don't grumble, I don't say I didn't do the crime. I did my time for it," Maher says. He is philosophical about spending 19 years looking over his shoulder. "I don't regret my life in America. My second son was born there and if I hadn't gone through this he may never have been born. It's been my life and we've adapted," he says. He would like to return to America, this time as Eddie Maher, but his criminal conviction means that this is impossible. He doesn't want to stay in the UK though, and fancies a place in the sun - Spain perhaps, or Cyprus. "We'll keep our heads down," he says, "and enjoy a bit of a retirement." Eddie Maher's autobiography, Fast Eddie, is out now Family photographs courtesy of Eddie Maher. Follow Claire Bates on Twitter Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.

पाँच साल पहले एक महिला ओज़ार्क, मिसौरी के एक पुलिस स्टेशन में गई और दावा किया कि उसका ससुर एक ब्रिटिश भगोड़ा था। यह एडी माहेर के लिए रास्ते का अंत था, जो 19 वर्षों से पत्नी और बच्चों के साथ भाग रहा था। ब्रिटेन के सबसे वांछित पुरुषों में से एक इतने लंबे समय तक पकड़ से कैसे बचा?


Tunbridge Wells cinema demolition due to begin

Summary: Demolition of a derelict town centre cinema in Kent, branded as a "grot spot" is due to start this week.

The former ABC cinema in the centre of Tunbridge Wells has been derelict for nearly 14 years despite a number of demolition and redevelopment plans. Work was due to start on Monday but work to make safe the electricity and gas supplies has delayed demolition. A former dental surgery on the site will pulled down first, with the project due to take 12 weeks. Liberal Democrat councillor Ben Chapelard, who has campaigned for the redevelopment of the site, has previously called it the town's "number one grot spot". In February, the Conservative-led borough council issued a demolition notice on the owners.

केंट में एक परित्यक्त टाउन सेंटर सिनेमा का विध्वंस, जिसे "ग्रोट स्पॉट" के रूप में ब्रांडेड किया गया है, इस सप्ताह शुरू होने वाला है।


I advertised for a man to get me pregnant - then I fell in love

Summary: Ten months ago, thirty-something Jessica was eager to get pregnant. A series of relationships had failed so she tried a radically new approach - she posted an advert online. The outcome turned out to be far better than she had hoped.

By Claire BatesBBC News "Safe, bareback babymaking," the advert read. "I'm in my 30s & have given up on Messrs Right & Wrong. I want a baby." The request was posted on Craigslist, a website better known for second-hand goods. The potential father needed to be over 5ft 9in, under 40 and prepared to take an STD test. He would also be required to have "a few days of frequent sex". Jessica makes no apology for her businesslike approach. "Our grandparents didn't spend years and years cohabiting and watching boxsets," she says. "Starting a family was very much the goal of their endeavour." She'd also watched many of her friends start families after falling "madly in love", only to split up later in a cloud of angry recriminations. "I decided I could sacrifice romantic fulfilment as long as my child had two parents who loved and cared for them," she says. She posted her advert on Craigslist while on a bus from her home in the suburbs into central London - and by the time she arrived at Oxford Street, she already had a number of replies. She set up a meeting with the most promising one that very evening. Find out more Jessica spoke to the Emma Barnett Show on BBC 5 live You can listen again here (start at 38 minutes 50 seconds) A year earlier, Jessica had been in a long-term relationship with David. Like her, he wanted children... but he was in no rush. "He was aimless. He wanted to wait until he felt better about his life and his career. You just think, 'Come on!'" Jessica says. She had wanted children since she turned 30 and was envious of friends who were starting families. She was also shaken by a visit to her aunt in hospital. Her aunt didn't have children, and Jessica believed she had been ignored by doctors as there had been no-one to insist on better care. "I thought there was a risk of me ending up in a similar situation if I had no kids of my own. They can act as insurance for when you get older." She ended her relationship with David in March 2016 and almost immediately started dating her colleague, Scott. He was keen to have a baby, but after six months of trying they had nothing to show for it. So they went to a GP, who suggested blood tests - and while Jessica's results were clear, Scott's revealed a range of fertility issues. "He didn't react well to the news and basically fell apart. I didn't feel I had the ability to support him through it," Jessica says. "Also I didn't really want to go through IVF." They split up after a make-or-break Christmas holiday in 2016. Jessica then spoke to a gynaecologist, who suggested artificial insemination using donor sperm. Jessica wanted her child to have a caring father, so she wasn't keen on the idea, but she discussed it with a friend anyway. "She asked, 'Why would you spend £700 for sperm when you could go down to Yates's [wine bar] and find someone who would gladly give you it for free?'" Jessica says. "But I didn't want to go to a pub and have unprotected sex with someone who'd had no STD checks. I also didn't want to entrap someone into parenthood." However, this prompted her to post an advert on a co-parenting website. Scrolling through the potential fathers, she came across quite a few married gay couples, but feared she'd lose out as one among three parents. "I was worried a 50-50 split would soon become 70-30 in their favour," she says. She then started chatting to a single man on the website, until an insurmountable barrier got in the way - Brexit. "He voted to leave Europe and I'm very much for remain," Jessica says. "I said, 'I'm not really sure we can parent like this.'" Jessica quit the website, which charged a monthly fee, and considered dating apps. But as a teacher she didn't want to post a photograph of herself. Then she thought about Craigslist. "I didn't want to use a dating website or Tinder in case a student saw a picture of me. Plus I knew Craigslist got a lot of traffic and was free to use," she says. She typed out her advert on the bus to Oxford Street last March, and posted it in the personals section. "I don't use turkey basters when cooking and am not using one at conception," one line read. "God, it sounds completely crazy looking back," Jessica says. She didn't set many parameters for the potential father of her child, only height, age and sexual health. "I just wanted to meet a good person with shared values," she says. She received a flurry of replies, including the obligatory slew of penis pictures. A number of men wrote claiming they had helped several women, which turned Jessica off. "The last thing I needed was for my child to end up at a party and snog their sibling without knowing," Jessica says. Another young man wrote to say he was desperate for a baby after his previous partner had a miscarriage. Jessica felt he was too vulnerable. Then she received an email from Ross. "He was 33 and also lived in London. He said he'd had some disastrous relationships but he loved being an uncle and wanted children of his own," Jessica says. They agreed to meet for drinks that evening. "I thought he was much better-looking in person than the photo he sent," she says. They discovered they were of different faiths but agreed they wanted a "London approach" to religion. "We agreed there was one God who loved pretty much everybody and we would want a child to be comfortable with people of any faith or no faith." Jessica and Ross kissed at the end of their first meeting. "I felt very comfortable around him," she says. A few days later they had dinner and arranged to have STD checks. After their fourth date they decided to have sex, to see if they were physically compatible. "It was really good," Jessica says. "We decided to start trying for a baby, knowing it could take a while." But within weeks Jessica was holding a positive pregnancy test. She had conceived during her very next cycle. "I found out I was pregnant about six weeks after I'd posted the advert," Jessica says. "That was a bit of a surprise. It definitely wasn't what I had expected." There hadn't even been time for Ross to get a sperm count. They didn't have a written contract but agreed they wouldn't sleep with anyone else. "I didn't want to label what my relationship with Ross was," Jessica says. "I was delighted I was pregnant but I was wary that might make me think I was in love with him." You may also like: Why don't I want to have sex with the man I love? Hollie McNish: The things new mothers aren't always told Why I chose to donate my eggs Ross was very involved during the pregnancy and accompanied Jessica to hospital appointments. It wasn't all plain sailing, though. They clashed about who got to keep the original ultrasound pictures and whether to spend money finding out the sex of the baby early. However, this led Jessica to an unexpected discovery. She had advertised for a father for her baby rather than a partner, but the quarrels made her realise that she actually had feelings for Ross. "I realised being angry with him made me sad, as I did love him. "But I was concerned that perhaps he was caring and attentive just because I was carrying his baby." The couple told their parents Jessica was expecting a baby after the pregnancy had lasted 12 weeks, but didn't reveal how they had met. "Our families get on well. It may be because there was a child involved but everyone was very accepting and tolerant of each other," Jessica says. Jessica had been living alone and Ross moved in two months before their baby was due. She had a Caesarean after her baby was found to be in a breech position, and spent a week recovering in hospital. "Ross slept on a sleeping bag on the floor next to me the whole time. There was another dad there but he lasted one night before he said it was too uncomfortable and went home." Having a newborn baby has left Jessica and Ross "bone-achingly tired". However, Jessica thinks that if anything their relationship has got stronger. "We're coping and getting through it - maybe it's because we don't have the energy to argue!" Jessica is on maternity leave and Ross can work some days from home. It means they share a lot of the parenting duties. "It's great, when there is a particularly icky nappy, being able to hand the baby over to dad and say, 'This is yours,'" Jessica says. The couple have now been together just under a year and parents for two months. They are still discovering new things about each other. "Like the other day in a text conversation I found out he liked Billie Holiday," Jessica says. "It's great when we get time together and we always have a meal when he gets back from work. We enjoy being together and it makes it easier raising a child." They have already discussed having another. Jessica says she is pleased she went down an unconventional route to starting a family. "I don't regret the advert," she says. "I don't think you can get what you want by sitting there patiently and waiting for it to land in your lap." All names have been changed Claire Bates is tweeting @batesybates Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. Illustrations by Katie Horwich

दस महीने पहले, तीस-कुछ जेसिका गर्भवती होने के लिए उत्सुक थी। संबंधों की एक श्रृंखला विफल हो गई थी इसलिए उसने एक मौलिक रूप से नया दृष्टिकोण आजमाया-उसने ऑनलाइन एक विज्ञापन पोस्ट किया। परिणाम उसकी उम्मीद से कहीं बेहतर निकला।


'Release civilians' Sri Lanka told

Summary: The campaign group Human Rights Watch has called on Sri Lanka to release immediately nearly 300,000 Tamil civilians held forcibly in government camps.

The Tamils were displaced by intense fighting during the final months of the government's offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels. “Keeping several hundred thousand civilians who had been caught in the middle of a war penned in these camps is outrageous,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Haven’t they been through enough? They deserve their freedom, like all other Sri Lankans.” The Sri Lankan authorities say they do plan to let civilians return home, but must screen them first to identify rebel fighters. Independent observers are still not allowed inside the camps. Human Rights Watch says the detentions violate international law.

अभियान समूह ह्यूमन राइट्स वॉच ने श्रीलंका से सरकारी शिविरों में जबरन रखे गए लगभग 300,000 तमिल नागरिकों को तुरंत रिहा करने का आह्वान किया है।