Australia ABC raids expose lack of whistleblower protection

Summary: Police raids this week on an Australian journalist's home and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation have left some people asking whether the country is doing enough to protect those who try to expose wrongdoing, as the BBC's Phil Mercer reports from Sydney.

In Stephen Spielberg's political blockbuster The Post, a publisher played by Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep reveals secret and corrupt activities by the US government during the Vietnam War. At risk are the central character's livelihood, liberty and the future of the Washington Post newspaper. The exposé was based on documents from a whistleblower. David William McBride is no Hollywood leading man, but as the former Australian defence force lawyer charged with leaking classified papers at the centre of Wednesday's police raids at the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC), he has made breathtaking claims against the military and the government. "It is everything like in the movies," Mr McBride told the BBC. "You are under surveillance a lot and it does get to you." He is referring to his fight to air the truth about allegations that Australian special forces were involved in killing unarmed men and children while serving in Afghanistan. "It is one thing fighting for an army in a war because you have a support group, but as a whistleblower you have none of that," he said. "You're fighting a war on your own and your own sanity is often questioned by yourself and by others. It is a really miserable fight. "I could see that the [Australian] government had become the worst threat to national security that we faced. They were no longer interested in actually defending the country. They were simply interested in defending themselves." 'They want to put me in jail' Mr McBride is due to appear at the Australian Capital Territory's Supreme Court in Canberra on 13 June to face charges of leaking information to ABC journalists. The information appeared in a series called The Afghan Files, published in July 2017. Mr McBride does not dispute that he gave material to the ABC but insisted he did so in the national interest. It is a case that has very publicly highlighted Australia's attitudes to whistleblowers. "It is one of the great ironies," he said. "They won't prosecute the journalist who published the story and they've got no intention of doing that, but they want to put me in jail for 50 years." The day before Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers raided the Sydney headquarters of the ABC, the case of another high-profile whistleblower was in court. Richard Boyle exposed abuses inside one of the country's most powerful institutions, the Australian Tax Office (ATO), including aggressive debt collection practices. He told the Adelaide Magistrates Court that he plans to plead not guilty to 66 charges. The 43-year old former ATO staff member faces a maximum prison sentence of 161 years if found guilty. Mr Boyle said he lost his job, suffered a breakdown and chronic insomnia, as well as stress-related heart problems. 'Rolls Royce v second-hand ute' There are legal safeguards in Australia for those who expose malpractice or corruption, but Josh Bornstein, the head of employment law at Maurice Blackburn lawyers, believes they are inadequate. "When it comes to whistleblower protection Australia is a backwater. Fundamentally Australian culture is hostile to whistleblowers and to those who dob [inform on others]. "They are punished for doing the right thing. In many cases their health collapses and they never work again. We see case after case after case of that in both in the private sector and in the public sector," he told the BBC. "The US and Canada both have schemes in place that reward whistleblowers in the private sector, in particular. Those schemes are so good they would allow an employee to anonymously blow the whistle and retain their employment. "That is a Rolls Royce scheme. In Australia, in comparison, we have a scheme that is akin to a beaten-up second-hand ute." 'Increasing authoritarian mood' Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has responded to AFP raids this week on the ABC and the home of a News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst. Speaking while at D-Day commemorations half a world away in the UK, Mr Morrison said that his centre-right government was committed to freedom of the press but that "no one is above the law". "These are matters that were being pursued by the AFP operationally, at complete arm's length from the government… not at the instigation of government ministers," he added. But there are fears that reporters in Australia are under political pressure like never before. "I'm not saying this is just about the current government but we have seen an increasing authoritarian mood creeping into the way that the media is handled by the government," warned Prof Catharine Lumby from Macquarie University, a former press gallery journalist in Canberra. "Central to the health of a good liberal democracy is a robust media and the protection of freedom of speech. These are principles that unfortunately we are seeing eroded around the western world. I would really hate to see Australia going down that path of intimidating whistleblowers or journalists," she added. Meanwhile, Mr McBride, a former British army captain in the Blues and Royals, has said he is prepared for the fight of his life in court. "I am a well-intentioned, true believer in what I am doing. I think I am right and I think that the government is corrupt," he said. "Truth has a real power all of its own. I've lost my job and I've lost a lot of other things, but I've never felt richer."

सिडनी से बीबीसी के फिल मर्सर की रिपोर्ट के अनुसार, इस सप्ताह एक ऑस्ट्रेलियाई पत्रकार के घर और ऑस्ट्रेलियाई प्रसारण निगम पर पुलिस के छापे ने कुछ लोगों को यह पूछने के लिए छोड़ दिया है कि क्या देश गलत कामों को उजागर करने की कोशिश करने वालों की रक्षा के लिए पर्याप्त प्रयास कर रहा है।


Commonwealth Games: 'Work starts now' in Birmingham

Summary: How does a city change from a commercial and residential hub into an international sporting venue? On Sunday, Australia's Gold Coast formally handed over Commonwealth Games duties to Birmingham - with the 2022 host's transformation already under way, officials say.

One minute, a cellist's pizzicato rings out at Symphony Hall. The next there is the beetroot-faced grunting of a weightlifter struggling with the clean and jerk. Talk about B flat, talk about passing on the baton - this is what happens when places designed for one thing start to do another. Or at least it soon will be what happens - in four years' time to be precise. On Sunday, Australia's sunny Gold Coast - 2018 Commonwealth Games host - handed over to landlocked Birmingham where, according to the city council, 95% of buildings set to be used are already built. Other sites will continue to be enhanced, or demolished and reconstructed. But that is not quite the same thing as a city itself being turned over to sport - the queuing for buses near someone going for gold; the buying a pasty close to excellence. For instance, Victoria Square - the heart of commercial and administrative Birmingham - is set to become a basketball venue. That means people going about their business as players do the business. Blood, sweat and tears where pigeons used to be and a skateboarder thought twice. And here is Victoria Square... centrepiece of the Birmingham end of the handover, looking slightly less Air Jordan on Sunday, but still with plenty of wind in its sails - although those are hula hoops, not Olympic rings. During the handover, Birmingham Lord Mayor Anne Underwood said: "We may not be able to offer sun, sea or the sand of Australia's Gold Coast, but what we can offer is youth, diversity and creativity." Talking of youth, the boot will be put into the 1970s - a boot to be replaced by running spikes. A decades-old Birmingham City University campus is the demolition victim and set to become a £370m village for more than 6,500 competitors. Existing athletics venue Alexander Stadium, meanwhile, receives a £70m revamp; boosting capacity from 12,700 to 40,000. The University of Birmingham's two synthetic hockey pitches will also be upgraded, with Villa Park set to host the rugby sevens; the Genting Arena at the NEC, badminton; Arena Birmingham, gymnastics; and those weightlifters competing at Symphony Hall - just metres from the bars where, normally, pints are lifted. A grunt has probably never had better acoustics. Ian Metcalfe, chairman of Commonwealth Games England, said: "The work starts right now to bring the Games to Birmingham in 2022." That is not to say, though, other places cannot lend a helping hand. Nearby Smethwick will build an international competition-standard aquatics centre; The London Velodrome is to host the track cycling; and Leamington Spa will feature lawn bowls at its Victoria Park. Coventry's Ricoh Arena will host the netball. So perhaps, then, this council quote cannot be a catch-all, but the spirit of it is nevertheless clear. The message is Birmingham will "extend a warm Brummie welcome to everyone".

एक शहर एक वाणिज्यिक और आवासीय केंद्र से एक अंतरराष्ट्रीय खेल स्थल में कैसे बदल जाता है? अधिकारियों का कहना है कि रविवार को, ऑस्ट्रेलिया के गोल्ड कोस्ट ने औपचारिक रूप से राष्ट्रमंडल खेलों के कर्तव्यों को बर्मिंघम को सौंप दिया-2022 के मेजबान का परिवर्तन पहले से ही चल रहा है।


Airman killed in Vavuniya

Summary: Sri Lankan Military officials said that an airman was killed and another injured in a claymore mine blast near the northern town of Vavuniya.

Officials said the bomb went off on a road in Vavuniya while the men were on regular physical training exercises Tuesday morning. Defence officials have blamed the LTTE for the attack. The area was later cordoned off and a search operation conducted by the troops soon after the attack.

श्रीलंका के सैन्य अधिकारियों ने कहा कि उत्तरी शहर वावुनिया के पास क्लेमोर खदान में हुए विस्फोट में एक वायुसैनिक की मौत हो गई और एक अन्य घायल हो गया।


Presbyterian moderator condemns James McConnell's Islam remarks

Summary: The moderator of the Presbyterian Church has criticised remarks made by an evangelical preacher who described Islam as "heathen" and "satanic".

Pastor James McConnell, of north Belfast's Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle Church, made the comments in a sermon last Sunday. Reverend Dr Rob Craig said the comments were unacceptable. "They are not consistent with the Gospel of Christ and the love of God," he said. "I would be deeply offended if someone were to brand either all Presbyterians or all Christians with some extreme act by someone who claimed to do it in the name of Christ. "I want to treat my neighbour as I would want to be treated myself." Police have said they are investigating Pastor McConnell's comments. He told his congregation "a new evil had arisen" and "there are cells of Muslims right throughout Britain".

प्रेस्बिटेरियन चर्च के मध्यस्थ ने एक इंजील उपदेशक द्वारा की गई टिप्पणी की आलोचना की है जिसने इस्लाम को "नास्तिक" और "शैतानी" बताया है।


Dolau beach, New Quay, reopens after farm slurry spill

Summary: A popular Ceredigion beach has reopened after being shut for much of the Easter weekend because of a slurry spill.

Dolau beach in New Quay has been closed since Friday after the farm slurry contaminated a stream which runs on to the beach. Ceredigion council had put warning signs in place at the entrance to the beach and warned the public to stay away but has now given the all-clear. The beach was one of three affected by another spill five years ago.

एक लोकप्रिय सेरेडिगियन समुद्र तट एक घोल रिसाव के कारण ईस्टर सप्ताहांत के अधिकांश समय तक बंद रहने के बाद फिर से खुल गया है।


When dead whales went on tour

Summary: Three dead whales were once on an almost permanent tour of the UK. Throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, thousands visited the preserved finbacks for both education and entertainment. So what is behind this unlikely whales' tale?

By Bethan BellBBC News As family days out go, striding through the corpse of a whale on the back of a lorry is a bit different to enjoying a theme park or traipsing around a National Trust stately home. But in their day, Goliath, Jonah and Hercules were hugely popular. Punters would pay an entrance fee before sauntering through the carcass in car parks and large grassy areas such as racecourses. The entrance was a doorway cut behind its head, and exited "through goodness knows what orifice," says Duncan Daniels, who saw one of them in Great Yarmouth when he was nine. In grisly juxtaposition, instruments of death such as the harpoon and other whaling tools were displayed next to the whale. Across England, visitors surged to goggle at the creatures, including at York, Coventry, Worcester, Bristol and Plymouth. Some who told their friends or family about their childhood encounter have found themselves disbelieved - or become convinced themselves it was merely a peculiar dream. "I went with my brother and my dad to see the whale on a lorry in the car park by Worcester police station in the 1950s," Jeremy Finch remembers. "My kids didn't think it happened. They teased me something rotten and I started to think it was all too strange to be true. We didn't take any pictures or anything. I don't think we had a camera. "It was all shiny and smelled funny." The whales had originally been caught off the coast of Norway and were initially driven around Europe to promote the whaling industry after World War Two. Eventually they were obtained by showmen, though, who, seeing their financial potential, gave them their biblical names and brought them to the masses. The whales were preserved and scooped out, their insides festooned with lanterns, and wildlife exhibits installed. Their arrival warranted news stories in the national press. Under the headline "The South Bank Whale", The Times reported in 1952: "Jonah, the Giant Whale, which is to be exhibited under Waterloo Bridge on the south bank from April 2, arrived from Dunkirk yesterday in a Dutch coaster. "The vessel docked at Dagenham and the 65ft rorqual was unloaded on to a 10-wheeled lorry which transports it on land. The whale had been touring Holland, Belgium, Germany and France since last September and has been kept in good condition by an internal refrigeration plant and daily injections of formalin." The size of the whales could present a logistical problem, though. "Jonah had to be unloaded at Dagenham because it had the only crane capable of lifting him," says Norman Williams, a dock worker. The whale later went on display in Oxford, where he could be viewed on the railway station forecourt. Jennifer Dart says she cycled to the station and could smell the whale - "a mixture of rotting and formaldehyde" - before seeing it. She was disappointed with it because it wasn't blue. "It was a sort of grey and looked a bit worse for wear, with sad, beady eyes". Attitudes toward animal welfare have changed over the years. The Calgary Herald, an Alberta newspaper, reported "sad news" in 1930 about a live whale due to go on show that had died on its way to the fairground. The sad news, though, was the disappointment faced by the "Calgary kids excited about the opportunity to see a real live 'sea elephant'". "Attendants of the massive beast were of the opinion that the altitude and heat of the day combined with the stress of the long fast run from Brandon caused the sea elephant's death." But Calgary kids managed to recover from their disappointment when organisers announced "the show must go on" and the 65-ton whale was embalmed and taken into the city by train. "Because of Goliath's size, he could not be moved from the rail car, so the marine exhibit was stationed at the eastern end of the grounds," the paper reports. Andy Hughes, who also saw the whale there, remembers putting his hand on the parts of the whale's mouth it uses to strain plankton out of seawater. He says it felt "like horsehair". However, Jonah, Goliath and Hercules were not the first whales to become a visitor attraction in the UK. In the 1930s, the more humbly-named Eric, a finback whale, toured England. He was eventually buried under Morecambe's rollercoaster. So what became of the other three? Goliath is thought to have ended up in Italy, but after that its trail goes cold. Hercules's adventures took him as far as a circus in Spain, before decomposition overwhelmed him and the circus went bust. He was disposed of in a giant furnace. And as for Jonah? There's a remote possibility we could see him on the road again. Steve Deput - who wrote a book about his efforts to track down the whale which he had seen as a boy in Barnsley - says the head of one of the UK's oldest circuses noticed the story and contacted him. "Mike Austen had actually driven the whale lorry around Europe. He couldn't tell me how Jonah had met his fate… he went one better. "Jonah still existed. He'd been in storage for the last 30 years in Holland and Belgium." The last Mr Deput had heard of Jonah is that he'd been bought by another showman and was being restored. So families may once again be able to abandon the humdrum pleasures of theme parks and stately homes in favour of prancing through the centre of a giant creature of the deep.

तीन मृत व्हेल कभी यूके के लगभग स्थायी दौरे पर थीं। 1950,60 और 70 के दशक के दौरान, हजारों लोगों ने शिक्षा और मनोरंजन दोनों के लिए संरक्षित फिनबैक का दौरा किया। तो इस अप्रत्याशित व्हेल की कहानी के पीछे क्या है?


Singapore smog - the health impact

Summary: The smog that has enveloped Singapore, Malaysia and parts of Indonesia this week has reached dangerous new levels, prompting the Singaporean government to warn that the smoky haze "may be life threatening" to vulnerable people.

The smog is caused by smoke from forest fires in Sumatra, which has blown east over Malaysia and Singapore. According to Prof Roy Harrison, professor of environmental health at the University of Birmingham, this type of air pollution can be very unpleasant. "It's quite different to traffic pollution, but equally toxic. "The particles in the air are mostly made up of carbon compounds and sooty material and there will be nasty acrid gases in the smoke." The immediate effects of smog can include problems with breathing, wheezing, coughing and watery eyes. Dr Keith Prowse, from the British Lung Foundation, says the concentration of the current smog means it will probably affect everyone in some way. "It looks highly irritant to the eyes, nose and chest - and people may then develop a cough or chest symptoms." In the longer term, prolonged exposure to air pollution of any kind can have an impact on human health and reduce life expectancy. At risk The World Health Organization says air pollution is a significant risk factor for a number of health conditions including respiratory infection, heart disease, and lung cancer - but there are certain groups who are particularly at risk. Elderly people and those with respiratory illnesses, such as asthma, are vulnerable when smog hits because their lungs are less able to deal with the pollution. They are more likely to be admitted to hospital, and for those who are already sick, the smog is an additional stress factor. People with asthma may find their condition worsens and they need to take more medication. Children are thought to be susceptible to the dangers of air pollution because they spend more time outdoors and breathe in more air per unit of body weight. Prof Harrison says younger adults can be affected too. "We do know that exposure to particles in air pollution affects the rhythm of the heart. "This could affect people in their forties who are beginning to have heart conditions which they may not be aware of." Repeated exposure to air pollution caused by car fumes is known to carry risks for the heart, as previous studies show. Recent research led by Dr Krishnan Bhaskaran, a statistical epidemiologist from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, discovered that high pollution events could trigger heart attacks in people who were already vulnerable. Another recent study from Edinburgh found that air pollution from diesel exhaust fumes has an impact on the heart and blood vessels, potentially increasing the chance of blood clots forming in the arteries. Mask use Singapore's prime minister said that the smoky haze could remain in place for weeks and possibly until September or October, when the dry season ends in Sumatra. Prolonged exposure to the smog will mean prolonged health risks for elderly and vulnerable people in an urban area where normal pollution levels are quite high. In the meantime, the advice is to stay indoors when possible, where pollution levels are lower, and limit unnecessary physical activity to reduce breathing in dirty air. The face masks which are in high demand in Singapore can protect against the worst of the smog. But Dr Bhaskaran says they are unlikely to provide total protection. "The masks may be sufficient to keep out some particles, but other gases would go straight through them." The British Lung Foundation agrees: "The use of masks is not recommended; they are often ineffective and may make breathing more difficult."

इस सप्ताह सिंगापुर, मलेशिया और इंडोनेशिया के कुछ हिस्सों में फैली धुंध खतरनाक नए स्तर पर पहुंच गई है, जिससे सिंगापुर की सरकार ने चेतावनी दी है कि धुएँ की धुंध कमजोर लोगों के लिए "जीवन के लिए खतरा हो सकती है"।


Tony Brown pays tribute to Isle of Man chief secretary

Summary: The Isle of Man's chief minister Tony Brown has paid tribute to the island's chief secretary who retired this week.

Mary Williams worked in the Manx civil service for 40 years, taking charge of it in November 2002. She has been replaced by former Home Affairs chief Will Greenhow, who took up the reins on 1 January. Mr Brown said Mrs Williams had "served the island with great distinction and played a major part in managing our international relationships". Mrs Williams worked to improve the Isle of Man's external relations and promote opportunities for the Manx government to represent is interests on the world stage. She said her work for the Manx government was "challenging, memorable and very rewarding".

आइल ऑफ मैन के मुख्यमंत्री टोनी ब्राउन ने द्वीप के मुख्य सचिव को श्रद्धांजलि दी है जो इस सप्ताह सेवानिवृत्त हुए।


Man dies after car crashes into tree near Tiverton

Summary: A 23-year-old man has died after a car crashed into a tree in Devon.

It happened at around 17:20 GMT near Tiverton on Saturday, Devon and Cornwall Police said. A silver Volkswagen lost control on a bend and left the B3227 close to Blackerton Cross and East Anstey, hitting the tree, the force said. The man, who was from the Minehead area, was with other people in the car but no other injuries have been reported.

डेवोन में एक कार के पेड़ से टकराने से एक 23 वर्षीय व्यक्ति की मौत हो गई है।


Whisky by-product could help power electric cars

Summary: Waste material from whisky distilling in Caithness looks set to be used for generating power for the charging of electric vehicles.

Abbey Ecosse Limited has secured permission to build an anaerobic digester and biomass boiler energy generating plant near Thurso. The complex at Forss Business and Technology Park would make a biogas as a fuel for generating electricity. The electricity would be used at the park and for a vehicle charging point. The waste material would be supplied by Inverhouse Distillery at Pulteney in Wick. Highland Council has approved the plan.

कैथनेस में व्हिस्की आसवन से अपशिष्ट सामग्री का उपयोग विद्युत वाहनों के चार्जिंग के लिए बिजली पैदा करने के लिए किया जाता है।


Justin Trudeau – Is the honeymoon over for Canada's PM?

Summary: Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has faced criticism after he "manhandled" an MP, and accidentally elbowed another, during a parliamentary debate. Is the shine starting to fade from the rockstar politician many thought could do no wrong?

By Rajini VaidyanathanBBC News, Washington He was elected on a wave of so-called Trudeau-mania. The athletic, young prime minister, who can box, perform arm balancing yoga poses and reel off quantum physics theories, loves the cameras and they love him. But now the Liberal leader has been forced to apologise - not once, not twice, but three times - for a candid camera moment he's now regretting. During a televised parliamentary debate on his government's euthanasia bill, Prime Minister Trudeau - impatient for a vote to get under way - was seen grabbing Conservative MP Gord Brown by the arm and dragging him across the chamber. At the same time he accidentally elbowed New Democratic Party (NDP) MP, Ruth-Ellen Brosseau. If that wasn't enough he then got into a heated argument with NDP leader Tom Mulcair, as MPs looked on. Canadian news outlets are reporting that Mr Trudeau also swore at a group of MPs. The PM was given a dressing down from the Speaker of the House, Liberal MP, Geoff Regan who warned him, "It is not appropriate to manhandle other members". "I made a mistake. I regret it and I'm looking to make amends," Mr Trudeau said, as he offered mea culpas for his actions in the chamber. "I expect better behaviour of myself.'' The episode has stirred the usually tame world of Canadian politics, with Prime Minister Trudeau's critics lining up to condemn him. Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose said his actions were "unbecoming of a leader" and "out of line". This isn't the first time Mr Trudeau has lashed out in Parliament. In 2011 he had to say sorry after swearing at Conservative MP Peter Kent, who is now suggesting Mr Trudeau enrols in anger management training. Canada's media hasn't been too forgiving either. The Globe and Mail newspaper described the episode as a temper tantrum, borne out of frustration. "Maybe he thinks there are better uses of his time than sitting through the tedious business of democratic legislating," the paper suggested, in an apparent dig. "Having to face day after day of opposition MPs opposing, because that is both their job and their belief, is not as much fun as speaking to an adoring audience at Davos, or making the scene in global capitals, or being a guest on an American television programme." Months earlier, the same newspaper published a column arguing that Mr Trudeau's star appeal gave him opportunity, but also warned it could be wasted on "self-aggrandisement". To many, he's demonstrated the latter, and despite offering apologies, there are those who see Mr Trudeau's actions as bordering on arrogance. "There has been this thing that, 'wow he's so glamorous, it's all pretty good', and while there's no question Canadians are pleased with his style and new approach, I sense there could be some tremors with this particular outburst," says David Akin, the parliamentary bureau chief for the right leaning, Toronto Sun newspaper. Akin believes that for the son of former Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, there's also "the whiff of entitlement" which could harm Trudeau Junior's popularity, which has risen since he took office in a landslide last October. One of the criticisms levelled at him during the election campaign, when he beat Conservative Stephen Harper, was that he was too young, arrogant and inexperienced. Now even those on the left, including the Toronto Star newspaper, fear this just plays into their hands. "The Prime Minister does himself and his country a grave disservice when he proves his critics right," the paper writes in its editorial. "The kind of government he is promising requires work, patience and collaboration. "Shoving won't do." For a leader who has built his reputation on a promise to bring more optimistic, "sunny ways" to politics, this has undoubtedly cast a cloud. Mr Trudeau has been able to ride out accusations he failed to meet his election pledges in the budget, or even recent controversy over his wife's comments that she needs more staff to help her with her official duties. But this parliamentary fracas could damage him in a different way, because it isn't just about policy, or his partner. It's personal. It's about how the politician who sells himself, conducts himself. Historian Michael Bliss, from the University of Toronto, says all of this highlights the fact, Mr Trudeau has a lot of growing up to do. "Right now he strides and jogs and jets across our political stage, as well as international ones, like a breath of fresh air. He's the most handsome and popular prime minister in decades, his political enemies are in utter disarray," he writes, "Perhaps how easy it's all been explains his astonishing lack of judgment on Wednesday." Bliss believes the 44-year-old PM could use this to develop and mature in a positive way, "Maybe he's had so much early success, has been so seldom seriously tested, that he's in danger of ceasing to grow in office." On the flipside, Kate Heartfield, a columnist for the Ottawa Citizen, doesn't think any of this will dent PM Trudeau's brand. "He's always shown a pugnacious streak, both physically as a boxer and in his tactics as a politician, and it's one of the things many people like about him," she says. Heartfield argues that if Justin Trudeau was a fictional character, "his physicality and occasional boorishness would temper his usual handsome earnest cheerfulness." It is a character flaw she argues makes him more well-rounded and likeable. Perhaps Justin Trudeau should take note of another former prime minister who was also elected on a landslide. Brian Mulroney won a huge majority in 1984, but within a year saw his popularity fall. "It turned on a dime in a year, so it can happen. The Canadian mindset is don't be too tall a poppy," says David Akin. "We like to chop down tall poppies, we're jealous of someone who seems to be acting a little too high handed," he warns. But Justin Trudeau is doing politics from a new script. There's every chance that this controversy will only really have a lasting impact in the corridors of power, and not beyond. "If he (Trudeau) refrains from putting anyone in an unwanted headlock between now and 2019, this might only be remembered as a merely unfortunate kerfuffle." writes CBC's Aaron Wherry. "He has public goodwill to burn and he has time to undermine any unflattering narrative that might be forming." Follow Rajini on Twitter - @BBCRajiniV

कनाडा के प्रधान मंत्री जस्टिन ट्रूडो को एक संसदीय बहस के दौरान एक सांसद के साथ "हाथापाई" करने और गलती से दूसरे को कोहनी मारने के बाद आलोचना का सामना करना पड़ा है। क्या रॉकस्टार राजनेता की चमक फीकी पड़ने लगी है जो कई लोगों का मानना है कि कुछ भी गलत नहीं हो सकता है?


Mayan apocalypse: End of the world, or a new beginning?

Summary: One in 10 of us is said to be anxious that 21 December marks the end of the world. The Ancient Mayans predicted this doomsday, and the press is eating it up. But where are all the believers?

By Jane LittleBBC News, Washington That the world will end in 2012 is the most widely-disseminated doomsday tale in human history, thanks to the internet, Hollywood and an ever-eager press corps. Recent hurricanes, unrest in the Middle East, solar flares, mystery planets about to collide with us - all "proof" of what the ancient Mayans knew would come to pass on 21 December 2012. According to a Reuters global poll, one in 10 of us is feeling some anxiety about this date. Russians have been so worried that the Minister of Emergency Situations issued a denial that the world would end. Authorities in the village of Bugarach in the South of France have barred access to a mountain where some believe a UFO will rescue them. And survivalists in America - many of whom use the term "prepper" - have been busy preparing for all manner of cataclysm. So I set out to find people who believe 21/12/12 is D-Day. It was harder than I imagined, despite seeking out preppers, bunker builders, and even a Mayan shaman. Eventually I turned to Morandir Armson, a scholar of the New Age and Esoterica at the University of Sydney, Australia. "If you told me there were more than 5,000 people who genuinely believed the end of the world was coming rather than just having vague fears about it, I'd be surprised," he says. Armson adds that those people are probably "in the wilds of Idaho, heavily armed, and won't talk to journalists anyway". The heightened fear around this date is, in his view and that of other experts, almost entirely due to the internet. More specifically they blame the blogosphere. It is not how the whole 2012 phenomenon started. In 1987, Jose Arguelles, a man who devoted much of his life to studying the Mayan Calendar, organised what was called the Harmonic Convergence, a sort of post-hippy Woodstock. It attracted tens of thousands around the globe. The event was an attempt to "create a moment of meditation and connection to the sacred sites around the earth," says Daniel Pinchbeck, author of 2012: The Year of the Mayan Prophecy. It was also the beginning of what many in the loosely-defined New Age movement regard as a process in the transformation of our consciousness - a transformation that goes into full effect at the end of this year. Pinchbeck calls 21/12/12 the "hinge point" of the emergence of a new, more enlightened age - not an ending point for all civilisation. "It is quite clear that the Mayan system envisages a new cycle of the calendar beginning on the 22 December 2012," says Graham Hancock, author of Fingerprints of the Gods, and something of a rock star in the world of ancient mysteries enthusiasts. He says the ancient Mayan culture was a shamanic one. Those who left us the calendar were visionaries who were providing clues to this ending of one cycle and the beginning of another. That is not to say that New Agers do not see catastrophic events as necessary in some way to this new birth. In fact they tend to embrace eastern faiths and native cultures with their cyclical views of time. In these visions, the world has been and will be destroyed - to some degree - and we start anew. Accordingly, some believe the Mayans were sending us a warning for 2012. "We may see a lot of destruction," says Pinchbeck. He points to Hurricane Sandy, which recently hit his home city of New York. Many, including the mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, linked that hurricane to global warming, which tends to be seen by New Agers as the main threat to our planet. However the New Age movement is full of optimists. Crucially, they say we have a choice in how this story ends. "We do not have to step over the edge of the abyss into darkness and destruction," Hancock says, calling this point in time a "cusp moment." "It's up to us. It's totally up to us." Morandir Armson, the Australian scholar, says the belief that 2012 marks a positive shift is one also shared by UFO groups, such as the Ashtar Command and the Ground Crew. These groups have no headquarters but for internet sites. He says they refer to themselves as "lightworkers" who believe a fleet of alien space ships hover around our solar system. "By doing good works on earth [they believe] you can speed up the consciousness of our humanity," says Armson. In many ways, they emphasise the more positive aspects of the traditional Christian Apocalypse. The fire-and-brimstone part gets downplayed in favour of the glorious Kingdom to come. Some 20% of Americans believe we are in the end times, and that they will see the return of Jesus Christ in their lifetime. This month marks Advent in the Christian Calendar, during which Christians are encouraged to read from the Book of Revelation, the apocalyptic vision of St John the Divine. "It's full of gory and grotesque detail of how the wicked are going to be punished," says Ted Harrison, author of Apocalypse When: Why We Want to Believe there Will Be No Tomorrow. The twenty-first of December, however, is not on the biblical calendar and few, if any, believers in the traditional Book of Revelation are attached to this date. The supposed date of the coming apocolypse, 21 December, also marks the Winter Solstice, symbolic in many cultures of the end of darkness and the renewal of the light. It might, suggests Harrison, focus our minds on how we have been treating the planet and those on it, and how we could mend our ways. In this respect, he says, "It might become a self-fulfilling prophecy. That's one hope. A remote one, but it is one hope."

कहा जाता है कि हम में से 10 में से एक व्यक्ति चिंतित है कि 21 दिसंबर को दुनिया का अंत हो रहा है। प्राचीन मायनों ने इस कयामत के दिन की भविष्यवाणी की थी, और प्रेस इसे खा रहा है। लेकिन सभी विश्वासी कहाँ हैं?


Ambulance delays: Wales' national target missed again

Summary: The proportion of Welsh ambulances meeting the response time target for the most urgent calls dipped in October after a slight improvement the month before, the latest figures show.

A total of 55.5% arrived within 8 minutes, down from 58.9% in September and from 65.2% in October last year. The target is 65%. Liberal Democrats called the statistics "shocking". Ministers said the figures were "disappointing", the ambulance service said it was "determined" to improve. The statistics also show that the Welsh Ambulance Service received more emergency calls, compared to September and the same period last year. In June, Health Minister Mark Drakeford demanded the ambulance service improve within 3 months.

नवीनतम आंकड़ों से पता चलता है कि सबसे जरूरी कॉल के लिए प्रतिक्रिया समय लक्ष्य को पूरा करने वाली वेल्श एम्बुलेंस का अनुपात एक महीने पहले मामूली सुधार के बाद अक्टूबर में कम हो गया था।


Felixstowe port opens new £40m rail terminal

Summary: A new £40m rail terminal has opened at the Port of Felixstowe, which operators said would double the number of containers moved by train.

Owner Hutchison Ports said currently 750,000 containers left by rail - 27% of the port's total. The new nine-track terminal, part of a £300m expansion, was opened later by the Duke of York, Prince Andrew. Clemence Cheng, chief executive officer of Hutchison Ports (UK) Ltd, said the project would take traffic off roads. "We already have 11 tracks, so it will give us 20 tracks in all which will make us bigger than King's Cross station, which only has 12 platforms," he said. "We're here to invest for the long-term to make the port the port of Britain for both importers and exporters."

फेलिक्सस्टोवे बंदरगाह पर एक नया 40 मिलियन पाउंड का रेल टर्मिनल खोला गया है, जो संचालकों ने कहा कि ट्रेन द्वारा ले जाए जाने वाले कंटेनरों की संख्या को दोगुना कर देगा।


Old Firm arrests under new laws

Summary: Seven people were arrested at the Old Firm match between Rangers and Celtic under new laws to crack down on offensive and sectarian-related behaviour.

Strathclyde Police said a total of 17 fans were detained at Ibrox Stadium. The other arrests were for drink-related offences, assault and breach of the peace. New laws designed to reduce religious hatred associated with football came into force in Scotland this month. The Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 has created two new offences. One covers behaviour in and around football matches, the other relates to messages sent by post or by electronic means. Anyone convicted under the new legislation could face a prison sentence of up to five years.

आक्रामक और सांप्रदायिक-संबंधी व्यवहार पर नकेल कसने के लिए नए कानूनों के तहत रेंजर्स और सेल्टिक के बीच ओल्ड फर्म मैच में सात लोगों को गिरफ्तार किया गया था।


Syria: Staffan de Mistura, the UN's special envoy

Summary: Staffan de Mistura is a veteran Italian-Swedish diplomat who has had a 40-year career with the United Nations, including a number of high-profile roles. Latterly he also served as Italy's deputy foreign minister.

In July 2014 he was chosen by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to replace Lakhdar Brahimi as the international mediator seeking an end to Syria's civil war. Mr de Mistura's previous UN roles have included UN envoy in Afghanistan in 2010-11, and in Iraq in 2007-09. He was also the UN secretary general's personal representative to southern Lebanon in 2001-04. His predecessor as the UN's top envoy to Syria was veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, who resigned in May after the failure of the second round of Geneva talks in January and February. Mr Brahimi had spent two years in the position, which he assumed after former UN chief Kofi Annan stepped down following six months in the role. Speaking on Mr de Mistura's appointment, Ban Ki-Moon said the new special envoy would "bring all his expertise and experiences to this very difficult negotiations for peace in Syria." In his Syria role, Mr De Mistura serves only as a UN envoy, not the joint UN-Arab League envoy, as Mr Brahimi was. UN roles Staffan de Mistura began his UN career in 1971 as a World Food Programme project officer in Sudan. Over the years his work has taken him to many of the world's trouble spots including Somalia, Ethiopia, the Balkans and Rwanda. He has also served as Director of the UN Information Centre in Rome, Director of Fundraising and External Relations of the UN Office of the Co-ordinator for Afghanistan (1989-1991), and has held a variety of senior posts with Unicef, the UN agency for the care of children worldwide. Mr de Mistura is 67 and speaks seven languages including colloquial Arabic, according to the Italian Foreign Ministry website. While working as a deputy foreign minister in Mario Monti's technocratic government, he was sent to India in 2013 to lead Italian negotiations with the Indian government over the arrest of two Italian marines over the shooting dead of two Indian fishermen mistaken for pirates. Mr de Mistura was born in Stockholm in 1947 of a Swedish mother and an Italian father, and has dual citizenship. He is a graduate of the University of Rome with a degree in Political Science and Development Economics. He is married with two daughters. BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.

स्टैफन डी मिस्टुरा एक अनुभवी इतालवी-स्वीडिश राजनयिक हैं, जिनका संयुक्त राष्ट्र के साथ 40 साल का कार्यकाल रहा है, जिसमें कई हाई-प्रोफाइल भूमिकाएं भी शामिल हैं। बाद में उन्होंने इटली के उप विदेश मंत्री के रूप में भी काम किया।


Listed buildings: New additions mark 70 years of preservation

Summary: A "Hobbit" house, a cabbies' shelter and a World War One listening post are among five buildings that have been given listed status, as Historic England marks 70 years of the practice. Listing was introduced in the Town and County Planning Act in 1947 to protect important properties from over-zealous post-war builders. The BBC takes a tour of the latest additions.

Underhill, Holme, West Yorkshire This fantastical home in Holme has been dubbed a luxury "Hobbit" house because of its similarity to the hill-dwellings inhabited by Bilbo Baggins and co. It was designed by Arthur Quarmby and built between 1973 and 1975 for the architect and his family to live in. Mr Quarmby, who included various roof lanterns and observation domes, said "architects have taken the sky out of architecture - I like to see the clouds scudding by". Historic England described it as Britain's first modern earth-sheltered home. The organisation said: "Nestled within the Peak District National Park, this environmentally-sensitive underground house disappears into the rolling green moor, creating a harmony between natural and manmade worlds." You can find more of England's interesting homes and buildings on our Pinterest board Stockton-on-Tees wireless station, County Durham This cottage in Stockton is believed to be the Royal Navy's only wireless station that was capable of gathering intelligence at the outbreak of World War One. Now the home of Donald Yeaman, Y station as it was known, was a base for monitoring communications across the North Sea, allowing those listening in to advise the military on enemy plans. The radios were positioned in the loft, and a concrete block and metal ring outside the property are thought to be relics from where the mast was rigged. It is one of the last remaining World War One wireless stations. Pillwood House, Truro, Cornwall Built between 1973 and 74 as a holiday home in the trees, it was described by architect John Miller as a "fun house as well as a sun house". Historic England praised the way its large windows "allow light to flood in and give wide views of the surrounding wood". "Miller made early use of glass-reinforced plastic, or fibreglass, to make the walls, which are lightweight but strong, and the steel frame was painted bright green to give it a visual connection with the surrounding trees," the organisation said. Cabmen's shelter, Grosvenor Gardens in Victoria, central London This little green shack was built in 1904 to provide a place for London cab drivers to have a break and escape the elements. Previously, the drivers of the horse-drawn hansom cabs had to sit in the open waiting for fares, as they were not allowed to leave their cabs unattended. Despite this, drivers would often pay a child to mind their ride while they sought shelter in pubs, where they would sometimes "drink more than is good for their health or behaviour". So the shelters were built from the 1870s onwards throughout London to provide a more reputable place for them to seek relief. These refuges often provided books and magazines donated by the public, as well as a kitchen, with cab drivers paying a small subscription to use the facilities. This shelter, one of about a dozen still in existence, continues to be used by London's taxi drivers. Members of the public are also able to buy refreshments, including drinks, pies and curry from the shelter, although only cabbies are allowed to sit inside. Funerary buildings at Willesden Jewish Cemetery, north-west London The United Synagogue Cemetery in Willesden is considered to be one of London's most prestigious Jewish cemeteries. It was established in 1873 and soon became a prominent burial place for London's most established Anglo-Jewish Ashkenazi communities. People buried there include Sir Julius Vogel, who was prime minister of New Zealand in 1876, and Rosalind Franklin who helped discover the structure of DNA. Historic England said the Gothic Revival set of buildings was a rare example, "as many similar complexes in England's Jewish cemeteries have been lost". It said: "Each building plays a specific role in Jewish burial practice, from the central Prayer Hall where the coffin is received, to the Cohanim Room which was used only for those believed to be descended from the High Priest Aaron." What is listing? The power to protect noteworthy sites from redevelopment or demolition was actually established in 1882 but the system used today was introduced 70 years ago. After World War Two, Britain underwent a major rebuilding programme to clear and replace buildings damaged or destroyed by bombing. The Town and Country Planning Act of 1947 was implemented to identify those properties special enough to be protected, with the first lists dubbed "salvage lists". There were more than 45,000 new listings made in the scheme's first 10 years, with the current tally standing at about 400,000. This includes 710 windmills, 514 pigsties, 262 palaces, 72 piers, 16 plague crosses, 13 dung-pits, three scoreboards, two fairground rides and a rocket. The five latest additions have all been awarded Grade II status, the lowest of three grades available, meaning they are "of special interest warranting every effort to protect them".

एक "हॉबिट" घर, एक कैबियों का आश्रय और एक विश्व युद्ध एक सुनने की चौकी उन पांच इमारतों में से हैं जिन्हें सूचीबद्ध दर्जा दिया गया है, क्योंकि ऐतिहासिक इंग्लैंड ने इस प्रथा के 70 वर्षों को चिह्नित किया है। युद्ध के बाद के बिल्डरों से महत्वपूर्ण संपत्तियों की रक्षा के लिए 1947 में टाउन एंड काउंटी प्लानिंग एक्ट में लिस्टिंग की शुरुआत की गई थी। बीबीसी नवीनतम परिवर्धनों का दौरा करता है।


365 new homes for Llay rejected by Wrexham councillors

Summary: An application to build 365 new homes in a village has been rejected by Wrexham councillors.

Residents in Llay objected to the plans, saying the size of the development on land at Home Farm, Gresford Road, was too big. The application had been recommended for approval with planners saying it would make a "significant contribution" towards meeting future housing needs. But the planning committee threw out the plans amid cheers from the public.

एक गाँव में 365 नए घर बनाने का आवेदन रेक्सम पार्षदों द्वारा खारिज कर दिया गया है।


Stonham murder probe: The Magpie pub closed after death

Summary: A landmark pub is closed after a woman was found dead and a murder inquiry was launched.

Emergency services were called to The Magpie on the A140 at Stonham Parva, Suffolk, at about 03:30 GMT on Sunday. Suffolk Police said the woman, in her 40s, died at the scene. A 52-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of murder and has now been released on bail. A post-mortem examination has taken place, the force said. Officers have appealed for witnesses.

एक महिला के मृत पाए जाने के बाद एक ऐतिहासिक पब को बंद कर दिया गया और हत्या की जांच शुरू की गई।


Disney, Netflix, Amazon: The battle for streaming survival

Summary: The demand for on-demand TV has never been higher.

By Christian HewgillBBC Newsbeat reporter Disney has announced its rival to the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime - and they're calling it Disney+. In March, Apple announced its own streaming service: Apple TV+. But in a market that's getting more and more crowded, can they all survive? Why are Disney and Apple getting into streaming TV? Disney has a big advantage because it has decades of filmmaking experience already, according to Shona Ghosh, senior tech reporter at Business Insider. "It costs a lot of money to make popular shows and Disney is an expert in offering really well-known film and TV franchises," she says. Disney can draw on its classic movies, as well as Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars - and now Fox films. It's thought that as contracts expire with other streaming services, Disney will slowly take its films off the likes of Netflix and make them exclusive to Disney+. Netflix has already axed its remaining Marvel shows. There will also be shows just for the streaming service - including a new Star Wars spin-off, expected to debut when the service goes live in North America in November. For Apple, the incentive is slightly different: iPhone sales have been slowing down. It's why Shona thinks they are looking at new ways to stay at the top. "Apple knows it has a lot of people that buy iPhones, iPads and Macs. Also there's Apple Music," Shona tells Radio 1 Newsbeat. "So because it knows it has trust as a provider of that stuff, it's branching out into shows and thinking it can really add something for the people that buy their devices." Shona thinks Apple is already realising how difficult that task will be. "It's ambitious for a tech company that isn't really known for providing content itself to try and commission shows," she says. "I'm not sure it's going all that smoothly - they still haven't announced the full roster of shows that will be available. "Apple being Apple I'm sure it will go smoothly eventually, but it's possible it won't work out." What does it mean for customers? "There has probably been a golden period where Netflix was the predominant, very popular streaming service. But now with so much choice, a lot will be splintered up," Shona thinks. So does that mean we'll have to spend more? "If Netflix is no longer top dog it can't suddenly turn around and raise its prices. It has to think about the competition. "On the flip side you won't have one platform where you can find everything. You may have to have multiple subscriptions." What does the future of TV streaming look like? With Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Apple, and even the BBC and ITV getting involved, there will soon be loads of streaming options. But Shona thinks the future of how we watch TV might actually end up looking familiar. "With all these different companies offering streaming, you may eventually end up paying for something that looks a bit like your parents' Sky or cable service from 10 or 15 years ago." That could mean streaming services will get bundled together into packages. "People don't have the money to pay £10 or £15 a month for Netflix, then another £10 for the combined streaming service being offered by the BBC and ITV, then Amazon Prime as well - that would get very expensive." And TV content could be used as an incentive for firms trying to get you to buy other products. It's a technique we've already started to see - with the likes of BT offering BT Sport for free to its mobile and internet customers when it launched. "There's a rumour that if you're already an Apple device owner, you may not have to pay extra for some of, if not all of, Apple's streaming services," says Shona. "So if you're already paying for the expensive device, Apple is making it more worth your while by giving you some content for free on top of that." Amazon Prime does similar, offering TV content alongside free delivery on its massive online shop. It's a technique that could be key for streaming services that want to be successful. Will all of the streaming services survive? Apple and Disney are big names and some of its rivals are already feeling the pressure. "I think there will be some companies that do fall by the wayside," adds Shona. "Netflix is spending a lot of money producing great content - whether it can keep it up remains to be seen. "Businesses like Amazon have many other elements it can rely on, not just content, whereas something like Netflix will be under a lot of pressure. "You'll have to wait to see whether consumers buy into this idea that Apple is akin to something like a Disney. "But people have bought in to Netflix, a brand new service that's evolved from being a DVD service to being this content powerhouse. "Companies are capable of pulling it off, but it's possible that not everyone will survive." Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 every weekday on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra - if you miss us you can listen back here.

ऑन-डिमांड टीवी की मांग कभी अधिक नहीं रही है।


Armenian 'genocide' vote ignites press

Summary: The German Bundestag vote recognising the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turkey in World War One as an act of "genocide" is the top story for the online editions of German newspapers, and attracts considerable attention in the Turkish and Armenian media too.

'Doing the right thing' German papers approve of the vote, saying it went ahead despite strong criticism from the Turkish government. In a commentary ahead of the vote, news magazine Der Spiegel said it would be "the right thing" to pass the resolution. But it also understood the decision of leading politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, not to attend the vote for fear of endangering the controversial EU-Turkey migrant deal. Die Welt's Turkey correspondent Deniz Yucel is less sympathetic to the political leaders' predicament, dubbing their absence from the vote "embarrassing". He describes the Turkish nationalist attitude to the Armenian massacres as "we didn't kill them, but we would do it again", and says only outside pressure like the Bundestag vote can bring "what has been repressed to the surface". Volker Kauder, the parliamentary leader of Chancellor Merkel's Christian Democrats, urges MPs not to "be silent", despite warnings from Turkey. "At a time of growing intolerance, naming historic crimes can help prevent them in future," he writes in the Frankfurter Allgmeine Zeitung. He says the resolution seeks Armenian-Turkish reconciliation, and is not an "accusation" against the people of Turkey. Sueddeutsche Zeitung says the vote has caused unease in Germany's large Turkish community. "I feel that 'murderer' is being stamped on the foreheads of us German Turks," Frankfurt law student Elmaci Hilal tells the paper. "I'm afraid the atmosphere between ethnic Turks and other Germans will change - it's been good so far." Left-wing Tageszeitung backs the resolution, but says Germany must also come to terms with its own past and recognise the 1904-8 killing of Herero and Nama people in Namibia - a German colony at the time - as genocide. 'Scandalous decision' Turkey's pro-government Sabah dubs the vote a "scandalous decision", registers official Turkish "warnings" about the bill, and notes the absence of Chancellor Markel and other top ministers from the debate. Opposition Cumhuriyet is less combative, saying that "all eyes are now on Ankara" to see how the Turkish government will respond. The paper dismisses fears of a collapse of the EU migrant deal, as it is a "separate matter". The Armenian Turkish newspaper Agos compares Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim's reaction unfavourably with the Bundestag's expression of "sorrow" at the failure of the German military mission to the Ottoman Empire to stop the killings in 1915, when the two countries were First World War allies. Prime Minister Yildirim said the killings were "the sort of ordinary thing that happens in times of war, and could have happened in any country". 'Armenia's turn' The media in Armenia followed the vote avidly. It was aired live with a simultaneous translation on pro-government Ararat TV, as well as on some major news agencies, including official Armenpress and 1in.am. Lragir newspaper is typical of media reaction in seeing this as "Armenia's turn" to capitalise on the German resolution and press for similar votes in other countries, including Russia. BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.

प्रथम विश्व युद्ध में तुर्क तुर्की द्वारा अर्मेनियाई लोगों की सामूहिक हत्या को "नरसंहार" के कार्य के रूप में मान्यता देने वाला जर्मन बुंडेस्टैग वोट जर्मन समाचार पत्रों के ऑनलाइन संस्करणों के लिए शीर्ष कहानी है, और तुर्की और अर्मेनियाई मीडिया में भी काफी ध्यान आकर्षित करता है।


India's long, dark and dangerous walk to the toilet

Summary: The danger faced by women going to the toilet outdoors in rural India was made clear last month when two girls were ambushed, gang-raped and hanged from a tree. But defecation outside is normal for most Indian villagers - so how do they manage?

By Divya AryaBBC News, Delhi Less than 50 miles from India's capital Delhi, in a village called Kurmaali the women walk out to the fields twice a day - at the crack of dawn and the onset of dusk. The fields are the only toilet most of them have ever known. Only 30 of the 300 homes in the village have their own private facilities, and none have drainage. They walk out together, in groups, for safety. It takes about 15 minutes. Then they separate and space out for a little privacy. Kailash, aged 38, wakes her three daughters up at 04:00 every morning. Each takes a bottle of water, and they set off. "We always go in groups. I would never let my girls go on their own," Kailash says. Her youngest daughter, 18-year-old Sonu, adds: "We go straight to the toilet and back. Never deviate. Never go alone. And if we see a boy, we shout at him." It is important to tread carefully. Once the crops are cut and the fields are bare the whole ground space is open for anyone to use. It's literally like an open toilet. During sowing and harvesting, the fields are out of bounds. Then one has to walk for another 15 minutes, to an uncultivated area. The exercise that normally takes 45 minutes to an hour stretches to an hour and 15 minutes, or more. Darkness gives the women cover, and a degree of privacy, which is very important to them, but it in some ways it makes them more vulnerable. They are keen to get the process over as quickly as possible. The unspoken rule is that the men go to the toilet only at dawn, but boys sometimes break this rule, in order to harass or molest members of the opposite sex. The women tell stories of catcalling, and groping - though will never admit that has happened to them, only to others. Sonu's advice, if a boy appears? "Always be aggressive." Her elder sister Seema says she would not shy from giving the boys a slap if they dared touch her sisters. The group tells a story about one woman from the village who foolishly went to the fields alone, and suddenly found herself illuminated by the lights of a passing lorry. The lorry stopped, and the driver got out. The woman was forced to run for safety. The mother of one of the girls found hanged in Uttar Pradesh confided to me that she always accompanied her daughter to the fields but this one time she had let them go alone - a decision she said she'd always regret. No toilet paper is ever used in the village, only water, though after returning from the fields, the women usually have a proper wash with soap. Then there is a long wait until the next trip to the open-air toilet after darkness falls in the evening, some 14 or 15 hours later. The women have no choice but to contain any desire to urinate or defecate, if necessary for hours on end. But last year Sonu fell sick with an upset stomach. "She needed a toilet urgently, so, I filled water in a bottle and took her to the fields during daytime," says Kailash. "I stayed with her for three hours. I spread a sheet under a tree, so she could rest every few minutes, we had to stay till she felt that she wouldn't need to go to the toilet anymore." They don't like to talk about it, but the women of Kurmaali eventually admit that in cases of emergency, children or elderly people may use a kind of toilet pan inside the house. It's hard for them to disinfect it though, so after a few days it begins to smell and has to be thrown away. They make clear how disgusting they find this topic. In fact, many think of open-air toilets as the natural way of defecation. Seema, Kailash's eldest daughter, spent a few years at a boarding school, which had an enclosed private toilet. She quickly became accustomed to it, but nonetheless regards this kind of toilet as a necessity born out of modern living. "Our school and hostel were in big buildings, there were no fields around them, so they had to build toilets," she says. At the only school in Kurmaali itself, for some 300 day pupils, I found two toilets but they were clearly not in use. One had no door, the other was full of bricks and other rubbish. When I asked one of the school governors why this was, he questioned why anyone would need a toilet. The school was right next to the fields, he pointed out. This infuriated the women accompanying me. The boys might be able to use the fields in daylight, they pointed out, but not the girls. Deadly cost Most of the men in the village work as daily labourers, or drivers. A few work in the fields. One of the few that has a private toilet is Santraj, a mason, who lives next door to Kailash. He built it eight years ago, at a cost of 10,000 rupees (£100), double the village's average monthly wage. The toilet sits on top of two 10ft-deep pits, which drain in such a way, he says, that there is no foul smell. The pits will need to be emptied one day, but should last 10 years. But why have Santraj and a few others got a toilet when the vast majority of the villagers have not? He says it's because he has only four children, while most families have at least half a dozen to support. Also, he points out, the lack of a toilet doesn't usually bother men. "Men can go anywhere, any time," he says. "It is only the women who need protection and cover." Even in the cities, it is common to see men in India urinating in public against a wall. In Kurmaali it is interesting to note how the families spend their limited incomes. The streets are dotted with motorbikes and the occasional car, luxury items mostly acquired as part of a dowry. Kailash's dowry did not include a motorbike, but her husband has purchased a television set and a satellite dish - even though the electricity comes on for four hours every day at most. He could probably have afforded a toilet, with the help of a government grant available for this purpose. But while Kailash's husband treats his wife well, doesn't drink alcohol or abuse her physically, a toilet was not his priority. "Toilets are not so important for men," Kailash says. "And I can't throw a tantrum about this, women don't do that here." Divya Arya reported from Kurmaali for the Fifth Floor, on the BBC World Service. Catch up on the BBC iPlayer or download the podcast. Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

ग्रामीण भारत में महिलाओं को बाहर शौचालय जाने का खतरा पिछले महीने स्पष्ट हो गया था जब दो लड़कियों पर घात लगाकर हमला किया गया था, सामूहिक बलात्कार किया गया था और एक पेड़ से लटका दिया गया था। लेकिन अधिकांश भारतीय ग्रामीणों के लिए बाहर शौच सामान्य है-तो वे कैसे संभालते हैं?


Facebook's new Camera app mirrors Instagram

Summary: Facebook has launched a photo sharing smartphone app called Camera.

The software allows users to take multiple pictures and share them at once rather than having to upload them one at a time. The app also features a feed of friends' photos. The launch is unexpected as the program offers users similar tools to Instagram which the social network is in the process of taking over. Both apps allow users to add filters and make other tweaks to photographs. Facebook has agreed to pay $1bn (£638m) for Instagram, but the acquisition has not been completed. Brian Blau, research director at the technology analysts Gartner, said the move may surprise some, but thought it made sense. "Facebook has to move its business forward," he told the BBC. "It said earlier that it would keep Instagram as a separate business, but you need to bear in mind that it is buying a unique social network with a specific demographic. "By doing this Facebook allows Instagram to remain intact while adopting some of its features to ensure its core service maintains its lead as the internet's most used photo sharing site." At present Camera only works on Apple's smartphones and tablets. A news release from Facebook did not mention when it might be released for Android or other systems.

फेसबुक ने कैमरा नामक एक फोटो शेयरिंग स्मार्टफोन ऐप लॉन्च किया है।


Volunteer plan for Avon Fire and Rescue Service

Summary: Volunteers could be brought in by Avon Fire and Rescue Service to carry out jobs that would help free up fire officers.

They would be used in a variety of roles such as home safety checks and conducting local campaigns. Mick Dixon, from Avon Fire and Rescue, said other fire services had already taken on volunteers. "We want people to come forward who already have connections in the community," Mr Dixon added.

स्वयंसेवकों को एवन फायर एंड रेस्क्यू सर्विस द्वारा उन कार्यों को करने के लिए लाया जा सकता है जो अग्निशमन अधिकारियों को मुक्त करने में मदद करेंगे।


India minister unveils 375kg sweet for Modi birthday

Summary: India's tourism minister Mahesh Sharma has unveiled a 375kg (826lb) laddoo to celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday.

The traditional sweets, made from flour, ghee and sugar, are often consumed at celebrations and festivals. The significance of the weight of the sweet is as yet unknown. The sweet was unveiled as part of a function by a sanitation company which is celebrating Mr Modi's birthday as "Swachhta Diwas" (Cleanliness Day). This is however not the strangest birthday gift received by the Indian prime minister. In 2013, before he became prime minister, Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat sang a sultry "happy birthday" to Mr Modi, Marilyn Monroe style.

भारत के पर्यटन मंत्री महेश शर्मा ने प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी का जन्मदिन मनाने के लिए 375 किलोग्राम (826 पौंड) के लड्डु का अनावरण किया है।


Guernsey Electricity generator to be tested

Summary: Guernsey Electricity's new £14m generator will be tested at full capacity for a month before it is connected to the electricity grid.

The installation of the 360-tonne oil-fired generator is due to be completed early in the new year. Tom Woodford, project manager for Guernsey Electricity, said the test would ensure it was reliable, efficient and met all their requirements. He said the major components were in place and connection work had begun. Mr Woodford said the project had involved installing about 4km (2.5 miles) of pipe work and about 20km (12.4 miles) of cabling. The generator, which was delivered in September, became the single largest piece of machinery ever brought ashore in the Bailiwick. It is due to start generating electricity for the island in March.

ग्वेर्नसे इलेक्ट्रिसिटी के नए 14 मिलियन पाउंड के जनरेटर का बिजली ग्रिड से जुड़ने से पहले एक महीने के लिए पूरी क्षमता से परीक्षण किया जाएगा।


Princess Latifa urges UK police to reopen sister's kidnap case

Summary: Princess Latifa, the captive daughter of Dubai's ruler, has appealed to UK police to re-investigate the kidnap of her older sister from a Cambridge street more than 20 years ago.

By Jane McMullenBBC News In a letter shared with the BBC, Latifa tells Cambridgeshire police this could help free Princess Shamsa, who was captured on the orders of their father. Shamsa, who was just 18 then and is now 39, has not been seen in public since. The government of Dubai has not responded to BBC requests for comment. A High Court judge ruled in 2019, that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum had abducted both daughters and held them against their will. Last week BBC Panorama broadcast shocking videos Latifa had secretly recorded on a phone she had been given, in which she described how she was being held "hostage" by her father following a failed escape attempt in 2018. The UN has since asked the United Arab Emirates for proof that Latifa is alive. But almost two decades earlier, an attempt by her older sister to flee the family also ended in capture and imprisonment. In August 2000, around two months after escaping from her father's Longcross Estate in Surrey, Shamsa was forcibly taken from Cambridge, flown by helicopter to France and then by private jet back to Dubai. Latifa's handwritten letter, which was passed to the Cambridgeshire force by her friends on Wednesday, urges action for her sister by British authorities. It was written in 2019 while she was being held in solitary confinement in a "jail villa". "All I ask of you", writes Latifa, "is to please give attention on her case because it could get her her freedom... your help and attention on her case could free her." She adds: "She has strong links to England… she really loves England, all of her fondest memories are of her time there." Latifa dated the letter February 2018, before her escape attempt, to avoid revealing that she had a way of communicating with the outside world from captivity. It paints a chilling picture of her sister's fate after she was returned to Dubai. "She was kept incommunicado with no release date, trial or charge. She was tortured by getting her feet caned..." Cambridgeshire police first launched a kidnap investigation in 2001 after Shamsa made contact via an immigration lawyer. But the investigation eventually hit a dead end when officers were blocked from going to Dubai. It later emerged that aides acting for the sheikh had made representations to the Foreign Office around the time of the investigation. Police reviewed the investigation in 2018, and BBC News can now reveal that one investigator acknowledged there were "significant sensitivities" with the case. A further review was launched after the High Court judgment was published in 2020. In a statement to BBC News, Cambridgeshire Police said it had received Latifa's letter, which "will be looked at as part of the ongoing review". The statement added: "This is a very complex and serious matter and as such there are details of the case that it would be inappropriate to discuss publicly." The Foreign Office, which has previously faced questions over its response in the wake of representations from a powerful state ally, told the BBC this was a private matter between two individuals and it had no role in the investigation by Cambridgeshire Constabulary or its outcome. They also declined to comment on contact from the sheikh's office regarding the case. After the footage of Princess Latifa emerged, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the footage was "deeply troubling" and that the UK would "watch very closely developments on that front". In 2018, the Dubai Royal Court told the BBC that Shamsa was "adored and cherished". The sheikh's only statement on the case has been to the High Court, and speaks of "relief" at having found his "vulnerable" daughter Shamsa after she went missing. Shamsa's story prefigured what happened to Latifa 18 years later and played a key role in her decision to seek a new life abroad. It led directly to her failed escape on a boat in the Indian Ocean. In a video posted to YouTube before her attempt to escape in 2018 Latifa describes what happened to her sister and its severe repercussions. BBC News has also spoken to someone who had regular contact with Shamsa in Dubai: "You didn't need to be a doctor to know that [she] was tranquilised all the time." The failed escape of the young Shamsa Princess Shamsa had grown up partly in the UK and had been given a Western education. "Shamsa wasn't what you would call a 'Princess'", according to her cousin Marcus Essabri, who lived with the family in Dubai for two years and was close to her. "She was cheeky. Full of life and adventure." "She wanted to make a difference for women, in the Arab world especially. She wanted to push the boundaries… this is when the problems started," Mr Essabri said. Shamsa wrote to Mr Essabri from London in September 1999, nine months before her escape. Her father, then Crown Prince of Dubai, was not letting her pursue her studies and go to university. "I'm not allowed to continue. You know that he didn't even ask me what I was interested in. He just said no." She confided in her cousin that she was thinking of running away. "The one thing that scares me is imagining myself old and regretting not trying when I was 18. Try what? I don't know. Just taking that chance". Then in summer 2000, she took it. She drove a black Range Rover to the edge of the sheikh's sprawling £75m estate at Longcross in Surrey and slipped away. The sheikh deployed a team of agents to secretly track her down. On 19 August 2000, a man took Shamsa to Cambridge, where they checked into the University Arms Hotel. Unbeknownst to her, up to four of her father's operatives had arrived, and she was captured on the street. Shamsa was driven to the sheikh's estate near Newmarket. By 0500 the next day, she was on a helicopter from Newmarket to northern France, where she was transferred to a private jet. Hours later, she was back in Dubai: her dreams of freedom and of an education over. How a British investigation stalled It took around seven months for the kidnap allegation to reach Det Ch Insp David Beck at central Cambridge's Parkside Police Station. "It's not every day that an allegation involving a head of state lands on a police officer's desk," he told the BBC in 2018 for the documentary Escape from Dubai. Shamsa had managed to get a letter to the immigration lawyer she'd met while she was in London earlier: "I don't have the time to write in detail. I am being watched all the time so I'll get straight to the point. I was caught by my father, he managed to track me down. I am locked up until today… now, I am not only asking you to report this immediately, I am asking your help and to involve the authorities (involve everyone)." "The evidence at that point suggested that there may be some substance to what was being alleged. If the allegation was true, then an offence appears to have been committed against a UK law," Det Ch Insp Beck told the BBC in 2018. More details of the investigation were only revealed last year, when Cambridgeshire Police complied with a disclosure order from the High Court. It emerged that he had managed to speak to Shamsa by phone, and then corroborated key details of her story. But he needed to go to Dubai to interview her and investigate further. He applied through the Crown Prosecution Service, but his request was rejected. "I was never given a reason why." The case was shelved, until a review in 2018 in the wake of yet another message from Shamsa. That was eventually closed because of "insufficient evidence to take any further action". The sheikh did submit a statement to the High Court describing Shamsa as "more vulnerable than other young women of her age" because her status made her a kidnap risk. Latifa's letter will represent the third time a plea has been made for police to investigate the abduction. The sheikh's connections in the UK are deep. He is a friend of the Queen and one of the biggest private landowners in the country. Successive UK administrations have viewed the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is part, as a key strategic and business ally in the region. In 2000 or 2001 the sheikh's London office contacted the Foreign Office about Shamsa's case. The FCO would later confirm in a Parliamentary answer that they had responded that it was a matter for the police. But inside the Foreign Office, BBC News understands that there was silence about the alleged abduction. Tony Blair, then prime minister, told us through a spokesperson, that he has "absolutely no recollection of this coming to him in government". In response to a BBC Freedom of Information request for any conversations held by the FCO relating to the case, we were told that "disclosure of information detailing our relationship with the UAE Government could potentially damage the bilateral relationship between the UK and UAE." The 'zombie' life of Shamsa now Latifa has said that Shamsa spent the eight years after her capture in prison. When she was released in 2008, Latifa was able to see her. "She had to be led around by her hand. She couldn't open her eyes… she was given a bunch of pills to control her. Those pills made her like a zombie." The person who had contact with Shamsa after her release said: "She was just…. kept quiet. Everything she did was controlled. There was no spark in Shamsa any more. There was no fight in her. There was nothing. She was just a shell." "I think she just resigned herself to the fact that this was her life. It's desperately sad." In 2019 Latifa met Shamsa again, by which time Latifa was imprisoned herself after also trying to escape. She described the meeting to her cousin via her secret phone. "Latifa warned me 'you are not going to recognise her now'. She has been drugged up so much. She is alive. But Shamsa is not Shamsa", said Mr Essabri. The person who has known Shamsa adds: "You couldn't actually make this up. Because who would believe you. It seems so unreal. But unfortunately, it's real. And I understand that people can't get their head round it, they just see some rich girl. It's not like that at all. It's horrific."

दुबई के शासक की बंदी बेटी राजकुमारी लतीफा ने ब्रिटेन की पुलिस से 20 साल से अधिक समय पहले कैम्ब्रिज की सड़क से अपनी बड़ी बहन के अपहरण की फिर से जांच करने की अपील की है।


Q&A: What are the Tawel Fan inquiries about?

Summary: It was called a "catalogue of shocking and unacceptable failures" in the care of some of the most vulnerable patients. But now a follow-up investigation has found no institutional abuse. So what have the Tawel Fan inquiries been about?

What is Tawel Fan? It was a 17-bed ward for elderly dementia patients - 'Tawel Fan' is Welsh for a peaceful place. It was one of four wards at the Ablett psychiatric unit in the grounds of Glan Clwyd Hospital, four miles from Rhyl, in Denbighshire, which opened in 1995. But it was suddenly closed, just before Christmas in 2013. What happened? The health board in charge - Betsi Cadwaldr - said there were "deeply distressing" allegations about patient care. The subsequent independent investigation by senior NHS figure Donna Ockenden was one of the most damning ever published into care standards in Wales. She said what happened there amounted to "institutional abuse". But an investigation now says this was based on evidence that was incomplete, misinterpreted, taken out of context and based on misleading information. It says there was no evidence of abuse or neglect. What did the first investigation find? Were the police involved? North Wales Police were brought in to investigate 10 months after the allegations first emerged and looked at 17 patients. They found no evidence of avoidable deaths, mistreatment or neglect. The Crown Prosecution Service eventually decided not to prosecute. However, eight staff were initially suspended and four moved to other duties. So why have we had a second investigation? The Ockenden inquiry interviewed 18 family and friend witnesses involving nine patients; also 40 staff members. The health board commissioned the Health and Care Advisory Service (Hascas) to undertake a comprehensive investigation into the detailed circumstances. This has been much wider and has involved the cases of 108 former Tawel Fan patients, going back to 2007. What is Hascas? It is a Hampshire-based charity and consultancy which specialises in health and social care. The Tawel Fan inquiry has been led by its chief executive Dr Androulla Johnstone - who also led the inquiry into Jimmy Savile's association with Stoke Mandeville Hospital. What was this investigation's scope? It has looked at half a million pages of documents, including the police investigation statements and evidence, the work by the Ockenden inquiry, complaint files and correspondence and the health board's initial internal investigation. It looked at thousands of pages of patient records. Hascas has also looked at a mortality review, audits and other information held by the health board. It also took evidence from relatives - separate reports were being provided for each patient - and former and current staff. What effect has this had on the health board? Shortly after the Tawel Fan investigation was published the Welsh Government placed BCUHB into special measures. It became the first and only health board in Wales to be subject to the highest level of Welsh Government supervision and intervention. The outrage caused by Tawel Fan no doubt contributed to the decision, and one of the key actions has been for the health board to be ordered to significantly improve mental health services across north Wales. However, the health board has been struggling for years to address deep-rooted problems - including GP out-of-hours and maternity services - and had lost public confidence. The Tawel Fan revelations may have proved to be the final straw. It still faces a significant deficit, waiting list and recruitment issues - and improving mental health services remains a big challenge. It faces 15 recommendations from the latest report to implement. What about the families? They have waited a very long time and there has been undoubted frustration at what has been called a "complicated and time consuming process". Health watchdogs have also been "extremely disappointed" over the time it has been taking, since the investigation began in autumn 2015 and even before it was published, some families said they have no trust in the process. But because of the sheer scale of the inquiry - the inspectors have spoken to 86 staff, families of 108 patients and looked at 9,400 documents - it was never going to be completed quickly. Will this be the last word? No. There is also a second report to come from Donna Ockenden, which has also been long delayed. It is looking at wider issues of leadership and governance, which could have contributed to the problems at Tawel Fan. Did what happened at Tawel Fan have an impact on the wider NHS? Around the same time as Tawel Fan, concerns also emerged about the care of elderly patients at two hospitals in south Wales run by the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health board. An independent report later criticised failings at Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend and at Neath Port Talbot Hospital Later the Welsh Government ordered spot-checks to take place on mental health wards for elderly patients across Wales. They found no evidence of systemic poor care or neglect but did find significant room for improvement in some areas, including making sure patients have daily activities and staff can get effective training. Due to a growing and ageing population and the fact more people are now living with dementia, the ability and capacity of the NHS, along with other social agencies' ability to care for elderly patients, is increasingly under the spotlight. What will happen to Tawel Fan now? The health board has already said it will never re-open and the building might even be demolished. A decision will also have to be taken on what happens to the staff, still suspended, which has been pending the findings of this latest report. There are plans to improve the whole Ablett unit, which could see four new wards built with a total of 60 new beds. Although the second investigation found no evidence of neglect and abuse at Tawel Fan, it found problems due to pressures on staff and more challenging and demanding psychiatric patients being sent there. It also pointed to wider issues at the health board and in how mental health services had been delivered. What happens to patients now? Patients who would have gone to Tawel Fan go to the Bryn Hesketh ward in Colwyn Bay. It has refurbished wards to make them more dementia-friendly, there is a greater focus on involving carers and families and lots of activities. Meanwhile, new initiatives include the first dementia support worker in Wales has been embedded in an A&E unit at Glan Clwyd. There are 15 recommendations in the Hascas report for BCUHB to address. Sean Page, consultant nurse for dementia at the health board, said there had been a "significant change in culture" after a "sense of shame" across the organisation. A new dementia strategy will be delivered across BCUHB which Mr Page said would involve all staff, not just those in mental health. "There was a period for a lot of staff of intense reflection on their own practice but equally there has been a breath of air which has blown through this organisation," he said.

इसे कुछ सबसे कमजोर रोगियों की देखभाल में "चौंकाने वाली और अस्वीकार्य विफलताओं की सूची" कहा जाता था। लेकिन अब एक अनुवर्ती जांच में कोई संस्थागत दुर्व्यवहार नहीं पाया गया है। तो तावेल फैन पूछताछ किस बारे में हुई है?


Falklands oil exploration stalled amid falling oil price

Summary: Oil drillers in the Falklands have shelved plans to drill a second well in the south and east of the region, following the steep drop in oil prices.

The move involves three oil exploration companies, Falkland Oil and Gas (FOGL), Edison International and Noble Energy. They will continue their operations in other parts of the region, but need "disciplined capital management in the current oil price environment". The price of Brent Crude has almost halved in the last year. The announcement also follows Argentina's ramping up of political pressure on the companies last week. The disputed sovereignty of the Falklands makes drilling there controversial. FOGL initially planned to explore five oil wells in the region in 2015. Oil explorers globally have scaled back drilling work to control costs amidst the steep decline in oil prices. Shares in FOGL opened 4.3% higher as investors saw the news as positive.

तेल की कीमतों में भारी गिरावट के बाद फ़ॉकलैंड में तेल ड्रिलरों ने क्षेत्र के दक्षिण और पूर्व में एक दूसरे कुएं को खोदने की योजना को स्थगित कर दिया है।


North Wales marine energy project secures £12m of EU funds

Summary: A project to expand Wales' marine energy sector has received almost £12m in EU funding.

The money will support Bangor University's £17m Seacams 2 project. Experts at Bangor and Swansea universities will provide research and development to help businesses exploit commercial opportunities and create new products. The original Seacams project helped to secure investment in a £25m underwater "kite" project off Anglesey.

वेल्स के समुद्री ऊर्जा क्षेत्र का विस्तार करने की एक परियोजना को यूरोपीय संघ के वित्त पोषण में लगभग 12 मिलियन पाउंड प्राप्त हुए हैं।


Why would Iran raise the stakes by attacking Saudi Arabia?

Summary: Saudi Arabia says it has evidence showing Iran sponsored Saturday's drone and missile attacks on two of its oil facilities, and called on the international community to take action. The question is whether there could be a war.

By Kasra NajiBBC Persian The scale of the attacks means that Saudi Arabia cannot overlook what happened, and its decision to identify Iran as the culprit compels the kingdom to respond. The Saudis will probably wait until a team of independent experts from the United Nations has completed an investigation into the incident. Although the experts are likely to come to the same conclusions - namely, that the attacks could not have been carried out without Iranian material support and guidance - the process will give the Saudis time to consider their options. For Iran, deniability is not going to help. Saudi Arabia and its allies believe the country has raised the stakes in order to convince US President Donald Trump to ease the crippling economic sanctions he reinstated when he abandoned a nuclear deal with Iran last year and demanded a new one be negotiated. Iran's leaders hope that the risk of the region sliding into war will bring world powers to the realisation that the sanctions are a recipe for disaster. They had been hoping that a plan by French President Emmanuel Macron to offer a $15bn line of credit to Iran, in return for its compliance with the nuclear deal and a halt to its destabilising activities in the region, would come to fruition. But the plan has not been approved by Mr Trump. On Wednesday, the US president asked his treasury secretary to substantially increase the sanctions against Iran. Iran may, therefore, have overplayed its hand. Attacks on this scale could not happen without the approval the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He gave a speech this week in which there was not a single reference to the attacks on Saudi Arabia's biggest oil facility, or the danger of a war breaking out at any moment. Instead, he chose to reject once again any possibility of talks between Iranian and US officials at any level as long as the US sanctions remained in force. But sooner or later, Ayatollah Khamenei might be forced to alter his stance and agree to talks, as more moderate figures in Iran are quietly advocating. Iran's oil exports are close to zero, its revenue stream is drying up, and its reserves of hard currency are thought to be sufficient only for several more months. The fall in the value of its currency has pushed the inflation rate to 40% and almost halved the purchasing power of Iranians, who are finding it difficult to make ends meet. So will Saudi Arabia take military action to force Iran to back off? The kingdom may be understandably reluctant to do so. Iran has a population of 80 million compared with Saudi Arabia's 33 million. Iran has thousands of missiles, which make Saudi Arabia's oil facilities, military bases, and population centres very vulnerable. By comparison, Saudi Arabia has hundreds of Chinese-made missiles and only a limited missile defence capability. Saudi Arabia has roughly the same number of fighting aircraft as Iran. But its aircraft are modern and effective, while Iran's are old and unreliable. Iran has its proxies across the region and supporters among Saudi Arabia's minority Shia Muslim community. Saudi Arabia is also already involved in a costly war in Yemen against the Iran-aligned rebel Houthi movement. But a war directly with Iran, if it happened, would inevitably be about air power and missile capability. Neither side would come out of it victorious. Although there are US troops, aircraft and ships deployed in the Gulf region, President Trump appears to be reluctant to get involved in a drawn-out conflict. US vessels and bases would be vulnerable to attacks by Iranian missiles, and about a fifth of the world's oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Mr Trump may be concerned about the impact on his re-election campaign of substantial price rises at petrol stations in the US. For Saudi Arabia, US military support is crucial. But Mr Trump wants the Saudis to take the lead in responding to Iran and to pick up the bill for any US help. Saudi Arabia would also want its regional allies - the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain - to be part of any response. The US could also enlist the political and diplomatic support of its European allies. However, they see the escalation as a direct result of Mr Trump's decision to abandon the nuclear deal. Meanwhile, the hardliners in Iran may well be reflecting on whether their strategy is leading their country to war and destruction, rather than the easing of sanctions.

सऊदी अरब का कहना है कि उसके पास सबूत हैं कि ईरान ने शनिवार को उसके दो तेल केंद्रों पर ड्रोन और मिसाइल हमलों को प्रायोजित किया था, और अंतर्राष्ट्रीय समुदाय से कार्रवाई करने का आह्वान किया। सवाल यह है कि क्या युद्ध हो सकता है।


Scotland's best new buildings of 2019

Summary: The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) has announced a 19-strong shortlist of buildings for its 2019 awards.

The judging panel said it was an impressive list that showed "the ambitious level of excellence that architects and their clients can achieve". The RIAS awards winners will be announced in Edinburgh on 30 May. The shortlisted contenders are: All images copyrighted

द रॉयल इनकॉर्पोरेशन ऑफ आर्किटेक्ट्स इन स्कॉटलैंड (आर. आई. ए. एस.) ने अपने 2019 के पुरस्कारों के लिए इमारतों की 19-मजबूत सूची की घोषणा की है।


Nicaragua's jungle graveyard gives hints to future

Summary: Half-buried in the fringes of a thick jungle along Nicaragua's southern Caribbean coast, the remains of a once promising British colonial outpost hide shyly from the rest of the world.

By Tim RogersGreytown, Nicaragua Greytown, as the British called this river-mouth trading post in the 18th and 19th Centuries, is now a quintessential ghost town. There are far more graves than living souls here. A rusting iron fence marks out four cemeteries: British, Catholic, Masonic and Sabine, the last named after a US frigate that lost eight crew and officers here the mid-19th Century. The last residents of this former British protectorate (1748 -1860) were relocated a few kilometres upriver in 1984, after a firefight between Sandinista soldiers and Contra rebels burned the town to the jungle floor. Today, Old Greytown is mainly home to exotic migratory birds, tapirs that plod about and sleek wild cats that paw their way through the underbrush. Occasionally, human life appears in the form of a tourist poking around the graves. Peter Stevenson, a British citizen who works for the Inter-American Development Bank in Managua, had come in search of long-lost family ties. Among the Masonic graves, Mr Stevenson found the headstone of Florence Edith Maud Schardschmidt, who was laid to rest in 1901 by her "heartbroken husband," Howard Schardschmidt. Gold rush Mrs Schardschmidt, who was only 23 when she died, was the sister of Mr Stevenson's great-grandmother. She happened to be from New Jersey, which is why she is buried in the Masonic graveyard and not in the neighbouring plot reserved for Britons. The roots of Mr Stevenson's family tree, it turns out, are as twisted and far-reaching as the jungle vines besieging Old Greytown. Although Greytown was technically a British protectorate, by the mid-1800s it was under the de facto economic control of US industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt, who sought to turn it into the starting point of the hemisphere's first trans-oceanic canal. By 1849, Vanderbilt's Accessory Transit Company was shipping thousands of US adventurers, whose ultimate destination was gold-rush California, to Nicaragua. Rather than brave the long overland journey from the east to the west coast of the US, these prospectors would travel along the San Juan River by ferry, trek across the remaining bit of land to the Pacific Ocean and continue their shipboard journey north to California. In three short years, Vanderbilt's company moved more than 52,000 Americans along the San Juan River. It was during that roughneck era that the US side of Mr Stevenson's family first came to Greytown. "My ancestor came to Nicaragua in 1853 as a steamboat captain from New Jersey. He ran Vanderbilt's steamship company and smuggled guns up the San Juan River to (US mercenary) William Walker," Mr Stevenson says. Greytown's heyday, brought about by the curious combination of US capitalists, British aristocrats, tenuous indigenous alliances and the occasional outlaw, was, as one might guess, short-lived. By the middle of the 19th Century, its fate as a boomtown-gone-bust was sealed. First the US Navy burned the city to the ground in 1854, which was not appreciated by the locals. Second, the Treaty of Managua was signed in 1860, ceding the recently rebuilt Greytown to Nicaraguan governance and so ending several centuries of colonial management. The third nail in the coffin came when Nicaragua lost its canal bid to Panama, effectively terminating all international interest in Greytown. 'Historical ties' Now, as the current Sandinista government again dusts off Nicaragua's yellowing canal plans, there is suddenly renewed interest in saving this remote corner, now known as San Juan de Nicaragua. In late May, the Nicaraguan government inaugurated a $16m (£10m) airport that is literally carved into the jungle alongside the colonial graveyards. While tourism will benefit, many believe the new airport is linked to national defence, the drug war and Nicaragua's renewed canal plans. The Sandinista government recently signed a $720,000 contract with Dutch companies Royal Haskoning-DHV and Ecorys to conduct feasibility studies on several proposed canal routes, one of which would go right through Greytown, as Vanderbilt envisioned 150 years ago. Whatever the airport's main function may be, locals are hoping for a boost to the region's eco- and historical tourism. The British embassy recently took a renewed interest in the area, backing programmes to support environmental education and prison reform in nearby Bluefields. "Greytown has a very colourful history and Britain's connection with Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast spans over 300 years," says British ambassador Chris Campbell. "The people who live on the coast value these historical ties very much and our embassy is pleased to be keeping these links strong." Briton Peter Stevenson agrees. "This was once an important trading outpost for the British Empire, and when you see how it has become such a ghost town, it makes you nostalgic," he says. "So for those who are interested in the history of the British Empire, this is a fantastic destination."

निकारागुआ के दक्षिणी कैरेबियाई तट के साथ एक घने जंगल के किनारे में आधे दफनाए गए, एक समय की होनहार ब्रिटिश औपनिवेशिक चौकी के अवशेष बाकी दुनिया से शर्म से छिपे हुए हैं।