Alien hunters: An array of hope

Summary: The hunt for signals from intelligent extraterrestrials has been in full swing for half a century. But the effort's flagship facility recently came to a grinding halt. The first of a two-part series on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Seti) takes a look at the facility and what it means for Seti's future.

By Jason PalmerScience and technology reporter, BBC News "It's never been this bad." Seth Shostak, principal astronomer for the Seti Institute in Mountain View, California, is trying the door of an outbuilding at the Allen Telescope Array (ATA). Like all the others, it is locked. "There's always been at least one or two people around who can let you in." The group of 42 antennas is, as the flyer posted nearby advises, "in the process of being returned to operations". Last April, there wasn't enough money in the Seti coffers to pay the staff, and the facility shut down. A funding drive raised money from Seti enthusiasts including former astronaut Bill Anders, sci-fi author Larry Niven, and even Hollywood actress Jodie Foster. But it's only enough to keep going for a few months. "Since 1993, Seti has had to run on private donations from people who think this is an interesting thing to do," Seth tells me. "I remain confident that we'll find the money to make this a permanent operation. After all, you're not going to find ET unless you have the telescope operational." Blind valley But even if the telescope is operational, will the effort find ET? Ask Seth or his colleagues, and you'll get the same answer: it's a long shot. It may take years, or decades, or centuries to pick up a signal. We humans have only been on the radio for about a century, and listening for cosmic signals for half of that. That is an infinitesimal slice of time in the 13 billion years that our Universe has been around. Yet, we are probably closer, at least philosophically, than we have ever been to answering the timeless question of whether we are alone. Fifty years ago, all we had was the Drake equation - a string of factors that, multiplied together, yielded a guess of how many ETs might be out there, phoning our home. Many of those factors were a matter of complete guesswork in the early 1960s: the rate of star formation in the galaxy, how many stars may host planets, how many of those planets could potentially support life. Today, some of those factors are being solidly quantified thanks to results from the Kepler space telescope, which is discovering far-flung planets - some potentially hospitable to life - at an astonishing rate. And where once there were single radio dishes listening in on single frequencies - single radio stations - improvements in the electronics behind the scenes make it possible to sift through literally millions of stations automatically. So Frank Drake, the originator of the equation, says it is a terrible time for Seti and the ATA to be experiencing what he calls a "valley". "After many years of quite a lot of action, the economic troubles of the world have had a great impact," he told BBC News. "There are very few searches going on in the world, despite the fact that at the present time we have far better equipment than we've ever had." Seti does have its economical ways and means, however. As with other areas of science that require vast computing power, there is the Seti@home screen saver - which sends signals from the Arecibo radio telescope to millions of volunteers around the world. "Everybody gets a different part of the sky to analyse, and it wakes up like any other screen saver when you go out for a cup of coffee," says Dan Werthimer, director of the Seti programme at the University of California Berkeley and a Seti@home pioneer. "It goes through the [Arecibo data] looking for all kinds of possible radio signals. Any strong signals it finds, it sends back to our server at Berkeley. Your name is attached to that data, so if you're the lucky one that finds ET, you get the Nobel prize." Other things are changing the nature of the hunt, too. Radio is one good way to squash energy into a signal carried across the cosmos. But another is the laser, which can focus a lot of energy, or information, into a lighthouse-like beam. Enter "optical Seti" - a hunt using good old-fashioned optical telescopes to look for laser lighthouses in the cosmos - one of the eight types of Seti searches that Berkeley carries out. "We think the best strategy is a variety of strategies," Dan tells me. "It's really hard to guess what an advanced civilisation might do." DNA message Back at the ATA, we find a technician who lives nearby to drop off the keys so we can head inside the control room. Seth tells me that his take is that we should be looking for signs of artificial intelligence, as well as squishy "biological" aliens. The autonomous robotic vacuum cleaners we have now are just a harbinger of the truly advanced intelligence he thinks will soon be developed. And if any advanced civilisation can invent its technological successor, these "thinking machines" could carry on searching the cosmos long after their biological forebears are gone. But it gets even more intriguing. Paul Davies of the Beyond Center at Arizona State University has proposed looking not for aliens but for footprints of alien technology, such as waste from their nuclear energy technology. And he has other ideas. "The one that most intrigues me is the possibility that the aliens may have engaged in some kind of biotechnology - if they had come to Earth and tinkered with terrestrial micro-organisms, or even made their own from scratch, the products of that could still be around." In other words, if aliens came through our neck of the woods long before we were here to see them, they may have left deliberate clues tucked in the DNA of microbes that have faithfully copied the message for millions of years. Prof Davies reckons that, since we're sequencing the DNA of life of all sorts anyway, we should keep an eye out for this kind of "message in a bottle". Powerful question But as the locked doors of the Allen Telescope Array remind me, all of this does take money. Those at the Seti Institute argue that the $2m (£1.3m) a year or so that the wider Seti effort requires is a drop in the ocean compared to, for example, military spending. Jill tells me that she spends a lot of her time trying to organise a foundation that can fund the effort far into the future - not just money to keep telescopes turning, but also to pay the next generation of Seti scientists. What is clear, though, is that the Seti effort speaks to something far deeper than the politics and the money issues that occasionally put it in the spotlight. "Calibrating our place in the cosmos is something that's important for humans to do, to really get a better sense of where we came from and where we're going, and I think that's part of the Seti story," she tells me. "That question 'are we alone?' hasn't lost any of its impact and its emotive power, even though it's been asked for millennia." The first of a two-part BBC World Service Discovery series, "Seti: the past, present and future", will be first broadcast at 19:32 Monday 9 January and the podcast can be found here.

बुद्धिमान परग्रहजीवियों से संकेतों की खोज आधी सदी से जोरों पर है। लेकिन प्रयास की प्रमुख सुविधा हाल ही में रुक गई। खोज पर दो भागों की श्रृंखला में से पहला पर नज़र डालता है परग्रहवासी खुफिया (सेती) के लिए खोज और सेती के भविष्य के लिए इसका क्या मतलब है।


Guernsey Airport reopens following two day closure

Summary: Guernsey Airport has reopened after being closed for two days to allow work to take place on and around the runway.

The closure coincided with celebrations to mark the 67th anniversary of the island's Liberation Day on Wednesday. The work centred on strengthening the edges of the runway ahead of its being resurfaced. Resurfacing is expected to take place in July as part of the £80m, two-year project which is aimed at improving the island's airfield.

रनवे पर और उसके आसपास काम करने की अनुमति देने के लिए दो दिनों के लिए बंद होने के बाद ग्वेर्नसे हवाई अड्डा फिर से खोल दिया गया है।


Channel Island ferries avoid Weymouth for 2012 Olympics

Summary: Condor Ferries has laid on extra sailings to Poole during the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics as the sailing events take place off Weymouth.

The company normally operates to both UK ports from the Channel Islands. Simon Edsall, managing director, said: "Sailing to Weymouth will pose some challenges during the Olympics and we have adapted accordingly." The extra sailings have been released as part of the ferry company's summer schedule for 2012. Mr Edsall said the timetable significantly increased the number of sailings to the UK and France. The schedule has been approved by both the States of Guernsey and Jersey.

कोंडोर फेरी ने 2012 के ओलंपिक और पैरालंपिक के दौरान पूल के लिए अतिरिक्त नौकायन किया है क्योंकि नौकायन कार्यक्रम वेमाउथ से होते हैं।


Bracknell Forest Council to spend £6m on housing

Summary: Housing worth £6m is being bought by Bracknell Forest Council to use as accommodation for homeless people.

The authority plans to buy up to 20 houses through its housing subsidiary, Downshire Homes, to avoid putting people in B&B accommodation. It said it currently spent about £1m a year on emergency temporary accommodation. The council said permanent homes were needed for about 30 homeless families in the area. Councillor Dale Birch said: "It's an investment to ensure we can save money and take the pressure of the cost of homelessness to the council." The council said out of the 20 properties bought, five would be offered to people with learning disabilities.

बेघर लोगों के लिए आवास के रूप में उपयोग करने के लिए ब्रैकनेल वन परिषद द्वारा 6 मिलियन पाउंड के आवास खरीदे जा रहे हैं।


Brexit and suspending Parliament: What just happened?

Summary: In a dramatic move on Wednesday morning, Britain's new Prime Minister Boris Johnson set in motion the suspension of the UK Parliament - which means MPs have much less time to debate Brexit, the process of the UK leaving the European Union.

Parliament is to be suspended for five weeks ahead of 31 October, the day the UK is due to leave the EU. That's just nine weeks away. People who want the UK to remain in the EU are calling it a coup - and even some in favour of Brexit have criticised the move. Mr Johnson wants to start a new parliamentary session, with a fresh programme, from 14 October. Instead of a normal three-week autumn recess, parliament will now wrap up some time around 10 September. With so little time, MPs would find it difficult to stop the UK leaving the EU without a deal. Wait, what just happened? Parliament always stops work for a few weeks in the autumn. But this isn't a normal recess: Mr Johnson is cutting short the current parliamentary session at a critical time. The UK was originally scheduled to leave the EU on 29 March. After Parliament rejected the deal negotiated with the EU three times, that deadline was extended. Departure day is now 31 October. Mr Johnson, who was one of the key figures in the Leave campaign, has promised to complete Brexit "do or die" - with or without a deal. However, most opposition members of Parliament (MPs) and many from the governing Conservative Party don't want to leave the EU without a deal. They fear it would damage the British economy, putting up prices and limiting access to the UK's biggest market. They've threatened to bring legislation ruling out a no-deal Brexit. Failing that, they could also call a vote of no-confidence in the government. Is it legal to suspend Parliament? Yes. It's what normally happens between the end of one session and the beginning of the next. However, the circumstances are unusual. A legal challenge would be difficult, since the government isn't breaking any law. It's just using parliamentary procedure, as Mr Johnson tries to fulfil his campaign promise to get the UK out of the EU. MPs could either go along with the suspension, with the risk of a no-deal Brexit, or they could trigger an election with a vote of no confidence in the government. The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has called the suspension a "constitutional outrage" designed to prevent MPs from debating Brexit. What about the Queen? She does have a say, but it's limited. Technically, the government had to ask her for permission to suspend Parliament. This is normally a formality: the Queen keeps out of politics. If she had refused, that would have been unprecedented. She did not refuse. What happens next? Good question. Parliament will go back to work next Tuesday 3 September, but will then go into recess. If Mr Johnson gets his way, Parliament returns on 14 October, two-and-a-half weeks before the UK leaves the EU. However, if MPs pass a vote of no-confidence before 10 September, there could be a general election in October. Please upgrade your browser Your guide to Brexit jargon If there's an election, will Brexit still happen? That depends. If the Conservatives win, then yes. They're ahead in the opinion polls, at about 31% last week, after Mr Johnson took over from the previous Prime Minister, Theresa May, in July. The main opposition Labour Party is trailing by 10 to 12 points, on about 21%. Labour is divided between traditional working-class areas, which tend to support Brexit, and voters in cities like London who are more in favour of remaining in the EU. But a Conservative win is not necessarily in the bag. Other parties, including the centre-left Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Nationalists, are all staunchly opposed to Brexit on any terms. And then there's the Brexit Party under Nigel Farage, whose central policy is to get the UK out of the EU. The fluid political situation and tight opinion polls make it difficult to say who might get a majority, if anyone. This makes any election difficult to predict. Just ask Mrs May: she called an early election in 2017 but returned with a reduced majority, dependent on 10 MPs from Northern Ireland. As a result, she had to agree to a deal which would keep the UK aligned with EU rules for longer than Brexit supporters would accept. And so here we are.

बुधवार की सुबह एक नाटकीय कदम में, ब्रिटेन के नए प्रधान मंत्री बोरिस जॉनसन ने यूके संसद के निलंबन को गति दी-जिसका अर्थ है कि सांसदों के पास ब्रेक्सिट, यूके के यूरोपीय संघ छोड़ने की प्रक्रिया पर बहस करने के लिए बहुत कम समय है।


Coronavirus restrictions: 'I'm going to struggle at university because of my ADHD'

Summary: More than two million students are starting a new term at university, all under new ways of learning - with socially distanced socialising and living with people they weren't sharing with during lockdown. As part of Radio 1 Newsbeat's university coverage, Aberystwyth student Lacey Small writes about her worries for those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

By Lacey SmallAberystwyth university student University is going to be very different this year. At the moment everyone seems to be talking about how sorry they feel for freshers, but no one is talking about how current students are going to struggle too. One thing that has been on my mind for the past few months is online learning because I know I'm going to struggle. In 2018 I started my undergraduate degree studying film. My first year I excelled in all of my practical modules but never did quite as well with my theory ones. "What's wrong with me....stupid idiot....why can't you just sit still and concentrate?" These thoughts ran through my mind on a daily basis. It was in my second year that I had finally had enough. Me and my friends were on a night out, we arrived outside one of the local clubs and suddenly I lost all the energy I had, I did not want to go in. After half an hour of being inside I was ready to go home but everyone wanted to stay. I couldn't hear myself think, it was too loud, people were everywhere bashing into each other. I just started to cry. The following morning, I decided to google everything I had been struggling with. ADHD. Four big bold letters across my screen. My doctor agrees I have it but I'm still on a waiting list for a special test. Finally having a name for what I have been struggling with all my life was the biggest relief I have ever felt. Since discovering I have ADHD, it has allowed me to figure out easier ways for me to study and learn while finishing my degree. Face-to-face learning is where I feel the most comfortable. I can ask as many questions as I need, I can also ask for help when I'm struggling to understand something and I'm surrounded by my other peers. I am petrified to start university again because face-to-face learning is mostly gone and I have to adjust to a new way of learning. My best friend Willow also thinks they have ADHD. Over quarantine they confided in me the fears they have for this upcoming year. "Am I going to fail my degree because of online learning?" We laughed together when they said this but deep down we were both petrified. Like me, Willow struggles focusing on a task and part of that is time management. Another friend of mine, Marcella, has autism. She is terrified of these new changes to the way we learn. She's feeling overwhelmed and says big changes to her routine are a lot to process. It's very daunting for her as this is something none of us could prepare for. One of her main concerns is having to adjust to this new style of learning quickly enough so her assignments don't get affected. Most students with neurological conditions up and down the country are probably panicking right now. Panicking about the thought of online learning and if they will get extra help when needed. It is a very scary time for us, all we want is to finish our degrees and not fail because of new changes. I was so excited to go into my final year at university, I was looking forward to seeing my uni friends for the last time before we all split off into the real world, but now I don't know what I'm looking forward to. My final year is now filled with so much uncertainty and that's terrifying. Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.

20 लाख से अधिक छात्र विश्वविद्यालय में एक नया कार्यकाल शुरू कर रहे हैं, सभी सीखने के नए तरीकों के तहत-सामाजिक रूप से दूर रहने वाले सामाजिककरण और उन लोगों के साथ रहने के साथ जो वे लॉकडाउन के दौरान साझा नहीं कर रहे थे। रेडियो 1 न्यूजबीट के विश्वविद्यालय कवरेज के हिस्से के रूप में, एबेरेस्टविथ की छात्रा लेसी स्मॉल ने अटेंशन डेफिसिट हाइपरएक्टिविटी डिसऑर्डर (एडीएचडी) वाले लोगों के लिए अपनी चिंताओं के बारे में लिखा है।


Young drivers: The technologies that cut insurance bills

Summary: The cost of insuring a car has never been higher.

By Brian MilliganPersonal Finance reporter For young people it is not uncommon to be quoted amounts in excess of £4000 a year - sometimes more than the car is actually worth. Not long ago, the only option for young drivers was "black box" insurance to help them reduce such premiums. Under this system, a data recorder box is fitted to your car and sends information to your insurer. Now there's a rival technology in the form of dash cam policies, based around mini video recorders on your dashboard, which promise to cut prices by up to 30%. So which is the best technology to minimise your bill? Black boxes Telematics - or black box - policies are designed to encourage you to drive safely, with data on your driving habits being sent to your insurer in real time. The cheapest deals are likely to involve a box hard-wired into your car. These cannot be switched off, so they provide the most accurate data. That's why insurance companies offer the best deals on them. However there are also devices which you plug in under the glove box each time you drive, and apps on mobile phones. The boxes - or the apps - are usually provided free of charge. Restrictions: Telematics policies restrict driving behaviour in different ways. Some come with a curfew, and apply a penalty for driving after 11pm. However, since two teenagers were killed in Gloucestershire in 2013 as they raced home to beat their curfew, many insurers no longer apply a time limit. In any case, such restrictions are not for everyone. "Maybe you're a nurse and you do nightshifts," says Graeme Trudgill, executive director at The British Insurance Brokers' Association (Biba). "So a daytime-only policy wouldn't be very suitable." Other policies restrict your total mileage, meaning the less you drive, the less you pay. Driving style: The most advanced policies monitor your driving style, by measuring your acceleration, braking, cornering and speed. One provider, Marmalade, offers drivers their own personal online dashboard, on which each of their journeys is logged as green, amber or red. A driver who gets an amber journey will receive an email, pointing out how he or she could improve. If someone gets a red, they will receive a phone call. The staff member will even show them on Google Maps the exact location where they made a mistake. "We actually speak to that young driver on each occasion, and talk them through how they've been driving," says Andy Martin from Marmalade. "We find they actually moderate their driving." After a third red journey the driver's premium will increase by £125. By their sixth red journey they are considered unsuitable for insurance. Parents are encouraged to become named drivers on the policy, so they can see the information, and have input into their son or daughter's driving skills. Another provider, Ingenie, sends regular feedback on your driving, and will review the premium as you go. At the end of your first year it will give you a "good driver" discount, as well as the no claims bonus. Dash cam policies An alternative to a telematics policy is a dash cam, a mini video recorder which is also supplied and fitted free. They are wired into the ignition system, so they are always on when the car is driving. The idea is that, should you have an accident, the insurer can see who was at fault. James Noble, the 24 year-old founder of MyFirst Insurance, believes young drivers are often blamed for accidents unfairly. "The dash cam prevents this," he says. "It's a set of eyes in the vehicle, like a parent or instructor alongside you, that will protect you in the event of a claim." But equally well, a dash cam could confirm that an accident was your fault. While dash cams do not monitor driver style directly, there is some evidence they can improve behaviour. Most dash cam providers require a specific brand and specification of camera, so it is best not to buy one yourself. Which is cheaper? Telematics policies appear to provide the best discounts, with savings of up to 50% on standard insurance, depending on the restrictions involved. According to the price comparison site Uswitch, the average saving is £1,282 - but in many cases it can be more. However its research shows that the biggest beneficiaries of such policies are those between the ages of 17 and 20. Those above that age could find that dash cam policies provide a better deal. "As you hit 21 and above, there's less competition out there between telematics providers, so the dash cam policies could actually be cheaper as you get to that age bracket," says Sabrina Webb, an insurance expert with USwitch. To buy a dash cam policy some brokers insist that you need to be 21 anyway, with at least one year's driving experience. This suggests that many young drivers may find it cheaper to start on a telematics policy, and move to a dash cam policy when they get into their 20s. In any case telematics providers tend to reduce your premium after the first year by up to 40% - if you have been a good driver - so after a couple of years the cost should no longer be such an issue. Parent policies To save money it is often tempting to go on a parental policy as an extra driver. But beware being named as an additional driver when in fact you are the main user. This practice is known as "fronting", and is potentially fraudulent. At the very least an insurance company could refuse to pay out on a claim. But in any case, you are only putting off the day when you will have to start a policy in your own name, which will still end up being pricey. "Our view is that there would be minimal, if any benefit, to a young driver doing that," says Martin Bridges, the technical services manager at Biba. "It's a bitter pill to swallow, but by effecting a policy in a young driver's own name you will also accrue a no claims bonus." Top tips: It is worth researching an insurance policy before you buy a car. Sabrina Webb recommends: Among the firms specialising in young drivers are: Adrian Flux, Admiral, Be Wiser, Endsleigh, Direct Line, Ingenie, Insure the Box, Marmalade, MyFirst Insurance, Only Young Drivers, Sky Insurance, Swiftcover, Woop. Biba has a "find a broker" service. Young drivers can click here.

गाड़ी के बीमा की लागत कभी अधिक नहीं रही है।


How one hospital is getting it right

Summary: An overhaul is needed in the way hospitals and care homes in England approach caring for the elderly, a review says. The Commission on Improving Dignity in Care for Older People said too many people were being "let down" by the current system. But some places are getting it right.

By Nick TriggleHealth correspondent, BBC News Above Frederick Steen's bed is a piece of laminated paper with a clock printed on it. At first sight it seems innocuous. But Mr Steen - whose recovery from a knee replacement has been complicated by blood clots on his lungs - describes it as the most important piece of equipment he has around his bed at London's University College Hospital. The hands on the clock indicate when he next has to be turned to stop pressure sores developing. It is just one of a number of initiatives the hospital is using to ensure the basic care given to patients is of the highest standard. Another example is the way the hospital delivers food to patients. UCH has reverted back to the old-fashioned way of handing out meals with catering staff wheeling around a trolley and nurses delivering the food to the patients directly, giving them time to talk and listen to them. '100% perfect' And, according to Mr Steen, who is in his 80s, it seems to be working. "The care has been 100% perfect. I have been here for seven weeks and I can't fault how I have been cared for. "You will often see the staff working after their shift has ended because there are jobs to do." Darren Barnes, a nurse on the ward where Mr Steen is being cared for, said: "It is all about empowering the patient and getting them involved in their care. "We value what they say and want to do the best for them." It is a culture which is embedded in the way the trust is run. For the last eight years, the hospital has had a senior nurse who oversees the care of older people. The current incumbent, Vicki Leah, said the position had enabled the trust to stay on top of the issue. "My job is to challenge people. It is easy to lose sight of what is happening on a ward when you are there day in, day out. "Most people, when they take a step back, realise where things are going wrong. No-one wants to provide bad care."

एक समीक्षा में कहा गया है कि इंग्लैंड में बुजुर्गों की देखभाल के लिए अस्पतालों और देखभाल गृहों के दृष्टिकोण में बदलाव की आवश्यकता है। वृद्ध लोगों की देखभाल में गरिमा में सुधार पर आयोग ने कहा कि वर्तमान प्रणाली से बहुत से लोगों को "निराश" किया जा रहा है। लेकिन कुछ स्थानों पर इसे सही किया जा रहा है।


Oklahoma tornado mapped

Summary: The huge tornado which tore through the suburbs of Oklahoma city has been upgraded to the most powerful type of storm.

Winds reached around 200 mph (320 km/h) and left swathes of the suburb of Moore in ruins. Officials have confirmed that 24 people have died, including seven children, and around 120 are being treated in hospital. President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster in Oklahoma. Explore below to see videos and photos from the worst-affected areas. The aerial view above shows the path of destruction in Moore. To explore the area in more detail, follow this link for a zoomable image. Before and after photos Records from the past 30 years show that tornado activity peaks in the months of May and June.

ओकलाहोमा शहर के उपनगरों से गुजरने वाले विशाल बवंडर को सबसे शक्तिशाली प्रकार के तूफान में अपग्रेड कर दिया गया है।


Lack of rail staff due to World Cup and heatwave sparks delays

Summary: A lack of staff caused by the World Cup final, school holidays and the heatwave could cause travel delays on the railways, according to bosses.

Passengers are being warned they will face "significant disruption" on Sunday on Great Western Railway services due to a reduction in staff. It has warned trains that do run will be "extremely busy". A revised timetable will be in place on Sunday on routes between Wales and England. The company is advising all passengers to check before they travel. Managing director Mark Hopwood said: "We will have managers and volunteers throughout our network to help at stations and on board, but, unfortunately, we will not be able to deliver our planned timetable of services. "We are very sorry for the inconvenience this disruption will cause."

मालिकों के अनुसार, विश्व कप फाइनल, स्कूल की छुट्टियों और गर्मी की लहर के कारण कर्मचारियों की कमी के कारण रेलवे में यात्रा में देरी हो सकती है।


Sharks 'functionally extinct' in 20% of world's reefs

Summary: They are known as fearsome ocean predators.

But the number of sharks around the world has fallen, according to a major new study. Research published in the science journal Nature, found fishing was responsible for fewer sharks across many of the world's coral reefs. Using a network of underwater cameras, researchers found sharks were "functionally extinct" at 20% of the reefs they surveyed. They blame "destructive and unsustainable" fishing techniques for the problems they uncovered across 58 different countries. "Reef sharks were almost completely absent from reefs in several nations," the study says. Sharks play a key role in keeping the ocean's ecosystem healthy - which many of us rely on for food. And if you've gone on any diving holidays - you'll know that a healthy shark population can be crucial for countries whose economy may rely on tourism. But globally, about 100 million sharks are estimated to be killed each year for their fins and meat. According to the study, reefs that are close to human populations in countries that have poor governance are the worst affected. "The worst-ranked nations for reef sharks included Qatar, the Dominican Republic, continental Colombia, Sri Lanka and Guam." 34 out of 58 nations had shark numbers that were half what was expected by the scientists, which they say suggests a loss of reef sharks is quite common among reefs globally. But there are some success stories too. Shark population was relatively high on the world's largest coral reef system - the Great Barrier Reef - off the coast of Australia. Places like the Bahamas and continental Australia had features which the scientists associated with "increased abundances of reef sharks". These places were seen to be "well-governed and having strong management" of shark fisheries or sanctuaries - areas that forbid commercial fishing. How can we fix the problem? The good news for the shark population - is that this can be reversed according to the experts. To achieve "meaningful conservation gains", it's important to implement policies in ways which are likely to be accepted in different societies. The study identifies two ways which can help conservation efforts for sharks. Things like fisheries management - which is producing sustainable benefits from renewable ocean resources - can help the conservation efforts of reef sharks. And around the world, they suggest policies such as national bans on the targeting and trade of sharks. Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.

इन्हें भयावह समुद्री शिकारियों के रूप में जाना जाता है।


How Croatia and Serbia buried the hatchet

Summary: In 1991 Croatia was in flames. Montenegrin troops from the Yugoslav army were bombarding the historic city of Dubrovnik and, with its backing, rebel Croatian Serbs were carving out one-third of the country.

By Tim JudahBalkans analyst One day, the rebel Serbs hoped, the areas of Croatia they controlled would become part of a Greater Serbia. The following year Croatia was helping Bosnian Croats fight Bosnian Serbs and later Muslim Bosniaks. The Yugoslav wars cost tens of thousands of lives and made refugees of millions. A tale of two pictures And yet today, the region has been transformed and on 1 July Croatia will enter the European Union. Symbolic of the change perhaps are two photos, which have been in the Balkan press and on social media recently. One shows a happy-looking pair travelling together on a coach. They are Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic and her opposite number from neighbouring Montenegro, Igor Luksic. They were both in London on their way to the funeral of Lady Thatcher. The second picture shows a young couple kissing. The boy is draped in a Serbian flag and his girlfriend in a Croatian one. The photo was taken in Mostar, in Bosnia-Hercegovina, during a school parade. The story is that the Croatian girl was allegedly berated by an old woman for having a Serbian boyfriend. This prompted her to turn and kiss him. Both pictures say a lot about how far Croatia, Croats and their neighbours have come since the end of the wars in Croatia and Bosnia in 1995. Apology Today, while no one has forgotten the enthusiastic participation of Montenegrin troops in the attack on Dubrovnik, relations with Croatia could not be better. In 2000, Milo Djukanovic, Montenegro's prime minister during the Dubrovnik campaign, apologised. In 2005, compensation was paid for stolen cows. A dispute over a maritime boundary remains to be settled, but is not a major issue of discord. When it comes to Serbs and Bosnians, relations are more complicated. Mostar in southern Bosnia, is a town where Serbs, Croats and Muslim Bosniaks all lived before the war. When the Bosnian war broke out in 1992, Croats and Bosniaks first fought the Serbs here and then Croats fought Bosniaks, with the occasional help of the Serbs. The kiss picture has elicited mixed reactions. Some were enthusiastic, seeing it as symbolic of young people leaving the past behind. Others were more sceptical. In a way both were right. Croatia's relationship with Serbs and Serbia has been long and tortuous. The two languages are very close. Croats are mostly Catholics though and Serbs are Orthodox. Croats write with the Latin alphabet. Serbs use both that and Cyrillic. A role for Serbs Since 1995, however, relations between Serbs and Croats have been transformed beyond recognition, and for the better. Yet a new survey of young Croats shows a relatively high level of antipathy towards Serbs. In 1991, just before the war, Serbs were 12.2% of the population of Croatia. Now they number a third of that proportion, around 4.3%. Areas such as the former breakaway region of Krajina, from where Serbs fled or were ethnically cleansed in 1995, remain depopulated, as few returned after the war. According to Prof Tvrtko Jakovina, a historian and member of the Croatian president's Foreign Policy Council, many Croats would say privately, "probably we are better off like that". The reason is that without a substantial minority of Serbs many Croats feel more secure and have less reason to fear a new conflict. But Prof Jakovina notes that, at the same time, Serbs in Croatia now play a significant role. In the last government a Serbian party was part of the ruling coalition, while today several Serbs are ministers or in prominent roles. Croatian businesses are also investing heavily in Serbia, though Serbs complain that it is harder for their companies to break into Croatia. Croatian music is popular in Serbia, and Serbs have returned to holiday in Croatia, though they are always nervous that a disgruntled person will vandalise their car, identifiable by its Serbian number plate. Friends again From 2004 until last year, when President Boris Tadic, who came to power promising reform, was at the helm, relations between the two former enemies flourished. But at the same time, there were difficult moments. Both Croatia and Serbia have lodged cases at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, accusing each other of genocide. Neither has come to court yet. Last year relations chilled when the new Serbian President, Tomislav Nikolic, formerly an extreme nationalist, said that Croats should not return to the town of Croatian town of Vukovar, which was virtually levelled by Serb and Yugoslav forces in 1991. He said it was a Serbian town. Then, last November, two Croatian generals charged with ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Croatia in 1995 were acquitted by the UN's Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Croats were triumphant, Serbs embittered. It became fashionable to talk of a new "ice age" in relations. But it did not happen. Today, despite tensions, the trend is upwards towards more co-operation, not downwards towards conflict. Milan Pajevic, the director of the Serbian government's European Integration Office, says his Croatian counterparts are offering to help Serbia with its application to join the EU. They are "very motivated to help us" and "on the working level, relations are just fantastic", he says. Football tensions It is clear though that relations depend on the circumstances. Recently Serb fans were barred from attending a Serbia-Croatia World Cup qualifier match in Zagreb, for fear of violence. The Croatian fans then booed the Serbian national anthem and some chanted "Kill a Serb!" during the match. Also, Croatia's nationalist right has mobilised demonstrations against the recent erection of Serbian Cyrillic road signs in Vukovar, where many Serbs still live. Croatia's relations with Bosnia-Hercegovina are also complicated. Virtually all Bosnian Croats, who account for perhaps 14% of the population, hold Croatian citizenship, as do many others who can claim a Croatian link. This means that when Croatia joins the EU they will be EU citizens, while most others in Bosnia will not. Bosnia's Croats have always voted in Croatian elections, but in recent years there has been a growing political estrangement with Croatia, whose leadership during the Bosnian war sought to create an effective Greater Croatia. Since 2000, Croatia has cut funding for their institutions and made it harder for them to vote. The so-called nationalist "Hercegovinian lobby" is now far less influential in Croatia than it used to be. Stability Progress has been made in resolving some outstanding issues between Croatia and Bosnia, but some problems Croats are at a loss to help with. As Bosnians cannot agree amongst themselves over sanitary and veterinary certification, their exports of meat and dairy produce to the EU, which in this case means mostly Croatia, will cease on 1 July when it enters the EU. The export issue, quite apart from questions about the future of the Croats in Bosnia, has left most Croats and not least the government at a loss. "It's so complicated that no one really knows what to do," says Prof Jankovic. When Croatia joins the EU a new line, that of the Union's external border, will change the Balkan map. But, as Mrs Pusic put it in a recent interview, that does not mean that Croatia will have less to do with its former Yugoslav neighbours. "The way I see it," she says, "yes, we are entering the EU but we are not moving anywhere. Look at the geography and demographics. "Our stability depends on the stability of the region and that depends on our capacity to contribute and we can contribute to the stability of our region. That is our European task."

1991 में क्रोएशिया आग की लपटों में घिर गया था। यूगोस्लाव सेना के मोंटेनेग्रिन सैनिक ऐतिहासिक शहर डबरोवनिक पर बमबारी कर रहे थे और इसके समर्थन से विद्रोही क्रोएशियाई सर्ब देश के एक तिहाई हिस्से को काट रहे थे।


Jersey States to spend £27m on new social housing

Summary: The States of Jersey will spend up to £27m building new homes and refurbishing social housing after money was released by the Treasury Minister.

Senator Philip Ozouf said the money was available because States funds were in a better shape than originally thought. Six projects will benefit from the money if States members approve the plans. Senator Ozouf said the investment was vital to help the island's construction industry. He said without it construction companies would have to make staff redundant. The money would pay for work at sites including La Collette Tower and Le Squez.

ट्रेजरी मंत्री द्वारा धन जारी किए जाने के बाद जर्सी राज्य नए घरों के निर्माण और सामाजिक आवास के नवीनीकरण पर 27 मिलियन पाउंड तक खर्च करेंगे।


Thomas Hogg: Former DUP mayor in court over child sex offences

Summary: A former DUP councillor has appeared in court on charges relating to sexual offences involving a child.

Thomas Hogg, 31, from Brae Hill Park in Belfast has resigned from the DUP and from Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, where he was previously mayor. Mr Hogg is charged with sexual communication with a child and attempting to engage a child in a sexual activity. Belfast Magistrates' Court heard that Mr Hogg strongly denies the charges. The case is scheduled to come back to court on 9 December.

एक पूर्व डीयूपी पार्षद एक बच्चे से जुड़े यौन अपराधों से संबंधित आरोपों में अदालत में पेश हुआ है।


Star of Bethlehem: The astronomical explanations

Summary: It might seem churlish to dissect such an enduring image of Christmas as the star of Bethlehem, but a quiet astronomical debate has been bubbling away for decades. Could some real cosmic event have drawn "three wise men" on a journey to find a newborn king?

By Victoria GillBBC reporter This debate requires one very big assumption - that the story of the star and the journey is true. Prof David Hughes, an astronomer from the University of Sheffield, first published a review of the theories on the famous star in the 1970s. Having spent many years studying the astronomical explanations and reviewing the associated biblical stories, he is now an expert on the subject. But there are some intriguing historical parallels. The three kings were religious scholars known as the Magi - revered Babylonian astronomers and astrologists. They studied the stars and planets, interpreting the meaning behind cosmic events. Anything very unusual was considered an omen, so the star must have been both rare and visually spectacular. And, says Hughes, it would have had a very clear message for the Magi. This leads the astronomer to conclude that the star of Bethlehem was probably not a star at all, and that it was more than one single event. "If you read the Bible carefully," says Hughes, "the Magi saw something when they were in their own country - [probably Babylon] - so they travelled to Jerusalem and had a word with King Herod." According to the story, the Magi told Herod of the sign they had seen and, says Hughes, "when they left Jerusalem [for] Bethlehem, they saw something again". Hughes's best explanation for this series of events is something known as a triple conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn - with the two planets coming close together in the sky three times over a short period. "[This happens when] you get an alignment between the Sun, the Earth, Jupiter and Saturn," says Hughes. Tim O'Brien, associate director of Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, suggests this would have looked striking. "It's remarkable how much your attention is drawn when two very bright objects come together in the sky," he explains. And once the planets lined up in their orbits, Earth would "overtake" the others, meaning that Jupiter and Saturn would appear to change direction in the night sky. "At that time, people would have set great store by the motions of the planets," says O'Brien. Even more significantly, the event is believed to have been in the constellation Pisces, which represents one of the signs of the zodiac. "You would [only] get a triple conjunction like this about every 900 years," he says, so for astronomers in Babylon 2,000 years ago, it would have been a signal of something very significant. "A triple conjunction of this kind ticks all the boxes." The second favoured explanation is a very bright comet. While certainly spectacular and ethereal in appearance, comets are essentially "big, dirty snowballs" flying through space. "When they come close to the Sun, this ice melts - solar wind blows this material out into space, so you get a tail of matter coming off the comet," explains O'Brien. This tail, which points away from the Sun, is one of the things that has made the comet idea popular, explains Hughes. "Quite a few people have said that comets seem to 'stand over' the Earth, because of their coma and tail sometimes looking like an arrow," says Hughes. The most timely record was of a bright comet appearing in the constellation of Capricorn in 5BC, which was recorded by astronomers in China. A less likely, but more famous candidate was Halley's comet, which was visible around 12BC. Those who favour this theory point out that the 5BC comet would have been in the southern sky as seen from Jerusalem, with the head of the comet close to the horizon and the tail is pointing vertically upward. "Quite a lot of people liked the comet idea, so it crops up in quite a lot of Christmas cards," says Hughes. "The snag is that they're not that rare. They were also commonly associated with the 'four Ds' - doom, death, disease and disaster," he suggests. "So if it did contain a message, it would have been a bad omen." Another theory is that the star was light from the birth of a new star, or nova. There are records - again from astronomers in the Far East - of a new star in the small, northern constellation of Aquila in 4BC. Hughes says: "People who like this theory say this new star would have been [positioned] directly over Jerusalem." Dr Robert Cockcroft, manager of the McCallion Planetarium at McMaster University in Ontario says a nova is "a good candidate" for the star of Bethlehem. "It can 'appear' as a new star in a constellation, and fade again over the following months," he explains. "It is also not too bright, explaining why we don't have any records of it in the west." Cockcroft suggests that this might also have given the three wise men something to follow. While other "omens" would have been needed to cause the Magi to set out on their journey west to Jerusalem, he says , it would take them months to get there, "by which time Aquila [and the new star could have] risen in the sky to appear in the south. "Bethlehem lies due south of Jerusalem, so that Magi could 'follow' the star to Bethlehem." Other more improbable but entertaining theories have been proposed over the years, says Hughes. One he describes as particularly far-fetched was suggested in a 1979 academic paper by the Greek astronomer George Banos. He proposed that the Christmas star was actually the planet Uranus. Banos suggested that the Magi discovered the planet 1,800 years before the astronomer William Herschel formally recorded the discovery in 1781. "His idea was that the Magi discovered Uranus, that this was the star of Bethlehem and they then tried to hush up the discovery," Hughes explains. Follow the Star will be broadcast on Sunday 23 December at 1900 GMT on BBC Radio 2

बेथलहम के तारे के रूप में क्रिसमस की ऐसी स्थायी छवि को विच्छेदित करना भद्दा लग सकता है, लेकिन एक शांत खगोलीय बहस दशकों से चल रही है। क्या कोई वास्तविक ब्रह्मांडीय घटना एक नवजात राजा को खोजने की यात्रा पर "तीन बुद्धिमान पुरुषों" को आकर्षित कर सकती थी?


EU game-plans amid wait for new UK PM

Summary: Caught up in political turmoil (Italy and Germany) or scandal (Austria), in government-making (Denmark) or government dissolution (Greece), EU leaders are keeping only half an eye on the dizzying spectacle of the Conservative Party leadership race.

Katya AdlerEurope editor@BBCkatyaadleron Twitter But they are well aware that reality will come knocking soon enough on Brussels' door. The new UK prime minister will be hungry to make his or her name, to go down in history books as the one who "solved Brexit". Whatever solving Brexit looks like. And therein lies the clue as to why EU leaders aren't paying too much attention - yet. It's easy for Tory leadership hopefuls to promise a pain-free no deal Brexit, a thorough renegotiation with Brussels, a possible second referendum or a definite exit by 31 October (the date the current Brexit extension runs out). Making good on those promises could prove rather more challenging. And the EU knows the next UK prime minister will have to be seen to be trying hard. And so, inevitably, if desperately unwillingly, the minds of EU diplomats are slowly beginning to return to The Thorniest Brexit issue of all: the backstop. If the new UK prime minister intends to leave with a deal, then he or she will very likely come to Brussels (as well as trying their luck in Berlin and Paris) asking for changes. Now, the official EU response is well-rehearsed: "The Withdrawal Agreement (which includes the backstop) is closed. It was signed off by Theresa May and her cabinet. There will be no changes." But realpolitik means that, at the very least, EU leaders will feel obliged to listen politely to the Brexit proposals of the next occupant of no 10 Downing Street. And they will want to listen IF they believe the new UK prime minister is serious and capable of triggering a no deal Brexit. All EU leaders - Emmanuel Macron included - want to avoid no deal. And a new UK prime minister means new mathematics in parliament. The EU will be watching closely to see if he or she could reliably carry a parliamentary majority for a Brexit deal. To be clear: this is not to suggest the EU would ditch the backstop if faced with a popular, hard-line Brexiteer UK prime minister. The EU fully intends to protect its single market, protect the Good Friday Agreement and protect member country Ireland, rather than make decisions in favour of departing member UK. But talk is gradually returning in EU circles to the idea of "de-dramatising" the backstop. But that precise word is hardly used because of the outrage provoked in the UK when EU lead Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier tried the de-dramatising tactic back in summer/autumn 2018. Instead EU diplomats are now at pains to underline that the backstop is not "a slab of marble" - meaning that bits of it can be shaved away as post-Brexit trade talks progress. An example I often hear is: as soon as an EU-UK post-Brexit deal is made on veterinary standards, then that can fall away from the backstop. The EU aim here is to convert the emotionally-charged backstop into a list of practical measures that can fall away at different times. The thinking here in Brussels is that this could eventually be the EU counter-offer: if the new UK prime minister insists on a time-limited backstop, to present him or her with a time-tabled one instead. It has been suggested to me that a time-tabled backstop could be a separate legal document added to the Withdrawal Agreement, meaning the EU could stick to its insistence on not re-opening the text. Such a proposal could of course be dismissed as a transparent attempt at re-packaging the same old backstop. And what might be seen as a meaningless change by some in the UK, may well be viewed as too much of a concession by others in the EU but just as the new UK prime minister will have to weigh up how important he or she thinks it is to "get on with it" and get out with a deal, EU leaders will also weigh up the immediate likelihood and pain of no deal against the possibility of a slightly changed backstop. As Theresa May tried to underline in her resignation speech (and you might wonder if she is really the right person to point this out), it all comes down to compromise. There are other EU voices who look at the Conservative party leadership candidates and wonder out loud if another "solution" to the backstop might be around the corner: a return to the original EU proposal of the backstop pertaining to Northern Ireland only, thus removing opposition from MPs who view the UK-wide backstop as a permanent customs union snare. Staunch Unionists in parliament would object. The EU though has always been keen to point out how separate Northern Ireland already is from the rest of the UK. Separate in terms of laws (abortion, gay marriage and more) plus the fact that some regulatory checks are already carried out in the Irish Sea, because the island of Ireland is treated as a single unit for the purpose of animal health and disease prevention. But all these are mere EU musings for the moment. No-one knows who the next UK prime minister will be. What EU-UK discussions will look like come September will depend on the mood amongst the majority of EU leaders, the Dublin perspective and crucially, the politics, credibility and parliamentary support of the new UK prime minister. Something for him or her to bear in mind, perhaps, is that leaving the EU without a deal does not mean leaving the backstop behind. EU preconditions to sitting down with the UK to discuss a trade deal will be that the UK pays the money pledged while an EU member, settles the issue of citizens' rights and deals with the Irish border conundrum - the three issues contained in the Withdrawal Agreement. It's going to be a politically hot autumn both sides of the channel but for now EU leaders look forward to a Brexit-free summit on the 20 June. There's to be a brief "stock-taking" by the European Council President Donald Tusk on the current Brexit extension. But Chancellor Merkel, President Macron et al will have to keep their thoughts to themselves. No time has been allotted for debate. There are other, for now more pressing issues on EU leaders' plates.

राजनीतिक उथल-पुथल (इटली और जर्मनी) या घोटाले (ऑस्ट्रिया), सरकार बनाने (डेनमार्क) या सरकार के विघटन (ग्रीस) में फंसे यूरोपीय संघ के नेता कंजर्वेटिव पार्टी के नेतृत्व की दौड़ के चौंका देने वाले दृश्य पर केवल आधी नज़र रख रहे हैं।


Seven-day working: the bigger picture

Summary: The government wants to see a "seven-day NHS" - while doctors argue such a plan would affect services over the rest of the week. In this week's Scrubbing Up, Nigel Edwards of the Nuffield Trust argues the issue is even more complex.

By Nigel EdwardsChief Executive, Nuffield Trust Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has spent the summer at war. He wants to remove senior hospital doctors' right to opt out of doing planned procedures in NHS hospitals at the weekend, citing the aim of a "seven day NHS" that can provide safe care every day. Their trade union, the British Medical Association (BMA), strongly disagrees - and as you might have seen on Facebook and Twitter, many doctors are annoyed by the suggestion that they get the weekend off. Several studies over the years have suggested that the odds of dying if admitted during the weekend are greater than if admitted on some weekdays. If that reflects lower standards of care then it needs to be tackled, although it isn't clear that the focus on senior hospital doctors is the answer. Some evidence does show that consultants matter, but one recent study on stroke patients found that weekend mortality was linked to the number of registered nurses per bed, not the frequency with which senior doctors made their rounds. But of course the government's agenda of seven-day working goes much wider than the issue of the consultant contract. Appointments on the weekend for hard-pressed commuters. Fully staffed hospitals backing A&E departments every day, and discharging people back home whenever is most suitable. Isn't it what makes sense in the modern world? Isn't it what we would all want? A price to pay Opinion polls confirm that the public like the idea of seven-day services. But they also have a serious concern: what will it cost? They are right to be cautious. The Healthcare Financial Management Association, whose members look after NHS hospital budgets, held a forum recently on costs and savings from seven-day working. Looking across eight hospital trusts, they found it usually cost 1.5% to 2% of all the money they received for patient care. For most trusts, the main driver of costs was the need to employ a larger total number of doctors to fill all shifts safely. Across the whole NHS, that would mean several hundred million pounds or more. There are some ways seven-day working could lead to savings. In some cases, trusts could use fewer medical machines and buildings by using what they have for more days each week. But to make these savings from using fewer facilities quickly enough to offset costs, you'd have to start selling or closing sites that were no longer being used. You don't need to consult an opinion poll to know how people tend to feel about that when their hospital is on the chopping block. Running on empty Anyone would want equal access every day to their local NHS services. But the health service is in a world of tough trade-offs. It is already failing to carry out its current commitments within its budget. The number of patients admitted to hospitals has risen by about a fifth since 2010, and this trend is continuing. Hospitals are now meeting key waiting times targets after struggling last year, which means they are keeping up with the number of referrals from GPs. But they are often achieving this by relying on running up deficits - spending public money they do not have. And meanwhile, the health service still finds itself unable to afford many new treatments, even when they are quite cost-effective. For example, the health service has struggled to fund Sofosbuvir, a new drug with a high cure rate for Hepatitis C. Academics at Manchester University actually used the strict methods by which the watchdog NICE (National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence) tests new medicines, to see whether the NHS would fund seven-day working if it was a new drug. They found that the answer was probably no. It wouldn't be thought cost-effective. So what else could we spend that money on? This proposal for seven-day working comes after many years of doctors and managers increasingly thinking about how patients might receive more care outside hospital, where possible in their own homes. The easiest way to do this is to find more reliable and faster ways to safely send them back from hospital. What limits this, in part, is the strength of community services that look after patients outside hospital, like district nurses. Hospitals won't and shouldn't send people back without knowing they can be cared for elsewhere if they need it. NHS England's Five Year Forward View will also rely on more capacity in the community. 'Getting the basics right' But our research suggests that the GPs at the heart of out-of-hospital services have missed out on the extra money hospitals have enjoyed over the past few years. So shouldn't we think of funding out of hospital services as a priority - as much as focusing yet again on hospitals, and making sure they can offer appointments over longer hours? While investing in community care would cost money, if it reduced time in hospital it could also bring significant savings. Focusing on individual conditions shows what else we might be able to achieve with a similarly expensive national programme. Sepsis is when an infection causes dangerous reactions in peoples' blood. It can worsen very fast if not identified and dealt with, and kills 37,000 people each year. Many of these deaths are avoidable. There have been long-standing problems with guidelines and procedures not being followed, busy clinicians not spotting when sepsis sets in, and patients not receiving help in time. NHS England and the government periodically order NHS trusts to focus on the problem - but what more could be achieved by a national initiative backed by even a fraction of the money that seven-day working would cost? NHS policy is largely made by middle-aged, middle-class men and women who commute long distances into London and Leeds. For them, not being able to get a hospital appointment at the weekend can feel like one of the biggest problems with the health service. More typical patients might be more concerned that the NHS gets the basics right. Some areas already trialling extended appointment hours in primary care have been surprised to find that patients - at least at first - just didn't turn up. Patients should be able to expect safe, efficient and effective services regardless of the day of the week they are admitted. The government's ambition for seven day working is a bold vision. They, and the NHS are ultimately right to aspire to seven-day working. But as with everything in today's NHS, it can only come after some tough decisions. Depending on the extent of the services on offer, implementing seven day services would come at a definite cost in financial terms. Without extra NHS funding, it may come at a cost in local hospital sites. And the public should also ask whether they are willing to pay the invisible cost - the things that can't be done because of the time and money spent sorting out seven day working.

सरकार "सात दिवसीय एन. एच. एस". देखना चाहती है-जबकि डॉक्टरों का तर्क है कि इस तरह की योजना सप्ताह के बाकी हिस्सों में सेवाओं को प्रभावित करेगी। इस सप्ताह के स्क्रबिंग अप में, नफील्ड ट्रस्ट के निगेल एडवर्ड्स का तर्क है कि यह मुद्दा और भी जटिल है।


Amy Macdonald added to Wickerman Festival line-up

Summary: Amy Macdonald, KT Tunstall and The Enemy have joined Primal Scream on the line-up for the Wickerman Festival in southern Scotland.

The 12th edition of the event takes place at East Kirkcarswell Farm near Kirkcudbright on 26 and 27 July. Festival organisers said they were pleased to announce acts crossing "so many different genres". They said they were confident the Dumfries and Galloway event would be the "ultimate summer party". Amy Macdonald said: "I'm really looking forward to headlining the Wickerman festival this year as I love being able to play in Scotland. "I have heard the Wickerman audience are a great crowd to play for. "There is always a great atmosphere so I am looking forward to a great evening together."

एमी मैकडोनाल्ड, के. टी. टनस्टॉल और द एनिमी दक्षिणी स्कॉटलैंड में विकरमैन फेस्टिवल के लिए लाइन-अप में प्राइमल स्क्रीम में शामिल हो गए हैं।


Covid-19: Chinatowns fighting racism and pandemic to survive

Summary: Lunar New Year is usually the busiest period for businesses in Chinatowns around the globe. But in 2020, it coincided with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, leaving many restaurants empty. A year on, the BBC speaks to business owners to find out how they survived - and what's next.

By Sophie WilliamsBBC News Sam Wo's has been a fixture in San Francisco's Chinatown for more than a century, but the last year has been hard. Coronavirus has forced restaurants across the world to shut their doors, and Chinatowns have been hit particularly hard. The virus first emerged in late 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, leaving businesses like Sam Wo fighting not just fear, but anti-Asian sentiment. "All the Italian restaurants in North Beach were still busy and packed and then you went through the tunnel to Union Square and those guys had lines waiting to get in. And then you drive around Chinatown and it's completely empty," recalls Sam Wo's co-owner Steven Lee, describing the weeks before shutdown orders came in early last year. "So we know that xenophobia was affecting small businesses. Why would other districts be busy and we're not?" In the 12 months since, it has been forced to cut its staff numbers from 23 to three due to a lack of customers. "People wouldn't show up, they were just scared," Mr Lee tells the BBC. "We had to rally and tell people to fight the virus, not the people and all this kind of stuff - but it didn't help much." In Yokohama, home of Japan's largest Chinatown, it went beyond just people avoiding local businesses. Notes containing anti-Chinese messages were left on the doors of several restaurants last March. They were already in deep trouble financially: sales figures had plummeted to about 10% of what they were in a typical peak period. Yokohama's mayor came out in support of the businesses, telling local media that he was "utterly infuriated" with the letters. In response, locals rallied around Yokohama's Chinatown, sending messages of support on social media, telling businesses to "hang in there" and promising to visit their establishments. And then, the shutdowns arrived, meaning the restaurants were unable to open their doors. "I know many businesses in Chinatown have closed. It's terrifying," Ying Hou, who runs Shandong MaMa in the Australian city of Melbourne, tells the BBC. "There are gift houses where tourists come to buy souvenirs - most of them didn't make it and have closed down." She has also suffered following the introduction of one of the strictest lockdowns in the world in the middle of last year. Ms Ying says her business is still making only 50% of what it was making before the pandemic and so she has turned to making frozen dumplings that customers can cook at home. Luckily, they sell well: Shandong MaMa is the only place in this Chinatown to sell fish dumplings. Melbourne gave rent relief to many Chinatown businesses last year, but for Ms Hou, that has now come to an end. "If we continue paying the full rent with the 50% income, then we are really going to go broke." Her main goal for the next year or so? "To survive," she said. In New York's Chinatown, Karho Leung, founder of barber shop 12 Pell, has also thought of new ways to bring in customers. "Chinatown in New York City is the one place in the world that never really closes. We don't close for Christmas, we don't close for New Years, only a handful end up closing for Chinese New Years." But last year, even the essential shops had closed by May. "Everything was a ghost town and it was really scary to see," he said. When it was time to reopen, he looked at ways of preparing his business for customers. Taking inspiration from Hong Kong, he added dividers, temperature checks and humidifiers to keep the air fresh, before putting together a video for social media. It went viral, explaining to customers what safety measures were in place. "We saw the spike immediately and it was the busiest week we ever had in our lives, and then the next week was super silent," he said. "There were probably fewer than 20 clients who ended up booking and then we started getting worried." Mr Leung realised it wasn't just his business that had a lack of customers. The shop 12 Pell is located on "barber's row" and many other stylists were just hanging around with nobody to serve. It was then that he decided to offer free haircuts to people who spent $45 in Chinatown. All they had to do was show their receipts. "We looked at our situation and we thought, we have nobody that's coming in anyway. Why don't we offer everybody a deal?" The company has also worked on other social media initiatives such as getting its audience to order directly from restaurants instead of companies such as Uber Eats. "We were leveraging social media as a main way to push the younger audience to come back," Mr Leung said. Send Chinatown Love, a group of New Yorkers, is also trying to help businesses by working with them to start a website, create their own social media accounts and in some cases help redesign menus and logos. "Everything started happening around January, February of last year, which is the most lucrative and joyous and festive times for Chinatown. They took a hit with that business and lost most of it," Louise Palmer, a representative for the group, said. "So they ended up going into lockdown in March at a deficit, which kind of set a really terrible precedent for what the rest of the year would look like." The organisation is also promoting Chinatown on social media, creating "food crawls" they hope will help increase foot traffic. In San Francisco, foot traffic is already increasing. With the reintroduction of outdoor dining, many places have put in place outdoor seating so that customers can eat outside. It has given Sam Wo's co-owner hope. "I was there last week in Chinatown on Saturday and it was booming," Mr Lee said. "Actually, there were a lot of people out." He is now waiting for indoor dining to start so people can return to Sam Wo, as the hill-top location means outside seating is impossible. He's also ready to open up the first nightclub in the city's Chinatown in more than 40 years, which he hopes will also help revitalise the area. "We're the oldest Chinatown in the country. We're the tourist attraction that everybody comes to when they come to San Francisco. So we have to preserve it." You may also be interested in

चंद्र नव वर्ष आमतौर पर दुनिया भर के चाइनाटाउन में व्यवसायों के लिए सबसे व्यस्त अवधि है। लेकिन 2020 में, यह कोरोनावायरस महामारी के प्रकोप के साथ हुआ, जिससे कई रेस्तरां खाली हो गए। एक साल बाद, बीबीसी व्यवसाय मालिकों से यह पता लगाने के लिए बात करता है कि वे कैसे बच गए-और आगे क्या है।


Unexploded bomb scare after WW2 shell casing found at White City

Summary: An unexploded bomb alert in west London caused major disruption - but cordons were lifted when it was found to be just a shell casing, posing no danger.

Parts of Westfield shopping centre and nearby buildings were evacuated amid fears an item found was a WW2 bomb. But people were allowed back into buildings and roads and Tube services reopened near the shopping centre after the item was removed. And the Metropolitan police told the BBC it was not a bomb as first thought. The casing, 34cm (13.5 in) in length and 15cm (6in) wide, was found by builders in Ariel Way, off Wood Lane. Local traffic was diverted causing severe disruption and Tube services in the area were affected.

पश्चिम लंदन में एक अप्रकाशित बम चेतावनी ने बड़ा व्यवधान पैदा किया-लेकिन जब यह सिर्फ एक खोल आवरण पाया गया तो घेराबंदी हटा ली गई, जिससे कोई खतरा नहीं था।


Is live streaming your life good business or dangerous?

Summary: Live streaming is becoming big business, with millions of people around the world broadcasting the minutiae of their daily lives in real time to adoring fans - and making small fortunes in the process. But is it safe?

By Suzanne BearneTechnology of Business reporter Samantha Firth, a 21-year-old nanny living in Chicago, walks to the subway with her friend. So far, so ordinary. But she is simultaneously broadcasting her 15-minute journey live via her mobile to thousands of avid followers. "You guys are lit," she says excitedly as she looks at the stream of rolling messages and emojis that are popping up on her screen from her fans. "I love you... you guys are the best," she exclaims, before heading onto the subway and zooming the camera in on a spot on her forehead. It used to be that only film stars would be famous, but thanks to reality TV, YouTube and bloggers, anyone can have their "fifteen minutes" of fame, as Andy Warhol predicted. The proliferation of live broadcasting tools, pioneered by Meerkat several years ago and followed by the likes of Periscope, Facebook, YouTube and others, has given many young people the chance to broadcast every aspect of their lives - whether they're brushing their hair in their bedroom or out dancing with friends. In China alone, the entertainment live streaming market is valued at £5bn, according to Credit Suisse. And in the US, 63% of 18-34 year-olds are watching live content and 42% creating it, finds a study by UBS Evidence Lab. But for many like Ms Firth, this isn't just narcissistic fun, it's a cash cow. She joined Live.me - owned by China's Cheetah Mobile - eight months ago after moving from Sydney to Chicago. The live-in nanny has since become one of the most popular broadcasters on the site, amassing 350,000 fans. These devotees bombard her with virtual gifts - animated stickers that can be converted into "diamonds" and then real money - helping her pull in about $21,000 (£16,300) a month. "Coming from a different country it has been difficult to make friends, but this app has allowed me to connect with people who have the same interests," she says of her reasons for joining. "I spend most of my free time broadcasting because it's where most of my friends are." She is keen to portray a candid version of herself, pimples and all. "I don't wear make-up, I wear sweatshirts and sweatpants," she says. "Sometimes I cry when someone says something hurtful on a broadcast." Like Live.me, live streaming platform YouNow enables these citizen broadcasters to make money from fans sending them virtual gifts. Fans of some streaming sites can also subscribe monthly to their favourite live streamers. It's been a real moneyspinner for the top broadcasters, who can earn up to $200,000 (£155,000) a year. Singer Emma McGann, 26, broadcasts live from her studio in Coventry, England, for three to six hours every day. She says her live streams attract about 5-10,000 unique views. YouNow not only provides her with a good salary - she earns £2,000-3,000 a month via the channel - but it has helped her gain exposure for her music. "It enabled me to get a single in the iTunes chart," she says. "It's also a great testing ground for new material." "I like the live element. I like to interact with the audience and take song requests." Fans can also speak to her over the internet. While many brands are already running their own live streaming sessions, We Are Social head of strategy Harvey Cossell believes there are opportunities for brands to capitalise on live streaming by co-creating with individuals who have already amassed a loyal audience. The success of such collaborations in the social gaming world, on sites such as Twitch, are a case in point. "They would need to identify those people that represent a similar set of values to the brand in question and then find creative ways to partner with them in the production of their content," he advises. The challenge, he warns, is one of authenticity. "It's always better for brands either to partner with the right person, or do nothing at all." Some researchers are forecasting that the live streaming business will be worth $70bn globally by 2021. But for all its engagement value and monetisation potential, you only have to search online to see that live streaming has its dark side. Earlier this year, 12-year-old Katelyn Nicole Davis took her own life and broadcast it live on Live.me, while there have been many reports about paedophiles watching live streaming of child sex abuse. "Live streaming apps and sites can expose young people to graphic and distressing content and can leave them vulnerable to bullying and online harassment," an NSPCC [National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children] spokesman tells the BBC. "Worryingly, live chat can also be used by groomers to target young people who may be manipulated into sending sexual images and videos." Khudor Annous, head of marketing and partnerships at Live.me, says the company has a number of safeguards, including a facial recognition tool that can supposedly spot anyone who's under the age of 13 on the app. "If they are in fact under the age of 13, then we ban the account," says Mr Annous. "We have also provided users with reporting tools to report a channel if they identify a child in the app. We're typically able to evaluate reports within a couple of hours depending on daily volume." As for grooming, he says: "Every user has the ability to report any suspicious behaviour before, or any violations of our community guidelines. We also work with the FBI and local law enforcement agencies around the globe to ensure the safety of our community." But there are also concerns that the broadcasters are themselves exploiting young people. Clinical psychologist Linda Blair describes the rise of young people live streaming as "very sad". She adds: "It's an indication of loneliness. They might temporarily feel great but it's only a distraction." But with millions of people already using live streaming platforms, including Facebook Live, we can expect the number of everyday broadcasters to continue growing. "I see live streaming following a path similar to social networking, where at first it started as a place for people to connect with each other but eventually evolved into a powerful platform for advertising, marketing, and publishing," says Paul Verna, principal analyst at eMarketer. Mr Cossell also believes that live video will expand into other formats. "It will begin to harness emerging technologies such as 360-video and virtual reality more readily," he says. "Live streaming is clearly here to stay."

लाइव स्ट्रीमिंग बड़ा व्यवसाय बनता जा रहा है, दुनिया भर में लाखों लोग अपने दैनिक जीवन की बारीकियों को वास्तविक समय में प्रशंसकों को प्यार करने के लिए प्रसारित कर रहे हैं-और इस प्रक्रिया में छोटे भाग्य बना रहे हैं। लेकिन क्या यह सुरक्षित है?


The week ahead in Parliament

Summary: It's an unusually fluid Parliamentary week, as the twin crises over Brexit and Covid loom over the normal humdrum business of Westminster.

Mark D'ArcyParliamentary correspondent The key events will probably be ministerial statements or urgent questions on both subjects, with the possibility of continuing Parliamentary ping-pong over the UK Internal Market Bill (UKIMB) leading to more last-minute rejigging of the published programme for Lords and Commons. Conversely, a sudden outbreak of agreement could leave both houses with a rather thin agenda, perhaps allowing some of the pent-up backlog of backbench debates to reach the floor of the Commons. All eyes are on the talks with the EU, both because they matter a great deal and because they could mean a major curtailment of parliamentarians' holiday plans. There is much speculation about the possibility of sittings continuing up to Christmas Eve, and maybe resuming before the New Year, to approve essential Brexit legislation - including UKIMB and the Trade Bill. Meanwhile, the first fortnightly review of the Covid restrictions is due on Wednesday and could well result in a ministerial statement or urgent question, so that MPs can ask about the fate of their particular patch. At the moment the government's internal critics, the Covid Recovery Group, fresh from a 50-string rebellion over the latest tier regulations, seem fairly quiescent. But they will want ministers to put their thinking on the record, so their actions can be measured against their words, and against criteria like relative infection and death rates, the cost of any new restrictions, in lives as well as money, and the strain on hospitals. A major flashpoint could be the treatment of London - it would be a huge step to put the capital into Tier 3, but there may be accusations of pro-Southern bias if London is spared, while other cities are not. There's also a lot of pressure to look at the operation of the restrictions regime over the Christmas holidays, with all kinds of questions about the practicalities around pub and restaurant closing times. A lot of MPs want a full debate. Here are a few more sub-plots: Here's my rundown of the coming week, bearing in mind the usual health warnings about last-minute changes: Monday 14 December The Commons meets (14:30) for an hour of Home Office Questions, with the prospect of ministerial statements or urgent questions to follow from 15:30. A slot has been set aside to consider Lords amendments to UKIMB, and that will be followed by a general debate on Covid-19. The adjournment debate is on the ominous-sounding subject of "dark skies". Conservative newcomer Andrew Griffith wants tougher planning rules to prevent light pollution, so future generations will still be able to see the stars. In Westminster Hall (16:30) MPs debate two e-petitions around pay for key workers. The first calls for them to have a 100% tax and National Insurance holiday through Covid-19 crisis, which attracted more than 146,000 signatures. Alongside is one asking for government workers to get "a fair pay rise." This received more than 104,000 signatures and argues that after 10 years of spending cuts, the government should start to restore the real value of their pay with a 10% increase. That's followed (18:00) by a debate on an e-petition which says that those who refuse a Covid vaccination should not face restrictions on travel or attendance at events. Committee action includes Public Accounts (14:30) taking evidence from senior officials from the Department of Health and Social Care on Covid-19 protective equipment procurement - over which the chair, Labour's Meg Hillier, clashed with the health secretary in the Commons. Treasury (15:30) takes evidence on the economic impact of coronavirus . In the Lords (13:00) questions range across the work of the Committee on Climate Change, pilot Environmental Land Management schemes and promoting a green economic recovery after the pandemic. The main event is consideration of Commons amendments to UKIMB, followed by the Third Reading of the High Speed Rail (West Midlands-Crewe) Bill. Tuesday 15 December MPs open (11:30) with Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Questions. The day's Ten Minute Rule Bill, from Conservative Richard Holden is the Virginity Testing (Prohibition) Bill, which would ban doctors in England from "testing" whether women have hymens or not. He will argue that young women can still be subjected to this procedure. Once again, a slot has been prepared for consideration of Lords amendments to UKIMB, after which come the Report Stage and Third Reading of the Taxation (Post Transition Period) Bill. This may see government amendments to reflect any deal agreed with the EU, and veteran Brexiteer Sir Bill Cash, has promised he will attempt to reinstate the "notwithstanding clauses", which would allow ministers to break the law in a "limited and specific way". In Westminster Hall, former cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom returns to a subject she has championed since entering Parliament, with a debate on healthcare support services for children in the period between conception and age two (09:30). And Lib Dem Sarah Olney leads a debate on the Planning for the Future White Paper (14:30). Committee-wise, Health (09:05) has a major evidence session in the wake of the Ockenden review into maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals, and disparities in maternal deaths. Chair Jeremy Hunt commissioned the review in 2017 when he was health secretary. Witnesses will include Donna Ockenden and campaigners Clo Abe and Tinuke Awe, who launched a Parliamentary petition calling for action after a 2019 report found that black women in the UK are five times more likely to die during pregnancy and after childbirth than white women. The committee will also quiz academics, midwives, obstetricians and gynaecologists. Education (10:00) has a pre-appointment hearing with Dame Rachel de Souza, the government's candidate to become Children's Commissioner for England - someone Michael Gove, when education secretary, said he wanted to "clone 23,000 times". Foreign Affairs (14:30) hears evidence about the Xinjiang detention camps, from Dolkun Isa, president, of the World Uyghur Congress and Professor Fionnuala Ní Aolaín, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. In the Lords (12:00), questions cover support for freelance arts workers during the pandemic and the Care Quality Commission's Out of Sight - Who Cares? report on community support for autistic people and people with a learning disability. Then peers turn to the second day of Report Stage consideration of the Trade Bill - and there will also be time for ping-pong on UKIMB, if needed. Wednesday 16 December The Commons opens (11:30) with of Wales Questions, before PMQs at 12:00. The Ten Minute Rule Bill from the SNP's Alyn Smith would give Westminster and the devolved parliaments and assemblies oversight of UK arms exports, and ban the export of autonomous weapons. Again, there is a slot reserved to debate Lords amendments to UKIMB. Then MPs will debate a series of orders and regulations - on airports slot allocation, tax credits reviews and appeals, and financial services. In Westminster Hall (09:30) Labour's Dan Jarvis leads a debate on the National Tree Strategy. In the afternoon, former Westminster City Council Leader Nicki Aiken leads a debate (14:30) on support for the homeless during winter. On the Committee Corridor, European Scrutiny (14:30) looks at the operation of the Channel Tunnel after Brexit with transport minister Rachel Maclean, and Environmental Audit (14:00) continues its inquiry into fashion and sustainability. In the Lords (12:00) ministers face questions on a National Bus Strategy for England, the number of prisoners and children in custody who have tested positive for Covid, and working with the incoming US government on global priorities, including climate change. Then peers will deal with all stages of the Taxation (Post-transition Period) Bill in a single gulp - it's a Money Bill, so they're not allowed to amend it in any way. Thursday 17 December The Commons opens (09:30) with questions to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office (aka Michael Gove), followed by the weekly Commons Business Statement. Yet again, there is provision for MPs to debate Lords amendments to UKIMB - and the main event will be the traditional end-of-term debate on matters to be raised on the adjournment. This allows MPs to make a speech on any subject they choose, so it is always rather amorphous. But while it is usually the Commons finale before recess, it's quite possible MPs will be back the following week. Another important nuance is that the debate is scheduled in government time, rather than time allocated by the Backbench Business Committee, which means that it can easily be reallocated to other uses, should the demands of legislating for a deal - or no deal - with the EU require. In Westminster Hall (13:30) the SNP's David Linden leads a debate on the future of fairs and showgrounds. Then (15:00) Conservative Alexander Stafford leads a debate to highlight the possibilities of the hydrogen economy. Hydrogen is a promising low-carbon fuel for heavy vehicles and domestic water heating, and the UK could steal a march on its competitors if it develops the technology first. It's a busy day on the Committer Corridor. Public Accounts (09:15) looks at the Covid-19 free schools meals voucher scheme. Home Affairs looks at UK-EU security co-operation (10:00) and the Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union (14:00) hears from Michael Gove and UK chief negotiator Lord Frost about the talks with the EU. And Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has a session (14:30) on online harm and anti-vaccine misinformation with YouTube, TikTok and Facebook. In the Lords the day opens (12:00) with the Introduction of Lord Lebedev, the owner of the Evening Standard, The Independent and the TV channel London Live. The son of Alexander Lebedev, a Russian banker and former KGB officer, he came to London at the age of eight, when his father began working in the Soviet embassy. He will sit in the Lords as a crossbencher, with the title Baron Lebedev, of Hampton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and of Siberia in the Russian Federation. Ministers face questions on ensuring delays at ports and airports are avoided, life expectancy statistics, and the role of the UK in safeguarding the rights of the global LGBTI+ community. And then there's the possibility of another bracing round of ping-pong over UKIMB. They might slot in some other debate as well.

यह एक असामान्य रूप से अस्थिर संसदीय सप्ताह है, क्योंकि वेस्टमिंस्टर के सामान्य मन्द व्यापार पर ब्रेक्सिट और कोविड करघे पर दोहरे संकट हैं।


Norwich Castle Mall death fall 'not suspicious'

Summary: The death of a man who fell several floors at a Norwich shopping centre is not being treated as suspicious.

The man, in his 20s and from the city, fell in the Castle Mall shopping and cinema complex at about 19:30 BST on Thursday. He was found with multiple injuries and died at the scene. Customers were evacuated from the centre which was sealed off for initial investigations.

नॉर्विच शॉपिंग सेंटर में कई मंजिलों से गिरने वाले एक व्यक्ति की मौत को संदिग्ध नहीं माना जा रहा है।


Medellin mayor demands apology over hit 'glorifying Escobar'

Summary: The mayor of the Colombian city of Medellín has demanded an apology from two Puerto Rican pop stars over their latest hit - which refers to the city's infamous past under the control of the drug lord Pablo Escobar.

Federico Gutiérrez accused Victor Manuelle and Farruko of celebrating drugs and Escobar. The salsa number, Amarte Duro, or Love You Hard, was released last month. The mayor said the song ignored the 20,000 victims of the Escobar era. At the height of his career, Escobar's cartel supplied an estimated 80% of the cocaine smuggled into the United States. He was killed in a shoot-out with police in Medellín in 1993. In an open letter, Mr Gutiérrez said the two men had been irresponsible. He said many young children still dream of being "drug lords in their neighbourhoods because of the TV series [Narcos, shown on Netflix] where Escobar is the hero and songs, like theirs, which glorify him. "Don't underestimate the influence they have on younger generations. "They have no respect for our pain. This is a city which is trying to move forward, and the minimum they could do, in fact, is to respect it." Amarte Duro includes the verses in Spanish, "Where I let my eye fall, I put a bullet and never fail" and "What I feel for you is like the coca of Medellín, I am no Pablo [Escobar], but you know what I am talking about." Mr Gutiérrez also complained that the song celebrated violence against women and demanded a public apology from the two artists to both the city of Medellín and women. In an open letter posted on Twitter, Victor Manuelle said he had not intended to cause offence. "I would never be capable of deliberately offending anyone, let alone Medellin, the city which has given me so much love throughout my career," he said. In previous statements he has denied promoting gender violence with lyrics such as "I'm going to give it hard to you the way Chris did to Rihanna", recalling the star's 2009 assault at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, insisting the song is about an intense love relationship. Since the 1990s, successive Medellín mayors have worked hard to break the power of the cartels and paramilitary gangs with social and education programmes. Although the violence is much reduced, there are still small drug gangs and drug traffickers operating in the city. Pablo Escobar 1949-1993 This is not the first time the Medellín mayor has complained of the glorification of drugs and Pablo Escobar. Last month he said US rap artist Wiz Khalifa should apologise for "advocating crime" after he laid flowers on Escobar's grave. And last year he gave the reggaeton artist J Álvarez a lecture on who Escobar really was after he wore a shirt carrying references to Pablo Escobar during the inauguration of the local Medellín flower fair. He also sent a letter to the airline Air Panama which has offered a "Medellín Narco Tour" for $499 (£370) per passenger, which includes three nights in a hotel and a visit to Pablo Escobar's abandoned ranch, Napoles.

कोलंबियाई शहर मेडेलिन के मेयर ने दो प्यूर्टो रिकान पॉप सितारों से उनकी नवीनतम हिट पर माफी की मांग की है-जो ड्रग लॉर्ड पाब्लो एस्कोबार के नियंत्रण में शहर के कुख्यात अतीत को संदर्भित करता है।


Beirut blast: The rowers left with nothing cling to Olympics dream

Summary: Rodrigue Ibrahim could have easily lost his life on 4 August.

By George WrightBBC News The soldier and rower was planning to head down to his beloved rowing club on the waters opposite the Port of Beirut at half past five in the afternoon, but a Bible study session on Zoom with a friend in London overran. "Because of this meeting, I didn't go to the rowing club. I should have been there at this time," Rodrigue, 28, said. About half an hour later there was a gigantic explosion at the port that sent a mushroom cloud into the air and a supersonic blastwave radiating through the city. Almost 200 people died and thousands were injured. Just 200m (650ft) from the port, the Lebanese Rowing Federation's training centre was completely destroyed. "With God, nothing is impossible, which means there will always be a chance to survive," Rodrigue says. "But I can't hide that this question has come to my mind before - what would have happened to me?" Usually the club would have been full of rowers at this time, but due to coronavirus restrictions introduced only a few days before, the building was empty. Rodrigue had been one of only a few people still able to visit the centre due to being a coach. Despite his relief that nobody was in the building, Rodrigue was devastated upon seeing the premises wrecked. "I have done it all for free. I trained people for free. I fix things for free. It's all for free because I love it and it's my life," he says. "When the blast happened that's why I was crying. It was so hard." The Lebanese Rowing Federation was founded in 1968. Although underfunded and run almost solely by volunteers, it is home to around 20 active rowers, from children to veterans of Beirut's waters. Like the city itself, the federation is home to rowers from all backgrounds. Rodrigue is a Christian and his double scull partner, Akram, is Shia Muslim. Many of the club's Sunni, Shia and Christian rowers maintain close bonds outside of the club, too, attending each other's weddings, for example. "We are like a family," Rodrigue says. General Hassan Rustom, who has been president of the federation since 1998, recalls the moment the explosion hit. "I was sitting at home with my family and suddenly it was like my house was hit by an earthquake. I can't even describe the sound and the feeling we were left with at this time," he says. "We rushed to check the news and I discovered about the blast in Beirut port. I left directly to our training centre. "I will never forget what I saw that day on the way to the training centre, it was a nightmare. Thank God nobody was training at this time because of the Covid-19 restrictions. The rowing training centre was totally destroyed." The rowing club has been a constant in Farah Jaroudi's life from the age of 10. She bagged four gold medals in the Lebanese National Championships between 2003 and 2013, but now just rows when she has spare time from her job as an interior architect. Many of Farah's happiest days have been spent rowing up and down the 2km stretch in front of the port. She likens the to and fro motion to meditation. "I feel like I am at one with the water. It's very soothing," she says. In breaks from training, she and her rowing partner Hiba would lie back on the boat and catch up. Sometimes they'd play music and sing along to legendary Lebanese singer Fayrouz as the sun would set on the city. And due to being on open waters, rowers in Beirut encounter more wildlife than most. "Sometimes we have dolphins come in if they have lost their track, they come into the port. We have a very old sea turtle - sometimes it rises to the surface and we are so excited," Farah laughs. "Once we reach the 2km at the end, you are close to the open waters. There are a lot of seagulls there - it's a majestic view." At times the waters can be dangerous, and rowers must keep on constant lookout for ships entering the port. On 4 August, Farah was on holiday in Istanbul when she started being bombarded with WhatsApp messages asking if she was okay. Then she saw the footage of the blast. "The thing we kept repeating was: 'It looks like Hiroshima, it looks like Hiroshima.' I kept re-watching the videos. I was shaking, it looked like a movie," she says. "Before Beirut was colourful, now it's black and white. It looks the same way as it did during the civil war," she says. Despite the club lying in ruins, there are hopes to rebuild it. Rowers from around the world have voiced their desire to help with boats and other equipment, while others have offered donations. There are also plans to set up a crowdfunding page. Rodrigue - who won a silver medal at the Arab Indoor Rowing Championships in 2018 - dreams of making the 2024 Olympics in Paris. He admits this was a tough enough task before the blast due to the lack of funding and facilities in Lebanon. "I visualise my coach that I don't have. I imagine he is in front of me. When my blade goes down I visualise the coach screaming at me: 'Be careful!'" he says. Rodrigue is determined to get the club up and running again as soon as possible - even if hope is in short supply in Beirut. Lebanon was already besieged by an economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic before the blast. "After all these things happened I can't hope anymore. When I hope and something happens and it's gone, it's hard to get over it, it's really hard," he says. "I'm living day by day, but I am putting my effort into my future and I don't want to let my dreams go." But despite his club lying in ruins along with much of his city, Rodrigue is still counting his blessings. "I cannot hope for anything else," he says. "Seeing myself in the mirror and knowing I'm alive is the loveliest thing I have right now."

रोड्रिग इब्राहिम 4 अगस्त को आसानी से अपनी जान गंवा सकते थे।


Warning of 'worsening' in Highland's financial position

Summary: Highland Council senior management have warned councillors of a "significant worsening" in the local authority's projected financial position.

In an email, councillors have been told the council's budget gap was estimated to increase from £13.2m to £46.2m over the next three years. Key reasons include assumptions of a cut in grant funding and changes to pensions and National Insurance. Councillors will be asked to discuss the situation at a meeting next week. Senior officers said there will have to be reductions in services and staffing levels.

हाईलैंड काउंसिल के वरिष्ठ प्रबंधन ने पार्षदों को स्थानीय प्राधिकरण की अनुमानित वित्तीय स्थिति में "महत्वपूर्ण गिरावट" की चेतावनी दी है।