Race report risks deepening distrust and division

Summary: When setting up the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities during the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, Boris Johnson said: "What I really want to do as prime minister is change the narrative, so we stop the sense of victimisation and discrimination."

By Mark EastonHome editor But reaching a settled view on the question of racism in the UK was always going to be a struggle. Critics were concerned by Mr Johnson's assertion that he wanted "to look very carefully at the real racism and discrimination that people face". There was further unease among anti-racism groups at the reported involvement of Number 10 policy advisor Munira Mirza in setting up the commission, because she had previously written of how institutional racism was "a perception more than a reality". When Theresa May created the Race Disparities Audit in 2017, Ms Mirza complained that "anti-racism is becoming weaponised across the political spectrum". The appointment of Tony Sewell to lead the inquiry once again disappointed anti-racism activists. One London-based organisation, Monitoring Group, considered seeking a judicial review to prevent his selection on the grounds that he had "a longstanding record of public statements rejecting or minimising" the impact of institutional racism in Britain. The accusation that this report is the result of a hand-picked committee, designed to say what ministers wanted to hear, will have some traction, whatever the commission and the government insist about its independence. The problem is not whether the report is right or wrong in its conclusions, nor whether the commission was impartial in its analysis. Indeed, the findings offer some important perspective on the complexities of race and social mobility. The difficulty is that the process does not enjoy broad support as a truly independent exercise. As a result, rather than helping encourage consensus over this vexed issue, it may deepen distrust and division.

पिछली गर्मियों में ब्लैक लाइव्स मैटर विरोध प्रदर्शनों के दौरान नस्ल और जातीय असमानता पर आयोग की स्थापना करते समय, बोरिस जॉनसन ने कहाः "मैं वास्तव में प्रधान मंत्री के रूप में जो करना चाहता हूं वह कथा को बदलना है, इसलिए हम उत्पीड़न और भेदभाव की भावना को रोकते हैं।"


Watford Hospital: Nursing assistant dies after helping virus patients

Summary: A nursing assistant looking after coronavirus patients has died.

John Alagos, 24, became ill and died on Friday after working at Watford General Hospital in Hertfordshire. His mother Gina Gustilo told the BBC the family were waiting to hear whether he had tested positive for Covid-19. The hospital closed to new patients on Saturday due to problems with its oxygen equipment, but has now reopened. It said it ensured staff had the right level of protection when working. Tracey Carter, chief nurse at the hospital, said: "John was very popular and will be missed greatly by his colleagues." Mrs Gustilo, who is an NHS mental health nurse and lived with her son, said she had shown no symptoms of the virus but was self-isolating at home. In a statement issued after Mr Alagos' death, Ms Carter added: "Our staff are fully briefed on the symptoms of Covid-19 and we would never expect anyone to remain at work if they were showing these symptoms or indeed were unwell in any way. "We have always kept our staff updated on the latest PPE guidance to make sure they have the right level of protection for where they are working." The hospital said the decision on Saturday to declare a critical incident was taken as a "result of a technical issue with our hospital's oxygen equipment". 'Safe oxygen levels' Later that evening the hospital said the problems had been resolved and it lifted the critical incident. A safe level of oxygen was maintained throughout the duration of the incident, said the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospital. As of 17:00 BST on Thursday, 29 people had died at the NHS trust's hospitals after being diagnosed with Covid-19. The trust is responsible for Watford General as well as Hemel Hempstead and St Albans City hospitals. Current NHS advice tells people with coronavirus or suspected symptoms to avoid hospitals and other medical settings like pharmacies. Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk

कोरोनावायरस रोगियों की देखभाल करने वाले एक नर्सिंग सहायक की मृत्यु हो गई है।


Bangor: Police treating death of man, 68, as suspicious

Summary: Police are treating the death of a 68-year-old man in County Down as suspicious.

The man was found dead at his home in Birch Drive, Bangor, on Tuesday evening. A post-mortem examination is to be carried out to determine the cause of death.

पुलिस काउंटी डाउन में एक 68 वर्षीय व्यक्ति की मौत को संदिग्ध मान रही है।


Miao Deshun: China's last Tiananmen prisoner?

Summary: When the streets were still and the shooting had stopped following the violent showdown between protesters and soldiers in June, 1989, the Chinese government began rounding up people it deemed to be criminals. Many were detained and released, but 1,600 people received formal prison sentences.

By Celia HattonBBC News, Beijing Now, it's believed that only one person convicted during that era remains behind bars. We don't have his photo, but we know his name: Miao Deshun. A factory worker from Beijing, he was convicted of arson for throwing a basket at a burning tank. For this seemingly minor offence, he received a suspended death sentence, which was commuted to life in prison a few years later. Miao is not scheduled for release until 15 September 2018. "He was a quiet person. He was often very depressed," remembers Dong Shengkun, a fellow Tiananmen convict who once shared a prison cell with Miao Deshun. Everyone interviewed by the BBC who knew Miao describes him as being painfully thin, almost emaciated. "We had both been given suspended death sentences and we were supposed to have our feet in shackles," Mr Dong says. "I was chained but he wasn't. He said the guards probably thought he was too thin to be able to wear foot chains. He wouldn't be able to walk under the weight of the chains." Dead or alive? Beijing's Bureau of Prisons refused to answer inquiries about Miao Deshun, noting they never answer questions from foreign journalists. However, Dui Hua, a US-based organisation advocating the legal rights of Chinese prisoners, says it is highly likely that Miao is the last prisoner with offences dating back to the Tiananmen uprising in 1989. Of course, it's possible that Miao Deshun died in prison years ago, and the news of his passing has yet to surface. The Bureau of Prisons will only confirm prisoners' status to direct relatives. But assuming that Miao Deshun is still alive, why did he stay in prison long after most others were released? Most former prisoners agree, that, unlike most others, Miao refused to sign letters admitting regret for his participation in the Tiananmen protests. He also refused to participate in prison labour, choosing instead to spend his days reading the newspaper in his cell. Tiananmen protests Timeline: Tiananmen protests "He is the last prisoner because he never admitted he was wrong, he refused to obey regulations and refused to participate in labour through re-education," a former prisoner, Sun Liyong remembers. Mr Sun now lives in Sydney, Australia. During the day, he works as a labourer on construction sites. In his spare time, he runs a fund devoted to helping victims and former prison inmates with connections to the Tiananmen protests. He says he isn't even sure if Miao is alive. "I keep in touch with former inmates and every time I ask them if they have heard from Miao. The last time anyone saw him was about a decade ago." But other former prisoners also blame Miao's long sentence on his lowly status as a worker who became involved in the protests. "When the jail terms were handed out, ordinary citizens were given harsher sentences," explains another former prisoner, Zhang Baoqun. "The guys with good connections, or those who were protected by certain associations, received lesser sentences." "No-one spoke up for people like us," Mr Zhang says. "Wang Dan, one of the protest organisers, was only given four years in prison." "In the early 1990s when [Miao's] families went to visit him, he refused family visits. He doesn't want his old parents to travel so far to see him. Since then, no-one has seen him. Sometimes Miao and I were locked in single rooms at the same time, my cell just opposite his." "The authorities treated him as if he was insane. I heard they moved him to Yanqing," Mr Dong says quietly. He doesn't know much about the prison, he explains, except that it's very far away. 'Clear conscience' The BBC drove for hours through the mountains to reach the gates of Yanqing prison, an institution for elderly and mentally ill prisoners. The prison's remote location makes it seem like Miao Deshun has been banished from modern society, far away from the politics of Tiananmen Square. Former inmates have had varying degrees of success reclaiming their daily lives. After leaving prison in 2003, Zhang Baoqun has tried a variety of different jobs in an attempt to support his wife and young son, who was born after his release. Denouncing his time in prison as a "dirty spot" on his record, Mr Zhang questions his actions during 1989. "I wouldn't participate in something like that again. It was meaningless. You cannot change your country no matter how hard you try," he explains. Since leaving prison eight years ago, Dong Shengkun has never been able to find a full-time job. Estranged from his wife and child, he lives with his 76-year-old mother, but he has no regrets about his past choices. "I have a clear conscience," he explains, adding: "So many people sacrificed so much. They didn't sacrifice their lives for today's materialistic society. Chinese people have become richer now but we shouldn't care less simply because we have better lives now." Mr Dong is stoic when asked about the last prisoner, Miao Deshun's, long incarceration. "I am not surprised he is still inside," he sighs. "It has been 25 years but the authorities can do anything they like."

जब जून, 1989 में प्रदर्शनकारियों और सैनिकों के बीच हिंसक झड़प के बाद सड़कें शांत थीं और गोलीबारी बंद हो गई थी, तब चीनी सरकार ने उन लोगों को घेरना शुरू कर दिया जिन्हें वह अपराधी मानती थी। कई लोगों को हिरासत में लिया गया और रिहा कर दिया गया, लेकिन 1,600 लोगों को औपचारिक रूप से जेल की सजा सुनाई गई।


Iraq crisis: Sunni rebels 'ready to turn on Islamic State'

Summary: Stifled by the Islamic State (IS) militants in their own areas, Iraqi Sunni rebels who took up arms against the Shia-dominated government of Nouri Maliki are signalling for the first time that they are ready to turn against IS if Sunni rights are enshrined in a reformed political order in Baghdad.

By Jim MuirBBC News, Irbil The rebels, including tribal militants and former army personnel organised in military councils throughout the Sunni areas, see American and international guarantees as crucial to any such deal. "We don't want guns from the Americans, we want a real political solution, which the US should impose on those people it installed in the Green Zone," said Abu Muhammad al-Zubaai, referring to the Iraqi political leaders who took over after the US-led occupation in 2003. "The IS problem would end. If they guarantee us this solution, we'll guarantee to get rid of IS," said Mr al-Zubaai, a tribal leader from Anbar province speaking on behalf of the rebels, using a nom de guerre. The tribal and military rebels, who had been fighting government forces since January, played a role in the spectacular advances scored after IS - in its previous guise as Isis - erupted into Iraq from Syria in June and captured the second city, Mosul, among other mainly Sunni areas. But since then, the Sunni groups have been suppressed, with IS ordering them to join its own ranks or disarm. "Living with IS is like holding burning coals in your hand," said Mr al-Zubaai. "They do not tolerate any other flag to be raised. They control all Sunni areas now." He said tribal militants from the military councils clashed with IS at Garma, near Falluja recently, killing 16 of the Islamic radicals. "We had to choose between a comprehensive confrontation with IS, or ceding control of that area and keeping a low profile," he said. "We decided to stand down, because we are not ready to fight IS in the current circumstances - who would we be fighting for?" 'Nothing to lose' Events of the past three weeks have heightened the dilemma of the Sunni rebels. The lightning IS strikes on Iraqi Kurdistan have drawn the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters into the fray in many areas, imposing economic blockades on Sunni townships because of the IS presence there. With the Americans and other powers becoming involved, the rebels fear they will simply be tarred as IS terrorists and the Sunni areas reduced to rubble. "The Sunnis feel that everybody is ganging up on them, that they are targeted by everybody," said Mr al-Zubaai. "The worst thing is to realise that you have nothing to lose any more. The situation is very bad and getting worse. It's enough to make you blow yourself up. This is where the political process has taken us. "Our biggest concern now is a political solution. A security solution will achieve nothing. The bombing has to stop." Sense of betrayal Under Nouri Maliki, who remains as commander-in-chief of the armed forces in a caretaker capacity until the new government is formed, towns like Falluja and many other Sunni areas have been bombed daily, with heavy casualties among civilians. Caught between two fires, the position of the Sunni rebels has changed sharply since the IS operation began in June. In the early phases, they hoped a joint effort would carry the Sunni insurgency into the heart of Baghdad, ousting Prime Minister Maliki and overturning the current constitution and political order. At that stage, they said, they would have turned on the IS militants and driven them out, as they did with al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2007. But they feel bitterly deceived by that earlier process, and betrayed by Mr Maliki, who failed to carry out commitments given to the Sunnis and gradually drove them into a position of outright revolt after the bloody suppression of peaceful protest demonstrations from 2012. That is why they are seeking international guarantees for a new power-sharing deal. They do not trust the Shia, and fear that under Mr Maliki's nominated successor Haidar al-Abadi, who comes from the same party, things may not change. "Appointing someone from the same Dawa party to succeed Maliki is like appointing a Baathist to replace Saddam Hussein," said Mr al-Zubaai. Fear of isolation The tribal and military rebels are proposing a national reconciliation conference under international auspices, with all factions invited except for IS and also the Shia militias, which they regard as equally bad as, or worse than, IS. A similar high-level "national accord" conference was held in Cairo in 2005, but the outcome was never followed up. They dismiss as unrepresentative the Sunni politicians who are currently involved in intense negotiations in Baghdad over the formation of a new government under Mr al-Abadi, who has until 10 September to present his cabinet. "These people have been involved in the political process since 2003, and they achieved nothing," said Mr al-Zubaai. But as well as pressing for a good allocation of portfolios in the cabinet, the Sunni leaders in Baghdad have been demanding changes to the way power is shared. If they help hammer out a deal that many Sunnis regard as fair, the rebels may find themselves with no choice but to sign up, or risk finding themselves politically isolated and physically under threat from both IS and a US-backed coalition on the ground. Growing urgency But the Sunni rebels, who say they can mobilise 90% of the tribes, believe that only they can tackle IS, with outside help. The Iraqi army has shown little capability or cohesion in the field, and to defend Baghdad, Mr Maliki had to rely heavily on mobilising Shia militias and volunteers. If such forces are thrown into battle against IS-held Sunni areas with US air support under a new al-Abadi government, the Americans might find themselves doing what they have been trying to avoid - backing one side in a sectarian civil war involving horrendous carnage and destruction. But if the tribal and military rebels were on board, it would, by their own account at least, be an entirely different affair. They say they have written to the Americans, but received no substantive response. Mr al-Zubaai warned against allowing the situation to drift. "If things stay the same, a new generation will emerge, beyond the control of the US or Iran or Syria - hundreds of thousands of young men will join up with IS," he said. "This is a danger the West should be aware of - they have millions of [Muslim] youths, free to embrace the ideology of IS, to wave its flag in the streets."

अपने ही क्षेत्रों में इस्लामिक स्टेट (आईएस) के आतंकवादियों से तंग आकर, नूरी मलिकी की शिया बहुल सरकार के खिलाफ हथियार उठाने वाले इराकी सुन्नी विद्रोही पहली बार संकेत दे रहे हैं कि अगर बगदाद में सुन्नी अधिकारों को एक सुधार राजनीतिक व्यवस्था में स्थापित किया जाता है तो वे आईएस के खिलाफ जाने के लिए तैयार हैं।


Seven held over Dundonald crash linked to death are released

Summary: Seven people who were arrested on suspicion of motoring offences linked to a woman's death on the outskirts of Belfast have been released on bail.

Police said there was a definite link between the 27-year-old's death at a house in Dundonald and a car crash that happened nearby on Tuesday morning. Officers found a crashed and abandoned BMW car on Comber Road at 04:30 BST. Shortly afterwards paramedics were called to a house at Ardmore Avenue in Dundonald where they found the woman. She died a short time later. Four men and three women were arrested at the property and were questioned on suspicion of motoring offences.

बेलफास्ट के बाहरी इलाके में एक महिला की मौत से जुड़े मोटरिंग अपराधों के संदेह में गिरफ्तार किए गए सात लोगों को जमानत पर रिहा कर दिया गया है।


Amy Macdonald to sing at Ryder Cup Gala Concert

Summary: Scottish singer Amy Macdonald is the latest act to be added to the line-up for the 2014 Ryder Cup Gala Concert.

Amy, who starred in the Glasgow 2014 opening ceremony, will perform a one-off collaboration with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO). The USA and Europe teams will be at the concert at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on 24 September during the golf tournament at Gleneagles. Other acts set to perform include Jake Bugg, Texas and Midge Ure. The golf competition runs from 23 to 28 September.

स्कॉटिश गायिका एमी मैकडोनाल्ड 2014 राइडर कप गाला कॉन्सर्ट के लिए लाइन-अप में जोड़ी जाने वाली नवीनतम अभिनेत्री हैं।


BBC salaries: Top-paid Welsh stars revealed

Summary: Television and radio presenter John Humphrys has been named as the highest paid Welsh talent at the BBC.

The Mastermind and Today programme host earns between £600,000 and £649,999. Other Welsh stars who made the highest paid list included BBC News presenter Huw Edwards, One Show host Alex Jones and Radio Wales and sport presenter Jason Mohammad. Rugby pundit Jonathan Davies and journalist Jeremy Bowen also earned more than £150,000 a year at the BBC. Former Top Gear host and Radio 2 presenter Chris Evans tops the overall list, earning between £2.2m and £2.25m in 2016/2017 The highest-earning Welsh presenters:

टेलीविजन और रेडियो प्रस्तुतकर्ता जॉन हम्फ्रीस को बीबीसी में सबसे अधिक भुगतान पाने वाली वेल्श प्रतिभा के रूप में नामित किया गया है।


Q&A: Horsemeat scandal

Summary: The discovery of horsemeat in processed beef products sold by a number of UK supermarket chains last month has resulted in a series of product recalls and thrown the spotlight on the food industry's supply chain. It has also inspired a stricter food testing regime across Europe. So how did the scandal unfold and what is being done?

French food producer makes order Comigel HQ in Metz, north-east France, asks its subsidiary, Tavola in Luxembourg, to make food products - including beef lasagne for Findus. Factory orders meat The Tavola factory orders the meat from Spanghero in the south of France. Subcontractor used Spanghero contacts a subcontractor in Cyprus to source the meat. Subcontractor enlists trader The Cypriot subcontractor in turn contacts a trader in the Netherlands. Trader orders from Romania The trader in the Netherlands places an order for meat with abattoirs in Romania. Abattoirs send meat to France The meat from the abattoirs travels to Spanghero in France. However, Romania rejects claims that it was responsible for wrongly describing the horsemeat from its abattoirs as beef. Horsemeat is always labelled as such, they say. The Romanian authorities claim records show orders had been for horse carcass - easily distinguishable from beef. Meat used to make products Spanghero sends the meat to the Comigel subsidiary’s factory in Luxembourg before the finished products are supplied to Findus and retailers across Europe, including the UK. The president of Comigel says the company was unaware the meat was coming from abroad. Horsemeat found in Ireland and UK Tests by Irish authorities have found equine DNA in beefburgers made by firms in the Irish Republic and the UK. Traces of horsemeat have also been found in stored meat at another plant in Ireland and one in Northern Ireland. In mainland Britain, police and officials probing alleged horsemeat mislabelling have carried out raids at a slaughterhouse in West Yorkshire and a meat firm near Aberystwyth. Three men were later arrested on suspicion of offences under the Fraud Act..

पिछले महीने ब्रिटेन के कई सुपरमार्केट श्रृंखलाओं द्वारा बेचे गए प्रसंस्कृत गोमांस उत्पादों में घोड़े के मांस की खोज के परिणामस्वरूप उत्पादों को वापस बुलाने और खाद्य उद्योग की आपूर्ति श्रृंखला पर प्रकाश डाला गया है। इसने पूरे यूरोप में एक सख्त खाद्य परीक्षण व्यवस्था को भी प्रेरित किया है। तो यह घोटाला कैसे सामने आया और क्या किया जा रहा है?


The men saving lives in Middlesbrough by 'talking nonsense'

Summary: Middlesbrough has the highest suicide rate in England, at almost double the national average. Almost three quarters of those who take their own lives in the town are men. Charity Men Tell Health is trying to combat these statistics through conversation and coffee.

By Sian DaviesBBC News 'Either it was get help or it was attempted suicide' Bullied at school, 28-year-old Danial Shaw said he used to just take menial jobs "because I never valued myself anything higher". At his lowest point, Danial called the Samaritans from the roadside. This led him to seek counselling and further support from Mind, and he got involved with Men Tell Health six months ago. The charity holds "SpeakEasys" in coffee shops around Middlesbrough - which have been set up to encourage men to talk about their problems. Danial said: "There's a weird shared connection you have, and empathetic connection, and that made a big difference for me. "It built my confidence up over time." 'It's all right to be fed up' "With the suicide rate, if we save eight people then that will be within the national average," says Dan Briggs, who is the charity's director of services. "They're not just a number, they are real people who we can do something about." Dan, 45, has suffered with depression for 20 years, and said his first breakdown happened around the time his dad was diagnosed with lung cancer and the financial impact of being made redundant began to hit. "Sometimes you don't need an answer. I'm not looking for an answer off someone, I'm looking for someone to go 'It's all right to be fed up, it's all right to feel like that.' "Probably the thing that helped me the most was accepting that I had an illness and it was fine that I had that illness." 'We give men the right environment to speak' Men Tell Health actually started life as a blog about Gary Pollard's experience of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Gary met Dan while they were taking part in a research study at Teesside University on mental health, and came up with the "simple" idea of getting men together for a cup of coffee. More than 150 men are now involved, although no-one is pressured to speak. Gary said: "Men go to the pub and talk about football but don't actually sit down and talk. "We kind of do things that are revolutionary but they shouldn't be. We're talking nonsense half the time. "Sometimes it can take a few sessions for them to open up, but they do. "We know it's not easy for the NHS - with funding issues and waiting lists. We have to change the way we do it. "We're showing we are different and doing it differently." Across the country, the biggest killer of men under 45 is themselves, and the suicide rate in Middlesbrough is almost double the national average. Gary said: "There's not one reason that Middlesbrough has the highest suicide statistics - we have the highest of pretty much anything in Middlesbrough - cancer, obesity, drugs, alcohol. "The industrial background of the area has a part to play," added Dan. "I was a plater by trade in the oil rig yards working with 3,000 blokes. They didn't even have female toilets. "A lot of men have grown up working in those environments - where men are men and in that environment you wouldn't feel OK to talk. "People think 'I shouldn't be feeling like this' because they have a job, a car, a house, a family." 'As men you're supposed to be strong' Police officer Richi Wells, 43, went to the Stockton group for the first time in April. "As men you're supposed to be strong, you're supposed to be the support of everything and you just keep going until it gets too tough. "It's good when you've got a group of people who've been through similar or even worse things than yourself and you can just sit there and have a laugh with each other. "And all of a sudden someone will say 'When this happened to me, this is how I dealt with it'. "It's not embarrassing either - you're just going into a cafe. I think it's a good environment for chatting." 'Suddenly I wasn't overwhelmed' John Gray, 43, has struggled with depression since being diagnosed with ME in his mid-20s and was the first member of the Stockton group. "I felt so much better at the end of it and it was mainly because I felt hopeful," he said. "I hadn't solved any of my problems because that's not what it's about." He said he felt "overwhelmed" with life before attending, and after the group "suddenly I wasn't overwhelmed anymore". The Men Tell Health groups take place in Off The Ground Coffee in Middlesbrough, Labyrinth Holistic Cafe in Stockton, Mint Hobo in Yarm and Costa Coffee in Redcar. If you are affected by these issues please contact the Samaritans on the free helpline 116 123, or visit the website.

मिडल्सब्रो में आत्महत्या की दर इंग्लैंड में सबसे अधिक है, जो राष्ट्रीय औसत से लगभग दोगुनी है। शहर में अपनी जान लेने वालों में से लगभग तीन चौथाई पुरुष हैं। चैरिटी मेन टेल हेल्थ बातचीत और कॉफी के माध्यम से इन आंकड़ों का मुकाबला करने की कोशिश कर रहा है।


Why does Scotland still not have minimum pricing?

Summary: Legislation that would introduce a minimum price for a unit of alcohol was given Royal Assent by the Queen after being passed by the Scottish Parliament four years ago - but the policy still hasn't been introduced.

By Stuart NicolsonBBC Scotland News With lawyers once again due to argue over the proposals at the Court of Session this week, here's a look at the background to the minimum pricing plans - and where they might be going next. What is the Scottish government trying to do? The SNP, which has formed the Scottish government for the past nine years, has been trying to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol since 2009. It wants to set the price of a unit of alcohol at 50p - meaning the cost of the strongest ciders would more than double in off-licences, while a four-pack of 4% lager would cost at least £4, a bottle of whisky would cost at least £14 and a bottle of wine a minimum of about £4.50. Supporters of minimum pricing believe the move is necessary to tackle the country's binge drinking culture, with Scots buying 20% more alcohol on average than people in England or Wales. They say that alcohol is now 60% more affordable in the UK than it was in 1980, and that it is now possible to exceed the maximum weekly recommended intake of alcohol for men for less than £5. The minimum pricing policy - which received wide support from health professionals, the police, alcohol charities and sections of the drinks industry - was voted down by opposition MSPs when it first came before the Scottish Parliament in 2010. But the SNP tried again after being re-elected with a majority the following year, and the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act was passed by Holyrood in May 2012. So why does Scotland still not have minimum pricing? The proposals immediately came under attack from five wine-producing nations - France, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria and Portugal - who are concerned that it would increase the cost of their products in Scotland. But more importantly, they are concerned about Scotland setting a precedent that the rest of the UK and other countries around the world could follow. In its legal guidance to the Scottish government, the European Commission said it believed minimum pricing was a disproportionate way of tackling Scotland's problem drinking. And it raised concerns that the policy could breach EU competition law by restricting imports of foreign alcohol. Separately, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) launched a legal challenge to the policy in the Scottish Courts. The SWA also says minimum pricing would breach EU trade laws, be ineffective in tackling alcohol misuse, penalise responsible and poorer drinkers, and damage an export industry worth more than £4bn to the Scottish economy every year. The Court of Session dismissed their case, but the SWA has not given up on its legal battle, with the appeal process reaching the European Court of Justice (ECJ) last year. The ECJ agreed that minimum pricing may breach EU rules on free trade, and suggested that the Scottish government should instead look at using tax increases as a way of raising the price of alcohol. However, the ECJ also said that it should be for the Scottish Courts to decide - and so the case is back before a panel of three judges in the Court of Session in Edinburgh. The Scottish government has indicated it will not introduce minimum pricing until the legal process is complete. What's likely to happen next? The Court of Session is due to hear two days of legal arguments for lawyers acting for the Scottish government and the SWA. After examining all of the evidence - including the opinion of the European Court of Justice - the three judges will decide whether improvements in public health could be achieved by other means, such as increasing tax rates on alcohol, rather than minimum pricing. They will deliver their findings at a later date - but even that is unlikely to be the end of the saga, with an appeal against the ruling likely from either the Scottish government or the SWA. That would see the case end up in the UK's highest court of appeal - the Supreme Court in London. What's the situation elsewhere in the UK? The UK government has supported the devolved Scottish administration during the legal process, arguing that minimum pricing is compatible with EU law. Prime Minister David Cameron pledged in 2012 to introduce minimum pricing - but the plan was shelved a year later in the face of fierce opposition from the drinks industry. The Home Office has said the policy remains under review, with calls for its reintroduction in England likely to be reignited if it is eventually implemented in Scotland. And last year, the Welsh government published its own proposals for a 50p minimum price for a unit of alcohol It followed research suggesting the move would save nearly £900m over 20 years by cutting crime and illness, with 50 fewer deaths a year across Wales. In Northern Ireland, former Health Minister Jim Wells had been seeking to introduce minimum pricing before resigning in April of last year.

शराब की एक इकाई के लिए न्यूनतम मूल्य लागू करने वाले कानून को चार साल पहले स्कॉटिश संसद द्वारा पारित किए जाने के बाद रानी द्वारा शाही सहमति दी गई थी-लेकिन नीति अभी भी पेश नहीं की गई है।


Scottish business start-ups hold up in spring 2011

Summary: The number of new businesses started up in Scotland between April and June this year remained steady, according to the main banks.

The Committee of Scottish Clearing Bankers (CSCB) said 3,986 businesses were started in that period compared with 4,012 in the previous three months. There was a big rise in the number of manufacturing companies launched. Property-related businesses accounted for the biggest number of start-ups. The CSCB incorporates Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank and Lloyds TSB Scotland.

मुख्य बैंकों के अनुसार, इस साल अप्रैल और जून के बीच स्कॉटलैंड में शुरू हुए नए व्यवसायों की संख्या स्थिर रही।


Coronavirus: From cybersex to distant rooftop meals - your lockdown dating stories

Summary: Dating can be tough at the best of times.

But how about now, when coronavirus has forced more than a quarter of the world's population to live under lockdown? People from China to the UK, to Spain and India, have been practicing social distancing - the opposite of what you normally do, when you're trying to get to know someone. So how is this affecting dating and relationships globally? Here, five people from around the world share with us their intimate dating stories. Warning: This piece contains adult themes Sophie*, 27, from Shanghai, China I broke up with my ex a week before Wuhan went into lockdown and then most of China was put under similar restrictions. Nobody knew this would happen. It was really hard for a while because I was dealing with all of this by myself. Eventually, I decided to get on dating apps. Somehow sitting alone in my apartment with my cat and swiping left and right became a sort of entertainment. But it was difficult to actually substantiate anything. I'd talk to guys for hours but then there's only so much talking you can do before meeting someone. Restaurants and public places are closed. Even if we were able to find a cafe that was open, we have to wear face masks. That makes dating meaningless. It feels like you're in a bubble and no-one can penetrate it. It feels safe and secure but it often makes you want to reach out and actually touch someone. It's different when you've known the person you're dating for a while but when it comes to online dating, this virus has created a lot of boundaries. How do you meet a total stranger when you're not sure if both of you are virus free? It's kind of risky. I'm taking a break now because I felt it wasn't going anywhere. To be honest, I don't think it's going to be better anytime soon either, especially for as long as we're hidden behind our masks in our own little bubbles. Jeremy Cohen, 28, from Brooklyn, US To keep myself busy while quarantining alone in my apartment, I started taking pictures of people on roofs around me for a photo series. A few days ago, I noticed a girl across the street dancing on her roof. I was so attracted to her energy. I went out to my balcony and waved at her. She waved back. I could almost instantly feel this connection between us and I wanted to get in touch with her. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I took out my drone, stuck a note with my phone number on it and flew it to her terrace. She texted me after an hour and we started talking. I asked her out and then planned a date with the help of her roommate. She was on her roof and I was on mine in a similar setting - a small table, some wine and some food. We were on a FaceTime video call throughout the date and we could even see each other and wave. For date two, I went in an actual bubble. I wanted to get as close to crossing the line without really crossing the line. I've been posting our story on social media and it's gone viral. We're co-ordinating all the interview requests and in a weird way that's also bringing us closer. This probably wouldn't have happened if not for the lockdown. I'm overjoyed to have met an amazing person. I usually don't take my chances. I guess being locked inside a box inspired me to get creative and to connect with someone else. Clarisse, 35, from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) I was in a casual relationship with somebody before Covid-19 became a real global threat. We met each other almost every day but I didn't want to invest in it emotionally. I wanted to take it slow. But who imagined something like this could happen? The DRC is not under lockdown at the moment but because I work in the humanitarian health sector, I take this virus quite seriously. That makes him mad. I stopped seeing him four weeks ago and I tried to explain why that was important. But he thinks I'm using this as an excuse to get away from him. I miss him and I often wonder whether I'm losing another opportunity of having someone more permanent in my life. I fear that he won't wait for me. I also miss the physical intimacy. We're all desperate for sex. But then you have to find alternative ways. Luckily, my vibrator has always been my best friend. I think the guy knows that and I guess that's why he's taking it a bit too hard as well. All of this makes me feel sad and even lonely sometimes. He doesn't talk to me as much now and often takes a long time to respond to my texts. All I'm trying to do is to protect him and myself but I've kind of accepted that our relationship will not be able to survive this crisis. Debasmita, 24, from New Delhi, India When I first started dating my current boyfriend three months ago, I was so relieved that we lived in the same city. All my previous relationships had been long-distance relationships. I was glad that finally I was with someone I could spend so much time with. We work in the same office so we would see each other every day. It was a blessing, until all of a sudden even this relationship turned long-distance because of the lockdown. It's so annoying because this is not what we mentally signed up for. Now we talk to each other on video calls about six or seven times a day. We stream movies together and watch them as we talk to each other. Sometimes, we cook the same food. I love quizzes so now we play a lot online. It's just our own way of figuring out how to do mundane life things while being away from each other for an indefinite amount of time. It creates a lot of stress and anxiety and we argue a lot sometimes. It's different when you're so used to having all your conversations in person. It's easier to explain. It's easier to understand. We often laugh about this as well. If we make it through this, we can tell people later how we faced such a big hurdle right at the beginning of our relationship. I guess even that's special. Julie, 24, from Iligan City, Philippines I've been on Tinder for more than two months now. Before our country went into lockdown due to the pandemic, I'd go on dates with random men and we'd make out. I did that whenever I had the time, of course. Now, all of a sudden, I have so much time but I can't meet anyone. My sex life has been quite boring for a while because I'm not dating anyone. It's frustrating that now I can't do anything to pacify my desire for physical intimacy. I've been quite active on dating apps even during the lockdown period. I talk to men, they say things that turn me on, and then often we get on a video call and indulge ourselves in cybersex. That helps both of us help our own selves and our own desire for sex. It's not the same, but what choice do we have? I'd love to meet these men but there's no transportation here and we're not allowed to go out. It's especially more complicated because I spend all my time alone in my university dorm and I feel so horny these days. I've started masturbating everyday now, often more than once. Maybe that's what life will be like for a while. *Sophie's name has been changed on request Stories put together by Nikita Mandhani, edited by Lorna Hankin and illustrations by Nikita Deshpande.

डेटिंग सबसे अच्छे समय में कठिन हो सकती है।


Qatar's delicate balancing act

Summary: Some people have all the luck. Take the Qataris. There are just 250,000 of them living in Qatar, the spit of land in the Gulf that sits on top of the world's third largest deposits of natural gas.

By Jane KinninmontSenior research fellow, Chatham House Qatar developed its economy later than the other Gulf states, who used to look down on the country as something of a poor cousin. It was only in the 1990s that Qatar began to exploit its North Field, the single largest gas field in the world. Since then, the once-sleepy country has changed almost beyond recognition. Qatar now tops many of the measures used to assess a country's well being. Take wealth for example. In 2011, Qataris were the world's richest people in GDP per capita terms. This means that the economy produced $98,900 (£61,600) per person, more than twice as much as the US ($48,300) and over ten times the level seen in China ($8,400). For Qatari citizens, the news is even better. GDP per citizen is in fact closer to $690,000. The $98,900 is an average for the total population which includes many migrant workers and Qatar's wealth is heavily concentrated among Qatari citizens. Grumbles Such an injection of riches has seen the country undergo a remarkable transformation. Qatar's economic boom, fuelled by surging gas exports, has drawn in workers who come from all over the world, but chiefly from South Asia. They build the skyscrapers mushrooming all over Doha, polish the spotless hotel floors that are already clean enough to eat off, open doors that don't need opening for guests and provide, on average, one domestic servant for every two Qataris. The population has tripled in the last decade alone, up from just over 600,000 people in 2001 to 1.9m in 2011. This rapid influx has left nationals as less than 15% of the total population. In any other country this level of immigration would probably have led to serious levels of discontent. Some grumble that there are too many foreigners; others that there are too many Western influences. For older Qataris, the country is barely recognisable. So, of course there are social strains, debates, and disagreements taking place within the small community of Qatari nationals - though these rarely come to an outsider's attention. Yet in Qatar there is stability, or certainly more than is found in some of its neighbours. Why? Qatar's 'bachelor' workers For one thing, the migrant majority does not get involved in politics. Migrant workers are short-term guests, liable to be deported if they start demanding more rights. Their political concerns are more likely to focus on events at home rather than Qatar. Unlike Bahrain or Oman, there is literally no indigenous working class. Indeed, migrants lead almost entirely separate lives. Arrive at Doha airport on a late-night flight, and almost everyone in the arrivals hall is a blue collar, male worker from Asia. Qataris are more likely to use a separate terminal for premium-paying passengers. Migrant workers make up a staggering 94% of the private-sector workforce. Nationals tend to work in the public sector. The few Qataris who do work in the private sector mainly work for banks or oil companies. Migrants typically live in segregated areas, in accommodation provided by employers, and stay no more than five years. They cannot bring their families with them unless they earn over $1,922 a month. Thus, the vast majority of workers come to Qatar as "bachelors", even though most of them have wives and children back home. Many work in conditions that Human Rights Watch describe as "forced labour". They are often exploited by unscrupulous recruitment agencies whose exorbitant fees mean they start work with heavy burdens of high-interest debt, or by employers who withhold workers' passports and don't bother abiding by health and safety laws. Generous state Of course, life is different for the highly skilled expatriates, whether from the west or the east, who staff the banking and professional services sectors. Usually attracted by hefty salaries and low taxes, they tend to spend their evenings - and boozy weekend brunches - at Doha's various five-star hotels. In a telling sign of the difficulties balancing Western tastes with the sensitivities of a conservative local population, one such hotel bar features a sign outside: "No Qatari Females". The influx of "bachelor" labourers has skewed the gender balance: women are now just one-quarter of the population. This too has created some anxieties; a few years ago, shopping malls started having dedicated "family days", where single men (and thus most labourers) are discouraged. The second main reason for Qatar's political stability is that the country's nationals enjoy a range of generous state handouts, which have swelled under the rule of the current emir, Emir Hamad bin Khalifah Al Thani, who overthrew his father in 1995. They are entitled to subsidies, state jobs, land grants, and free university education, the latter part of an effort to reinvest gas wealth in human capital, not just in shiny buildings. As one female graduate told me at a recent Doha Debate: "We have more rights than we deserve". But this won't last for ever. Qatar's decision in 2011 to hike public sector pay by 60% - at a time when virtually all Arab governments granted pay rises, with one eye on the risk of protests - is a classic example of unsustainable policymaking designed for short-term effect. The experience of Gulf countries that have been richer for longer indicates that expectations become inflated. What the first generation sees as generosity, their children see as a birthright. So far, pressure for political change has been limited. Since at least 2004, the authorities have been promising their people a parliament. It hasn't happened yet, and most Qataris don't seem too bothered. Poetic justice But there is an increasingly glaring contrast between Qatar's support for revolutions abroad and Qataris' lack of representation at home. Qatar's state-owned Arabic language TV channel, Al Jazeera, embraced most of the Arab uprisings with enthusiasm - except when protests came in neighbouring Bahrain, all too close to home. The state is helping the new governments of Egypt and Tunisia with aid and investment, and is one of the key backers of the Syrian opposition. Yet within Qatar, power ultimately rests with just four key people; the emir, his wife, the prime minister and the Crown Prince. Understanding policymaking often involves second-guessing the wishes, intentions and rivalries within this small group of decision-makers. Most Qataris seem content with their leaders. But it is also risky for them to say otherwise - as has been shown by the recent case of Mohammed al-Ajami, a poet who has been sentenced to life in prison for a poem deemed "insulting" to the emir. A small number of Islamists reportedly petitioned the emir for political reform in 2011, but did not make their demands public. More recently, an academic, Ali Al Kuwari, who has been holding small weekly meetings of reformist Qataris, has published a book arguing that Qatar needs transparency, freedom of speech, and a rethinking of its population policy . And it is not just pressure internally that will weigh on the emir and his key advisers. The poet's plight has attracted a lot of international attention. Qatar's hosting of the World Cup in 2022 will bring unprecedented international scrutiny. In the wake of critical reports from human rights groups, some promises of improvements in the rights of migrant workers have emerged. As in most Gulf countries, migrants are typically entirely dependent on a Qatari sponsor and have little legal protection. The authorities have now said they'll allow trade unions, after sustained pressure from international workers' groups, though it may take a long time to make this a reality. As Qatar continues its transformation at breakneck speed, it faces a tricky challenge balancing the religious sensitivities of a traditionally conservative community at home with efforts to liberalise the economy, to invest heavily in Western-style education, and with the need to cater to the burgeoning expatriate population. How it responds will be watched closely - including by its Gulf neighbours, some of whom are none too pleased at its enthusiasm for regional revolutions.

कुछ लोगों के पास सभी भाग्य हैं। कतरियों को लें। उनमें से केवल 250,000 कतर में रहते हैं, खाड़ी में भूमि का थूक जो प्राकृतिक गैस के दुनिया के तीसरे सबसे बड़े भंडार के शीर्ष पर बैठता है।


The Afghan translator who became a 9/11 millionaire

Summary: Afghanistan claims to be "open for business", and some super-rich Afghans have begun investing in their own country. But how soon can their money start replacing the billions of dollars in overseas aid the country has had so far?

By Sana SafiBBC Afghan Service, Kabul The "9/11 millionaire" is how Afghan entrepreneur and businessman Fahim Hashimy is often described. He made his fortune, which he modestly calls "small-sized", from contracts supplying Americans in the wartime years. Before the international involvement in Afghanistan, Mr Hashimy - born and raised in Kabul - was a young English-language teacher and owned a bicycle. With the arrival of American boots on Afghan soil he was one of the first to be recruited, in his early 20s, as an interpreter on a US military base. At 35, he now heads an empire, the Hashimy Group, with an average turnover of more than $200m (£134m) a year, which includes Afghanistan's second-biggest TV station, 1TV, as well as logistics and construction companies. He also launched East Horizon, a low-cost domestic airline, in 2013. He puts his rapid career success down to luck. "Not everyone spoke English and I was lucky I did. I also had the ambition and the vision, followed by hard work and commitment, and I knew how to write proposals," he told me. Once he was firmly established with the military, and accustomed to "the American and British" way of doing things, he used his strong business nose to secure supply contracts from the international forces, starting with a small $600 order for bed sheets. That was in 2005. Now he is proud to have a contract with the Afghan National Army, supplying boots and fuel for soldiers. I caught up with him at his office in the heavily guarded Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, which he uses for his not-for-profit work as president of the Afghan National Olympic Committee, and for his other passion - a daily body-building workout in his private gym. "Afghanistan is a land of opportunity," he says. "We're investing in the country very, very heavily. We're 100% Afghan-owned and Afghan-operated. We're providing jobs for the Afghans and we're doing business in Afghanistan to bring stability." In 10 years, his five businesses have created 1,000 jobs each on average and returned $15m to the Afghan economy, he says. 'Different philosophy' Over that same period, many super-rich Afghans have moved far more capital abroad, mainly to the tax-free luxury and relative security and stability of Dubai. Estimates vary, but they are thought to have invested more than $20bn there. Much of it has gone into the property market, especially the exclusive artificial island resort of Palm Jumeirah, where the largest signature villa - complete with drivers and maids' quarters - sells for more than $11m. Since the political uncertainty of 2014 inside Afghanistan, the influx of Afghan money has continued. According to one real estate agent, "a lot of high-ranking generals and politicians, and wealthy oil sector individuals, are still buying very expensive homes". One such businessman, who lives on the Palm, told us nearly a quarter of properties on this exclusive strip of Dubai beach are owned by Afghan warlords. Despite having two family homes in Dubai as well as four in Kabul, Mr Hashimy has a different philosophy. "We're probably one of the very few companies that have invested everything back in the country. We're very committed to that, and we're very proud of that. "There may be Afghans who have taken their money out of the country, which I do not advise and have always advised against." Investment in Afghanistan since 2003 Source: Afghan Investment Support Agency (AISA) Mr Hashimy lives with his wife and three children in the Afghan capital, where insecurity is a fact of life for him and the millions living on less than a dollar a day. A few weeks ago, both his sons switched schools after a security incident forced the international school they were attending to shut down. Some of Mr Hashimy's family live in Dubai, for the security and better education opportunities that attract so many super-rich Afghans. Except for one brother who deputises for him in Kabul, his five other siblings are studying medicine there. The office in Kabul where we met him is not far from the large, richly decorated home where he says he conducts his business meetings. He is now a prominent national Afghan figure with powerful connections he denies having before. "The political connections came after I became rich. And I did not get help from any politicians or any relationships with politicians. "It was just the customer that I worked with, and down to our own commitment and a professional team." The latest figures the BBC has obtained from Afghanistan's Investment Support Agency (AISA) suggest investments like Mr Hashimy's seem to be making a difference to the Afghan economy. In 2013, its GDP was $20.3bn - 10 times what it was in 2001. But that is still only roughly as big as Estonia's, one of the smallest countries in the EU. Afghanistan has also been getting almost $50bn in overseas aid - much more than any other country in the world - for much of the past 13 years since the overthrow of the Taliban. 'Get rich quick?' Is it easier to get rich in Afghanistan compared with elsewhere? Fahim Hashimy sums up the Afghan dilemma. "It's easy because there's no competition. But it's harder because it's very risky. "If you owned a business in the UK, you wouldn't want to invest in Afghanistan because of the high risk. "On the other hand, when we risk our capital here, we don't have to compete with those giants in the UK." You can watch Sana Safi's report on Wednesday 25 March 2015 on BBC World News throughout the day. For more on the BBC's A Richer World, go to www.bbc.com/richerworld - or join the discussion on Twitter using the hashtag #BBCRicherWorld

अफगानिस्तान "व्यापार के लिए खुला" होने का दावा करता है, और कुछ अति-धनी अफगानों ने अपने ही देश में निवेश करना शुरू कर दिया है। लेकिन उनका पैसा देश को अब तक मिली अरबों डॉलर की विदेशी सहायता की जगह कितनी जल्दी लेना शुरू कर सकता है?


Eastern Airways link between Aberdeen and Cardiff resumes

Summary: Flights linking Aberdeen with Cardiff are to be re-introduced a year after ending, Eastern Airways has announced.

The airline said its Flybe franchise service would offer a weekday connection between the Scottish and Welsh cities from 11 November. The service had been withdrawn in October last year. Roger Hage, Eastern Airways' general manager commercial and operations, said it was aimed at the energy sector and leisure market. Meanwhile, Eastern said it was also temporarily reducing its service between Aberdeen and Wick from 11 November into March.

एबरडीन को कार्डिफ से जोड़ने वाली उड़ानें समाप्त होने के एक साल बाद फिर से शुरू की जानी हैं, ईस्टर्न एयरवेज ने घोषणा की है।


China looks to expand currency’s global reach

Summary: The shop assistant thumbs the red, 100-yuan bills that bear Mao Zedong's distinctive face, checks the amount is correct and places it in the till next to Hong Kong dollar notes and coins, without a sideways glance.

By Katie HuntBusiness reporter, BBC News It's a typical day in Bonjour, a cosmetics store popular with the vast numbers of shoppers from mainland China who are spending their newfound wealth in the former British colony. From vending machines selling soy milk near the Chinese border to the luxury boutiques and High Street chains in Hong Kong's financial district, payment in China's currency - known as the renminbi or the yuan - is an increasingly common sight. And it is the most visible of the steps that China, which still exerts strong control over the flow of money in and out of the country, is taking to expand its currency's global reach. Some analysts predict that the yuan will become a dominant force in international financial markets in five years and rival the dollar, euro and yen. But no-one expects the yuan to take its place alongside the world's most traded currencies quite yet, as China is still reluctant to enact many of the reforms that would make the yuan freely convertible. "It's more rapid than many people had been anticipating but it is a gradual process," says Mitul Kotecha, foreign exchange strategist at Credit Agricole in Hong Kong. Small steps China has been allowing the yuan to be used more widely in a number of different ways. Banks in Hong Kong, which has a freely traded currency and a separate legal system, have been permitted to hold renminbi deposits since 2004. They now total 407bn yuan ($62bn; £38bn). Chinese bank branches in Singapore and New York now allow customers to open yuan bank accounts. In 2009, China began allowing its currency to be used to settle cross-border trade between companies in five Chinese cities and Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asian countries. That scheme was expanded worldwide in 2010 and includes some 67,000 Chinese firms in 20 provinces. It means that trading partners do not have to convert in and out of dollars. Multinational companies like McDonald's and Caterpillar have issued yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong and these bonds can be bought and sold by investors who want to bet on an expected appreciation in the Chinese currency. And soon investors will be able to buy yuan-denominated shares, following the world's first yuan initial public offering outside China. It is due to take place in Hong Kong at the end of April. Dollar dominance If successful, these steps could strengthen the yuan's global role and go some way to challenge the dollar's dominance in international trade and finance. Beijing has expressed concern at the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency and says it wants the global monetary system to be reformed to reduce reliance on the US currency. It fears that low US interest rates and soaring budget deficit could undermine the dollar and thus the value of its huge dollar reserves. China has the world's biggest holdings of dollars, largely because it still tightly manages its exchange rate in relation to the dollar. Great power, great currency? Alistair Thornton, a China analyst at IHS Global Insight in Beijing says that China's push to make the yuan more global is also an issue of pride. "There's huge privilege in being the dominant reserve currency in trade and in finance and China looks at that with envy," Mr Thornton says. "China's is the world's second largest economy and sees itself as a great power but the yuan is not anywhere near the yen or even the pound," he adds. Figures from the Bank for International Settlements make clear that the yuan is still a long way from mounting a challenge to the dollar. The yuan made up 0.9% of daily market turnover on the foreign exchanges in 2010, up from 0% in 2001. The dollar makes up 85%. Obstacle The main obstacle preventing China's yuan from becoming a truly international currency is its reluctance to make it fully convertible. China still maintains strict controls over its currency and banking system and the flow of money in and out of the country. If these controls were removed quickly, it would be difficult for China to prevent its currency from appreciating rapidly - something its leaders have long resisted. They have preferred to keep its currency relatively undervalued to boost the competitiveness of its exports on international markets. It is a policy heavily criticised by the US and other trading partners and will again come under scrutiny as the International Monetary Fund meets in Washington. China's banks and financial markets are still relatively unsophisticated and China wants to guard against speculative inflows and outflows of money, such as those it believes were responsible for the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s. "It's a serious policy dilemma for China's leaders," says Mr Thornton. "They have to weigh up how much they want an international currency with the risks that could bring."

दुकान सहायक माओ जेडोंग के विशिष्ट चेहरे वाले लाल, 100-युआन के नोटों को अंगूठे में बांधता है, यह जांचता है कि राशि सही है और इसे हांगकांग डॉलर के नोटों और सिक्कों के बगल में बिना किसी तरफ देखे रखता है।


Q&A: How do opinion polls work?

Summary: The 2015 general election result took political pollsters by surprise and a panel of experts has now said that, put simply, their predictions were wrong because they spoke to the wrong people. But what exactly is polling, how does it work and why is it so hard to get the right answer?

What is a poll? In a nutshell, it's a scientific survey designed to measure the views of a particular group of people - for example, the UK electorate. How do they work? You don't have to eat an entire bowl of soup to know if it tastes good - if it's properly stirred, one spoonful is enough. That's the analogy most commonly used to explain the principles behind polling - if you ask the right people, they can be relatively small in number but still give you an accurate representation of the views of everyone. Who does them? Well, anybody can carry out a survey, but those that pass muster - and reach a "scientific" standard - are done predominantly by reputable, independent polling companies. The 10 which featured most prominently in the 2015 general election were Ashcroft, ComRes, ICM, Ipsos MORI, Opinium, Panelbase, Populus, Survation, TNS and YouGov. How to avoid getting misled by polls They carry out some polls independently while others are funded by media organisations. And then some are conducted on behalf of a partisan client - a particular political party, lobbying organisation, or interest group - who may be commissioning the survey because they expect a particular response and may only make the results public if the answers are to their liking. How do they decide who to question? The perfect option would be to obtain a genuinely random sample of people, but in reality that's nigh on impossible. You'd have to pick them from the electoral roll, but that doesn't have any phone numbers or email addresses, so you'd have to show up on the doorstep of every single one of them - and then they'd all have to agree to talk to you. Alternatively, you could send them all a letter but that would takes ages and the response rate would be very poor. Instead, polling firms use something called quota sampling. It involves designing a sample of people that's representative of the population as a whole, with the right balance of gender, age, socio-economic background, and so on. Interviewers then have to go out and find them to tick each one of those boxes. Results can also be weighted, so if you only manage to find 100 people aged 18 to 34, but needed to find 110, you can weight the response of each one of those you did find to count as 1.1 people in order to better reflect the population as a whole. How are people questioned? Most commonly, it's done over the phone or via the internet. One of the biggest firms, YouGov, does its polls online. It has collected a panel of more than 360,000 people in a variety of ways - including via standard advertising. Then, when it needs to conduct a particular poll, it chooses a quota sample from that panel. Those people are then asked to fill in an online survey. Ipsos MORI is one of the firms to use phone polling. Its explains that its call a combination of mobiles and landlines through random-digit dialling, which means they find ex-directory people as well as those in the phone book. The interviewer takes demographic details from whoever picks up so they can see where they fit in the quota sample. Bear in mind though, that those who are unemployed, retired or work from home are more likely to answer the phone. And, as the UK Polling Report puts it: "There may also be attitudinal biases - people who are willing to give 20 minutes of their life to a stranger on the phone asking impertinent questions may have a different outlook on life to those who won't." Why not ask more people? A biased sample of a million people is no better than a biased sample of a thousand. The bigger the scientific sample the better, but a polling company - and the entity paying for the poll - has to balance the cost and time involved with the accuracy of the result. The more people you question the longer it takes and the more it costs - and if you're trying to track day-to-day changes in voter sentiment, it simply isn't practical to question vast numbers of people each time. A sample size of around 1,000 is often settled upon as a good balance. What went wrong in 2015? An independent inquiry, commissioned by the British Polling Council and the Market Research Society, found that pollsters spoke to too many likely Labour voters and not enough likely Conservatives. The biggest reason was that not enough older people - who are more likely to be Tory voters - were questioned. Tory voters in general are also said by pollsters to be more likely to put the phone down or be ex-directory, and less likely to answer the door. And busy professionals who have less time to respond to polls are statistically more likely to vote Conservative. Weighting should ease these sorts of problems, and has done in the past, but it appears it wasn't effective enough in 2015. Those questioned were also more engaged in politics than average, which led the pollsters to make errors about the expected level of turnout among different groups. They knew that turnout would be higher among older voters than younger voters but they underestimated the difference. Finally, the experts suggested there might have been "herding" - polling firms stuck together, not wanting to go out on a limb, so they designed their surveys and weighted their responses to fall closely in line with their rivals. What do the pollsters say? That they'll do better next time. They'll recruit more older people, rework their models to produce more accurate results. Joe Twyman, from YouGov, compared the situation to that of the Met Office after it failed to predict the 1987 hurricane. It went back to the drawing board, he said, found better ways to make predictions, and now generally speaking, people trust its forecasts again. Will the pollsters redeem themselves in 2016? However, Ben Page, chief executive of Ipsos MORI, has made the point that resources are an issue. Just three of his 1,500 employees in London are doing election polling and the money available to do it is "miniscule" compared to what's spent on other sorts of research. All the pollsters also point out that even a "perfect" random sample, conducted on an infinite budget, will, just by the laws of probability, be outside the margin of error one time in 20. What about the politicians? It's rule one in the politician's handbook - always say you don't pay any attention to polls - but of course, the reality is quite different. Labour MP Ben Bradshaw has accused the "commentariat" of being "too relaxed" about the pollsters' failure, saying he believes it affected the result of the election because all the talk in the run-up was about the all-but-inevitable hung parliament, meaning people voted on that basis. Former Lib Dem minister Norman Lamb agrees, telling the BBC that endless talk of what would happen in the event of a hung parliament - particularly the doom-laden Tory warnings of an SNP-Labour tie-up - led people to vote "out of fear" for the Conservatives. He believes that if the polls had correctly predicted a Tory majority, people would have voted differently. So should polls be banned? Some countries, France, Spain and Italy among them, ban all opinion polling for a defined period in the run-up to an election. Following last May's vote, one Labour peer, Lord Foulkes, called for just such a ban in the UK, accusing newspapers of using polls as a tool to sway voters, creating a "bandwagon" for people to jump on rather than providing an independent assessment of the public mood. The suggestion was dismissed by ComRes chief Andrew Hawkins who said it would be "bad for democracy" and, given the existence of social and other online media, an attempt to ban opinion polls would be pointless. He also said it was "insulting" to the electorate to suggest they'd be swayed by poll findings.

2015 के आम चुनाव के परिणाम ने राजनीतिक सर्वेक्षणकर्ताओं को आश्चर्यचकित कर दिया और विशेषज्ञों के एक पैनल ने अब कहा है कि, सीधे शब्दों में कहें तो, उनकी भविष्यवाणियां गलत थीं क्योंकि उन्होंने गलत लोगों से बात की थी। लेकिन वास्तव में मतदान क्या है, यह कैसे काम करता है और सही उत्तर प्राप्त करना इतना कठिन क्यों है?


Champions League final in Cardiff: What's happening when?

Summary: Cardiff is the setting for the 2017 Champions League final.

Real Madrid face Juventus at the National Stadium of Wales on 3 June - the culmination of a four-day festival of football. Here is what you need to know about what is happening when. The matches 3 June: The Champions League final takes place at the National Stadium of Wales at 19:45 BST. A pre-match ceremony will start from 19:30. Fans are advised to arrive in Cardiff by 10:00 if travelling by car or coach, and 13:00 if travelling by train. Aim to be at the stadium by 17:45 as additional security checks will be in place. You can download the Travel Guide App for more information about travel and accommodation. Two fan meeting points will be set up on Saturday and open between 07:00 and 18:15 on Churchill Way and Callaghan Square. Both will offer food and drink stands (no alcohol), toilets, left luggage, and information points. Only the left luggage facilities will remain open for collection. The festival 1-4 June: The UEFA Champions League Festival opened in Cardiff Bay on Thursday and is open from 11:00 to 17:00 on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is expected to be the busiest as fans of the participating finalists arrive in the city. The Champions Main Stage in Roald Dahl Plass will host artists, DJs and bands each day. The UEFA Champions Gallery, a museum celebrating the UCL's history, will be inside the Wales Millennium Centre. There will be no screening of the game at the festival site and the trophy is no longer on site. On Friday, the Champions Floating Pitch hosted the Uefa Ultimate Champions match, featuring football legends, which 15,000 people watched. Travel and transport The M4 and the main roads into Cardiff are expected to be at their busiest from 10:00 until 20:00 on Saturday and again from 22:00 on Saturday until 03:00 on Sunday. There will also be more road closures and diversions than ever before in central Cardiff on Saturday, and around Cardiff Bay and Castle Street from 1 to 4 June. Cardiff Central station, Cardiff Queen Street station and Cardiff Bay station are expected to be exceptionally busy all day, and the two city centre stations until 04:00 on Sunday. Local services will not stop at Cardiff Central after 19:00 on Saturday. Cardiff, Bristol and Birmingham airports are expected to be busy all day on Saturday and into the early hours of Sunday. More information can be found on the FAW's website, the UEFA website and our guide. Removal of key structures The Uefa Champions Festival site will be removed between 4 and 12 June. The Uefa Champions Village and Football Village will be removed between 4 and 19 June. A temporary footbridge installed at Castle Street will be removed overnight between 4 and 5 June. Camp Cardiff at Pontcanna Fields closes on 5 June.

कार्डिफ 2017 चैंपियंस लीग फाइनल के लिए सेटिंग है।


Car hackers use laptop to control standard car

Summary: Next time you have a passenger in the back seat of your car offering infuriatingly "helpful" advice about your driving skills, count yourself lucky that they aren't doing anything more sinister in their attempts to guide your vehicle.

By Zoe KleinmanTechnology reporter, BBC News Two security experts in the US have demonstrated taking control of two popular models of car, while someone else was driving them, using a laptop. Speaking to the BBC ahead of revealing their research at security conference Defcon in Las Vegas in August, Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek said they hoped to raise awareness about the security issues around increasingly computer-dominated car control. "At the moment there are people who are in the know, there are nay-sayers who don't believe it's important, and there are others saying it's common knowledge but right now there's not much data out there," said Mr Miller, a security engineer at Twitter. "We would love for everyone to start having a discussion about this, and for manufacturers to listen and improve the security of cars." Their work, funded by the Pentagon's research facility Darpa, has so far received a mixed reaction from the manufacturers themselves. How they did it The researchers used cables to connect the devices to the vehicles' electronic control units (ECUs) via the on-board diagnostics port (also used by mechanics to identify faults) inside a 2010 model Ford Escape and Toyota Prius. Contained within most modern vehicles, ECUs are part of the computer network that controls most aspects of car functionality including acceleration, braking, steering, monitor displays and the horn. The pair were able to write software which sent instructions to the car network computer and over-rode the commands from the actual drivers of the cars. They filmed themselves in the back of one of the vehicles steering it left and right, activating the brakes and showing the fuel gauge drop to zero, all while the vehicle was under driver control and in motion. A spokesman for Toyota told the BBC that because the hardware had to be physically connected inside the car, he did not consider it to be "hacking". "Altered control can only be made when the device is connected. After it is disconnected the car functions normally," he said. "We don't consider that to be 'hacking' in the sense of creating unexpected behaviour, because the device must be connected - ie the control system of the car physically altered. "The presence of a laptop or other device connected to the OBD [on board diagnostics] II port would be apparent." Expensive and difficult Mr Miller and Mr Valasek say this is not the point. Their work builds on earlier research carried out by researchers at the University of Washington and the University of San Diego in 2010, who demonstrated that it was possible to control a car remotely and developed a tool, which they called CarShark, for the purpose. "We're big fans of their work but we figured they already proved you can remotely get into a car's network," Chris Valasek, director of security intelligence at consultancy IOActive told the BBC. "We wanted to see how much control would you have once that's happened." They admitted that they had destroyed a few cars while refining their technique. "It's very expensive and difficult to do the research to show you can hack into a car. It's not like you can just download something and look at it," said Mr Miller. "I wouldn't dare do this to my own car," added Mr Valasek. They said the cars did not appear to acknowledge the address from where a command was being sent, only the instruction itself. "There's no authentication," said Mr Miller. "But there are restrictions - the car has to operate very fast. If you run into a wall you need to kill the engine immediately, engage the airbag. "Car manufacturers don't have the luxury PC software makers have - if something doesn't work in a car that can't happen, it needs to function." Mr Miller and Mr Valasek intend to make their research openly available following the conference. "The information will be released to everyone. If you're just relying on the fact people aren't talking about the problem to stay safe, you're not really dealing with the problem," said Mr Miller. Toyota said it invested heavily in security research. "Our focus, and that of the entire automotive industry, is to prevent hacking into a vehicle's by-wire control system from a remote/wireless device outside of the vehicle. "Toyota has developed very strict and effective firewall technology against such remote and wireless services. We continue to try to hack our systems and have a considerable investment in state of the art electro-magnetic R&D facilities. "We believe our systems are robust and secure." Ford also told the BBC the company takes electronic security seriously. "This particular attack was not performed remotely over-the-air, but as a highly aggressive direct physical manipulation of one vehicle over an elongated period of time, which would not be a risk to customers on any mass level," it said in a statement. "The safety, privacy, and security of our customers is and always will be paramount." "Scary" Security expert Prof Alan Woodward, Chief Technology Officer at consultancy Charteris, said that car hacking hasn't been widely discussed because as yet there has been no criminal incident of it. "I think [car hacking] is one of the most scary things out there - [the hacking of] cars and medical devices are the two things nobody talks about," he told the BBC. "You've heard of ransomware - imagine that happening inside a car. It won't take criminals that long." Ransomware is a computer virus that freezes a victim's computer or threatens to release personal files unless a payment is made. A car crash caused by a hacked car featured as a storyline on the US TV series Homeland but was widely dismissed as fantasy, he added. "There was loads of talk afterwards saying it was rubbish. I remember saying on Twitter, 'I'm sorry, it's not.'" However both the researchers and Prof Woodward agree that hacking into a car is not easy. "This is a very technical attack, it requires a great deal of technical knowledge," Prof Woodward said. "A lot of manufacturers are doing work on security software but they don't talk about it. It's not about anti-malware software, it's more about penetration testing - finding any holes left in the system. "When people build things based on software, it is built with Intention A. They never think about intention B - which could be all sorts of nefarious purposes."

अगली बार जब आपकी कार की पिछली सीट पर कोई यात्री आपके ड्राइविंग कौशल के बारे में क्रोधित करने वाली "सहायक" सलाह दे, तो खुद को भाग्यशाली समझें कि वे आपके वाहन का मार्गदर्शन करने के अपने प्रयासों में इससे अधिक भयावह कुछ नहीं कर रहे हैं।


Forest Hill: New hole hits London Bridge rail services

Summary: A hole that opened under a railway line caused major travel disruption for a second time in just weeks.

Lines into London Bridge station were shut for safety and services cancelled, following the discovery of the 50cm-wide hole at Forest Hill, south-east London, on Thursday. It comes after 13ft-deep hole opened in the same area on 18 July, also forcing lines into London Bridge to be shut. All lines into London Bridge re-opened on Friday morning.

रेलवे लाइन के नीचे एक छेद खुलने से कुछ ही हफ्तों में दूसरी बार यात्रा में भारी व्यवधान पैदा हुआ।


Brazil's Neves aims to follow grandfather to top job

Summary: On Sunday, Senator Aecio Neves of the centre-right Brazilian Social Democracy Party surprised pollsters when he sailed into the second round of the Brazilian elections, beating environmentalist Marina Silva into third place by a comfortable margin.

By Pablo UchoaBBC Brasil Opinion polls had suggested a tight race between him and Ms Silva for the second place which secures the candidate a coveted space in the run-off election on October 26. On the day, he won 34% of the vote, well behind Ms Rousseff's 42% but also firmly ahead Ms Silva's 21%. In the three weeks until the second round, Mr Neves is likely to remind voters of his family's deep links with the country's path to democracy. Family links A former governor of the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais, he is the grandson of Tancredo Neves, whose death in 1985 - shortly before he was due to become the first president of post-military dictatorship Brazil - caused commotion in the country. But stemming from a family from Brazil's traditional white elite has not always been to Mr Neves's benefit. His love of lavish parties has been described as being out of sync with the needs of a complex emerging country. Last year, thousands of young Brazilians expressed their discontent with traditional politics when they protested for weeks against poor public services, corruption, police repression, and what they considered the excessive costs of hosting the World Cup. But Mr Neves says he has settled down. He married former model Leticia Webber, 34, last year and in June she had twins, adding to the daughter Mr Neves has from a previous marriage. His supporters say he is ready to take on the challenge of leading the world's seventh largest economy. They point to his remarkable performance from 2003 to 2010 as governor of the state of Minas Gerais - an economic powerhouse and, as it is very populous, of key importance in the election. State powerhouse During his seven years as governor, he cut state expenditure, boosted tax revenues, improved the level of education and health and turned Minas Gerais into one of the most business-friendly states in the country. And yet he failed to beat Ms Rousseff in Minas Gerais, where he received less than 40% of the votes, against slightly more than 43% for the incumbent. Aecio, as he is known among Brazilians who like to call their presidents by their first names, presents himself as the right candidate to take over an economy in which growth - once at 7.5% a year - has stalled. But the 54-year-old economist's fondness for such terms as "management shock" and "efficiencies" may not go down well with Brazilians who have benefitted from the current government's income-redistribution policies. Mr Neves has yet to explain how he would tackle inflation and streamline public finances without hurting public services or laying off public sector workers. Ms Rousseff has warned that a vote for Mr Neves could "revive ghosts of the past", referring to his party's time in power between 1995 and 2003, when then President Fernando Henrique Cardoso ended rampant inflation at the expense of industry, jobs and economic growth. Clashes ahead The two candidates are poised to clash bitterly over their views on the handling of Petrobras, Brazil's state oil giant and arguably the country's main economic asset. The company's corporate finances have been hit and Petrobras has had to buy expensive petrol abroad only to sell it at lower prices on the domestic market to avoid fuelling inflation. To make matters worse the company is investigating an alleged bribery scheme reportedly linked to top politicians, some of them members of the governing Workers' Party and groups which back President Rousseff. Ms Rousseff and her Workers' Party in turn are likely to point to corruption scandals during the time Mr Neves's party was in power in the 1990s. Mr Neves himself has had corruption allegations levelled against him over the building of an airport in his home state during his tenure as governor. He has denied the allegations, saying that the airport was built following a proper tender process that had been investigated and cleared by a state audit body. Mr Neves is currently riding on a wave of sentiment against the Workers' Party generated by a mix of political fatigue following its 12 years in power and a perception that the governing party has mismanaged the economy and been tainted by too many corruption scandals. But if he is to narrow Ms Rousseff's eight-percentage-point lead, Mr Neves will have to persuade voters that does not just stand for change - but for change in the right direction.

रविवार को, मध्य-दक्षिणपंथी ब्राजीलियाई सोशल डेमोक्रेसी पार्टी के सीनेटर एसियो नेवेस ने सर्वेक्षणकर्ताओं को आश्चर्यचकित कर दिया जब उन्होंने पर्यावरणविद मरीना सिल्वा को एक आरामदायक अंतर से तीसरे स्थान पर हराकर ब्राजील के चुनावों के दूसरे दौर में प्रवेश किया।


Grants offered for crime prevention in Bristol

Summary: A new £200,000 fund has been launched in the Bristol area to help fight neighbourhood crime.

The money is being made available by the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Sue Mountstevens, as part of the Police and Crime Plan. Voluntary groups and community organisations are invited to bid for a grant of up to £5,000 each. It is hoped the scheme will help combat issues such as domestic violence, burglary and anti-social behaviour.

पड़ोस के अपराध से लड़ने में मदद करने के लिए ब्रिस्टल क्षेत्र में एक नया 200,000 पाउंड का कोष शुरू किया गया है।


The social media star who flipped to Trump

Summary: In one sign of the unusual nature of this year's US presidential election, an activist and social media star has undergone a remarkable political transformation, from a hero on the left to a writer for a Russian state-funded news agency who supports Donald Trump.

By BBC TrendingWhat's popular and why Remember "Dancing Man"? He became one of the biggest internet sensations of 2015 when he was captured on camera shaking his rather oversized frame at a concert. Originally the subject of scorn and ridicule, Dancing Man - or, to give him his proper name, Sean O'Brien - was later identified and celebrated by anti-bullying campaigners, who raised money and flew him from London to Los Angeles for a celebrity-packed party. The woman who organised the quest to #FindDancingMan was 31-year-old activist and journalist Cassandra Fairbanks. And although the Dancing Man saga garnered her mainstream media attention, it was only one in a string of liberal and libertarian causes she's taken on over the years, with the help of her significant social media following. Fairbanks organised protests around a notorious rape case in Ohio, and reported on events in Ferguson, Missouri and other Black Lives Matter protests. In July 2014, blogging about an anti-immigrant protest, she wrote: "Why should an invisible line created by some [politicians] dictate where we can and cannot go? If I want to go to the beach at 11pm I should be able to. If I feel like rowing a boat to Australia, why cant I just go?" But earlier this year Fairbanks underwent something of a political transformation. She's now trying to rally her more than 70,000 Twitter followers to support Donald Trump. Fairbanks says her conversion came about fairly recently. She began 2016 as a supporter of Clinton's main rival within the Democratic Party, socialist candidate Bernie Sanders. As Clinton progressed towards the party nomination, she says, she grew increasingly frustrated with the Democrats. But what really shifted her political outlook, she says, was the mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub in June by a man who pledged allegiance to Islamic State. "I thought I was going to vote for [Green Party candidate] Jill Stein. But I think she's wacky and too over the top to appeal to a mainstream audience," she told BBC Trending. "Then Orlando happened, and the son of one of my mom's really good friends was shot there. I heard this horrific story, and everyone's like 'blame guns', and I was like, 'no, we need to blame terrorism'. I was just offended. Then I started to look more seriously at Trump, and at people who have been pushing censorship on the left." At first her support was based on her anti-Clinton feelings, and she also cited foreign policy and free trade as key issues. Eventually, Fairbanks says, she warmed to Trump in his own right. "I'd been watching his speeches for so long, but then I just started agreeing with more of what he was saying," she says. "I'd been looking at him a bit more seriously before that, but I wasn't prepared to, say, wear a Trump hat until that moment." She posted a video in June going public with her support and outlining her views. Fairbanks works as a reporter for Sputnik News, a Russian state-funded news agency which critics have accused of spreading propaganda on behalf of the Kremlin, although Sputnik hasn't endorsed either candidate. Fairbanks denies that her employer has any influence over her political views. She says some others who work in Sputnik News' Washington office support Clinton and that says she is the only one of her colleagues who is a Trump fan. Trump, of course, is no fan of Black Lives Matter, once calling it a "threat" and claiming that it contributes to police shootings. And he's not averse to a bit of fat shaming, an issue that popped up during the first presidential debate when Clinton accused him of calling a former Miss Universe winner "Miss Piggy." So how does Fairbanks square her previous activism with her chosen candidates' views? "I supported Black Lives Matter initially," she says. "And I will always support the phrase but speaking of the organisation and the movement, the rhetoric got hostile and angry.. It's become a divisive movement, rather than keeping people together. "I'm always a believer that if you see someone who's wrong or you see someone who is bullied, you should stand up and trying to do and make something better. But I'm not going to judge him on comments he allegedly made 20 years ago. "Obviously policy issues matter significantly more than someone's personality," she says. "Trump's mean words are insignificant compared to Clinton's deadly actions." Blog by Mike Wendling NEXT STORY: Call to ban 'burgle Chinese homes' rap Chinese Americans are petitioning President Obama to act against a rap track they say incites criminals to target their homes.READ MORE You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

इस साल के अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति चुनाव की असामान्य प्रकृति के एक संकेत में, एक कार्यकर्ता और सोशल मीडिया स्टार ने एक उल्लेखनीय राजनीतिक परिवर्तन किया है, बाईं ओर एक नायक से एक रूसी राज्य-वित्त पोषित समाचार एजेंसी के लिए एक लेखक जो डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प का समर्थन करता है।


'Hit-and-run' crash leaves man with life-threatening head injuries

Summary: Two men have been arrested after a man suffered life-threatening head injuries in a suspected hit-and-run crash in South Yorkshire.

Police were called to Sticking Lane in Adwick-Upon-Dearne, near Mexborough, shortly before 03:00 GMT on Saturday. The 29-year-old pedestrian was taken to hospital after being hit by "an unknown vehicle", which is believed to have left the scene, police said. The men, aged 22 and 24, were held under dangerous driving offences. The pair, both of whom were arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, failing to stop at a collision and driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs, have since been released under investigation. Officers have appealed for witnesses and anyone who has CCTV or dashcam footage of "the moments before, or after, the collision" to get in touch.

दक्षिण यॉर्कशायर में एक संदिग्ध हिट-एंड-रन दुर्घटना में एक व्यक्ति के सिर में जानलेवा चोट लगने के बाद दो लोगों को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


The hospital knitting group crafting the blankets of goodbye

Summary: Facing the looming death of her terminally ill mother in hospital, Susi Long felt a crushing sense of powerlessness. But when a knitting group made her mother a simple blanket, Mrs Long realised how even the smallest things can have the biggest impact.

By Laurence CawleyBBC News Susi Long holds the blanket her mother Jean Faithfull died beneath. It is soft and thick and vibrant in pink, orange and turquoise. When Mrs Long thinks of her mother as she lay dying in hospital, her memory is not one of tubes, machines or the crisp austerity of hospital bed linen. It is of a loving mother leaving this world beneath the warm comfort of wool and a kaleidoscope of hues. "The vision I have of mum is of her asleep in her blanket," she said. The blanket was crocheted by friends of ward sister Sarah Sands. Knowing how much that blanket helped her and her mother in those final days gave Mrs Long the impetus to team up with Ms Sands to form a knitting group dedicated to providing end-of-life comfort to terminally-ill patients. Two years on, and the main room in an otherwise nondescript temporary building on the periphery of Colchester Hospital fills with the faint tapping of needles against a stacked rainbow backdrop of wool of now complete blankets. The group meets fortnightly on Saturday mornings. The idea behind the Blanketeers is simple: members create blankets in every colour and pattern imaginable and families of the dying are invited to choose whichever one they like. This ability to make a choice in a situation where families often feel powerless can have a big impact. One of the original members, Sandy Thornton takes between two and three weeks to crochet each blanket. Keen on crochet and knitting for many years, Mrs Thornton said: "When they explained what it was all about I thought it was a very good cause and I wanted to be involved in it." Many Blanketeers quietly admit they expected a circle of six wizened old ladies knitting in a darkened room whose silence would be broken by the occasional crackle of burning logs from an imagined fireplace. "I thought it would be a group of old women," said recently-joined member Sharon Scott. "But it is not at all like that. It has really inspired me." Without fail, the preconceptions of members are turned upside down by the Blanketeers. The club has dozens of members of all ages. The room is airy and light. A frequent cackle of laughter rather than burning timber. The youngest members are friends Kate Stainsby-Simpkin and Libby Nottingham, both aged 10. "I'm enjoying it," said Kate, who has fast become a pom-pom specialist but hopes one day to graduate to full-size blanket-making. "It is nice to come along with a friend," said Libby. "It is really fun because we get to do lots of things and the food is nice." Some of the members also work at the hospital. Janette Streeting, for example, is a diabetes specialist nurse. "I found out about the group through Facebook," she said. "I have been crocheting since I was about four years old and I do this all the time. I am now on my 46th blanket." By coincidence her husband works for the publisher of Let's Knit magazine, which has become a regular donor of wool. One of the recipients of a blanket was Ken Manson, who died in December 2018. His widow is group member Pandora Mayo. She learned about the group via her daughter-in-law who works at the hospital. "I find it so fantastic and come every single time. I felt so supported by this group then and ever since," she said. Mr Manson's blanket was made by Carole Chalkley who, having herself undergone a heart bypass procedure, was keen to do something to help the acute cardiac ward. Knowing Mrs Chalkley was skilled in crotchet, a friend working at the hospital suggested she become a Blanketeer. "Sometimes we put messages on the tags with the blanket," she says. "I just put my name on it. But we know it can be a big deal for families and we get a lot of lovely letters thanking us." It is not just the families of dying patients who have been helped by the Blanketeers. Jane Bligh heard about the Blanketeers shortly before the death of her husband of 46 years, Alan. He had bowel cancer, followed by a major operation on his liver, then Charcot arthropathy (a disease that attacks the bones, joints and soft tissue of the foot) and finally Parkinson's Disease. He died on 24 January, 2019. Although Mrs Bligh accepted a blanket, it did not arrive in time. A keen knitter for many years though, she did commit the group to memory. And two months after Mr Bligh's death, she attended a session. "There was a huge gap in my life," she said. "This is an amazing and supportive group and we are working to a particular aim." She made two blankets before coming across a "trauma teddy", a small bear made to comfort children at the hospital. These, she decided, were what she needed to create. "It has given me a purpose, it has been my joy to make teddies for little children in difficulties and to know that a child somewhere is going to get help and comfort from them. "This is my first little step. It has been huge for me and I am still getting through it. "This group, I think, has saved my life." Watch the full story on BBC Inside Out East at 19:30 GMT on BBC One on Monday 9 March, and afterwards on BBC iPlayer. Photography: Laurence Cawley

अस्पताल में अपनी गंभीर रूप से बीमार माँ की आसन्न मृत्यु का सामना करते हुए, सूसी लॉन्ग को शक्तिहीनता का एक जबरदस्त एहसास हुआ। लेकिन जब एक बुनाई समूह ने उनकी माँ को एक साधारण कंबल बनाया, तो श्रीमती लॉन्ग को एहसास हुआ कि छोटी-छोटी चीजें भी सबसे बड़ा प्रभाव डाल सकती हैं।