Should these school clubs be kept secret from parents?

Summary: Should parents be told if their children are members of gay-straight alliances - student-run peer support groups for LGBT students and allies in their school? In one Canadian province, that question has sparked fierce debate.

By Jessica MurphyBBC News, Toronto Gay-straight alliances - or GSAs - were first established in the US in the 1980s. The student-run clubs are meant to be a place where LGBT and other students can socialise and offer peer support. Research on GSAs suggests they create a "safe space" for students at a greater risk of mental health issues and discrimination, and can reduce bullying and harassment in schools where they're established. Some 30 years after the first one was founded by a history teacher and a student at Concord Academy in Massachusetts in 1988, thousands of GSAs exist in middle and high schools across North America. Despite their proliferation, these peer support groups have also faced resistance. One protracted battle over GSAs has been playing out in the Canadian province of Alberta - an issue debated in the provincial legislature, in the courts, and in the media. The latest flare up began during the recent provincial election in the province. At issue was a policy proposed by United Conservative Party (UCP) leader Jason Kenney to undo some legal protections for the school clubs, notably one that bars school officials from telling parents if their child has joined such a group. Critics of Kenney's plan say school staff could "out" LGBT students to parents who might not be supportive of, or might even be discriminatory of, their sexuality or gender identity - with potentially damaging consequence. Kenney - whose UCP swept the election and who will soon be premier - argues his proposal is a compromise between supporting GSAs and respecting parental authority. In his election night victory speech, he said that "parents know better than politicians what is best for their kids". GSA lawsuits in the US Alberta is not the only place GSAs have caused social friction. In the United States, where the federal Equal Access Act guarantees that public school students have a right to form GSAs, the American Civil Liberties Union says the groups have prevailed in at least 17 federal lawsuits under the act between 1998 and 2015. Most of the US lawsuits were over obstacles put in place by school officials opposed to the clubs, like making last minute changes to school rules to prevent a GSA from being established. Concerns about the activities in GSAs has also cropped up in the US, with one California student battling his school telling the BBC in 2000: "This whole thing has stopped being about my club. It's become this debate about sex". Albertan Dylan Chevalier, executive director of Sexual and Gender Acceptance Edmonton, says GSAs are about "having a place where you can be safe, relax, and take your walls down for half an hour". Chevalier was the president of a GSA at his former high school, and he said the club hosted discussions and pizza parties, held bake sales to fund LGBT awareness campaigns and once organised a "drag and dance show". Local skirmishes over the clubs have also been seen in the UK and in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, which also protect a student's right to start a GSA. University of Calgary's Darren Lund, who teaches social justice education, says that the issue has always had "the potential to be polarising". He says there's been a rapid cultural shift towards a greater acceptance of LGBT issues in the last 15 years or so - one that makes some people feel "discomfort". "And then politicians are quick to jump on that fear and use that fear to play into people's insecurities about these issues," he says. What's the controversy in Alberta? In 2014, legislation was first proposed to require all the province's public schools to establish a GSA on the request of a student. The right-leaning provincial government at the time eventually passed a law - Bill 10 - establishing that protection. It received support from all the provincial political parties. Some cheered the move, but it also led to protests. Advocates argued the law didn't do enough to protect LGBT students. Others called it an infringement on freedom of religion and parental rights. In 2015, the left-leaning NDP swept to power in Alberta and added more protections for GSAs. It passed Bill 24, which required schools, both public and private, to have a policy in place to allow for it to comply "immediately" with a student's GSA request. Further, school officials would not be allowed to disclose a student's involvement such a club. "No students will be outed for joining a GSA or a QSA [queer-straight alliance] in the province - it's against the law," the provincial education minister said at the time. Schools were put on notice - if they don't follow the law they risk having accreditation and funding stripped. Lindsay Peace, who has a son who is transgender and who is an advocate for trans youth in the province, has been a vocal supporter of protecting GSAs. "I think it's important for kids to know that they belong," she says "And sometimes it's the only place [where they do]." And as for parents who want to know what their children are up to at school: "they should ask them", she says. What are gay-straight alliances? In Alberta, the second GSA law was contentious from the get-go. "This legislation would create a void of care for our children, into which anyone can set up shop, without proper oversight or accountability," one parents rights group stated in an op-ed. The Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) filed a court challenge on behalf of a coalition of parents and 26 faith-based independent schools, arguing bills 10 and 24 breach multiple constitutional rights, including by failing to protect a parent's right to educate based on his or her own conscience and religious beliefs. It says the law further "undermines parental rights by prohibiting parents from knowing if their child is being exposed to sexual content through a GSA". Court documents filed by the legal group warn that "the parents are alarmed and frightened at the climate of secrecy that the School Act has created around ideological sexual clubs and related activities". JCCF president John Carpay summed up the tension up way: "The fuss is about making these clubs mandatory in schools where the parents disagree completely with the perspective or the belief system that is being advocated by these clubs". "It's the difference between voluntary versus coercive." The fight continues Kenney's proposed policy - to roll back some GSA protections but to keep Bill 10 in place - looks unlikely to satisfy either side. Says Chevalier: "He's playing a game. He's pandering to the social conservative side of his base and playing a fast one [with everyone else]." The JCCF is waiting for a court decision on whether an interim injunction it's seeking on Bill 24 will be granted. Carpay told the BBC he's uncertain whether the schools his organisation represents will want to continue with the court challenge and fight the 2015 GSA protections that would remain in place if Kenney's government does roll back Bill 24. Meanwhile, campaigners like Peace and Chevalier say they'll continue to fight for GSA protections in all Alberta schools. Peace says she thinks it's students themselves who will end up creating more inclusive schools, regardless of how fierce the GSA fight might get between parents and politicians. Calgary high school students are now organising a province-wide school walkout next month - a few days after Kenney is to take office - to protest his party's GSA plans.

क्या माता-पिता को बताया जाना चाहिए कि क्या उनके बच्चे समलैंगिक-सीधे गठबंधन के सदस्य हैं-एलजीबीटी छात्रों के लिए छात्र द्वारा संचालित सहकर्मी समर्थन समूह और उनके स्कूल में सहयोगी? कनाडा के एक प्रांत में, इस सवाल ने भयंकर बहस छेड़ दी है।


HS2 compensation roadshow held in Burton Green

Summary: People living near the planned high-speed (HS2) rail line in Warwickshire have been quizzing officials over how much compensation they will get.

The first date of the HS2 compensation roadshow in the Midlands was held in Burton Green, Warwickshire. Those directly affected by the line were able to talk to officials from HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport about potential payouts. There will be 22 events across the route over the next three months. People whose homes will be affected were able to look at route maps, factsheets and consultation documents about the planned route. The proposed London to Birmingham link runs close to the town of Kenilworth and Burton Green village. The roadshow will also visit Southam, Kenilworth, Offchurch in Warwickshire and sites in Birmingham, Solihull and Staffordshire on later dates.

वारविकशायर में नियोजित हाई-स्पीड (एच. एस. 2) रेल लाइन के पास रहने वाले लोग अधिकारियों से सवाल कर रहे हैं कि उन्हें कितना मुआवजा मिलेगा।


Gosport stabbing: Man appears in court charged with murder

Summary: A 55-year-old man has appeared in court charged with murdering another man who was stabbed to death.

The 53-year-old victim was found at a house in Harwood Road, Gosport, at about 15:15 GMT on Saturday. Police said the man, who is from the town, died from a single stab wound and was pronounced dead at the scene. Mark Oliver, of Harwood Road, appeared before magistrates in Portsmouth and was remanded in custody to appear at Winchester Crown Court on Wednesday.

एक 55 वर्षीय व्यक्ति एक अन्य व्यक्ति की हत्या के आरोप में अदालत में पेश हुआ है, जिसकी चाकू मारकर हत्या कर दी गई थी।


World's oldest post office up for sale in Sanquhar

Summary: The world's oldest post office is up for sale.

The branch in Sanquhar, Dumfries and Galloway, has been in continuous service since 1712. Its current owners Nazra Alam, 67, and her husband Dr Manzoor Alam, 77, have been running it for more than four years, but now plan to retire. The post office pre-dates the second oldest, in Stockholm, Sweden, by eight years while the third oldest in Santiago, Chile, opened in 1772. On the market for £275,000, it comes with a three-bedroom cottage, a courtyard and some outbuildings. It started out as a staging post for mail carriages, with the old stables thought to have once provided a resting place for horses drawing the mail carriages. "I hope someone will come along and buy it and keep it going because this is Scotland's heritage and more particularly Sanquhar's," she said. "The post office has been in operation since 1712 so it would be a shame to have to shut it down." The couple took over the business in July 2015 She said: "I've enjoyed every moment of running it. "The last five years has been a remarkable journey and I've enjoyed it, it's a nice area and nice people and we have visitors from all over the world." The Post Office said it was committed to preserving the branch into the future. A spokesman said: "Post Office will be working with the local community to try to find a new postmaster to take on the branch and ensure it remains part of the Post Office network and Sanquhar's unique place in postal history is retained. "In the meantime, the branch remains open for business as usual."

दुनिया का सबसे पुराना डाकघर बिक्री के लिए तैयार है।


Buried diggers and knighted meat: Stubborn urban legends

Summary: There are hundreds of diggers buried below London and it's legal to shoot a Welshman in Hereford. These are among the rumours that resurface occasionally across England and seem to have extraordinary sticking-power. But for all their tenacity - they're not true. BBC News looks at some of the stories that have become legend.

By Bethan BellBBC News Arise, Sir Loin The knighting of a tasty piece of meat, thus giving it the name "Sir Loin" has been variously ascribed to Charles II, Elizabeth I and James I. The story regarding James I is still honoured in Lancashire, where it's said during a meal in 1617 at Hoghton Tower near Preston, the monarch was overcome by a succulent steak and gravely made it a knight of the realm. It is true that the tower was playing host to the king as he and his retinue made their way back to London from Scotland - and who knows, he may have jestingly touched his sword to the chunk of beef. But while it is possible the monarch enjoyed a pun, the word "sirloin" first appeared in English as far back as the early 16th Century and therefore pre-dates the reign of James. In English, the cut of meat was originally spelled "surloyn" or "surloine", according to etymologists, and it is most likely the name came from the French words "sur", meaning "over" or "above", and "longe" meaning "loin". Diggers deep under London Various news outlets, including the New Statesman, Daily Telegraph and ITV reported rich people who excavated under their houses to fit in swimming pools and home cinemas found it more economical to abandon diggers below ground rather than take them back up to street level. But Dan Williams from Williams' Basements, says the idea is "utterly ludicrous". "Of course we always have an exit strategy," he says. "Not only are [diggers] expensive bits of kit, but they take up a fair bit of room. When you consider the price of property and land in London, it doesn't make any sense to dump them in a valuable space and cover them in concrete." Where to pinch a pooch Police in Whitby, North Yorkshire, were contacted by worried pet-owners who had heard small red and yellow stickers were being put on car tyres outside homes where valuable dogs lived. And it would seem many cars had these little stickers on. The police enlisted the advice of a tyre fitter to prove that marks left on vehicle tyres were not the work of dog-nappers. It turned out that rather than indicating the best place to make off with man's best friend, red dots denoted the heaviest part of a tyre and a yellow dot the lightest. The stickers had been on car tyres since they were last tested but householders only started noticing them once they were pointed out - a frequency illusion called the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. Psychologists explain it's because the human mind is biased towards things it's recently learned - if we learn something new, we are more likely to pay attention to it when we encounter it again shortly afterwards. A similar, related theory says humans are generally biased against information we do not know, so it's after we learn a piece of information we more easily become aware of it. On a separate note - a ploy used by some "psychics" uses the same phenomenon. If you're told seeing a white feather means a dead loved-one is watching over you, you'll spot them all over the place. Try it and see. The 'Da Pinchi Code' A series of symbols sprayed on to pavements outside homes have often spawned claims they're the work of burglars who've left a code to help fellow-criminals target vulnerable premises. Similar to the scratchings made by Victorian tramps to highlight households where a cook would provide a good meal, overlapping squares were meant to indicate the homeowner was "nervous and afraid", while two diamonds chillingly suggested the occupant was "a vulnerable female". The rumours weren't simply words on the street - even Warwickshire Police has fallen foul of the hoax, although near neighbours West Mercia Police were quick to scotch the myth in Worcestershire. However - the symbols are actually ground works markings used by gas, electricity, water, cable and telecoms contractors. Different paint or chalk colours have specific meanings that indicate whether there are live power lines, flammable material, water, drains or a proposed excavation route. Killing Celts with longbows Are you within your rights to shoot a Welsh person with a longbow after midnight in Chester; or on a Sunday in the Cathedral Close in Hereford; or a Scots person within the city walls of York (other than on a Sunday)? No. Of course you're not. The myth about slaying Celts could have originated from a City Ordinance of 1403 passed in response to the Glyndŵr Rising, which imposed a curfew on the Welsh. Both Chester and Hereford were frequently under attack from Wales in the medieval period. As for killing a Scot in York, a Mr Henry Shrimp submitted this Freedom of Information request to York City Council in 2012: "In York, excluding Sundays, it is perfectly legal to shoot a Scotsman with a bow and arrow. As such, please tell me the number of Scots who have been shot in the last ten years by those taking advantage of this law." In response, the council replied: After an extensive search of our records I can confirm that there are no records of any Scotsmen being legally shot with a bow and arrow in the last ten years. There is however a vague recollection of an alleged occurrence several centuries ago which involved a group of men from the Nottingham area, dressed in green, who were enjoying a stag night in York. Regardless of any ancient legislation, the Law Commission said: "It is illegal to shoot a Welsh or Scottish (or any other) person regardless of the day, location or choice of weaponry." Murder and manslaughter laws, as well as the universal right to life under the Human Rights Act, would trump any ancient code. Obviously. Watch it on the radio Thieves in places including Cheshire, Coventry, London and Cardiff embarked on a crime wave of stealing car radios in the mistaken belief they could pick up satellite television channels. The rumour started when Ford stated some 2006-07 Focus models would feature SIRIUS Satellite radio as a factory-installed option. It was thought a misunderstanding occurred because Sky Digital picked up digital radio, then the chip must also pick up digital television. In January 2007, Ch Supt Sultan Taylor from the Metropolitan Police said: "We have had a big increase in the number of Ford vehicles broken into and we are sure it is because local thieves have got wind of this ridiculous notion that they can get satellite TV from car radio chips." Det Insp Nick Wallen from West Yorkshire Police reiterated his colleague's point, telling thieves their "pointless actions" would result in prosecution.

लंदन के नीचे सैकड़ों खुदाई करने वाले दबे हुए हैं और हेयरफोर्ड में एक वेल्शमैन को गोली मारना वैध है। ये उन अफवाहों में से हैं जो कभी-कभी पूरे इंग्लैंड में फिर से सामने आती हैं और उनमें असाधारण चिपकने की शक्ति होती है। लेकिन उनके सभी दृढ़ता के लिए-वे सच नहीं हैं। बीबीसी समाचार कुछ कहानियों को देखता है जो किंवदंती बन गई हैं।


In pictures: Snowy scenes across the East

Summary: Parts of the East of England have been blanketed in snow, as a yellow Met Office weather warning remains in place until midnight.

Northamptonshire Police said the snow had caused "worsening road conditions". The Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire armed policing unit said it had attended three incidents "in quick succession, due to adverse weather conditions". However, most people managed to stay safe and enjoy the snow. Here is a selection of images from across the region. Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk

पूर्वी इंग्लैंड के कुछ हिस्सों में बर्फबारी हुई है, क्योंकि आधी रात तक मौसम विभाग की पीली चेतावनी बनी हुई है।


Why the 'no make-up selfies' campaign raised £2m

Summary: The selfie has reached a new zenith this week, thanks to the No Make-Up Selfie for Cancer Awareness campaign which has seen £2m raised for Cancer Research UK in the space of just a few days. But how did it happen?

The #nomakeupselfie started trending on Tuesday as women posted pictures of themselves without make-up on Twitter and Facebook, and urged their friends to do the same. Cancer awareness became the theme, selfie posters pledged donations to cancer charities and CRUK set up a text number to make donating even easier. But the cancer charity did not kick-start the trend - it grew organically, making a huge impact on social media and getting attention in national newspapers and on radio and TV news. So why did it go viral? Was it all about raising awareness and money for life-saving research? No-one quite knows how the trend started. It may have been related to the Oscars selfie featuring a gaggle of gorgeous A-list actors which was retweeted endlessly following the film awards in early March. Or it may have been a reaction to the negative comments directed towards 81-year-old actress Kim Novak following the same event. People lined up to sympathise with her by posting pictures of themselves in (mostly) unflattering lights. With hundreds of thousands of donations, 826,000 likes on Facebook and 140,000 followers on Twitter, Cancer Research UK confessed to being "overwhelmed with donations and support". But not everyone is behind the idea that women revealing their real face is something brave or altruistic. Commentators have lined up to say that the campaign made cancer awareness all about vanity and emotion rather than about useful, practical action. Dr Linda Gibson, senior lecturer in public health at Nottingham Trent University, says the success of the campaign shows that social media is a very powerful medium, particularly among young people, but there are dangers inherent in it too. "This campaign has captured the imagination. Very rapid communication like this has never been faster in human history, but you have to be careful. "You can lose the depth of message. When thinking of designing interventions using these media there can be unintended consequences." The message may not be clear, but that can be a good thing because it forces people to ask "what's this about?", she says. The problem comes when people believe they are doing something important when really their actions are not changing anything. In that case, aren't we just using social media to clear our consciences, just by sending a selfie? The money raised - 80p in every £1 donated goes to cancer research - suggests this is more than just an exercise in self promotion. Images sent to CRUK demonstrate that people want to show their solidarity with cancer sufferers, and pay tribute to friends and family who have died from the disease. The Institute of Fundraising says combining popular trends with fund-raising is a great way to reach young and untapped audiences. Men are now getting on board by posting selfies of themselves wearing make-up, this time in a bid to raise awareness of men's cancers. Use of celebrity trends also helps to target those that wouldn't necessarily think about the charity or the cause otherwise, it adds. And there have been plenty of big names posting their selfies this week. But perhaps there is more to the success of this selfie campaign. "Maybe it's about how women feel about themselves, and their private and public faces," says Dr Gibson. "The image of women in the media can be so artificial and constructed that body image often becomes an issue. "This is almost an act of rebellion."

नो मेक-अप सेल्फी फॉर कैंसर अवेयरनेस अभियान की बदौलत इस सप्ताह सेल्फी एक नए चरम पर पहुंच गई है, जिसमें कुछ ही दिनों में कैंसर रिसर्च यूके के लिए 2 मिलियन पाउंड जुटाए गए हैं। लेकिन यह कैसे हुआ?


Four candidates in Moray by-election

Summary: Four candidates will contest a Moray Council by-election which was forced by the resignation of a councillor just days after he was elected.

Sandy Cooper, 72, was one of three people chosen to represent Elgin City North ward. He stood as an independent candidate. However he then tendered his resignation in a letter to the council's chief executive. The by-election takes place on Thursday 13 July. The SNP (Patsy Gowans), Conservatives (Maria McLean) and Labour (Nick Taylor) are represented along with independent Terry Monaghan.

चार उम्मीदवार मोरे परिषद का उपचुनाव लड़ेंगे जो एक पार्षद के निर्वाचित होने के कुछ ही दिनों बाद इस्तीफे के कारण मजबूर हुआ था।


Wensleydale Railway volunteers in funds plea after landslip

Summary: A fundraising event is being held to get a North Yorkshire heritage railway back up and running after a landslip.

The Wensleydale Railway is not able to operate trains to Finghall Lane, Leyburn or Redmire after heavy rain caused the landslip earlier this year. More than £30,000 is needed to repair the embankment at Akebar between Leyburn and Bedale. A range of activities are being held this weekend at Leeming Bar Station to boost the appeal. The Wensleydale Railway Association said it was hoping repair the track so a normal service could resume ahead of the Easter holidays.

नॉर्थ यॉर्कशायर हेरिटेज रेलवे को वापस लाने और भूस्खलन के बाद चलाने के लिए एक धन उगाहने का कार्यक्रम आयोजित किया जा रहा है।


'Action needed on vitamin D levels'

Summary: There is growing awareness about the importance of the "sunshine vitamin" - vitamin D - for health. But Professor Mitch Blair, from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, says more action is needed - potentially including fortifying more foods and even cutting the cost of the vitamin to make it more easily available,

By Professor Mitch BlairRoyal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that contributes to healthy, strong bones and helps to control the amount of calcium in the blood. Unlike many other vitamins, getting your recommended daily amount of vitamin D is not that easy. The main source is sunlight; but with short days, long nights and limited sunlight even during the summer, it's not easy to get your fix that way. Vitamin D can be found in some foods such as oily fish, eggs and mushrooms - but only 10% of a person's recommended daily amount is found naturally in food. Put bluntly, eating more fish and getting out in the sun a bit more won't make much of a difference to your vitamin D levels. Unfortunately, there is limited national research on the true extent of vitamin D deficiency in the UK population. But we do know that there has been a four-fold increase in admissions to hospital with rickets in the last 15 years and that some groups are more 'at risk' than others - namely children, pregnant women and certain ethnic minority groups. Broken bones Pilot studies and regional monitoring suggests that vitamin D deficiency is likely to affect at least half the UK's white population, up to 90% of the multi-ethnic population and a quarter of all children living in Britain. A recent study in Australia revealed that a third of under-25s are vitamin D deficient - perhaps surprising in a country blessed with plenty of sunshine. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a range of debilitating diseases in children and adults - including diabetes, tuberculosis, multiple sclerosis and rickets, a bone disease associated with poor children in Victorian England. Lack of vitamin D is often cited as a contributory factor in broken bones and fractures, with obvious implications for some child protection cases. The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends supplements for pregnant or breastfeeding women and their children from six months to four years. The Chief Medical Officer recommends supplements for children up to the age of five and the government's Healthy Start programme provides vitamins free for people on income support. 'Out of the shadows' But we believe more needs to be done. Firstly, Vitamin D supplementation should be widely available at low-cost. In some countries, supplements are free for all. Whilst the Healthy Start programme of free supplements for low income families is a positive step, evidence suggest the vitamins are in short supply and uptake is low - with many eligible people unaware that they are available or of the need to take them. Secondly, we need to look at fortifying more foods with vitamin D. Currently, many brands of cereal and orange juice contain added vitamin D which helps boost daily intake. In the USA most milk is supplemented with vitamin D, which has helped reduce deficiency, particularly in children. The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition is currently looking into this. We also need to make sure healthcare professionals - including GPs, paediatricians, doctors and nurses - know the signs and symptoms of vitamin D deficiency, but more importantly give appropriate advice to patients who are 'at risk' to prevent problems developing. And it's important that the public are aware of the implications of vitamin D deficiency, where they can get supplements and how they can boost their intake. In addition, we need more research into the links between vitamin D deficiency and bone disease - and there must be better surveillance to monitor the prevalence and incidence of vitamin D deficiency across the population. Only by knowing the true extent of the problem can we develop the most appropriate preventions - and ensure that vitamin D is brought out of the shadows and into the sun.

स्वास्थ्य के लिए "सनशाइन विटामिन"-विटामिन डी-के महत्व के बारे में जागरूकता बढ़ रही है। लेकिन रॉयल कॉलेज ऑफ पीडियाट्रिक्स एंड चाइल्ड हेल्थ के प्रोफेसर मिच ब्लेयर का कहना है कि अधिक कार्रवाई की आवश्यकता है-संभावित रूप से अधिक खाद्य पदार्थों को मजबूत करना और यहां तक कि विटामिन की लागत में कटौती करना भी शामिल है ताकि इसे अधिक आसानी से उपलब्ध कराया जा सके।


US gun laws: Why it won't follow New Zealand's lead

Summary: Six days after the Christchurch mosque attack, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a ban on "military-style" semi-automatic rifles, prompting questions in the US.

Anthony ZurcherNorth America reporter@awzurcheron Twitter Following a series of mass shootings in the US in recent years, there has been little in the way of sweeping gun-control reforms. On the federal level, at least, the interest and attention in new legislation has led to almost no action in decades, despite numerous polls showing widespread public support for measures like strengthened background checks and banning certain types of high-capacity gun magazines and military-style assault rifles. The Trump administration has issued a regulatory ban on bump-stock modifications that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire like machine guns, and there have been some tweaks to the background check database for gun-store purchases. Last March, Donald Trump entertained the notion of more ambitious, "comprehensive" legislation, telling senators pro-gun lobbyists had little power over him. But there's been no such talk from the president since. Part of the reason New Zealand is ability to move quickly, of course, is that it's a parliamentary democracy, ensuring that the government is controlled entirely by one party or a politically compatible coalition. That's not the only explanation for why the US has charted a different course, however. Here are five big obstacles that stand in the way of the kind of the US taking the kind of quick, major changes to firearm policy being advanced in New Zealand. The NRA The National Rifle Association is one of the most influential interest groups in US politics - not just because of the money it spends on lobbying politicians, but also because of the engagement of its five million members. It opposes most proposals to strengthen firearm regulations and is behind efforts at both the federal and state levels to roll back many existing restrictions on gun ownership. In 2016 the NRA spent $4m on lobbying and direct contributions to politicians as well as more than $50m on political advocacy, including an estimated $30m to help elect Donald Trump president. Its overall annual budget is roughly $250m, allocated to educational programmes, gun facilities, membership events, sponsorships, legal advocacy and related efforts. More than just the numbers, however, the NRA has developed a reputation in Washington as a political force that can make or break even the strongest politicians. It grades politicians on their votes and directs its resources and those of its membership - both financial and organisational - to supporting its fiercest advocates and defeating staunch opponents. As one former Republican congressman told the New York Times in 2013: "That was the one group where I said, 'As long as I'm in office, I'm not bucking the NRA.'" Last March the president said he wasn't "afraid" of the NRA - but that was a rhetorical flourish that has not resurfaced. Could it change? Gun-control groups, backed by wealthy benefactors like former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, have become more organised in recent years, attempting to match the NRA's political might. They actually outspent the NRA in the 2018 mid-terms, during which some prominent pro-gun-control Democrats won close elections. The NRA's revenues dropped $56m in 2017, driven largely by a decline in membership dues. It still brought in $378.1m that year, however, ensuring that it will be the biggest single player in the firearm debate. Gerrymandering For the first time in eight years, Democrats have control of the House of Representatives - and their success in the 2018 mid-term congressional elections was fuelled largely by victories in suburban swing districts. In Atlanta, for instance, a gun-control activist won one of the closest races of the election, unseating an incumbent Republican. Despite these advances for the party, the House electoral playing field is still tilted toward Republicans, who tend to be for gun rights. Due to the way the lines of House congressional districts are drawn, many by Republican-controlled state legislatures, there are more seats that tilt to the right than the left. While 2018 was a Democratic wave election, political gravity may eventually reassert itself, giving control of the chamber back to conservatives. Demographics also play a part in the pro-gun sentiment in the House, as there are more rural districts with higher levels of gun ownership than there are urban ones. Racking up big pro-gun-control majorities in urban areas does little to change the political realities in the House. For the moment, however, the initiative is with Democrats, and 2019 marked a significant step forward for gun-control proponents in Congress. One of their first actions was to pass a bill in the House requiring comprehensive background checks of private gun sales, including those that take place at gun shows. Previously the requirement to run the name of gun purchasers in a federal database was limited only to registered gun dealers. Prior to 2019, attempts to pass new federal laws regulating firearms had been over before they ever really begin, stymied by House Republicans. In June 2016 a group of Democratic politicians staged a sit-in on the floor of the House to protest over the Republican House leadership's decision not to hold a vote on two gun-control bills. Could it change? The House of Representatives was once one of the biggest obstacles to federal gun-control legislation. It no longer is - for now. With every House seat up for election every two years, and an American electorate that has proven fickle, the door could slam shut again with little advanced notice. The filibuster Now that gun-control bills have hopes in the House of Representatives, the Senate - where the rural-urban divide plays itself out on the state level - becomes the biggest obstacle to legislative success. States dominated by big-city voters, such as New York, Massachusetts or California, are outnumbered by rural and Southern states with pro-gun sentiments. The rules of the Senate can also thwart efforts to enact more stringent firearm regulation, thanks to the "filibuster" - a procedural hurdle that means most major pieces of legislation need the backing of 60 out of 100 senators to pass, rather than a simple 51-vote majority. In 2013, following the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting, it appeared that efforts to strengthen gun-purchase background checks had significant bipartisan support in the Senate. After a concerted lobbying effort by the NRA, however, the bill received only 56 votes in favour, four short of the mark necessary to break the filibuster. No gun-control measure has come close to passage since then. At least for the moment, there appears little chance the Senate will take up the House-passed universal background check bill, despite indications that a majority of senators would vote in favour of it. Could it change? Mr Trump has been a vocal proponent of doing away with the Senate filibuster, as he views it as an obstacle to enacting his legislative agenda. Several Democratic presidential hopefuls have made similar calls. A majority of senators are on the record against changing the rules, however. The courts With Congress deadlocked on new gun legislation, left-leaning US states have taken a greater role in implementing gun-control measures. After the 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, 21 states passed new gun laws, including imposing assault weapons bans in Connecticut, Maryland and New York. Some of the laws have run up against another barrier, however - the US judicial system. In recent years the Supreme Court has twice ruled that the right to own personal weapons such as handguns is enshrined in the constitution. The Second Amendment says that "a well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed". Gun-control activists point to the introductory clause as evidence that the amendment was meant primarily to create a "well regulated" militia. In 2008, however, a sharply divided court held that the Second Amendment provides a broad right to firearm ownership that prohibits stringent registration requirement for personal weapons. Since then, lower courts have considered challenges to state-imposed assault weapon bans, registration requirements and open-carry prohibitions. Could it change? Trump-appointed Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh have a record of viewing Second Amendment rights broadly. The president is filling out the ranks of the lower courts with pro-gun-rights judges. If anything, the judiciary is moving to the right on this issue. In the autumn, the Supreme Court will consider a challenge to a New York City law restricting how handgun owners can transport their firearms. Gun-control advocates fear the high court is poised to strike another blow against state and local regulations. The enthusiasm gap Perhaps the single biggest obstacle to new gun-control laws at the national level is that opponents tend to hold fiercely to their beliefs, while support for new regulation tends to ebb and flow around each new instance of violence. The NRA's strategy, and that of pro-gun politicians, is to wait out the storm - to delay legislative efforts until attention turns elsewhere and the outcry fades. Pro-gun politicians offer their thoughts and prayers, observe moments of silence and order flags flown half-staff. Then, in the quiet, legislative efforts are deferred and ultimately derailed. The mass student-led protests following the Parkland school shooting focused white-hot attention on the issue for a time, but the marches have died down and the changes to gun laws, at least on the federal level, have been minimal. Shortly after the Las Vegas shooting in October 2017, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters "there's a time and place for a political debate, but now is the time to unite as a country". Mr Trump said "we will be talking about gun laws as time goes by". As time goes by. As that song from the film Casablanca says, it's still the same old story. Could it change? According to one poll during the 2016 presidential campaign, guns were an important issue for both Democrats and Republicans. That could be a reflection of that year's mass shooting in an Orlando nightclub or the first indication of a new trend. Follow Anthony Zurcher on Twitter.

क्राइस्टचर्च मस्जिद हमले के छह दिन बाद, न्यूजीलैंड की प्रधान मंत्री जैसिंडा अर्डर्न ने "सैन्य-शैली" अर्ध-स्वचालित राइफलों पर प्रतिबंध लगाने की घोषणा की, जिससे अमेरिका में सवाल खड़े हो गए।


Greg James: I'm a radio nerd and the Official Chart is iconic

Summary: Greg James is the new host of the Official Chart.

The Top 40 countdown starts in its new slot on Fridays to coincide with a music industry revamp. All new singles and albums will now be released on the same day globally. Greg joins a small but important list of people who've had the honour of revealing the UK's number one single. So we had a little chat with him. Are you nervous, Greg? I'm nervous in a good way. I'm a radio nerd and I know how historic and how much the chart means to radio. It's like an institution. It's like a museum piece. It's so iconic. It's a thing that everyone who knows about the radio has listened to. Every generation has their own chart show presenter and I'm so excited that I'm the new one. How much revision have you been doing? Loads but I know a lot about pop music already because I've been here for ages. I'm not saying I'm old but I've been listening to radio ever since I was eight so I know about pop music. I know about pop culture and I read everything all the time. I love it all and I feel like I'm ready for it. What's your earliest chart memory? Probably listening to Mark Goodier back in the 1990s. I remember Scott Mills covering it a lot. Then Wes. JK and Joel. It was Fearne and Reggie when I first started. I've listened to it a lot. How significant do you think it's not only the presenter who's changing - but also the day? Actually, I think it's a great day for the chart. Delivering the definitive list of the 40 biggest songs before the weekend is a great job to have. It's sort of like giving the news. I'd like to say to people that if they want to be up on your popular culture, these are the 40 songs they need to know about. But are the charts still relevant? Absolutely. More than ever. There was a time about four or five years ago when I don't think as many people cared about the charts. But now with the popularity of lists - Spotify playlists, Deezer playlists, Apple music playlists - it's made that important again. People love a list. It makes the chart feel important. What's your favourite ever number one? Probably Coldplay's Paradise. They're one of my favourite bands and it was the first number one of the year in January 2012. I was just excited they were number one. Which song should have got to number one? Sia's Chandelier. It's one of the greatest pop songs of the last 20 years. An amazing record. It did well but it didn't get to number one. And the worst ever number one single? It's obvious to say but it's the Crazy Frog. It stopped Coldplay getting to number one with Speed of Sound. If you think you're a chart geek, then try out our quiz. Greg got seven out of eight. Can you beat him? The charts are changing... so here's a quiz. How much do you know about the Official Chart? Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube and you can now follow BBC_Newsbeat on Snapchat

ग्रेग जेम्स आधिकारिक चार्ट के नए मेजबान हैं।


Rhyl RNLI station's £2m lifeboat 'an exciting new chapter'

Summary: A new £2.2m lifeboat is set to be be used off the north Wales coast from Rhyl, it has been announced.

The RNLI said the Denbighshire station's 24-year-old current boat will be replaced by a Shannon class vessel. Coxswain Martin Jones described it as "an exciting new chapter in the station's 170 year history". While an arrival date has not been finalised, the new boat, set to be built in Poole, Dorset, will be 50% faster than the current vessel.

यह घोषणा की गई है कि राइल से उत्तरी वेल्स तट पर एक नई 2.2 करोड़ पाउंड की लाइफबोट का उपयोग किया जाएगा।


Tour de France Grand Depart diary

Summary: With the world's biggest bike race starting in Leeds on 5 July, BBC Yorkshire's Tour de France correspondent Matt Slater rounds up the best of the gossip, opinion and stories, on and off the bike, and also tries to explain some of cycling's unique lingo. TOP STORIES

Most of us have heard of the old philosophical question about trees not falling over in the forest unless somebody is there to experience them doing so - it is a concept modern sports fans can easily get their heads around. Did I really see that fight/game/race if I was unable to send social media messages about it? This is a quandary at many cycling events, as they often take place in remote areas with little or no 3G reception or wi-fi hotspots...not on our watch, though, oh no. There will be two mobile wi-fi hubs mounted on tractors in the deepest reaches of the Dales on stage one, and then in the run-in to Sheffield on stage two. First spotted at music festivals such as Glastonbury, these rural routers should enable a few more of to say that you definitely saw Mark Cavendish and co ride up Buttertubs Pass. Full story: Yorkshire Post The stereotype of the hardy northerner versus the soft southerner does not apply to street furniture, it seems. Following on from last week's flap about Grand Depart bunting bending the lampposts in North Yorkshire's Masham, council officials in Cambridge have said their lampposts are sturdy enough to take the extra weight of the knitted miniature cycling jerseys. Full story: BBC News As discussed on Monday's Look North, cycling has had a serious drugs problem for many years and that should not be ignored. Looking the other way is what got the sport into such a mess in the first place. With that in mind, it is good to hear that the BBC's excellent "Storyville" documentary strand has bought the highly-rated "Stop At Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story". It was made by the Australian broadcaster ABC, and earned great reviews at the recent Sheffield Doc/Fest and London's East End Film Festival. It will be shown on BBC4 on Sunday, 6 July Full story: Real Screen CYCLING ROUND-UP The first three team line-ups have been confirmed for the Tour, with French outfit FDJ and Belgian-based duo Omega Pharma-QuickStep and Lotto-Belisol announcing the nine riders they are sending to the start in Leeds. To be entirely accurate, FDJ actually named 10 riders, with the final slot going to either Cedric Pineau or Francis Mourey. The big news for them, however, is that they are not bringing Nacer Bouhanni, the man who sprinted to three wins and victory in the points classification at the Giro d'Italia last month. FDJ's sprinter at the Tour will be Arnaud Demare, while Thibaut Pinot is their man in the yellow jersey contest. The OPQS selection is a lot more straightforward: it is Mark Cavendish plus seven great riders who will try to set him up for sprint victories and go for the occasional stage win themselves, with the young Polish rider Michal Kwiakowski also getting a bit of help for his general classification bid. As the world's top-ranked team, OPQS were always going to have to leave a few decent riders at home, but this selection was pretty well signposted and probably gives Cavendish the best support he has had at a Tour since the mighty HTC team was disbanded in 2011. There is not much mystery to Lotto-Belisol's choices either. Germany's Andre Greipel is the sprinter, with Belgian rider Jurgen Van Den Broeck being their general classification hope. The latter finished fourth in the 2010 and 2012 Tours, but his form has been patchy since. Greipel is in good nick, though, and remains one of Cavendish's main rivals for stage wins. Elsewhere, it has been confirmed that Team Sky's Sergio Henao will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his broken knee. The Colombian was hit by a car as he took a look at the time-trial course in last week's Tour of Switzerland. This is obviously a blow for the rider and his team, but also highlights why race organisers need to be so cautious about road closures. TWEET OF THE DAY "In central York, where every window has a bike, a wheel or a yellow jersey in it. Looks like a city entirely composed of bike shops. Nice." British time-trial champion and cycling writer Michael Hutchinson - aka @Doctor_Hutch - on York's Grand Depart-themed makeover. TODAY'S TOUR TRIVIA As there are no restrictions on former winners competing again, it is fairly common for previous champions to be in a Tour field. But there have been six editions of the race without a former winner. Three are fairly obvious to guess: the first race in 1903, the first race after the break for WWII in 1947 and the first race after Lance Armstrong's seven-year reign in 2006. Some of you might also be able to guess that there were no former winners in the peloton in 1999, when Armstrong won for the first time, as it followed the scandal-hit 1998 Tour. The other two are much harder to work out, though. The 1927 race was remarkable only for an experiment with staggered starts and the 1956 edition was missing the injured Louison Bobet, who had won the three previous Tours. Even without the odd-man-out Sir Bradley Wiggins and possibly the out-of-form Andy Schleck, there should be at least a couple of former winners in Leeds. THE COUNTDOWN - 11 DAYS TO GO The 1914 race has a place in the record books as it was contested by no fewer than 11 former and future Tour champions. Seven riders had won it before, and four more would go on to win it when the race resumed after WWI. There have also been 11 riders who have won the Tour at the first attempt, including the legendary trio of Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault.

5 जुलाई को लीड्स में शुरू होने वाली दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी बाइक दौड़ के साथ, बीबीसी यॉर्कशायर के टूर डी फ्रांस संवाददाता मैट स्लेटर बाइक के अंदर और बाहर गपशप, राय और कहानियों का सबसे अच्छा दौर पेश करते हैं, और साइकिल चलाने की कुछ अनूठी भाषा को समझाने की भी कोशिश करते हैं।


Swimmer drowns in Lake District

Summary: A swimmer has drowned after getting into difficulty in the water in Windermere in the Lake District.

It happened on Saturday afternoon at Jenkins Field near Waterhead, at the northern end of the lake. The 32-year-old man was flown by air ambulance to the Cumberland Infirmary, where he died shortly afterwards. Staff from the nearby Low Wood water sports centre and Windermere Lake Cruises joined emergency services trying to save the man.

झील जिले के विंडरमेरे में पानी में कठिनाई में पड़ने के बाद एक तैराक की डूबने से मौत हो गई।


Q&A: Asbestos

Summary: Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral. One form of asbestos, white asbestos, is widely used in the construction industry in the developing world, but is banned on health grounds in many industrialised countries. Other forms of asbestos - blue and brown - are banned worldwide.

Asbestos is heat and flame resistant, strong and cheap, and has many uses. It can be mixed with cement for roofing and flooring. It is also used to insulate pipes and ceilings, and to make brake shoes and pads. Microscopic fragments of all kinds of asbestos fibre are potentially dangerous when inhaled and may give rise to asbestos-related diseases: •lung cancer, which is more common in people exposed to asbestos •mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the chest, which is extremely rare in people who have not been exposed to asbestos •asbestosis, a lung disease that causes shortness of breath and may lead to respiratory failure White asbestos, known as chrysotile, is the only form of asbestos mined and used today. The World Health Organisation says it too is associated with mesothelioma, lung and other cancers, but its promoters say it is safe if used properly. White asbestos is banned in the European Union, Australia and more than 20 other countries. It is still used, in limited quantities, in the US and Canada. The biggest consumers, by far, are China, India and Russia. The main exporters are Russia, Kazakhstan, Brazil and Canada. Some experts say white asbestos has less potential for harm than brown or blue asbestos, but even trade organisations promoting white asbestos say workers should avoid inhaling dust. Whether any safe level of exposure exists is disputed. US workplace standards allow a maximum 0.1 asbestos fibres per cubic centimetre of air - but the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimates that exposure to this maximum level over a working life will cause five lung cancer deaths and two asbestosis deaths for every 1,000 workers. They can wear protective clothing, such as respirator masks. Measures can also be taken to lower dust levels in the workplace by the use of extraction fans, regular vacuuming or spraying to keep surfaces wet. Those most at risk are workers exposed to high levels of asbestos dust over long periods. However, there are known cases where women have died from asbestos-related diseases after handling their husband's dirty work clothes. Children of workers also have died from such second-hand exposure. Asbestosis can develop within a decade of initial exposure to asbestos, though often takes longer. Mesothelioma can take 30, 40 or even 50 years to appear. Doctors say patients diagnosed with mesothelioma have only a poor chance of surviving for five years.

एस्बेस्टस प्राकृतिक रूप से पाया जाने वाला रेशेदार खनिज है। एस्बेस्टस का एक रूप, सफेद एस्बेस्टस, विकासशील देशों में निर्माण उद्योग में व्यापक रूप से उपयोग किया जाता है, लेकिन कई औद्योगिक देशों में स्वास्थ्य के आधार पर प्रतिबंधित है। एस्बेस्टस के अन्य रूप-नीले और भूरे-दुनिया भर में प्रतिबंधित हैं।


Chinese gay video ban sparks online backlash

Summary: A crackdown on a wide range of internet videos by Chinese censors has caused a backlash on the country's popular micro-blogging site Sina Weibo, with many users objecting to a decision to ban content which features same-sex relationships.

By Kayleen Devlin and Vincent NiWhat's popular and why On Chinese social media, many were left angry, baffled, and upset: "Aren't people born equal? ... What right do you have to discriminate against others?" said one. Another commented: "Aren't homosexuals normal? Why do you push them to a corner?" The outcry was prompted a decision by Beijing regulators to censor the portrayal of homosexual activity in online videos. The regulations, which came into force at the beginning of July, classify homosexuality as "abnormal" sexual behaviour and cover not only explicit sexual content but any portrayal of same-sex relationships, positive or negative - for instance in popular online dramas. On Weibo, the hashtag "Online Content Review Discriminating [Against] Gays" was viewed by millions and generated thousands of comments. And while the decision sparked the biggest backlash from Chinese social media users, the censorship extends further. There are 84 categories of material that were banned from online video programmes by Chinese censors, including prostitution, drug addiction, extra-marital affairs and what authorities deem to be "unhealthy" views of the family, relationships and money. A ban on the portrayal of "erotic behaviour" includes kisses which last for a long time. The guidance stipulates that all online content should help "realize the China dream of a great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." 'The reality in China' One prominent voice who has criticised Chinese government censorship is Li Yinhe, China's first female sexologist and a well-known commentator on LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) issues. "To [the government], homosexuality is regarded as obscene," she says, adding that the LGBT community is "very angry." Li Yinhe tells BBC Trending radio that when she recently wrote a piece calling on the government to end the censorship mechanism entirely, the article was taken down by Weibo censors just a few hours after publication. "Well, this is the reality in China," she says. Under the latest guidelines, which were issued by the China Netcasting Services Association, at least two to three "auditors" will have to check all online content to make sure it adheres to the "advanced culture of socialism." The latest regulations are part of a wide campaign by the authorities to control discourse online through the censorship of a wide range of content including live streaming, news and social media. Just over a year ago Beijing issued a set of regulations which banned the portrayal of homosexuality on television as part of what they described as being a cultural crackdown on "vulgar, immoral and unhealthy content." A number of Chinese gay dating apps have also been shut down in the country - the most recent example being the lesbian dating app Rela which had more than five million users and was shut down at the end of May this year. 'Like Big Brother' Homosexuality is not illegal in China, and was removed from an official list of mental disorders in 2001. Tim Hildebrandt, an assistant professor of social policy and development at the London School of Economics, says the recent censorship around homosexuality is surprising. "Social acceptance of homosexuality had really gone up in China over the last five to 15 years," he says. "Unlike a lot of places with institutionalised religion, it's not a place that has ever viewed homosexuality as inherently sinful. It's been viewed over time as an oddity, but not an inherent threat to society. The only threat it served was as one of non-conformity to a perfect model of the family." Hildebrandt adds that the latest guidelines issued around homosexual content online are "particularly worrisome." "Some might assume this is just about pornography," he says. "This is not really the case. It's any portrayal of homosexuality in online videos. As to what that means for gay people in China, essentially the internet is one of the few safe spaces to meet others within the community. This is how people are meeting each other both in a platonic and romantic setting." Wenxiong, a gay Chinese man who is currently studying in the US, says that the homosexuality ban online feels "like the Cultural Revolution again." "We are seeing a group of people as a target of antagonism and people can say bad things about them, or insult them," he says. "The government, aside from the regulations on LGBT content, is also issuing a lot of other cultural tightening regulations," he says. "It's like Big Brother is watching you now. The government is telling you that you cannot have a gay life." Blog by Kayleen Devlin With reporting by Vincent Ni You can find BBC Trending on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @BBCtrending. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

चीनी सेंसरों द्वारा इंटरनेट वीडियो की एक विस्तृत श्रृंखला पर कार्रवाई ने देश की लोकप्रिय माइक्रो-ब्लॉगिंग साइट सिना वेइबो पर एक प्रतिक्रिया पैदा कर दी है, जिसमें कई उपयोगकर्ताओं ने समलैंगिक संबंधों वाली सामग्री पर प्रतिबंध लगाने के फैसले पर आपत्ति जताई है।


Malala Yousafzai: Portrait of the girl blogger

Summary: Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai first came to public attention in 2009 when she wrote a BBC diary about life under the Taliban. Now recovering from surgery after being shot by the militants, the campaigner for girls' rights is in the spotlight again.

Malala was 11 when she began writing a diary for BBC Urdu. Her blogs described life under Taliban rule from her home town of Mingora, in the northwest region of Pakistan she affectionately calls "My Swat". I am afraid - 3 January 2009 "I had a terrible dream yesterday with military helicopters and the Taliban. I have had such dreams since the launch of the military operation in Swat. I was afraid going to school because the Taliban had issued an edict banning all girls from attending schools. Only 11 students attended the class out of 27. The number decreased because of Taliban's edict. On my way from school to home I heard a man saying 'I will kill you'. I hastened my pace... to my utter relief he was talking on his mobile and must have been threatening someone else over the phone." By 2009, the Taliban controlled much of the Swat Valley and applied their austere interpretation of sharia law. "When the Taliban came to Swat they banned women from going to the market and they banned shopping," Malala told the BBC last year. But Malala's primary objection was to the Taliban's prohibition of female education. Militants had destroyed over 150 schools in 2008 alone. "Malala Yousufzai was one of the few brave voices who spoke out", writes The Daily Telegraph's Pakistan correspondent Rob Crilly. "She did it anonymously - to do otherwise would have brought immediate death. But her blog for the BBC Urdu Service detailing the abuses meant no one could pretend an accommodation with the terrorists was anything other than a deal with the devil." Halima Mansour in the Guardian heralds Malala as a young "Pakistani heroine" for her bravery and independence. "Malala doesn't want to play to some western-backed or Taliban-loved stereotype. She shows us that there are voices out there, in Pakistan, that need to be heard, if only to help the country find democracy that is for and from the people, all the people." Do not wear colourful dresses - 5 January 2009 "I was getting ready for school and about to wear my uniform when I remembered that our principal had told us not to wear uniforms and come to school wearing normal clothes instead. "So I decided to wear my favourite pink dress. Other girls in school were also wearing colourful dresses. During the morning assembly we were told not to wear colourful clothes as the Taliban would object to it." When she wrote her blogs for BBC Urdu, Malala was already able to speak English and hoped one day to become a doctor. One sombre entry, titled "I may not go to school again", details the imminent closure of her school in January 2009. Other entries express her fear of being killed by the Taliban. But she received support and encouragement in her activism from her parents. The idea for the blog was even that of her father Ziauddin, who runs a local private school. "Of course, it was a risk [to let her write the blog]", he told BBC Outlook in January this year, "But I think that not talking was a greater risk than that because then ultimately we would have given in to the slavery and the subjugation of ruthless terrorism and extremism." I may not go to school again - 14 January 2009 "I was in a bad mood while going to school because winter vacations are starting from tomorrow. The principal announced the vacations but did not mention the date the school was to reopen. "The girls were not too excited about vacations because they knew if the Taliban implemented their edict [banning girls' education] they would not be able to come to school again. I am of the view that the school will one day reopen but while leaving I looked at the building as if I would not come here again." Malala's father was himself an outspoken education activist who received death threats from the Taliban. Along with many locals, Malala and her family went into exile from the Swat Valley when a government military operation attempted to clear the region of Taliban militants. "I'm really bored because I have no books to read", she told Adam B. Ellick, who made a documentary about her in 2009. Following the military's partial success in driving back the Taliban, Malala was able to return to Mingora later that year. During 2009, Malala began to appear on television and publically advocate female education. With her raised public profile, becoming the "progressive face of Swat", Waseem Ahmad Shah, of Pakistani paper The Dawn, finds it inexcusable that Malala was ultimately "left at the mercy of militants". In 2011 she was nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize by The KidsRights Foundation. Later last year the government awarded her the National Peace Award - subsequently renamed the National Malala Peace Prize - for those under 18 years old. Malala's experiences have had an impact upon her future aspirations. She told The Dawn earlier this year that she plans to form her own political party focused on promoting education. For many Pakistanis, Malala has become a symbol of resistance to the Taliban. "Malala was the lone voice in that wilderness," writes Feryal Gauhar in the local Express Tribune. "Hers was the voice which made us consider that indeed, there can be alternatives, and there can be resistance to all forms of tyranny. Today, the attempt to silence that voice shall only make her stronger; the blood stains on her school uniform shall only feed the conviction that as long as there is breath and life, there shall be struggle." "Malala rose to heights few of us can aspire to," adds Gauhar. Interrupted sleep - 15 January 2009 "The night was filled with the noise of artillery fire and I woke up three times. But since there was no school I got up later at 10am. Afterwards, my friend came over and we discussed our homework. Today is the last day before the Taliban's edict comes into effect, and my friend was discussing homework as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "Today, I also read my diary written for the BBC in Urdu. My mother liked my pen name Gul Makai. I also like the name because my real name means 'grief stricken'." Malala is now recovering in hospital after being shot in the head and neck by a Taliban militant on Tuesday. Her shooting "has shocked an unshockable Pakistan", notes Samira Shackle in the New Statesman. Shackle is not alone in juxtaposing Malala's bravery with "the fact that major politicians and indeed, entire governments, have shied away from making such bold statements [about female education] against the Taliban". But Rob Crilly in the Telegraph states how "on this occasion they [the politicians] have sensed the public horror and begun making a beeline for Malala's sickbed". "If she makes a full recovery - and she still has a long, long way to go - I suspect Malala will remain one of the few voices prepared to take on the extremists. And the politicians will make their excuses and forget all about their promises."

पाकिस्तानी स्कूली छात्रा मलाला यूसुफजई पहली बार 2009 में जनता के ध्यान में आई जब उसने तालिबान के तहत जीवन के बारे में एक बीबीसी डायरी लिखी। अब आतंकवादियों द्वारा गोली मारे जाने के बाद सर्जरी से उबरने के बाद, लड़कियों के अधिकारों के लिए प्रचारक फिर से सुर्खियों में है।


The Black Dahlia: Los Angeles' most famous unsolved murder

Summary: As the 70th anniversary of the Black Dahlia murder approaches the public fascination with Elizabeth Short and her grisly unsolved death hasn't dimmed. James Bartlett takes a look at how Los Angeles remembers the famous murder. This article contains graphic descriptions.

Few people noticed the dark-haired woman when she was dropped off at the swanky Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, but when her torso was found nearly a week later, Elizabeth Short became a household name. On the morning of 15 January 1947, Betty Bersinger was walking with her young daughter along a barely developed street in the planned neighbourhood of Leimert Park when she saw what she thought was two halves of a tailor's mannequin. It wasn't. Short had been cut in two, neatly at the waist, and drained of blood. She had been mutilated, her intestines removed, and her mouth slashed from ear to ear - a gruesome cut known as a Glasgow Smile. Her body had then been washed clean before being dumped in an empty field. An ensuing media frenzy followed, thanks to the "brutal, misogynistic and ritual nature" of the killing, says Glynn Martin, former Los Angeles police sergeant and historian. More than 50 suspects were interviewed, both male and female - some of whom confessed to the crime. But the murder was never solved, only adding to the crime's mystique. There was also the connection to the glamour of the area. "She lived in Hollywood, had aspirations to be an actress," Martin says. The murder became "a sad cliche - the ultimate warning tale". "A starry-eyed young girl comes to Hollywood, and things go very bad for her," he says. Then, of course, there was the memorable nickname, a twist on the previous year's Veronica Lake-Alan Ladd film The Blue Dahlia, and reference to Short's striking dark hair. In the decades since, the Black Dahlia case has inspired university theses, art projects and the name of a death metal band, as well as references in video games and television shows. In 2006, it even got the major motion picture treatment, an adaptation of James Ellroy's best-selling novel inspired by the case. Ellroy himself says he doesn't have any hope the culprit will be found. "It's never going to be solved because it was not meant to be solved," he says. Kim Cooper and her husband Richard Schave run Esotouric's literary, crime and culture bus tours of Los Angeles, and Cooper says that many people who come on their Black Dahlia tour "have their heads full of misinformation". "While we debunk the many theories about possible killers, we try to focus on the story of Elizabeth Short as a person." But even the tour operators can be surprised, like when an older man joined one of their true crime tours, claiming a connection to the Black Dahlia. "He told us that he had been a paper boy at the time, and had rushed to be one of the first at the crime scene. It was the first naked woman he ever saw," Cooper says. "I think it affected the rest of his life." Like the 19th Century killings by Jack the Ripper in London, Short's murder continues to bring forth new theories. Most recently, Steve Hodel, a former homicide detective, claimed his physician father George was the killer, and also responsible for other notable murders. A cadaver dog searched Hodel's former home in 2013 and seemingly "alerted" for human remains - though, of course, Short's body had long been found. During my research for Gourmet Ghosts, a series of true crime books, I found that many talkative Los Angeles bartenders claim their joint was actually the last place Short was seen alive, not the Biltmore. Some theorised her murder was the result of a date turned violent, or that the perennially-broke Short left to hitchhike home, a common practice at the time, and got into the wrong car. "I was regularly asked about the Black Dahlia on the reference desk," says Christina Rice, senior librarian of the photo collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. One woman came in looking for maps from 1947 because "she was going to use her psychic abilities to solve the murder". The only copy of the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner's microfiche for the second half of January was stolen years ago, Rice says, adding Short was just one of many women brutally killed in the post-war years in California. As soon as the corpse was discovered, the Los Angeles Herald-Express and the sensationalist Los Angeles Examiner made full use of the cosy relationship that all newspapers had with the Los Angeles police department. At the time it was common to see suicide notes and bloodstained bodies - albeit sometimes airbrushed or altered, like Short's naked body, onto which photo editors superimposed a blanket - on the front page. Suicide photographs even added arrows showing how victims had taken their final fall. The Examiner also added complete fabrications to the Black Dahlia story, exchanging in their reporting the suit Short had been seen wearing for a tight skirt and blouse and implying sexual misadventures. The newspaper also deceived Short's mother about her daughter's death, using a ruse about "Beth" winning a beauty contest, then flying her to Los Angeles before telling her the real news - ensuring the scoop of a mother responding to the tragedy. Officially the case remains open, and today, the Biltmore Hotel serves a Black Dahlia cocktail of vodka, Chambord black raspberry liqueur and Kahlua. The drink, perhaps appropriately, tastes bitter. James Bartlett is a writer and author of Gourmet Ghosts.

जैसे-जैसे ब्लैक डहलिया हत्या की 70वीं वर्षगांठ नजदीक आ रही है, एलिजाबेथ शॉर्ट के प्रति जनता का आकर्षण बढ़ता जा रहा है और उसकी अनसुलझी मौत कम नहीं हुई है। जेम्स बार्टलेट इस बात पर एक नज़र डालते हैं कि लॉस एंजिल्स कैसे प्रसिद्ध हत्या को याद करता है। इस लेख में ग्राफिक विवरण शामिल हैं।


In pictures: Learning the Knowledge

Summary: Tucked away inside the nondescript walls of a multi-storey car park between Caledonian Road and King's Cross, the family-run Taxi Trade Promotions, better known as Knowledge Point, continues to provide prospective black-cab drivers in London with an education in what is named - quite simply, yet somewhat ominously - the Knowledge.

Photographer Alexander McBride Wilson stepped inside to meet the current batch of recruits. A proud and noble tradition dating back to 1865, the Knowledge is a rigorous and in-depth study of the streets, routes and notable locations of London, which a hopeful driver must master before they are deemed eligible to enter the ranks of what is one of the oldest land-transportation services in the world. Malcolm Linskey opened up Knowledge Point in 1985. Having completed the Knowledge himself at the age of 23, and after spending a few months as a driver, he became more and more interested in the trade as a whole. Using his previous experience in print, he started a trade magazine, which, in times of cash-flow problems, he funded by selling Knowledge material. "It's a job where you're going to be guaranteed a wage. You're your own boss and you work the hours you want to work. There's no better job that can do that. "Say you've got bills to pay and they need to be paid by the end of the week, you can go out there and earn that wage to pay them bills. Maybe it'll take you 15 hours one day to go and earn that but it's out there to be earned." In order to earn a licence as a black-cab driver, students of the Knowledge must know by heart the location of every street, theatre, pub, sport venue, embassy, hospital, tourist attraction, intersection, even traffic light, as well as a staggering 320 different routes or "runs" that lie within a six-mile radius of the centre of London. According to cabbie lore that is not, as many might think, at Charing Cross, but rather more specifically situated underneath the posterior of Charles I's horse just in front of Trafalgar Square. A true test of mental resolve, the average time it takes to learn the Knowledge is three and a half years. Unsurprisingly, about 75% of those who embark on the course give up. Pat Linskey, Malcolm's wife, has been working for the company since 1987. "I came to help out on a Friday afternoon to type up the 320 different runs on an old typewriter. We actually drove them on weekends - I've done them all." Ten days before Knowledge Point was planning on packing up for good, London Taxi Company, a business that deals in selling and maintaining new and used taxis, offered it space in a small unit within a taxi garage so that it could continue trading. Up until that point Malcolm and Pat had been planning on retiring. Originally a plumber by trade, Tahir was looking for a fresh start. Now, having been studying for three years, he says doing the the Knowledge is the hardest thing he's ever done. "When I have an exam I work seven days a week. It's very hard - it's a constant thing. Sometimes you dream about it." To learn London's roads, students spend countless hours driving through the city on mopeds - going through each of the 320 runs. Having completed the Knowledge at the school back in October 2008, Peter Allen takes some time out of his cab each week to pass the trade on to new blood. "For me [being a cab driver] is a way of life. I could earn more money in a cab than I could teaching this, but I really want to get the emphasis out about the real pride we have in our job, and to get these people out feeling like proud cab drivers and proud to get this badge that they've worked so hard for." Training is done in pairs and often the partners will go through the entirety of their course working together and supporting one another. The school becomes a second home for future drivers, with the days spent studying often lasting long into the evening. "I don't really have a social life - even at weekends. I used to go out every weekend but now I can't really go out because I know I have to plan stuff for the following week. It has to be full-time," said Jack Cawley. "There's a geezer who didn't let it affect his social life and he's been doing it 18 years. If it doesn't take over your life then I don't see you doing it properly. I don't see any of my friends no more - only my Knowledge friends. "My old man says people you do your Knowledge with will be your friends for life because you spend every day with them," he adds. "It's just like school in a way but the difference is that this is for you. There's a massive end result - the pride and the financial side. It's a massive tradition in this country and to be part of that is something to be proud of as well." Photographs by Alexander McBride Wilson.

कैलेडोनियन रोड और किंग्स क्रॉस के बीच एक बहुमंजिला कार पार्क की गैर-वर्णित दीवारों के अंदर, परिवार द्वारा संचालित टैक्सी ट्रेड प्रमोशन, जिसे नॉलेज पॉइंट के नाम से जाना जाता है, लंदन में संभावित ब्लैक-कैब ड्राइवरों को एक ऐसी शिक्षा प्रदान करना जारी रखता है जिसका नाम है-काफी सरल, लेकिन कुछ हद तक अशुभ-ज्ञान।


Clive Hally: 'Paedophile' art teacher hiding in plain view

Summary: BBC Wales Today's Rebecca John looks back on her own school days - and uncovers a dark story of a paedophile teacher and his victims. The names of two men who were abused by art teacher Clive Hally have been changed to protect their identity. Their allegations contain descriptions of child sexual abuse which some readers may find upsetting.

Clive Hally: The miner's son from Maesteg who studied art. He lived in the family council house all his life and looked after his mother until her death. To some, he was a respected and helpful colleague and teacher, to others a petulant bully and a paedophile hiding in plain sight. In the 1980s at Brynteg Comprehensive School in Bridgend, Hally had a formidable reputation as one of a minority of male teachers who'd developed their own legendary brand of fury. I know, because I was a pupil there at the time. Brynteg, a former grammar school with a proud reputation, was obsessed with rugby to the point of mania. The first 15 ruled the school and their achievements would be lauded in daily assemblies. The school - which has produced more British Lions than any other in the UK - honed a peculiarly narrow definition of pupil success. Despite many kind and talented teachers, it felt like a time before girls' achievements, and those of the quieter, creative, less confident boys, had been invented. I've been back several times over the years and it feels like a healthier, more inclusive place to me now. When I was a pupil, some boys who knew they'd never play for Wales wanted to excel at art. For many artistically-gifted pupils, Hally was an important mentor: An excellent art teacher with results to match, who nurtured their talent and expanded their horizons. Certain boys in particular were always welcome in the art room, where they could drink tea and listen to cool music on the cassette player. A 'cult of Clive' developed around him: There was an unwritten art room manifesto, where he imposed his musical tastes and political leanings on the art room boys. And they were always boys. It was a fun place to hang out most of the time but those who crossed party lines got it with both barrels. I have discovered over the past month by speaking extensively to the two men who reported him to the police that Hally made full use of the locks on the doors of the art room, the storeroom and the photography darkroom to abuse them. He encouraged pupils to help him build and paint the darkroom, which was where Mike claimed his abuse started when he was 15. He talks of the confusion as the door would lock and Clive would get uncomfortably close to him in the dark, hugging and kissing him repeatedly, saying to "keep it between us". Mike, who's now 48, said it felt like an out-of-body experience. He struggled to process what was happening, while worrying about processing the film at the same time. His ordeal got much, much worse and lasted until after he left school at A-level, he said. It is claimed he was made to perform sex acts on Hally and receive them - and that the abuse would happen on the premises after school and during the holidays. "I don't remember me wanting to get undressed. I think he did it to me, and lots of awful things would happen," he recalls. "I didn't want to touch him. He was a big man and there are things that kind of bring it back, like the smell. There's like a male smell, and he'd always be very close, so I would try and block it out. "I didn't want to do any of this. But you're in this position and you don't know what to do. I can remember being naked and lying on a wooden counter, a sort of desk, where he kept lots of paper. "I just wanted it to end really quickly." "It would happen at random times whenever he kind of felt like it. He'd take you off to a cleaners' cupboard or something, or like one of the old disused toilets up in the upper school," he said. "And they're all pretty awful places, so you end up remembering the cleaners' polish smell, or the kind of mustiness of these rooms where they haven't been used for a long time. "And it would happen whenever he wanted it to happen. So it wasn't something that was in my control. "I tried to say 'no, no, I don't want to do this' and sometimes it worked, and other times it didn't. And of course, I'd get very upset." "I can remember one year where we were painting murals and we were there for two weeks straight, so 10 days, 12 days, and it was a brilliant project. "Really enjoyed the project but we'd be in the storeroom every day. You'd go to school and you're doing something in the holidays that you're enjoying and suddenly you get pulled into the storeroom, you then get abused, then I'd go home for dinner. "My mum and dad would say 'how was school, what were you doing today?' And you'd end up having to talk about projects and my face would be red, 'cause Clive always had kind of stubble, and he'd kiss or he'd rub his face in your face and you'd have a stubbly, raw face and that red rash wouldn't disappear, so you'd have to make some kind of excuse up about that, and that would happen pretty much every day for the whole holidays." David is now 50. He said he was mortified when Hally would undress in front of the boys at art club after school, to put on his old clothes for painting. The boys would have to do the same, changing out of their school uniform in the art room, trying to cover themselves up. David was a sensitive 12-year-old in the first year and says Hally would deliberately upset him in front of the class, so that he could console him afterwards in the store room. He said it started with Hally hugging and kissing him and culminated in an act of sexual touching on David, when he was 13, which left him deeply shocked and unable to tell anyone. Even after that, the unwanted and inappropriate physical attention continued for years. David gave up photography after a glowing school report, written after the sexual touching. Hally sent David's parents a thank you note for being so generous with their son's time, accompanied by photos he'd taken of him. He sent David's mum a Christmas card every year, as recently as last Christmas. Hally would get invited to David's house for meals and out would come the best china and crockery. "All of my family were expected to attend, so for my mum and my dad it was a big old thing. The teacher was coming to dinner - what a coup!" said David. David and Mike say they feel sorry for their parents and don't blame them for not knowing. They claim Hally taught them to lie and keep secrets, so they would have denied it, had they been asked. Their parents believed the best of people, especially respected teachers. Hally even got invited to David's graduation because he'd done so much for the family. Hally would regularly take chosen boys on their own on trips to London to museums and art galleries. Mike and David both went to London with Hally separately and other boys followed over the years. It seems his pattern of behaviour, of inappropriately close relationships with male pupils, didn't change during his 36-year career. He kept in touch with most of his favourites after they left school, as these postcards to Mike show, who was at university by then. It took 30 years for Mike to start finding the words to talk about what happened to him. He began counselling in his early 40s after the smell of polish at his own children's parents' evenings gave him flashbacks to being sexually assaulted in the cleaners' cupboards at Brynteg. After years of counselling, he reported Hally to the police late last year. David also came forward earlier this year as part of that investigation. They didn't know the other had been abused until the past few months. Clive Hally never faced his day in court. His police file was with the Crown Prosecution Service when his body was found floating on the edge of the Cwmwernderi Reservoir near Maesteg on 18 May, ending the possibility of a prosecution. There were no suspicious circumstances and his inquest will be held in November. "Did he drop you home in a taxi afterwards and did you get fish and chips?" David and Mike ask each other now. They'd be dropped off with bewildering speed after the abuse - they suspect to deny them any thinking time on the way home. They wonder which other boys Clive dropped home in a taxi, and who else got fish and chips on a Friday night. If you have been affected by child sexual abuse, sexual abuse or violence, help and support is available at BBC Action Line If you want to raise any of the matters discussed here with BBC Wales, you can also contact the BBC Wales News Focus team in confidence by email at: news.focus.team@bbc.co.uk

बीबीसी वेल्स टुडे की रेबेका जॉन अपने स्कूल के दिनों को पीछे मुड़कर देखती है-और एक पीडोफाइल शिक्षक और उसके पीड़ितों की एक काली कहानी को उजागर करती है। कला शिक्षक क्लाइव हैली द्वारा दुर्व्यवहार किए गए दो लोगों के नाम उनकी पहचान की रक्षा के लिए बदल दिए गए हैं। उनके आरोपों में बाल यौन शोषण का वर्णन है जो कुछ पाठकों को परेशान कर सकता है।


Dozens feared dead after India bridge collapses

Summary: At least 30 people, many of them women and children, are feared dead after a foot bridge spanning a river in north-eastern India collapsed.

At least 28 people were rescued from the Kameng River, in Arunachal Pradesh state, after the structure collapsed. India news sources said a swift current was hindering efforts to rescue those who had fallen into the water. The villagers were reportedly setting out to hunt when the suspension bridge structure gave way beneath them. It was the second bridge collapse in India within a week. Last week, some 32 people died and 132 were injured after a bridge collapsed at a political event in Darjeeling.

उत्तर-पूर्वी भारत में एक नदी पर बना पैदल पुल गिरने से कम से कम 30 लोगों के मारे जाने की आशंका है, जिनमें से कई महिलाएं और बच्चे हैं।


Why is Germany beefing up its military?

Summary: In the face of new challenges, Germany is recommitting itself to the Nato alliance. But what will playing a more central military role mean to a country that has often been accused of reluctance about its armed forces?

Jonathan MarcusDiplomatic correspondent@Diplo1on Twitter It was an unseasonably mild morning as the Sun rose slowly over the training range at Pabrade in Lithuania. This is effectively Nato's eastern front. Belarus is just a few kilometres away, with Russia beyond. Lurking just outside the perimeter wire loom several Leopard battle tanks of a German armoured battalion. So what are the Germans doing here and what is the significance of this deployment for Berlin and for the Atlantic alliance as a whole? Germany commands the Nato multinational battle group in Lithuania, intended to reassure a small ally in the face of a more assertive and aggressive Russia. Other countries command similar formations in the two other Baltic states - Estonia and Latvia - and in Poland, the whole mission being known in Nato-speak as an "enhanced forward presence". Here in Lithuania, Germany is the so-called framework nation, providing the headquarters and a significant proportion of the troops. Other smaller Nato countries also provide troops for the German-led force. Currently there are contributions from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Norway and the Netherlands. The whole German battle group then forms part of a larger Lithuanian brigade. What is Nato? This deployment has both a practical and symbolic significance for Germany. German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen told me: "The Lithuanian people can rely on the German forces to protect them, to reassure them, to train with them." Lithuanians should feel absolutely certain, she said, that "if 1 sq cm of Nato territory is attacked, we will all stand together to defend it". That is the goal of the "enhanced forward presence" strategy in a nutshell. But Germany was not always so eager to put itself forward in military matters. Revulsion at the horrors of Germany's Nazi past fostered a deep mistrust of militarism and the military. But, to a large extent, attitudes have been changing. The German military was engaged in Nato's Kosovo operation and played a significant role in Afghanistan. But it was Russia's annexation of Crimea and its wider military intervention in eastern Ukraine that really began to shift German opinion. Ms Leyen summed up the change like this: "Nowadays, having a large political relevance, being a certain economic power, we cannot shy away anymore. We have to say, because of our history, we have to get involved." Germany volunteered to be one of the framework nations for the enhanced forward presence plan. It commands one of the deployed battle groups, along with the UK, Canada, and the US. But this is only a prelude to a larger Nato role. On 25 October, Nato's major exercise Trident Juncture 18 kicks off in Norway. This, the alliance's biggest exercise since 2002, will be an opportunity for German forces in particular to show their capabilities before they assume the command of the Alliance's Very High-Readiness Joint Task Force in 2019. For that year, German forces will be at the tip of Nato's spear. Trident Junction 18 in numbers But does Germany have the military means at its disposal to fulfil the new roles it is taking on? Over recent years, the German press has paraded a litany of stories about the inadequacies of Germany's armed forces: submarines and aircraft that were not operational, shortages of personnel and spare parts and so on. In the wake of the Cold War, Germany's armed forces were essentially hollowed out and maintained at well below full strength. With the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House this became not just a military problem but a diplomatic one too. He pressed all Nato allies to spend more. They ultimately agreed a defence spending goal for each country, that some 2% of its gross domestic product (GDP) - the value of all the goods and services it produces - should go on defence. German spending was well below this figure and, given its economic strength, it came in for particular criticism from Washington. Ms Leyen has battled to increase German defence spending, with some success. More money is going to the armed forces but there are still political differences within the ruling coalition as to exactly how much is needed. Though Germany has adopted the new spending target, it is not going to get there any time soon. Even if Ms Leyen's plans are realised, Germany will be spending only about 1.5 % of GDP on defence by 2024. Nonetheless, the shift in Germany's defence thinking is significant. It's a measure of the twin shocks of Vladimir Putin's assertiveness and Donald Trump's apparent questioning of the utility of Nato and the whole liberal order of which it is a part.

नई चुनौतियों का सामना करते हुए, जर्मनी नाटो गठबंधन के लिए खुद को फिर से प्रतिबद्ध कर रहा है। लेकिन एक ऐसे देश के लिए अधिक केंद्रीय सैन्य भूमिका निभाने का क्या मतलब होगा जिस पर अक्सर अपने सशस्त्र बलों के बारे में अनिच्छा का आरोप लगाया जाता है?


Brexit: What does 12 March 'meaningful vote' date tell us?

Summary: There's now another date for your Brexit diaries.

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter Let's face it, many big days have come and gone. But in an opaque process, even the selection of dates tell us something of what's going on. And the prime minister's announcement today of the next meaningful vote by 12 March tells us rather a lot about a game of chicken, a tango and a cunning wheeze. This will make sense soon, I promise. First off, MPs who are pushing the prime minister to rule out the idea of leaving the EU without a formal deal are already busy being professionally cross this afternoon that the government won't put its plan to Parliament to reject or approve this week. It's true that playing for time is a powerful, if cynical, political strategy and the Labour Party - and lots of Conservatives too - are annoyed that Downing Street seems to be dragging its feet like this and won't give MPs a formal thumbs up or thumbs down vote for more than another fortnight. That's even though we are still, of course, heading day by day closer to our departure date. The prime minister naming the next vote day might do a little to calm the tempers of those in government who have been very publicly suggesting that strategy is madness. 12 March is at least, for them, before the next EU summit. It is not, as these things go, the final, final, moment. Reckless, many will suggest, but not a total kamikaze mission. But it won't stop the senior MPs Yvette Cooper and Oliver Letwin, still pushing for a vote next week for their own bill that would force the government to delay Brexit if they don't have a deal in place by... guess when? 13 March. Oh look - the day AFTER Number 10's new deadline. Here, the date of 12 March suggests that the government is, as one source suggested, "planning for every eventuality". In other words - they think it's likely MPs might indeed vote this week to extend the process if a deal hasn't been done. Ready for the cunning wheeze? The prime minister did not want to answer questions on the plane about what she would do in that circumstance. It's absolutely plain that she doesn't want to delay Brexit in any way. An extension, in her view, doesn't solve any of the dilemmas. But she has also never actually 100% said that she would never, ever, ever end up doing that. Simply, she can't, because Parliament might take the decision out of her hands, or the prospect of a defeat might force her to move. Indeed, a senior figure in government is convinced that Number 10 will find a way, if the votes are stacking up, of taking leaving without a deal off the table by implication, next week. They said it would be "difficult to envisage her actually saying it". Theresa May is not about to dance down Downing Street declaring that she would never take us out of the EU without a deal. But she might try to pre-empt a defeat in Parliament next week that would force her to do just that. The source suggests, if for example, the PM was to make a point about the executive's "constitutional deference to the Commons" that might just do the trick - avoid losing another Brexit vote but make it clear that if it's there is a majority in Parliament to stop us leaving without a deal when the meaningful vote come back, she would be bound by it. One cabinet minister tonight believes and hopes Number 10 is preparing for that kind of concession - "that would be the clever thing to do" - with the threat ever present of course that if she doesn't, she really may this time lose more ministers from her government. Of course that might bring Brexiteer fury raining down on her head, but Number 10 might find deferring to the Commons, a cute defence against those Eurosceptics who've argued for so long for Parliament to be sovereign. In other words - Theresa May does not want to countenance delaying Brexit, not for one moment. But she might find next week she has to, at least by implication, accept she might have no choice. And more cunningly (perhaps), because Number 10's new deadline is 12 March, she can carry on trying to tweak her Brexit deal at the same time. A game of chicken Love the idea or hate the idea, just as at home, EU leaders are now openly talking about such a delay because it is not, as Leo Varadkar said, "not a game of chicken, we're not playing poker". Sure, there is political brinksmanship, but on all sides, as our planned departure date comes nearer, the seriousness of the potential consequences come into sharper view. And if there were to be no deal, a 12 March vote would give the government a few weeks to rush through as many measures as they could to smooth out possible disruption. It would also, in theory, give the government a couple of weeks to theoretically have another go - a Meaningful Vote 3. How the second vote goes will in large part depend on the concessions, tweaks or extra legal verbiage the prime minister manages to achieve. Remember the big problem is still the Irish backstop - the legal guarantee in the deal that there won't be a return to the hard border between Northern Ireland and the South. Brexiteers fear that if it were ever triggered the UK would be stuck in a close relationship with the EU forever. That's why therefore Number 10 and the attorney general are working on extra assurances to underline that it would be temporary. But of course, they need the EU to agree. 'You need two to tango' But again the date tells us something about how this might unfold. 12 March is before the next planned summit with the other EU countries. Planning the vote for then suggests that Number 10 is working on a plan with Brussels' top brass that would be signed off theoretically, then they hope voted through Parliament, and then, in the words of one Number 10 source, "rubber stamped" by the final leaders' summit in March. This makes sense of the continued insistence from the EU side that the UK has to "show a majority", before the 27 will approve something. There's an emerging sense in Downing Street that the additional assurances to the backstop are likely to be agreed with President Jean-Claude Juncker, who said, arriving at the summit tonight, "you need two to dance tango. I know how to dance, ok?" The final deal therefore, that might be put to Parliament, might be conditional. Having been burnt before, EU leaders won't collectively put their names to it unless and until it's been agreed with the EU Commission, then approved by Parliament, then on their desk. As ever with Brexit, take this with a hefty dose of caveats. Any or all of the moves the prime minister might take will be met with heavy criticism from the many different tribes with skin in this game. Any or all may not come to pass. But the choice of 12 March does tell us more about where the prime minister might go next.

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