Reinhart, Rogoff... and Herndon: The student who caught out the profs

Summary: This week, economists have been astonished to find that a famous academic paper often used to make the case for austerity cuts contains major errors. Another surprise is that the mistakes, by two eminent Harvard professors, were spotted by a student doing his homework.

By Ruth AlexanderBBC News It's 4 January 2010, the Marriott Hotel in Atlanta. At the annual meeting of the American Economic Association, Professor Carmen Reinhart and the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, Ken Rogoff, are presenting a research paper called Growth in a Time of Debt. At a time of economic crisis, their finding resonates - economic growth slows dramatically when the size of a country's debt rises above 90% of Gross Domestic Product, the overall size of the economy. Word about this paper spread. Policymakers wanted to know more. And so did student Thomas Herndon. His professors at the University of Massachusetts Amherst had set his graduate class an assignment - pick an economics paper and see if you can replicate the results. It's a good exercise for aspiring researchers. Thomas chose Growth in a Time of Debt. It was getting a lot of attention, but intuitively, he says, he was dubious about its findings. Some key figures tackling the global recession found this paper a useful addition to the debate at the heart of which is this key question: is it best to let debt increase in the hope of stimulating economic growth to get out of the slump, or is it better to cut spending and raise taxes aggressively to get public debt under control? EU commissioner Olli Rehn and influential US Republican politician Paul Ryan have both quoted a 90% debt-to-GDP limit to support their austerity strategies. But while US politicians were arguing over whether to inject more stimulus into the economy, the euro was creaking under the strain of forced austerity, and a new coalition government in the UK was promising to raise taxes and cut spending to get the economy under control - Thomas Herndon's homework assignment wasn't going well. No matter how he tried, he just couldn't replicate Reinhart and Rogoff's results. "My heart sank," he says. "I thought I had likely made a gross error. Because I'm a student the odds were I'd made the mistake, not the well-known Harvard professors." His professors were also sure he must be doing something wrong. "I remember I had a meeting with my professor, Michael Ash, where he basically said, 'Come on, Tom, this isn't too hard - you just gotta go sort this out.'" So Herndon checked his work, and checked again. By the end of the semester, when he still hadn't cracked the puzzle, his supervisors realised something was up. "We had this puzzle that we were unable to replicate the results that Reinhart-Rogoff published," Prof Ash, says. "And that really got under our skin. That was really a mystery for us." So Ash and his colleague Prof Robert Pollin encouraged Herndon to continue the project and to write to the Harvard professors. After some correspondence, Reinhart and Rogoff provided Thomas with the actual working spreadsheet they'd used to obtain their results. "Everyone says seeing is believing, but I almost didn't believe my eyes," he says. Thomas called his girlfriend over to check his eyes weren't deceiving him. But no, he was correct - he'd spotted a basic error in the spreadsheet. The Harvard professors had accidentally only included 15 of the 20 countries under analysis in their key calculation (of average GDP growth in countries with high public debt). Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada and Denmark were missing. Oops. Herndon and his professors found other issues with Growth in a Time of Debt, which had an even bigger impact on the famous result. The first was the fact that for some countries, some data was missing altogether. Reinhart and Rogoff say that they were assembling the data series bit by bit, and at the time they presented the paper for the American Economic Association conference, good quality data on post-war Canada, Australia and New Zealand simply weren't available. Nevertheless, the omission made a substantial difference. Thomas and his supervisors also didn't like the way that Reinhart and Rogoff averaged their data. They say one bad year for a small country like New Zealand, was blown out of proportion because it was given the same weight as, for example, the UK's nearly 20 years with high public debt. "New Zealand's single year, 1951, at -8% growth is held up with the same weight as Britain's nearly 20 years in the high public debt category at 2.5% growth," Michael Ash says. "I think that's a mistaken way to examine these data." There's no black and white here, because there are also downsides to the obvious alternatives. But still, it's controversial and it, too, made a big difference. All these results were published by Thomas Herndon and his professors on 15 April, as a draft working paper. They find that high levels of debt are still correlated with lower growth - but the most spectacular results from the Reinhart and Rogoff paper disappear. High debt is correlated with somewhat lower growth, but the relationship is much gentler and there are lots of exceptions to the rule. Reinhart and Rogoff weren't available to be interviewed, but they did provide the BBC with a statement. In it, they said: "We are grateful to Herndon et al. for the careful attention to our original Growth in a Time of Debt AER paper and for pointing out an important correction to Figure 2 of that paper. It is sobering that such an error slipped into one of our papers despite our best efforts to be consistently careful. We will redouble our efforts to avoid such errors in the future. We do not, however, believe this regrettable slip affects in any significant way the central message of the paper or that in our subsequent work." Accidents do happen, and science progresses through the identification of previous mistakes. But was this a particularly expensive mistake? "I don't think jobs were destroyed because of this but it provides an intellectual rationalisation for things that affect how people think about the world," says Daniel Hamermesh, professor of economics at Royal Holloway, University of London. "And how people think about the world, especially politicians, eventually affects how the world works." Discovering a spreadsheet error was never going to end the debate over austerity - and nor should it, according to Megan McArdle, special correspondent for Newsweek and The Daily Beast. "There is other research showing that you can have these slowdowns when you get to high levels of debt," she says. "We have a very vivid [example] in Greece." Thomas Herndon 's view is that austerity policies are counter-productive. But right now he's delighted that the first academic paper he's ever published has made such a splash. "I feel really honoured to have made a contribution to the policy discussion," he says. You can follow the Magazine on Twitter and on Facebook

इस सप्ताह, अर्थशास्त्री यह जानकर आश्चर्यचकित हुए हैं कि एक प्रसिद्ध शैक्षणिक पत्र में अक्सर तपस्या में कटौती का मामला बनाने के लिए बड़ी त्रुटियां होती हैं। एक और आश्चर्य की बात यह है कि हार्वर्ड के दो प्रतिष्ठित प्रोफेसरों की गलतियों को एक छात्र ने अपना गृहकार्य करते हुए देखा था।


Man charged over death of cyclist Anthony Satterthwaite

Summary: A man has been charged over the death of a cyclist who was hit by a sports car in Solihull.

Anthony Satterthwaite, 51, was struck by a Porsche Boxter, which was travelling in the opposite direction, in Eastcote Lane on 22 December. David McSkimming, of Gainsborough Crescent, Solihull, has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, West Midlands Police said The 52-year-old is due before Birmingham magistrates on Thursday.

सोलिहुल में एक स्पोर्ट्स कार की चपेट में आने से साइकिल सवार की मौत के मामले में एक व्यक्ति पर आरोप लगाया गया है।


Noteworthy: Clydesdale Bank's demise

Summary: Clydesdale Bank is on the way out and although circulation of its banknotes will continue, that will be on a much reduced scale. It harks back to the origins of paper banknotes, which Scottish bankers innovated, indulging in unscrupulous and sometimes farcical tactics to undermine each other.

By Douglas FraserBusiness and economy editor, Scotland If money seems scarce, Clydesdale Bank notes are about to become much more so. The brand's owner, Virgin Money, is retreating from its contracts to supply cash machines run by rival lenders. No longer will you get a crisp Clydesdale polymer note when drawing cash out of Santander, TSB, Co-op or Asda machines. The contract to supply them is being taken over by the other issuers of notes, Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland. You might think this reflects the fast-declining use of cash. And that may be part of the story. We're learning today of new Bristol University research for the Financial Conduct Authority showing a 19% reduction, or more than 10,000, in free-to-use cash machines in the two years to last March, while there was a 15% decline in the number of withdrawals. The move to infection-free contactless card payments during the Covid crisis has accelerated the reduced use of readies. But this has more to do with the even faster-declining use of the Clydesdale Bank brand, 182 years after its founding in Glasgow. By the end of February, it will have disappeared from the fascia of all its branches, replaced by Virgin Money. That bank, based in Edinburgh, was taken over by Clydesdale, or to be more accurate, its parent company listed on the stock market as CYBG. The 'Y' stands for its other legacy brand, Yorkshire Bank. Retiring cash In a reverse brand takeover, licensed from Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, CYBG last year renamed itself Virgin Money. Its plan is to use that to expand beyond Scotland and its Yorkshire turf as the leading challenger to the UK's dominant big five retail and business lenders. This leaves a banknote anomaly - entirely appropriate, given that Scottish banknotes are themselves anomalous. Clydesdale Bank, no longer a trading brand, will continue to appear on the notes you get out of Virgin Money cash machines, but not any others. The idea of issuing a Virgin Money banknote must have appealed to Sir Richard Branson, particularly if his cheerful physog appeared on it with an airliner or balloon. But that's not happening. Virgin Money is not saying how much cash it's retiring as notes are returned, but it will be a big reduction from the £2.3bn which I'm told is now in circulation - around 47% of the Scottish banknote total. You wouldn't bet on it continuing indefinitely, because it's an odd and expensive advertising and marketing tool to support a brand being consigned to history. Underlying pressure That, after all, is what Scottish banknotes are - something with which to irritate London cabbies, and advertising for their issuers. It wasn't always thus. Banknotes were an innovation in the early days of Scottish banking, when late 17th Century famine meant gold currency had to be spent on importing food. With gold therefore in very short supply, the banknote represented a promise to refund the holder who presented it with precious metal coinage. As notes were issued in greater number than the gold and silver that backed them in the vaults, banks innovated in expanding credit. But they had to do so carefully. In the 18th Century, they were at risk of rival banks presenting them with a lot of notes at once, an unscrupulous tactic which sank some issuers. The modern-day equivalent would be a run on a bank, when savers panic and demand to get their money out, far in excess of the funds available on the day. Remember the queues outside Northern Rock in 2007 - one of the first indications in Britain of the underlying pressures that led to the financial crash the following year? The Scottish history of this is detailed in the recent magnificent history of Edinburgh (and Scottish) finance, City of Money, penned by Ray Perman. He relates the dirty tricks visited by the Bank of Scotland, the 'Old Bank' on the Royal Bank of Scotland, 'the New Bank'. But when two Glasgow rivals were founded, known as the Ship and the Arms banks reflecting the heraldry they used, the established Edinburgh rivals joined forces to see off the Weegie threat. It's a story worth repeating. Paid in sixpences Their threats and dirty tricks included successfully blocking the use of Glasgow notes to pay Customs and Excise. But Glasgow's tobacco merchants were loyal to their own. In 1757, the Edinburgh banks were approached by one Archibald Trotter, a former trade financier, with a plan to undermine the Glasgow challengers. On a salary of £150 and supplied with £5,000 in credit, Mr Trotter set up on Clydeside as a dealer in bills of exchange, intending to put the Glasgow banks under pressure with his demands for collateral coinage. The Glasgow bankers, writes Perman, quickly realised what he was up to, and the Arms Bank decided to have fun at his expense. "They limited the hours when they were prepared to redeem notes, and paid him only in sixpences. There were 40 sixpences to the pound and Trotter was presenting £100 or more at a time, giving ample scope for error and delay. "The bank teller would laboriously count out the tiny silver coins, occasionally losing count and having to begin again, or dropping one on the ground, providing another excuse for restarting the process anew, or finding one which might have been tampered with and having to go off to get a second opinion as to whether it was valid or not. If they ran out of time, the process had to be restarted the following day." Banking hours were short, notes Perman, because counting coins by candlelight in winter was a risky business. Mr Trotter's venture didn't last long. But from my experience, anyone who has spent any time more recently in an Indian bank branch probably knows how he felt.

क्लाइडेसडेल बैंक बाहर निकलने की राह पर है और हालांकि इसके बैंकनोटों का प्रचलन जारी रहेगा, यह बहुत कम पैमाने पर होगा। यह कागजी बैंकनोटों की उत्पत्ति की ओर इशारा करता है, जिसे स्कॉटिश बैंकरों ने नया रूप दिया, जो एक दूसरे को कमजोर करने के लिए बेईमान और कभी-कभी हास्यास्पद रणनीति में लिप्त थे।


After Benghazi revelations, heads will roll

Summary: There's new evidence , obtained by ABC, that the Obama administration did deliberately purge references to "terrorism" from accounts of the attack on the Benghazi diplomatic mission, which killed four people including the US ambassador to Libya.

Mark MardellNorth America editor@BBCMarkMardellon Twitter Conservatives have long maintained that the administration deliberately suppressed the truth about the attacks. This is the first hard evidence that the state department did ask for changes to the CIA's original assessment. Specifically, they wanted references to previous warnings deleted and this sentence removed: "We do know that Islamic extremists with ties to al-Qa'ida participated in the attack." There's little doubt in my mind that this will haunt Hillary Clinton if she decides to run for president, unless she executes some pretty fancy footwork. State department spokesperson Victoria Nuland is directly implicated, and the fingerprints of senior White House aides Ben Rhodes and Jay Carney are there as well. Black and white In the interests of full disclosure I have to say I have not in the past been persuaded that allegations of a cover-up were a big deal. It seemed to me a partisan attack based on very little. I remember listening to reports from the BBC and others at the time that did suggest the attack in Benghazi was a spontaneous reaction to a rather puerile anti-Islamic video. I understand President Barack Obama's careful use of the word "terrorism" when it actually means something, rather than as a knee-jerk description of any violence by foreigners against Americans, often in order to justify a "war on terror". But the evidence is there in black and white, unless we doubt the documents obtained by ABC, which I don't. Mr Obama's critics are often not very clear what is behind their allegations. I presume they think that the White House wanted to avoid claims the murders were the result of terrorism because this would undermine his claim that al-Qaeda was seriously "degraded". There's also a vague sense he's "soft on terror". Butt-guarding The new documents contain two rationales for the changes in language. The first is that it would prejudice the FBI investigation. Perhaps, but I am not at all persuaded. The other reason given, old-fashioned butt-guarding, is more credible. As Ms Nuland puts it, such a report "could be abused by members [of Congress] to beat up the State Department for not paying attention to warnings, so why would we want to feed that either?" However you read the motives, the state department and apparently the White House did get the CIA to change its story. This is now very serious, and I suspect heads will roll. The White House will be on the defensive for a while.

ए. बी. सी. द्वारा प्राप्त नए सबूत हैं कि ओबामा प्रशासन ने जानबूझकर बेनगाज़ी राजनयिक मिशन पर हमले के विवरणों से "आतंकवाद" के संदर्भों को हटा दिया था, जिसमें लीबिया में अमेरिकी राजदूत सहित चार लोग मारे गए थे।


Swedish DJ Avicii announces his retirement from touring after 2016

Summary: Avicii has announced that he's retiring.

The 26-year-old DJ says his tour and shows this year will be his last and encouraged his fans to "make them go out with a bang". He confirmed the news on his official website. "I know I am blessed to be able to travel all around the world and perform, but I have too little left for the life of a real person behind the artist." Two years ago, Avicii told fans he was "on the road to recovery" after an operation to remove his appendix and gallbladder. But in a long statement posted on his website, Avicii, whose real name is Tim Bergling, says he managed to drive across America with some friends and "it really helped me realize that I needed to make the change that I'd been struggling with for a while". "My path has been filled with success but it hasn't come without its bumps," he said. "I've become an adult while growing as an artist, I've come to know myself better and realize that there's so much I want to do with my life. "I have strong interests in different areas but there's so little time to explore them." He took the opportunity to thank his brother and manager Ash, his team, artists and musicians he's worked with and fans. "But last but not least thank you to every fan who has ever bought a ticket or snuck in, bought a song or downloaded it, commented on posts or hated at them. It's your thoughts and ideas about the music that helped me evolve and I do owe everything I have to you." Avicii ended his statement by encouraging fans to text him thoughts on what he had announced, adding "one part of me can never say never, I could be back ...but I won't be right back". Some of his last performances will be this year's Creamfields and Electric Daisy Carnival. Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat

अवीची ने घोषणा की है कि वह सेवानिवृत्त हो रहे हैं।


Is the UK abandoning its Afghan interpreters?

Summary: The American who has just relinquished command of all Nato forces in Afghanistan, General John Allen, says: "We have an obligation to look after them". But the Afghan interpreters who work for the British, often in battle and always in danger, feel they have been abandoned, reports BBC Defence Correspondent Jonathan Beale.

They interpreters are young men like Abdul, who is now in hiding. We arrange to meet him at an agreed location near Kabul. As well as carrying his old Nato credentials he holds a folder with the death threats he says he has received. Fears for his own safety and that of his family have forced him to give up his job. He shows the letters from the Taliban accusing him of spying and warning that he'll be punished. He says he received a similar telephone call the night before. Abdul tells me that when the British leave he and the other interpreters who have worked for them will be the first targets. "They will chop our heads off," he says. He has shown the same messages to the British authorities in Kabul, but so far he says his requests for asylum have been rejected. He asks: "What kind of proof do they need?" When he's dead, he says, it will be too late. 'They'll target me' Abdul is not alone. On a recent trip to a large military base in Helmand, we were approached by a group of more than a dozen interpreters who work for the British, all now worried about what will happen when Nato leaves. They wait until our media minders have gone before they talk. They are mostly men in their twenties and thirties, some dressed in their British military uniforms waiting to go out on patrol. We are not allowed to show their faces, or use their real names - one indication of the real dangers they face. Naz, who has been working for British troops for three years, tells me that when he goes on leave back home near Kabul, he goes "hidingly". He says he is scared that his neighbours and relatives might find out what he does. Like Abdul, his biggest concern is what happens when the British leave. He has no doubt "they will target me to kill me". I ask who are "they"? The Taliban, he says. Mohammed, who comes from Helmand, says: "The withdrawal of British forces will land me in deep trouble". Another, Zah, highlights the daily threats they face from locals: "They call us infidels - you work for the infidels so you are infidel!" None of them believe that the Afghan police or army will be able to protect them, saying "they can't even protect themselves". 'No luck' More than 600 interpreters work for the British military and Foreign Office. More than 20 have already been killed, with dozens more seriously injured. The interpreters tell me that another five have been killed while off duty, targeted by insurgents. Their employers explain the dangers before they sign up to the job. They are paid more than $1,500 a month - a handsome wage in Afghanistan. But the departure of Nato forces is focusing minds on what happens next. Most Nato countries have already set up special programmes to allow their interpreters to apply for asylum. But Britain has not. In a statement the Ministry of Defence insisted it will not abandon its interpreters and that measures had been taken to reduce the risks they face. But the government says claims for asylum will be considered on merit on a case-by-case basis. In answer to a recent parliamentary question the government stated: "We believe that a case-by-case assessment is a more reasonable and proportionate response than that adopted by the previous government's mass resettlement of over 900 locally employed staff in Iraq." It said "that scheme was expensive, complex to administer and took little account of any individual need for protection". Back in Helmand the interpreters want to know why they are not being offered the same help as those Iraqi interpreters who worked for the British. One says: "They should think about us." Another claims that all other Nato interpreters are being offered refuge, but they are not. "This is not fair!" he says. Before he left Afghanistan as the overall commander of Nato forces, General John Allen says he shook the hands of 50 interpreters who worked for him. He says they are Afghan patriots. "They've been wounded, they've died alongside us and they are tremendously dedicated to the cause. I think we have an obligation to look after them." Gen Allen says each Nato country will have to decide how it deals with the issue, depending on its own immigration rules. But he points out that in other recent conflicts the nations involved have made special efforts to take account of their commitment. Back near Kabul, Abdul is still hoping that he can change the British government's mind. He is one of a number of Afghans taking part in a legal challenge. Lawyers Leigh Day and Co have written to the government asking for the scheme adopted in Iraq to be extended to Afghanistan. Abdul says his situation is no different to that of the interpreters who worked in Iraq. "They got the luck and we have not," he says.

हाल ही में अफगानिस्तान में सभी नाटो बलों की कमान छोड़ने वाले अमेरिकी, जनरल जॉन एलन कहते हैंः "उनकी देखभाल करना हमारा दायित्व है।" लेकिन जो अफगान दुभाषिया अंग्रेजों के लिए काम करते हैं, अक्सर युद्ध में और हमेशा खतरे में रहते हैं, उन्हें लगता है कि उन्हें छोड़ दिया गया है, बीबीसी रक्षा संवाददाता जोनाथन बील की रिपोर्ट।


South Yorkshire floods: Some victims still not home a year on

Summary: A year ago this weekend a month's worth of rain fell in a 24-hour deluge over South Yorkshire, flooding 1,500 buildings. People who live and work along the flow of the River Don have shared their memories of the time, with some frustrated homeowners still living in rented accommodation or caravans.

By Tom Airey & Mark AnsellBBC News As the clock approached midnight on 8 November 2019, Justin Smith woke up to the sound of frantic banging on his front door, and the voice of a neighbour yelling "You've got to get out mate, it's coming". His home in Fishlake was one of the properties ruined by dirty flood water, waist-deep in places. The village, near Doncaster, saw approximately 160 homes and businesses flooded, with repair work stalling in many households because of the coronavirus pandemic. Mr Smith's home being flooded capped an "awful" period of his life, with 2019 also seeing him separate from his wife of 18 years and his marketing director role being made redundant. "My last working day, ironically, was the day my house flooded, then for the rest of the winter I was staying with family," he said. After waking up, he rushed around the house throwing some belongings in a bag, rescuing his two springer spaniels and moving his TV upstairs as water poured in through his cloakroom cupboard. "I ended up going down to the local pub, the landlady gave me a quilt and I slept in the corner of the pub for the night with the dogs," he said. "The next morning I was leaving the village on the back of a tractor, it was a bizarre time." Fishlake became a familiar name to millions across the nation, with TV crews ferried in and out of the village by local farmers in trailers. Alongside the cameras came some high-profile visitors, with the Prime Minister given a frosty reception in nearby Stainforth almost a week after the flooding. As British Army personnel put down sandbags to shore up the village's bridge, Boris Johnson was met with shouts of "Where have you been?" and "You took your time". "I ended up stood in my flooded house talking to Prince Charles, which was one of the most bizarre moments of my life," Mr Smith said. "I'd never had thought I'd meet him, let alone in my living room." Dan Greenslade, another Fishlake resident, found his elation at becoming a father on the Friday morning abruptly halted by an urgent phone call to the hospital. "It was about one in the morning on Saturday, the midwife came into the room and I was sat beside my partner on one of those little chairs you're given next to the bed," Mr Greenslade said. "She said my sister was on the phone and the house was flooding." As lockdown in March delayed repairs on their drying house, it was seven months before Mr Greenslade and partner Jade Croft could bring daughter Indie back to the family home for the first time. "Everyone's going to get a bit nervous at this time of year now, every time I drive over the river I find myself checking how high it is, then looking at the forecast to see how much rain is due," he said. Further upstream from Fishlake, people in the Doncaster suburb of Bentley had seen it all before. Flooding in 2007 left some unable to afford growing flood insurance costs, with a report released on Thursday finding 25 homes in the town did not have appropriate cover included in their 2019 policy. Lorna Ulyett's home was covered but ongoing disagreements with her insurer have meant she and her partner are still living in a caravan in their back garden. "The novelty wears off very quickly, you don't realise how much you're going to miss the simple things like frying an egg, the basic day-to-day stuff gets very difficult and tedious," she said. "All our kids have asked for for Christmas is for us to sit in the kitchen and eat a Christmas dinner that I've cooked for them, that's all they want." Rotherham, along with Sheffield, saw the early brunt of the rainfall, with businesses in the Parkgate area suffering huge damage. The Homeflair furniture retailer had 300 sofas ruined, with the company lacking in flood insurance after it was flooded 13 years ago. Homeflair director Hanif Khan said: "It's been very hard, especially when you lose so much stock, you have to replenish the stock and need the finances to do it. "If any insurance company wants to operate within the UK they should be made to offer the people in the flood zones flood cover." Mr Khan said his business spent "hundreds of thousands of pounds" on repair costs and lost further money in a recent ram-raid on the shop. But sales of sofas and outdoor furniture during lockdown saved the company he founded in 1981. "I think if it gets flooded again we'd be gone, we'd be history," he said. In July, the government unveiled a £5.2bn plan to tackle the risks of flooding and coastal erosion, aiming to ensure 336,000 properties in England were "better protected" by 2027. The Environment Agency has been in the process of completing a £12m programme of defences across South Yorkshire, with 100 separate projects including reinforcing river banks and upgrading pumping stations. Helen Batt, the county's flood risk manager, said: "Sadly we can't guarantee that South Yorkshire won't flood again, The climate's changing, we're getting more intense rainfall, higher sea level rises so unfortunately it's more likely that we'll flood more frequently in the future. "We have carried out a lot of work in the last year, the defences are in a better condition and also we're working with partners to look at what more we can do to better protect communities going forward." Back in Fishlake, Mr Smith and other villagers have been finishing a book about their experiences, aimed at being a historical document and a thank you to the hundreds of volunteers across the region who assisted during their time of need. "I'm hoping 2021 will be a great year," he said. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk or send video here.

एक साल पहले इस सप्ताह के अंत में दक्षिण यॉर्कशायर में 24 घंटे की बाढ़ में एक महीने की बारिश हुई थी, जिससे 1,500 इमारतों में बाढ़ आ गई थी। डॉन नदी के प्रवाह के साथ रहने और काम करने वाले लोगों ने उस समय की अपनी यादें साझा की हैं, जिसमें कुछ निराश घर के मालिक अभी भी किराए के आवास या कारवां में रह रहे हैं।


Philippine politics - it's a family affair

Summary: Politicians in the Philippines have been filing their candidacies for next year's elections - and there are some familiar names. Very familiar. In fact, it's hard to avoid the impression that politics here is a form of family business.

By Kate McGeownBBC News, Manila Imelda Marcos and Joseph Estrada are two of the best-known names in the Philippines. Both have been ousted from the presidential palace - Mrs Marcos as the wife of President Ferdinand Marcos, and Mr Estrada when he himself was president. Both have also faced lengthy trials for corruption. But neither is a quitter. Imelda is already a congresswoman, and at 83-years-old she's putting herself forward for another three-year stint. She's not the only Marcos back in government - her son is a senator and her daughter a provincial governor. At 75, Joseph Estrada is hoping to become Manila's mayor. His son is running for the Senate - to join a half-brother who's already there. Brothers, wives, uncles, children - Philippine politics is dominated by certain families. And evidently, even if one of them is very publicly deposed, they're not out of power for very long. "It may be the 21st Century, but in reality this is still a very feudal society," says political analyst Marites Vitug. It's not just families from the past who keep appearing on the ballot, either - new dynasties are forming too. The famous Philippine boxer Manny Pacquiao won a Congress seat three years ago, and now his wife and brother are running for positions alongside him. Of course political dynasties are not confined to the Philippines. India has its Nehrus and Gandhis, Pakistan its Bhuttos, even the US has had the Kennedys and the Bushes. But the trend is particularly evident here, despite what Filipinos insist is a vibrant democracy. Part of the problem is that Filipinos need a lot of money to campaign for votes - and wealth is concentrated among certain families. Manny Villar is one of the few senators who's not from a well-known name - in fact he says was born in a squatter camp and once sold shrimps in a market. But by the time he ran for political office, he'd already made his millions in business - and he says that private money is essential to any election campaign. Yet even he believes money isn't as good as family connections - the reason he gives for his failed presidential bid in 2010. "You can go far, but I don't think you can be president without being from one of those families," he says. Bam Aquino, a cousin of President Benigno Aquino, acknowledges that his relatives are a great help in his current run for the Senate. At just 35, it's difficult to see how else he could have a chance of winning. But he insists there are other ways of getting known too - fame, even infamy, can be a substitute for family ties. Many movie stars and talk show hosts seem to find their way into politics - and, as two current senators have discovered, launching a failed coup also seems to launch a political career. Bam Aquino acknowledges that the system isn't ideal, but says he doesn't see why that means he shouldn't run. "I was six years old when my uncle [the current president's father, Ninoy Aquino] was shot. It changed my life. I saw Filipinos coming together, wanting democracy. Because of that I've always wanted to be in politics." "If people like me are willing to serve, we shouldn't just stay by the sidelines. All good people need to engage. Why should we wait?' He raises an interesting point. How much damage is actually done if politics is in the hands of a few big families, as long as they run the country well? According to Marites Vitug, a great deal of damage. "It seriously limits the growth of other people who aren't as rich," she says. "And it stifles politics. These people have vested interests - to perpetuate things the way they are, for themselves." "I can accept it if a doctor has a family business, and passes it on his son, but being in the Senate should not be a family business." If this is the situation nationally, it's even worse in local politics, where one family often has a complete monopoly on power - passing posts around their relatives so they effectively rule the whole area. In an extreme example of the damage this can cause, members of the Ampatuan clan - the most powerful family in Maguindanao province - are alleged to have killed 57 people in 2009, purely because of their anger at a rival who dared to challenge their stranglehold on power. So can this system ever change? According to Senator Villar, the key is to bring people out of poverty, and provide better education. "When we develop economically, the influence of these family dynasties will go down significantly." Bam Aquino thinks that political parties first need to be more mature and stable - at the moment candidates frequently flit from one party to another. Then they will be able to nominate candidates "whatever their last names are", he says. Marites Vitug agrees with both of these suggestions - adding that there should also be a law to limit the number of politicians from each family. There's clearly a growing public appetite for change. A local newspaper columnist, Solita Monsod, recently suggested that Filipinos "pledge not to vote for anyone whose surname is the same as, and/or who is related to, an incumbent public official". And when Interior Secretary Jess Robredo died in a plane crash a few months ago, there was widespread public mourning for a politician seen as one of the exceptions - a man who rose up the ranks not because of fame, fortune or family, but because he was good at his job. But the Philippine public isn't entirely consistent in the campaign against political dynasties. In response to intense public demand, Jesse Robredo's widow has just announced that she's running for office.

फिलीपींस में राजनेता अगले साल के चुनावों के लिए अपनी उम्मीदवारी दाखिल कर रहे हैं-और कुछ परिचित नाम हैं। बहुत परिचित। वास्तव में, इस धारणा से बचना मुश्किल है कि यहाँ राजनीति पारिवारिक व्यवसाय का एक रूप है।


Liphook attempted armed bank robbers sought by police

Summary: Robbers who used a knife and an air gun to demand cash from a bank in Hampshire are being sought by police.

Lloyds Bank in Liphook was targeted just after 16:00 BST on Monday by two men wearing hoodies. During the attempted raid, a man was shot in the face with the air rifle and stabbed. He was taken to hospital but has since been discharged. The men, described as slim and between 5ft 7ins (1.7m) and 6ft (1.8m) tall, fled the scene empty-handed. Police said the man with the air gun was described as white, while the other man had his face covered.

हैम्पशायर में एक बैंक से नकदी की मांग करने के लिए चाकू और हवाई बंदूक का इस्तेमाल करने वाले लुटेरों की पुलिस द्वारा तलाश की जा रही है।


Brexit: Asian investors in panic mode

Summary: It wasn't supposed to be like this, one trader in Singapore told me this morning. His clients had priced in a Remain vote, and were - as he put it - pretty "complacent" about the results from the EU Referendum.

Karishma VaswaniAsia business correspondent@BBCKarishmaon Twitter But as the results started to show a likely victory for the Brexit camp, the mood in Asia soured. Investors are in panic mode, and clients here are telling their brokers to sell the British sterling and buy safe havens like the Japanese yen and gold. Just after the BBC forecast a win for the Leave campaign, the sterling had fallen by more than 10% against the US dollar, touching levels not seen since 1985. In contrast the Japanese yen - a safe haven currency - soared, touching 100 yen against one unit of the US dollar. That's bad news for Japan's economy which needs the yen to stay weak so its exports are more attractive around the world. The Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso has tried to reassure financial investors in Tokyo by saying he's watching the situation urgently and Japan will take action if needed to calm markets if necessary. He has declined to comment on whether there's been intervention in the markets already or not. The Japanese benchmark index, the Nikkei 225 has fallen by more than 7% so far in Friday's session, at one point triggering the circuit breaker on the Nikkei Futures index. Major Japanese companies that are heavily invested in the UK - like Nissan, Toyota Motors and Hitachi have all seen big slumps this morning. 'Sell, sell, sell' It's the same all over Asia. Shares sensitive to what goes on in the British economy and that are listed in London and in Hong Kong, like HSBC - at one point dropping to its lowest level in seven years - Standard Chartered Bank, Prudential and Glencore are all taking a hit as investors sell, sell, sell and pour their money into traditional safe bets like gold. Markets in India - which is a major investor in the UK - have also fallen. The Sensex opened down by more than 900 points or 3.43% lower. Traders say they believe that the central bank in India may step in to support the Indian rupee, which is down more than 1.5%. Big Indian firms that have exposure to the UK like Tata steel and Tata motors have also been hit. In other Asian currencies - the Australian dollar, the Malaysian ringgit and the Korean won have all tumbled, reflecting nervousness and uncertainty about how markets around the world will react to this news. As one market watcher in Singapore told me, the last time there was this much volatility in the markets was during the "Great Fall of China's stocks" last summer. Markets had been pricing in a remain vote - this result is their worst nightmare. And this is just the start: the process for the UK to leave will take at least two years to sort out. Governments in Asia will need to negotiate new trade deals with the UK, which until now has negotiated trade deals from within the EU. The uncertainty has only just begun.

यह ऐसा नहीं होना चाहिए था, सिंगापुर के एक व्यापारी ने आज सुबह मुझे बताया। उनके ग्राहकों ने एक रिमेन वोट में मूल्य निर्धारित किया था, और वे-जैसा कि उन्होंने कहा-ई. यू. जनमत संग्रह के परिणामों के बारे में बहुत "आत्मसंतुष्ट" थे।


Hilary Swank on Netflix's sci-fi Away and the ultimate work-life dilemma

Summary: You are commanding the first manned (and womanned) mission to Mars. You are on the Moon waiting to blast off, when a family emergency back on Earth presents a dilemma. Do you go home, or do you boldly go on?

By Ian YoungsEntertainment & arts reporter Contains spoilers for the first episode of Netflix's 10-part series Away. That choice faces Hilary Swank's character at the start of Netflix's new sci-fi series Away. It's an extreme version of the tension a lot of people struggle with - job vs family. But when mom's going to Mars for three years, it's the ultimate work-life conundrum. Commander Emma Green has a husband and teenage daughter back home, an international crew on board with varying levels of faith in her, and a world watching on. By way of answering the question of what she would have done in her character's shoes when choosing between mission and family, the double Oscar-winner relates it back to an experience in her own life. "I'm on this journey of my life, right?" she begins. "And I'm pursuing my dream of being an actor. And of course, I'm well into it. "And my dad, he needs a lung transplant. And so I take what was to be a year off - because it takes a year to see if the organ takes or not - and it quickly became two years, and then it became three years. "And, you know, I was in this blessed position that I could take time off work and I could become my dad's health advocate and help him through the hardest problem we think he'll ever have happen to him in his life. And that was without question. Of course, that's what I'm gonna do. Right?" Her father's transplant was in 2015. As she admits, Swank was fortunate to be in a position to take that time off, and has found starring roles again now she's back (which might not always have been the case for an actress in her 40s). She was able to spend six months filming the new series - her father is now healthy, and she took her husband and rescue dogs to the Toronto set with her. "So we're kind of a travelling circus. I don't have quite the same circumstances as other people who have their children." Addressing the original question while trying not to give too much of the plot away, she continues: "If I was in Emma's shoes and I was on this mission to Mars... Her daughter and her husband said to her vehemently, 'This is what you're going to do'. "Then you see the ramifications of that as the show continues to unfold, and what that decision has meant to her, and how deep in her marrow her family [is], and how important that dream [of going to Mars] is to her. "So I think it depends on the circumstances which you're under to make that decision." In recent years, movie-makers have put father-child relationships at the heart of many sci-fi dramas. Last year, BBC Inside Cinema highlighted a breed of "Space Dads" in movies like Interstellar, Ad Astra, First Man and High Life. Swank's commander is one of the first space moms. Away comes on the heels of Proxima, one of the first new films to be shown after UK cinemas reopened in July, which sees Eva Green play a single mother training to blast off, also to Mars. And last year's For All Mankind on Apple TV+ was set in an alternative history in which Russia won the space race and put a female astronaut on the Moon, leading the US to do the same. For the mothers, though, their space trips go hand-in-hand with guilt trips about their parental responsibilities. Swank recalls how a journalist pointed out that this is not the case for men. Different for women? "There was a young woman from a woman's magazine who said, 'When I saw the pilot, I saw the decision that your character made, and I couldn't believe it. My jaw dropped,'" the actress says. "She was almost angry. And then she checked herself. She said, 'And then I realised that I would have never thought that had your character been a male'. "So it was such an enlightening moment for her, that the stereotypes that are put on gender or race or whatever made her come to that conclusion. But then it made her question it. And I love that about the show." As well as depicting long-distance family tensions, Away pitches Swank's character into claustrophobic crew relationships. In an optimistic vision of international co-operation, Commander Green is joined on board by astronauts from the UK, China, Russia and India. (This may also be a ploy by Netflix to make the show appeal across those huge target markets.) The British representative is actually played by an American - Ato Essandoh. Meanwhile, the Indian crew member is played by British actor Ray Panthaki, who made his name as Ronny in EastEnders before moving on to Marcella, Gangs of London and the films Official Secrets and Colette. Personal questions The actors took advice about life in space by former Nasa astronaut Mike Massimino. "We were able to ask him the most personal questions," Panthaki recalls. The actor got philosophical, asking what being in space made him believe in terms of religion. "He said something so profound, I'll never forget," Panthaki explains. "He said, 'When I look back at Earth from space and I see the amazing beauty of it, I believe that is the Heaven that we speak about'." OK, but was that the most personal question he asked? Panthaki thinks again. "It's things about, like, what is it like to go to the toilet in space and how messy is it?" Panthaki and Swank both say they had dreams of going into space when they were children. For Swank, they came at the age of nine. "One of the things that fascinated me at that age was the idea of the unknown, and being somewhere that looked out on the vastness of this place," she recalls. "I think the idea, which I didn't understand at the time, was that we're really so small in the whole cosmic idea and scope of things. "We're living in a day and age where we can kind of see and experience everything, right? We can look things up and have everything at our fingertips. "But no-one knows what it is to explore space. It's the great unknown." As fulfilling as shooting a TV series about going to space for six months is, it's probably not the same as realising that childhood dream. "Not quite the same, no," she replies with a smile. "But I'll take it." Away is on Netflix from 4 September. Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

आप मंगल ग्रह के लिए पहले मानव (और महिला) मिशन की कमान संभाल रहे हैं। आप चंद्रमा पर विस्फोट होने की प्रतीक्षा कर रहे हैं, जब पृथ्वी पर एक पारिवारिक आपात स्थिति एक दुविधा प्रस्तुत करती है। क्या आप घर जाते हैं, या आप साहसपूर्वक आगे बढ़ते हैं?


Peter Craven murder: Wanted man arrested after Grimsby house death

Summary: A wanted man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of a 46-year-old man killed in Grimsby last year.

Peter Craven was found with serious head injuries at a house in Oxford Street just before midnight on 15 August 2018. Humberside Police had been searching for Michael Kavanagh since the death. Mr Kavanagh, 30, was eventually arrested on Saturday on suspicion of Mr Craven's murder and grievous bodily harm following a Crimestoppers appeal. Humberside Police have thanked the public for their help. Shortly after Mr Craven died, three other men were arrested in connection with the death. A 47-year-old man who was arrested was released with no further action. Related Internet Links Humberside Police

पिछले साल ग्रिम्सबी में मारे गए 46 वर्षीय व्यक्ति की हत्या के संदेह में एक वांछित व्यक्ति को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


ITV looks to dramatic future after Bafta success

Summary: Broadchurch's triple Bafta win was an undoubted cause for celebration for the show's stars and production team but for broadcaster ITV it was nothing short of major coup, having seen the coveted drama award elude them for more than a decade.

By Rebecca ThomasArts and entertainment reporter, BBC News Given the critical acclaim of the crime thriller starring David Tennant and Olivia Colman, which netted an average nine million viewers per episode, the awards glory came as little surprise. But for a broadcaster dogged until relatively recently by headlines about financial crises, stale schedules and dwindling audiences, it raises questions as to how it came about and whether it's a sign of things to come for ITV drama. Broadchurch, written by Chris Chibnall, perhaps offers some clues. Peter Fincham, director of television at ITV, says its special ingredients were a magical collaborative effort. "Broadchurch had so many fantastic elements but at its heart was a brilliant script set against a really evocative backdrop that was woven into the storytelling and a terrific ensemble cast." TV writer and historian William Gallagher endorses his view. "You can't manufacture success in drama. But what will work well is if you give the one original voice to the writer. Broadchurch is really distinctive because it's one person's voice," he says. "These writers don't just hand in scripts and walk away. They're involved in the casting, making and producing and that voice continues. Otherwise, things get diluted, producing very similar dramas." However, collaborative creative talent doesn't just materialise. Instead, it is brought together through a confidence in the broadcaster. Faith in ITV has been bolstered by the huge success of costume drama Downton Abbey, both in the UK and abroad. Downton has not to date won the best drama Bafta but since it began in 2010, each new series has been heralded as a national event. Much the same can be said of its reception in the US and the series has become a big money-spinner for ITV. "ITV are on a bit of a roll at the moment," says David Butcher, TV editor for the Radio Times. "Partly that comes from the fact that success breeds success. So if you have a big hit like Downton and now Broadchurch, that creates confidence all round. "That means Peter Fincham has confidence in his director of drama Steve November and vice versa and the producers and writers and then writers are trusted to tell a story well and there is less interference." A period of more than three years between the headline-grabbing launch of Downton to the national game of whodunit provided by Broadchurch may seem like a long time but these dramas don't happen overnight, says Butcher. "Drama departments are like supertankers, they take a long time to turn round. Once you have them going in the right direction they gain a lot of momentum." Historian William Gallagher adds: "Drama takes so long to get from idea to the screen, so you're spending a lot of money but it's not earning anything until several years into the run." But mixed into the ITV schedules, still populated by crowd-pleasers such as The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and I'm a Celebrity, there has been a steady stream of new and critically praised one-off and serial dramas. Though not all fanfare events, the likes of Vera, Scott and Bailey, Endeavour, Mr Selfridge, The Widower and Prey have all proved popular, each averaging audiences of between 6 million and 7 million. Their success is a signal the seeds of quality drama at ITV have been growing with deliberate intention - and that the broadcaster is feeling bold enough to experiment with how it's presented. "Drama is one of those genres that audiences love," says Peter Fincham. "It's one of the absolute core genres that viewers look to television for and it plays an incredibly important part in defining a channel to its audience, the commitment and the quality in our drama offering is really important in that respect. "The range, impact and quality of ITV drama has continued to grow over the years and the challenge for us is to keep raising our game and our ambitions." Fincham has been a key architect in ITV's push to boost its drama output. When he joined ITV in 2008, the broadcaster was suffering the effects of the financial crisis and loss of advertising. Weighed down by debt, its drama, always costly to produce, had become tired and predictable and one of Fincham's most memorable moves was to axe long-running cop series The Bill. The decision was considered controversial but showed Fincham was prepared to take risks - and trusted in the team around him to push forward with new ideas. "Peter Fincham has undoubtedly been an influence but it's also his team. Laura Mackie, former director of drama, and those around her did a lot to get new dramas up and running and now Steve November is doing a very good job, along with the producers with a clear good understanding of what ITV wants from its drama," says Chris Curtis, editor of Broadcast magazine. A key player in that team is chief executive Adam Crozier - holder of the purse strings - who, since joining in 2010, has turned ITV's debt into year-on-year profit through a series of money-making moves, including boosting ITV Studios and acquiring production companies. As a result, more finance has become available for good drama, which in turn has attracted more advertising. Shows like Britain's Got Talent look set to continue as they are great advertising vehicles - and remain very popular with viewers. But the emphasis right now at ITV is on drama, which can also be profitable in its ability to be repeated, build audience loyalty and be sold overseas. A steady roll of new commissions are being announced, including David Threlfall in two-parter Code of a Killer. June sees the launch of ITV Encore, its dedicated drama channel. And there is a new series of Broadchurch on the way. So should other broadcasters be running scared? David Butcher thinks not, citing the BBC's Happy Valley and Peaky Blinders as examples of BBC Drama being "in great shape at the moment". ITV's success should be a cause for optimism for other broadcasters and audiences, says William Gallagher. "We need good drama from everybody. But it does go in cycles," he says. "The buzz right now is around ITV and that's good. It means the BBC and others will try to keep up. There is still that rivalry which drives TV - and makes it better."

ब्रॉडचर्च की ट्रिपल बाफ्टा जीत शो के सितारों और प्रोडक्शन टीम के लिए जश्न मनाने का एक निस्संदेह कारण थी, लेकिन ब्रॉडकास्टर आई. टी. वी. के लिए यह बड़े तख्तापलट से कम नहीं था, क्योंकि प्रतिष्ठित नाटक पुरस्कार उन्हें एक दशक से अधिक समय तक नहीं मिला था।


Abdelkhalak Lahyani named as cyclist killed in HGV Elephant and Castle crash

Summary: A cyclist who died in a crash with an HGV in south-east London has been named by Scotland Yard.

Abdelkhalak Lahyani, 47, from Walworth, was involved in the collision at the Elephant and Castle junction with Newington Butts on 13 May. The cyclist suffered serious injuries and died at the scene. The 49-year-old driver of the HGV was arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving and has been released on bail.

दक्षिण-पूर्व लंदन में एच. जी. वी. के साथ दुर्घटना में मारे गए एक साइकिल चालक का नाम स्कॉटलैंड यार्ड ने रखा है।


Secret GCHQ artefacts to go on show at Science Museum

Summary: The technological secrets behind spying over a century - from World War Two code breaking tools to Cold War secrets - are to go on show.

Top Secret: From Ciphers to Cyber Security, at London's Science Museum, will feature more than 100 objects from GCHQ - the government's listening post. Jeremy Fleming, the director of GCHQ, said the organisation's work had "saved countless lives... shortened wars, given Britain an edge, and solved or harnessed some of the world's hardest technology challenges". People will be able to see historical technology, hand-written documents and declassified files from the Cheltenham-based spy agency. The exhibition will run from 10 July to 23 February 2020. .

एक सदी से अधिक समय तक जासूसी करने के पीछे के तकनीकी रहस्य-द्वितीय विश्व युद्ध के कोड तोड़ने वाले उपकरणों से लेकर शीत युद्ध के रहस्यों तक-सामने आने वाले हैं।


Will Narendra Modi be India's Thatcher?

Summary: India's Narendra Modi-led BJP government will unveil its first full-year budget on Saturday. The budget is seen as a key test of Mr Modi's appetite for reform. The BBC's new South Asia correspondent, Justin Rowlatt, asks how far he is likely to go to stimulate growth and provide jobs.

Expectations are running high for the new government's first major budget. The hundreds of millions of Indians whose votes helped sweep Prime Minister Modi to power in May last year believed that he offered the best hope for bringing growth and jobs to the country. The budget will be the first really big test of Mr Modi's reformist credentials, an opportunity for his government to demonstrate how it intends to reshape the Indian economy and deliver prosperity in the years ahead. So how radical will Mr Modi's government be: is he India's answer to Margaret Thatcher, ready to fundamentally restructure the economy? Mr Modi has already identified India's key challenge: to create jobs. India's vast population should be a huge asset. Almost half of its 1.25 billion people are under 25. Find them decent jobs and you create a powerful engine for prosperity and growth. This is India's potential "demographic dividend". Yet hundreds of millions of Indians still live in abject poverty. Shining success Two-thirds of the country gets by on $1.50 (97p) a day or less, according to the Asian Development Bank; nine out of 10 Indians work outside the formal economy; and even more shockingly Unicef estimates that almost half of all Indian children are malnourished. Mr Modi has said he aims to create the employment that would help lift people out of destitution by encouraging manufacturing industry to flourish - you see his invocation to "Make in India" everywhere. And there are certainly some shining successes in manufacturing, as well as in the more commonly celebrated sectors of software and pharmaceuticals. This week I visited Royal Enfield, the oldest motorcycle brand in the world. This once British-owned business has blossomed under its Indian owners in recent years. In 2010 it sold 50,000 Royal Enfields, last year that was up to 300,000. It expects to sell almost half a million bikes this year. It is, boasts Sidhartha Lal, the company's young and casually dressed chief executive, "the most profitable automotive business in the world". Yet despite his company's success, he says India is still a very tough place to do business. That view is confirmed by the World Bank, which produces an index measuring the ease of doing business around the world. India is ranked a woeful 142nd out of 189 countries, behind beacons of good business practice like Yemen, Uzbekistan and Iran - vivid evidence of the scale of Mr Modi's challenge. Mr Modi has said he wants to take India into the top 50, which is where the Thatcher comparison comes in. How far will the Indian prime minister be willing to go to streamline the Indian economy? Unthinkable? His critics say so far his government has been better at producing slogans than tackling real problems. They say he needs to take on India's trade unions and reform India's restrictive labour laws. If he wants to do something really eye-catching he could begin to privatise some of the array of companies still owned by the Indian state. He could start with Coal India, perhaps, or maybe the national airline, Air India. The idea is as unthinkable to many Indians as it was to many British people when Mrs Thatcher proposed it but, say free market economists, it would mark Mr Modi out as really serious about reshaping the Indian economy. If he's feeling really brave he could reform India's vast and heavily subsidised railway network - so big it warrants its own separate budget, presented two days before the main event. At the very least, say his critics, this budget needs to give clear direction on how the government intends to improve India's appalling infrastructure. They want to see a commitment to capital investment to improve the roads and efforts to guarantee reliable water and power supplies. According to one survey, half of all manufacturers suffered power cuts lasting five hours each week. But the criticism of inaction isn't entirely fair. Mr Modi's government is already attempting to replace the network of state taxes, a huge barrier to trade within the country, with a national goods and services tax - a very significant reform, if he can only get it passed. The government is standing by plans to make land acquisition easier for businesses, despite considerable political heat. It has also moved to ease foreign investment in Indian companies and is trying to cut back the thicket of bureaucracy that ties so much of Indian life up in knots. Trimming subsidies Nevertheless, those looking for dramatic reform on Saturday may well be disappointed. Take India's vast food and fuel subsidy bill, something the Modi government has promised to trim. Word is that Mr Modi's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will announce he is slashing $8bn (£5.15bn) from the total, a 20% cut. That sounds like an impressive figure until you realise that most of this will come from falling fuel prices. That would be more evidence that the administration is keen to avoid dramatic confrontation. "Why take on the unions when you'll just end up fighting them for the rest of your term," a senior Indian businessman told me Mr Modi had said to him. And unlike Margaret Thatcher who came to power in the depths of recession, creating an urgent justification for structural reform, Mr Modi has a fair economic wind behind him. Growth is slowing in China, has virtually stopped in Brazil, while Russia has gone into reverse. India, meanwhile, has been forging ahead. According to the official figures the Indian economy grew at 7.5% in the last quarter of 2014. On that basis, India is already the fastest growing big economy in the world. The figure may exaggerate India's achievements. The Modi government has controversially recalculated the GDP figures to cast the country in a favourable light. Nevertheless, even Mr Modi's most ardent critics agree growth is well above 5%. What's more, inflation is under control, the rupee has stabilised and the stock market is booming. India will also be a huge beneficiary of the collapse in the oil price - 80% of the country's oil is imported. But Mr Modi and Mr Jaitley would be unwise to rest back on the cushion of a buoyant Indian economy and avoid tough choices. The country's youthful population presents the government with a unique opportunity. If it succeeds in creating good jobs for the million new workers that come into the job market every month, it will entrench growth and set India on the path to prosperity. But if it fails to do so India's demographic dividend could easily become a demographic disaster. Hundreds of millions of Indians would remain trapped in poverty for decades to come, representing not just a legacy of misery but a brake on India's future growth.

भारत की नरेंद्र मोदी के नेतृत्व वाली भाजपा सरकार शनिवार को अपने पहले पूर्ण वर्ष के बजट का अनावरण करेगी। बजट को श्री मोदी की सुधार की भूख की एक प्रमुख परीक्षा के रूप में देखा जा रहा है। बीबीसी के नए दक्षिण एशिया संवाददाता, जस्टिन रॉलेट पूछते हैं कि विकास को बढ़ावा देने और नौकरियां प्रदान करने के लिए वह कितनी दूर जा सकते हैं।


SDLP leadership: Seamus Mallon backs Colum Eastwood in contest

Summary: Former SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon has endorsed Colum Eastwood in the party's leadership contest, the BBC has learned.

Mr Eastwood is challenging current leader Alasdair McDonnell, and party activists will vote next month at the annual SDLP conference in Armagh. Earlier this year, Mr Mallon called on Dr McDonnell to step down as leader. Asked about Mr Mallon's endorsement of the Foyle MLA, Dr McDonnell said Mr Mallon was "entitled to his opinion". "People have elected me to do a job and I'm going to do that job," he told BBC NI's The View programme. "Seamus is a very distinguished member of the party, but we have some 300-odd other delegates out there with opinions. "The majority have pledged their support to me."

बी. बी. सी. को पता चला है कि एस. डी. एल. पी. के पूर्व उपनेता सीमस मैलन ने पार्टी की नेतृत्व प्रतियोगिता में कॉलम ईस्टवुड का समर्थन किया है।


Work starts on new Telford town park visitor centre

Summary: Work has started on a new Shropshire visitor centre.

The new building in Telford town park is part of a £250m redevelopment of the area. The centre replaces Spout Farm House on the edge of the park, which was demolished in May to make way for the new Southwater development. Telford and Wrekin Council said the new visitor centre, being built near the Norman chapel, should be completed by the end of the year. The council said the new building was based on a "bird-inspired design, in keeping with the natural environment of the park and wildlife which it supports". The new building is being constructed from sustainable materials and will feature educational facilities for local schools. The park itself is also undergoing a facelift, with work on signs, pathways and other facilities supported by a £3.4m Parks for People lottery grant. The wider Southwater scheme is expected to take up to 20 years to complete and regenerate the area between the town centre and the park. The project will include retail, residential and leisure units, alongside restaurants and office space.

एक नए श्रॉपशायर आगंतुक केंद्र पर काम शुरू हो गया है।


USS Carl Vinson: The US woos an old enemy with a show of strength

Summary: The immense nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson has powered into Vietnamese waters, the first such visit since the end of the Vietnam War. The BBC's South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head looks at how the rise of China lies behind this.

The influence of the United States in Asia is much diminished these days, but it still has one spectacular card it can play. That comes in the form of the deployment of a carrier strike group, a naval flotilla centred on one of 11 giant "super-carriers", floating nuclear-powered air bases more than 300m long, carrying enough air power to flatten a small city. The presence of a US carrier group can send a message of deterrence, as in the case of North Korea, or of support. The USS Carl Vinson's arrival in Danang this week is a visible gesture of commitment by Washington to the country with which it fought a terrible war just two generations ago. An absence of recrimination The US-Vietnam rapprochement dates back to the restoration of diplomatic relations in 1995. Since then there has been a steady improvement in ties, through trade, cultural exchanges, diplomacy and military co-operation. Disagreements over the harsh treatment of political and religious dissidents in Vietnam have not been allowed to interrupt this progression, and there is a remarkable absence of recriminations over the past. The fact that the USS Carl Vinson is docking just a few kilometres from the beach where US combat troops first landed in Vietnam in 1965, and not far from some of the bloodiest battlefields of the war, presents a poignant historic backdrop to this visit, but in no way overshadows it. This is the culmination of a quiet, careful courtship. The rise of China is what drives it, for the Americans and for the Vietnamese. Despite the better-known history of the US-Vietnam conflict, Vietnamese resentment of its giant neighbour goes back much further, embedded in the folk memory of a millennium of Chinese domination in ancient times. Vietnam shares a border more than 1,000km (620 miles) long with China, through which more than $90bn (£65bn) in trade passes, but which in 1979 was the scene of a short war in which thousands of troops died on both sides. The two Communist Parties once enjoyed a fraternal camaraderie - as close as lips and teeth, they used to say. Then they fell out during the Sino-Soviet split in the mid-1970s - Vietnam choosing the Soviet Union as a patron - and over Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in 1978 to oust the Chinese-backed Khmer Rouge regime. That adversarial relationship only changed after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s forced Vietnam's communist leadership to rethink their position in the world and establish a foreign policy based, they said, on friendship regardless of ideological allegiances. At that time they put a lot of diplomatic effort into rebuilding bridges with China. But their differences over the South China Sea remained a problem; both countries claimed parts of the Paracel and Spratly Islands, and have on occasion fought over them. Keeping the US engaged Strong anti-Chinese sentiment lies just below the surface in Vietnam, and is easily stirred up. In 2014 protests over China's deployment of an oil rig into disputed waters set off violent protests in Vietnam targeting what they believed were Chinese-owned factories. It was against a backdrop of increasing Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea after 2002 that Vietnam began reaching out to its former American foe. That was when China agreed to a Declaration of Conduct with the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), four of whose members claimed islands in the disputed waters, which was supposed to halt island grabs and construction on coral atolls. But that has not stopped China building air bases, missile bunkers and radar stations to fortify its hold on the islands. Distracted by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was only in a landmark speech by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at Asean in July 2010 that the US expressed its interest in maintaining freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, and in having disputed adjudicated through international law. Following that speech, the Obama administration announced a "pivot" back to South East Asia. Moving closer to Vietnam was a core part of that. In 2016, during a state visit to Hanoi, President Barack Obama announced the lifting of all restrictions on sales of military equipment to Vietnam, ending the last legacy of the Vietnam War. Vietnam was also party to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed free trade group of 12 countries championed by President Obama as a way of projecting US influence and values in a region where it had been losing ground to China. So the decision by President Donald Trump to abandon the TPP was a blow to Vietnam, a strong beneficiary from the deal. Undeterred, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc made sure he was the first South East Asian leader to visit President Trump in Washington in May last year, and then hosted him during the APEC summit in November. Keeping the US engaged is still a priority for Vietnam, part of a sophisticated and subtle web of diplomatic initiatives aimed at making its friendships as close as they can be without antagonising its all-important relationship with China. The US does not yet have a strategic partnership with Vietnam. But the US military has been exploring new areas of co-operation with its Vietnamese counterparts. So far these have largely been in non-traditional aspects of defence, like peace-keeping and disaster response. There has been no talk yet of the kinds of joint military exercises the US conducts with allies like Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, nor has Vietnam shown any interest yet in acquiring significant US military hardware. Such a move might be viewed as a provocation by China, something the current communist leadership in Vietnam will choose to avoid. The presence of a US aircraft carrier in Danang, one which will be conducting so-called "freedom of navigation" passages through the disputed areas of the South China Sea, also sends a potentially provocative message to China - but only a symbolic one. To date US expressions of concern over China's actions in the sea have had no discernable impact on the construction of military facilities there. The US carrier strike group looks impressive, but it is not clear what it can actually do to restrain China. Even as Vietnam's top brass enjoy watching the full might of the superpower they once fought now paying court as a would-be ally, they must remain mindful of the continuing historic shift in the balance of power in their region away from the United States, in favour of China.

विशाल परमाणु-संचालित अमेरिकी विमान वाहक कार्ल विन्सन ने वियतनामी जलक्षेत्र में प्रवेश किया है, जो वियतनाम युद्ध की समाप्ति के बाद पहली ऐसी यात्रा है। बीबीसी के दक्षिण पूर्व एशिया संवाददाता जोनाथन हेड ने देखा कि इसके पीछे चीन का उदय कैसे निहित है।


Your pictures on the theme of 'night vision'

Summary: We asked our readers to send in their pictures on the theme of "night vision". Here are some of the pictures sent to us from around the world.

23 The next theme is "open road" and the deadline for entries is 29 September 2020. Send pictures to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or follow the link below to "Upload your pictures here". Further details and terms can be found by following the link to "We set the theme, you take the picture", at the bottom of the page. All photographs subject to copyright.

हमने अपने पाठकों से "नाइट विजन" विषय पर अपनी तस्वीरें भेजने के लिए कहा। यहाँ दुनिया भर से हमें भेजी गई कुछ तस्वीरें हैं।


Woman on attempted murder charges following car crash

Summary: A woman is facing three attempted murder charges and an assault charge following a car crash in Inverness.

A woman and three men were taken to hospital and a building was damaged in the incident on 21 January. Donna Stewart, 43, of Inverness, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court on Wednesday. She made no plea and was released on bail.

इनवर्नेस में एक कार दुर्घटना के बाद एक महिला पर हत्या के प्रयास के तीन आरोप और हमले का आरोप है।


What to do if you think you are being sexually harassed at work

Summary: Sexual harassment at work has returned to the headlines after US film producer Harvey Weinstein apologised about the way he had "behaved with colleagues in the past". It came after a newspaper reported a number of sexual harassment allegations against him.

By Holly Wallis & Laura LeaBBC News What sort of behaviour counts as sexual harassment at work? And how should you deal with it if you think it is happening to you? What is sexual harassment at work? Put simply, sexual harassment is unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature. This harassment can be verbal or non-verbal and may make you feel intimidated or uncomfortable. You do not need to have objected to a person's behaviour for it to be considered unwanted, Citizens Advice points out. It can include: Sexual Harassment at work: Four women reveal all The photographer telling women's sexual harassment stories I take selfies with men who harass me What action can you take? Anyone who experiences sexual harassment at work in the UK is protected by the Equality Act 2010. In some cases, telling someone their behaviour is making you uncomfortable may be enough to stop it, says employment solicitor James Watkins, from Slater and Gordon. Confiding in another colleague at work could also help you to decide what to do, he says. If not, you can: If these options don't work, you can make a claim to an employment tribunal. What is involved in making a claim? Before making a claim to an employment tribunal you have to go through an early conciliation process provided by mediation group Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) - it may be able to negotiate a settlement or practical solution for you. If this is not possible, you can make a claim online. 'I left in tears and signed off sick' "I was sexually harassed at work by two men, who had worked there for a long time. "One of them said they would like to put me over the desk and ravish me and they would look at my legs when I was walking past. "I did bring this up with a senior manager, but he shouted at me and said it was my word against my colleague... I left in tears and signed off sick..." Jane, London What it is like to be sexually harassed at work? How big is this problem? Research published last year by the TUC suggested more than half of women say they have been sexually harassed at work - and most admit to not reporting it. It found that in nine out of 10 cases the perpetrator was male, and nearly one in five women (17%) said it was their line manager or someone with direct authority over them. Reasons given for not reporting the harassment included embarrassment (20%), fear they would not be taken seriously (24%), or that reporting it would affect their relationships at work (28%). Men can also be victims of workplace sexual harassment. Help and advice

अमेरिकी फिल्म निर्माता हार्वी वाइनस्टीन द्वारा "अतीत में सहकर्मियों के साथ जिस तरह का व्यवहार" किया था, उसके बारे में माफी मांगने के बाद काम पर यौन उत्पीड़न सुर्खियों में वापस आ गया है।


IPCC to probe police contact with murder victim

Summary: The police watchdog is to investigate what contact South Wales Police had with a murder victim prior to the discovery of her body.

The body of 65-year-old Christine James was found in her flat in Cardiff Bay on 2 March after she failed to arrive for a flight. Kris Wade, 36, of Cardiff, has been charged with her murder. South Wales Police referred the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

पुलिस प्रहरी को इस बात की जांच करनी है कि साउथ वेल्स पुलिस का एक हत्या पीड़ित के शव की खोज से पहले उसके साथ क्या संपर्क था।


Bill Nighy takes Pride in miners' strike movie

Summary: The 1984 miners' strike and the gay rights movement may seem like unlikely on-screen partners - but their coming together in Matthew Warchus's film Pride has produced, according to actor Bill Nighy, "the most important British film of recent years".

By Emma Jones Arts and entertainment reporter, BBC News Bafta-winner Nighy is one of the stars of the movie, which documents the true story of how Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) groups became the biggest financial supporters of the miners, who went on strike for more than a year in 1984, in protest against widespread pit closures. Without the help of donations from outside, many miners faced losing their homes or even being unable to feed their families. Pride focuses on one London group of lesbian and gay activists, who "adopted" a mining community in south Wales, despite initial suspicion and prejudice from residents. Imelda Staunton, Paddy Considine, Dominic West and Andrew Scott - Moriarty in TV's Sherlock - are also part of the ensemble cast. "I really think this is one of the greatest scripts I have ever read in my life," says Nighy. "Good scripts are rare and funny ones are even rarer, but I laughed from start finish. And even after several times, I never got through it without crying either. "l loved it because the two main themes are very close to my heart. If you were asked by your grandchildren what developments in your lifetime made you most proud, one of them might be the civil rights movement in America and the other would be the emancipation of gay men and women. "You have to remember that Pride is set 30 years ago and the Gay Pride marches weren't a celebration or Mardi Gras, they were political events that would see protesters beaten up by the police. "Gay men and women were marginalised and victimised . When I was young, people still went to jail for any public display of affection between people of the same sex. It seems bizarre to say that, I've never understood it. "And now I can stand in a town hall in London and watch two male friends get married and say I love you in a public place, and I find it almost overwhelmingly moving. "I also remember the miners' strike vividly, I remember a huge amount of support for them from ordinary people and collecting buckets outside the London tube. The strike was a scandal of huge proportions. "To find a script that treated those men and women with dignity and respect was a long time coming and it was long overdue. It was a huge relief to read this script and on top of that it was hilarious. I think it is the most important British film of recent years, I really do." Theatre director Matthew Warchus was brought in to make writer Stephen Beresford's script, who had first heard of the strange alliance between the striking miners and the LGBT groups nearly 20 years previously, and had eventually found an obscure piece of video on You Tube documenting their friendship. Nighy says: "No-one I have ever met has heard of this story, and yet this is a hugely important slice of British social history. Most of the film is absolutely true - the Pits and Perverts benefit concert we show actually happened. And the coming together of these two groups really had large implications for British society as a whole. "What is so funny is that we are making a film about failure - because the miners ultimately lost their battle - but we do feature a scene in the film of the Gay Pride march in London in 1985. The full might of the National Union of Mineworkers showed up for the first time in history to that march, and that was a direct result of the gay rights movement and their fundraising. "The following year gay rights became enshrined in the Labour Party constitution, and that again was a direct result of the events we show in Pride. "Many of the original members of the LGBT movement, as well as those real-life miners from the Dulais Valley they supported, are walking in the front of those scenes over Westminster Bridge. That was quite a day. We all cried." Pride received standing ovations at both its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, as well as this week's North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, but Nighy believes the most important screening was the private one put on for residents of the Dulais Valley near Swansea, where the real-life events took place and where the film was eventually made. Many of the people there remember the events depicted in the film. "The great thing about Pride is that it shows that Margaret Thatcher had it wrong when she said, famously, that there was no such thing as society, just individuals. This is the exact opposite of that terrible remark - it shows our longing to be part of something greater than ourselves, and what big things small acts of kindness can achieve," concludes Nighy. Pride is released in UK cinemas on 12 September.

1984 की खनिकों की हड़ताल और समलैंगिक अधिकार आंदोलन पर्दे पर असम्भाव्य भागीदारों की तरह लग सकते हैं-लेकिन अभिनेता बिल निघी के अनुसार, मैथ्यू वार्कस की फिल्म प्राइड में उनके एक साथ आने से "हाल के वर्षों की सबसे महत्वपूर्ण ब्रिटिश फिल्म" का निर्माण हुआ है।


B&Q Welsh translation gaffe directs shoppers to US

Summary: Ceredigion shoppers have been told they may have to cross the Atlantic to find their nearest B&Q store - thanks to a Welsh-language translation gaffe.

A Welsh sign at the DIY chain's now-closed Parc-y-Llyn Retail Park store in Llanbadarn Fawr, near Aberystwyth, told shoppers "we have moved". It then said "you can find...United States" - instead of "us" and used the Welsh for US, "Unol Daleithiau". B&Q has apologised and said it would be replaced. The Cambrian News took a photograph of the sign before it was removed. "We're sorry for any confusion caused by the mistake in our sign and we're working to get it removed," a B&Q spokesperson said. "You won't be able to find the United States at B&Q in Carmarthen, but you can find everything you need for your home and garden this summer."

सेरेडिगियन खरीदारों को बताया गया है कि उन्हें अपने निकटतम बी एंड क्यू स्टोर को खोजने के लिए अटलांटिक को पार करना पड़ सकता है-एक वेल्श-भाषा अनुवाद गलती के लिए धन्यवाद।


Plea for custody check volunteers in Cumbria

Summary: Volunteers are being sought to make spot checks on the welfare of people being held in custody in police cells in Cumbria.

Working in pairs, custody visitors make unannounced visits to police stations in the Barrow and Ulverston areas. They do not take sides, but make impartial reports on their findings. Training is given and expenses are paid. Anyone interested in applying must get in touch with the Cumbria Police Authority before 24 May. The authority said the scheme aims to improve public confidence in the police and help gain a clear insight into the running of custody facilities within the county.

कुम्ब्रिया में पुलिस प्रकोष्ठों में हिरासत में रखे गए लोगों के कल्याण की मौके पर जांच करने के लिए स्वयंसेवकों की मांग की जा रही है।


In pictures: Thousands turn out for RAF Cosford Air Show

Summary: The Red Arrows wowed crowds who had turned out in their tens of thousands for this year's RAF Cosford Air Show.

Visitors were treated to displays by the RAF Falcons parachute display team while an RAF Typhoon also took to the skies during the event in Cosford, Shropshire. One of this year's themes was recognising the role of women in aviation and military history, to mark the 80th anniversary of the formation of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force and 25th anniversary of the full integration of women into the Royal Air Force. There were also ground displays and static planes on show. Photos: John Bray

लाल तीरों ने उन भीड़ को मंत्रमुग्ध कर दिया जो इस साल के आरएएफ कॉसफोर्ड एयर शो के लिए अपने दसियों हज़ारों में बाहर निकले थे।


Reading man died due to 'blunt force trauma'

Summary: A man who was punched and then hit head his on the ground died due to "blunt force trauma", police have said.

A post-mortem examination was carried out on the 48-year-old's body after he died in hospital following an "altercation" in Reading on Friday. He was injured in a dispute between two men in Friar Street at about 23:30 BST. The dead man has not been formally identified. Thames Valley Police is carrying out a manslaughter investigation. An 18-year-old man, from Crowthorne, was arrested in connection with the incident and has been bailed until 10 May. The teenager was initially arrested on suspicion of murder.

पुलिस ने कहा है कि एक व्यक्ति जिसे मुक्का मारा गया और फिर उसके सिर पर जमीन पर मारा गया, उसकी "कुंद बल आघात" के कारण मृत्यु हो गई।


Bloodhound Diary: Holes and rivets

Summary: A British team is developing a car that will be capable of reaching 1,000mph (1,610km/h). Powered by a rocket bolted to a Eurofighter-Typhoon jet engine, the vehicle will mount an assault on the world land speed record. Bloodhound will be run on Hakskeen Pan in Northern Cape, South Africa, in 2015 and 2016. Wing Commander Andy Green, the current world land-speed record holder, is writing a diary for BBC News about his experiences working on the Bloodhound project and the team's efforts to inspire national interest in science and engineering.

By Andy GreenWorld Land Speed Record Holder The New Year started with some great news. Ron Ayers, the aerodynamic genius behind Thrust SSC (current World Land Speed Record, 763mph), the JCB Dieselmax (fastest diesel car ever, 350mph) and Bloodhound SSC (soon to be the world's first 1,000mph car) was made an MBE. Ron is the reason for the "Bloodhound" name. He worked on the Bloodhound surface-to-air missile many years ago, producing huge improvements in its performance. When we started to design a new Land Speed Record car, aiming for the amazing speed of 1,000mph, we used "Bloodhound" as a code name while we developed the idea in secret. Come the 2008 public launch of the project, the name had pretty much taken root, so the car officially became the Bloodhound SuperSonic Car. We're very lucky to have a team of brilliant and successful engineers working on Bloodhound, and it's great to see one of them formally recognised. Bloodhound starts 2014 with a new rocket partner. We've been working with Falcon for over five years now, to complete the initial research for our hybrid rocket technology. The highlight of this work was the test firing of our full-size hybrid rocket at the end of 2012, watched live online by around quarter of a million people. However, there is a lot of work required to turn this prototype into a full-tested production version, and it's a complicated process - quite literally, it is rocket science. Step forward Norwegian company Nammo, which (luckily for us) is already working on a production version of a similar hybrid rocket, for a next-generation satellite launcher. A supplier to the European Space Agency, Nammo has agreed to manufacture the hybrid rockets that will boost Bloodhound SSC up to 1,000mph. Bloodhound's hybrid rockets use a solid rubber compound as the fuel. It's not explosive and will only burn under very specific conditions. Since I have to strap myself to several hundred kilogrammes of this stuff, this is quite reassuring. The hybrid rocket combustion occurs when the rocket tube is force-fed with very hot oxygen. This is produced from concentrated hydrogen peroxide, also known as "high test peroxide" or HTP for short. The HTP is forced though multiple layers of silver oxide mesh in a catalyst pack, at around 70 Bar (1000 pounds per sq in) and at a huge flow rate, around 40 litres per second. For comparison, that flow rate would fill your bath at home in three seconds. The HTP (chemically, H2O2) is broken down by the catalyst action of the silver into water (H2O) and oxygen (O2). This process releases a lot of energy, so the mixture comes out at around 600C. At this temperature the rubber ignites and burns furiously, heating up to over 2,500C, about twice the temperature inside an active volcano. This increases the pressure inside the rocket tube, forcing the burnt gases out through the nozzle at high supersonic speeds. The reaction produces the rocket thrust, which for Bloodhound needs to be about 12 tonnes. It's going to be quite a ride. The upper-rear chassis is now being drilled off for riveting, with 12,000 rivets in total. Most of the frames in the upper-chassis are aluminium, but Frame 1 (at the very back) is being manufactured by URT from high-temperature carbon composites. This will be able to cope with temperatures as high as 330C for short durations, and up to 250C all day long. Using carbon at the back of the car is a little counter-intuitive, as this is the hot bit, and composites don't like high temperatures. However, Frame 1 doesn't carry much load, and is a complex shape, so it's much easier to make in carbon. We'll also add a protective thermal coating and monitor the temperatures every time we run, just in case. The upper-chassis has to cope with some huge loads. In addition to nine tonnes of thrust from the EJ200 jet engine, it has to support Bloodhound's huge fin at 1,000mph. Bloodhound will be travelling faster at ground level than any aircraft has ever been, so this is going to be the hardest-working fin in history (have you put your name on the fin yet?). The fin bolts on to a "shear plate", a truly extreme engineering component, even by Bloodhound standards. The plate is over two meters long by 400mm wide, but in some places is only 2mm thick. It's the key part that interfaces the fin to the top of the upper-chassis. Just to make the manufacturing task slightly harder, the shear plate has to be curved to follow the line along the rear of the chassis. Because the part is a complicated shape with lots of features on it, our friends at Manufax must start with 750kg of material to produce a final part weighing just 8.7 kg. In other words, they will turn a lump of metal weighing nearly as much as a Fiat 500 into a component weighing something akin to a racing bicycle. That's extreme one-off engineering. The metal that's machined away - known as swarf - is captured, recycled and used in other applications and products. Perhaps surprisingly, the shear plate is going to be quite a delicate part until it's joined to the upper-chassis structure, when it becomes part of a very strong complete assembly. The front uprights, which attach the front wheels to the suspension, have now been delivered by AP Racing. Manufactured from solid aluminium, they have been anodised to protect them from the desert dust (which will get everywhere and is mildly corrosive). Each upright weighs a staggering 21.5kg and, between the two of them, are designed to take peak suspension loads of up to 30 tonnes. For comparison, an upright from a "normal" race car would weigh around 1kg and would fit in the hole in the centre of the Bloodhound upright. Bloodhound will use conventional wheel brakes for UK runway testing and at low speeds (less than 200mph) in the desert. Each front brake caliper is half-built into the front uprights. This arrangement is unique to Bloodhound, allowing the engineers to package the front wheels and suspension into the smallest possible space. It keeps Bloodhound's front track (the distance between the front wheels) narrow, making the front of the car narrower and more aerodynamic. It's the rainy season in South Africa's Northern Cape right now. Thanks to DMC International Imaging and Surrey Satellites, we can keep a close track of how the surface floods and dries. The dark areas on the satellite photo show the damp/wet areas. We can even see the remains of the old causeway, as a dark line across the track near the northern end. This is a good sign as it means that the surface repairs are now being "glued" together by the rains. The Northern Cape has been working on the world's fastest race track for three years now and it's almost complete. I can't wait to get out there in the next few months to see the end result.

एक ब्रिटिश टीम एक ऐसी कार विकसित कर रही है जो 1,000 मील प्रति घंटे (1,610 किमी/घंटा) तक पहुंचने में सक्षम होगी। एक यूरोफाइटर-टाइफून जेट इंजन को बोल्ट किए गए रॉकेट द्वारा संचालित, वाहन विश्व भूमि गति रिकॉर्ड पर हमला करेगा। ब्लडहाउंड 2015 और 2016 में उत्तरी केप, दक्षिण अफ्रीका में हक्सकीन पैन पर चलाया जाएगा। विंग कमांडर एंडी ग्रीन, वर्तमान विश्व भूमि-गति रिकॉर्ड धारक, ब्लडहाउंड परियोजना पर काम करने के अपने अनुभवों और विज्ञान और इंजीनियरिंग में राष्ट्रीय रुचि को प्रेरित करने के लिए टीम के प्रयासों के बारे में बीबीसी न्यूज के लिए एक डायरी लिख रहे हैं।