Blue for Sudan: Instagram 'sympathy scammers' exploit support for protesters

Summary: Scammers making bogus claims about sending aid to Sudan in exchange for clicks have continued to crop up on Instagram despite the exposure and suspension of fraudulent accounts, some of which had hundreds of thousands of followers.

By BBC TrendingIn-depth reporting on social media The death of 26-year-old Sudanese activist Mohamed Mattar captured worldwide attention on social media. Mattar was one of around 100 people killed in a crackdown on protesters in Khartoum in early June. His online avatar at the time of his death was a simple circle in his favourite colour, a deep blue. As a show of support, thousands of social media users started changing their avatars to the blue dot. On Instagram, nearly 50,000 recent posts used the hashtag #BlueforSudan - on Twitter, more than 80,000. But along with the outpouring of authentic sympathy came a series of accounts designed to harvest likes, shares and followers. They included multiple accounts named "Sudan Meal Project" which trumpeted bogus and unverified claims that liking a post, sharing a post, or following an account would trigger a charity donation and provide Sudanese children with food and shelter. In reality, there's no evidence that any of the "Meal Project" accounts were doing anything at all to support Sudanese people or protesters. The story first came to widespread attention in a story in The Atlantic. After reporter Taylor Lorenz detailed the fake accounts, many of the most popular ones were taken down. However, more than a week later, BBC Trending found around 30 similar accounts still live. Some have thousands of followers. Who's stopping the scammers? One of the main people tackling the scammers is Nico, who runs the account @ExposingInstaScams. "I find accounts that are trying to scam people for followers and likes and I investigate them," he says. "Then I post them onto my account to show they're fake." But Nico has nothing to do with Sudan - instead, he's a 14-year-old on his summer break from school in California. Nico (we're not using his full name because of concerns that he may be targeted by the scammers) has been investigating bogus Sudan aid accounts along with other scams, including fake environmental charity accounts. The American teenager looks at email addresses and websites and fact-checks claims with charities in order to expose the bogus accounts. Nico told BBC Trending that some of the accounts are so desperate that they have tried to bribe him. One account, he says, offered to "donate" $1,000 to charity in exchange for an endorsement. Others have personally offered him cash payments for the same thing. "It was already too late because I'd already exposed them," he says of one offer. "I immediately reject them... I know it's not the right thing to do." What's the aim of the scam? The accounts appear to be using the Sudan trend to build their popularity - in order to later cash in on advertising, sponsorship and other potentially lucrative activities. BBC Trending has found several Sudan-related bogus accounts which have changed their name to try to play off of other popular topics: for instance, one is now selling Fortnite accounts, and another has rebranded itself as a home for "extreme memes". We attempted to contact dozens of suspicious-looking and scam accounts - none responded. We could find no evidence that any of the "Sudan Meal Project" accounts were linked to a legitimate charity. The scammers were criticised by established charities who are working in the country. "I honestly think it is hugely disrespectful to the people of Sudan," says Unicef spokesperson Joe English. "I think it's a sad reflection on where we are as a human population at the moment." Instagram confirmed that one of the biggest "Sudan Meal Project" accounts was taken down but declined to say how many similar accounts it took down in total. "This is an issue we are aware of and we are continuing to look into this matter to disable further accounts that are in violation of our policies," a company spokesperson said in a statement. Instagram says it urges users to report suspicious accounts, that it has sophisticated spam detection and blocking systems. The company says that it blocks millions of fake accounts every day, and that following the BBC's inquiries, a number of the scam accounts had been removed. Reporting by Jonathan Griffin and Reha Kansara What did you think of this story? Email BBC Trending You can hear more on this story on the Trending podcast from the BBC World Service: Download now Follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

क्लिक के बदले सूडान को सहायता भेजने के बारे में फर्जी दावे करने वाले स्कैमर्स धोखाधड़ी वाले खातों के एक्सपोजर और निलंबन के बावजूद इंस्टाग्राम पर सामने आ रहे हैं, जिनमें से कुछ के सैकड़ों हजारों फॉलोअर्स थे।


Brexit: Lambs to the slaughter

Summary: Brexit talks have been passed back to negotiators, with little sign of progress from the UK and EU leadership, and with no deal getting worryingly close for exporters. Sheep meat is one sector facing particularly high tariffs - put there to protect British and other European farmers, but now the UK will be outside the EU fortress. Even with a tariff-free deal, there will be high extra costs for animal produce going to Europe, involving certification, queues and border checks.

Douglas FraserBusiness/economy editor, Scotland Remember spring? If you were lucky enough to get out to somewhere rural, you probably saw some cute lambs a-gambolling. Well, it's not looking good for them now. They've put on some weight, and are less cute. Or they were. This has been the slaughtering season. About a third of Scottish lamb goes for export, and 98% of that is to the European Union. French chefs highly value uplands-grazed lamb. There's a metaphor somewhere in there for the Brexit talks. But for sheep farmers, this isn't metaphor. This is their future. The average tariff on sheep meat is 48%. It is not a flat rate: instead, there's a fee per kilo and a percentage of the value. And the more it is butchered and processed, the higher the tariff on entering the European Union. Why so high? Because the European Union has acted as a fortress to protect its farmers, including those in Britain, against cheap imports. New Zealand, for instance, produces more efficiently in bigger farm units, with bigger flocks and blessed with better quality pasture. 'Fortress Europe' New Zealand, which took a huge hit when the UK joined the European Economic Community, is still a big exporter into the European Union (and the UK), but only up to a tariff-free quota. So while the UK consumes roughly the same amount of sheep meat that it produces, there is a more complex food market of surplus and exports at this time of year, and imports at other times. Having been protected by the fortress Europe regime for agriculture, the UK has chosen to go outside said battlements. And at such levels of tariff, a no-deal Brexit at the end of this month is expected to lead to no exports at all. What happens then? Britain will have an oversupply, which would drive down prices, making sheep farming non-viable. One option is to develop new markets. That doesn't happen overnight. The next best market is likely to be in the Middle East and North Africa. Halal slaughter would be required, and there are animal welfare issues with that. A UK government minister suggested sheep farmers could shift to beef, to replace Ireland's sales of beef into the UK. (He didn't offer suggestions on what Ireland's beef farmers should do.) Beef will also face very high tariffs, as the UK government intends to continue keeping out cheap imports, and if it has to set a high tariff to keep out beef from the US, Brazil or Argentina, the World Trade Organisation rules dictate that it has to set the same tariff for Ireland and the rest of the European Union. Unless, that is, there's a deal on reducing tariffs. The farming experts I've been hearing from over recent weeks of looking into this also point out that shifting from sheep to beef is a lengthy process of buying and rearing stock, and some land simply isn't suitable for it. Pig farmers have another distinctive issue. In Britain, we eat less than half a pig. The other bits have other uses. You probably don't want to know the details, but think "sausage meat". It is only by making maximum use of all the "fifth quarter" cuts of meat that pig farming can be viable. 'No questions asked' A lot of this is exported, in what is known as groupage - lots of bits of pig in the back of a truck. In the single market, that can be trucked straight through to Germany's sausage factories, no questions asked. Outside the single market, each consignment within that groupage requires export certification. So this is one part of the economy, and an important one for rural Scotland, watching closer than most as the two sides in Brexit talks struggle and so far fail to reach a deal. As I've already detailed, those producing seed potatoes won't be allowed to export anything at all, even with tariffs, unless there's a new trading relationship. Tariffs as a percentage are much lower on car parts, but such is the efficiency and inter-dependence of the auto industry supply chain that a failure to get a deal is estimated by manufacturers to carry a £55bn cost to that industry. Fisheries remain a stumbling block, as the UK government seeks to keep its promises to a small number of coastal communities. They made no such promises to the larger number of people who process and export fish, and those whose shellfish exports depend on quick, easy access to European markets. So they are the ones who would lose out if British exporters face tariffs or quotas. And if there is a deal, bringing an end to the threat of tariffs? Returning to the sheep farmers, that would be a huge relief. But being outside the single market and customs union will still carry a significant cost. Every export consignment of animal products, including meat and dairy, will have to carry an Export Health Certificate, signed by a vet who has to be qualified in the complex task of tracing supply chains. (As things stand, a supermarket lorry loaded in Scotland and carrying numerous types of meat and dairy to a Northern Ireland retail outlet will need an export certificate for each one of them, because the province is deemed to be inside the single market.) With carcasses loaded onto trucks, they head for the Channel ports. Each truck will need a pass to be allowed into Kent, where they could face long delays in lorry parks, at least until the new rules settle down. Crossing to Calais, they will find it has no entry port (yet) for red meat, so it will have to be taken for checking up the coast at Dunkirk. Fish have to be taken down the coast to Boulogne, and if fresh, they lose value at a faster rate. Limited licences Arrival at customs will have to be pre-booked. Each truck's paperwork will have to be checked for tractor unit and trailer, and there will be a check that the consignment matches the lorry. There are a limited number of licences by British drivers allowed onto the continent. Customs officers can check as rigorously as they wish. At present, inbound consignments from New Zealand face a low level of checking. From Brazil, the proportion checked is much higher. It's not impossible that a rancorous UK departure from the EU will lead to lengthy checks and even longer queues. Suppose French fishing crews are in dispute over access to British waters, and you can see that Boulogne might not be a welcoming destination for a lorry-load of British fish. And so it goes on. The practicalities of Brexit with a deal are much more onerous than at present. The costs of Brexit without a deal are much higher still, and in agricultural goods, they will simply kill off large export markets. The stakes for steaks could hardly be higher.

ब्रिटेन और यूरोपीय संघ के नेतृत्व से प्रगति के बहुत कम संकेतों के साथ ब्रेक्सिट वार्ता वार्ताकारों को वापस दे दी गई है, और निर्यातकों के लिए कोई सौदा चिंताजनक रूप से करीब नहीं आ रहा है। भेड़ का मांस एक ऐसा क्षेत्र है जो विशेष रूप से उच्च शुल्क का सामना कर रहा है-जिसे ब्रिटिश और अन्य यूरोपीय किसानों की रक्षा के लिए रखा गया है, लेकिन अब ब्रिटेन यूरोपीय संघ के किले से बाहर होगा। शुल्क-मुक्त सौदे के साथ भी, यूरोप जाने वाले पशु उत्पादों के लिए उच्च अतिरिक्त लागत होगी, जिसमें प्रमाणन, कतारें और सीमा जांच शामिल हैं।


How Alan Pegler saved Flying Scotsman for the nation

Summary: Just over half a century ago, the world's best-loved steam engine was destined for scrap. That it was saved was down to the efforts of one man - a true British eccentric. But his love for the locomotive he called the "old girl" cost him his fortune - and nearly saw Flying Scotsman stranded in the United States.

By Jennifer HarbyBBC News Alan Pegler was four when he was taken by his parents to the British Empire Exhibition of 1924. As he walked through pavilions full of exhibits, one left the young boy dazzled: LNER 4472 Flying Scotsman. "I was lifted into its cab," he said in an interview with the Railway Magazine. "I remember being impressed at how clean it was, compared with the grimier engines we saw at home, and how marvellous its apple-green paint was. "I was spellbound and couldn't stop thinking about it all the way home." Pegler's infatuation with the first British steam locomotive to break the 100mph barrier and run non-stop from London to Edinburgh would become a lifelong love. Forty years after this encounter, he became instrumental in saving it from the scrapyard. His daughter Penny Vaudoyer can remember the day, in January 1963, when her father came into her room to tell her he had bought the engine. "He had a little sparkle about him," she said. "He sat down on my bed and said, 'I've bought a steam engine. I'm going to have her painted apple-green [again] and we are going to have so many wonderful adventures with her'." Pegler was an eccentric raconteur. Born into a family of manufacturers in Retford, Nottinghamshire, he spent his childhood playing at being a porter at his local station at Barnby Moor, watching the trains go by on the Great Northern mainline. Aged 17, he gained his pilot's licence and spent his time flying over the line, chasing steam locomotives. Such experience saw him posted into the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during World War Two. He later became a dive-bomber and survived a horrific crash landing when his engine cut out. "He was a swashbuckling buccaneer of a character," said Andy Roden, editor of Steam World and author of a book about Flying Scotsman. "He was just going to do what he wanted and, thankfully for us steam buffs, that mostly involved the railways." "Like many of that generation, his character was shaped by World War Two," added Bob Gwynne, associate curator at the National Railway Museum. "After he'd been through that, there was nothing he couldn't bounce back from." After the death of Pegler's father in 1957, there was a feeling among his relatives that he was becoming too diverted by his rail "hobby" to take on the family business. By that stage, he had a seat on British Railways' Eastern Area board and had reopened a narrow-gauge line in Wales: the Ffestiniog, in Gwynedd. "The family got fed up with him being more interested in railways than the business and bought him out for £70,000," said Mr Roden. "It was a huge amount of money at that time and it was burning a hole in his pocket. Most of us would think, 'Let's retire and live the life of Riley'." Instead, Pegler became swept up in a debate that was engulfing Britain - the future of steam railways. British Railways (BR), the nationalised body that had taken over Britain's ailing post-war rail network, was determined to replace steam with diesel. Its chairman Dr Richard Beeching believed the move would save money and, as a result, thousands of steam engines were culled. In response to the outcry, BR decided to preserve a few locomotives. However, Flying Scotsman was not among them. BR seemed to feel only a few engines per designer could be preserved. Instead of Flying Scotsman, the board chose to save the record-breaking Mallard which was also the work of influential railway engineer Sir Nigel Gresley. "BR had already saved Nigel Gresley's best design, which was Mallard," said Mr Gwynne. "They didn't need another one. "Flying Scotsman would certainly have been scrapped. Her future looked bleak." When Pegler found out Flying Scotsman wasn't going to be saved for the nation, he was aghast. "He felt its destruction would be a huge loss," said Mr Roden. "Pegler decided on the spot to buy it for £3,000 and negotiated for himself a fantastic deal." You might also be interested in: The Great Pretender: England on film The engineering giant with 'short man syndrome' How smallpox claimed its final victim As well as ensuring the engine got a complete overhaul and its own shed, Pegler was able to charter trains for Flying Scotsman. By 1968 it had become, Mr Roden says, the only steam locomotive running on Britain's railways. "He saved a national icon at a time when the nation didn't actually want to save her," he said. Pegler ran Flying Scotsman very successfully at first. "He was a master at publicity," said Mr Gwynne. "He paid for the services of a London-based PR firm and over the next few years Flying Scotsman became the most famous locomotive in the world." Thousands turned out to see the engine everywhere it went. It appeared on BBC children's programme Blue Peter, with presenter John Noakes shovelling coal in the cab. "A lot of change was going on and people were nostalgic for the past. And the media love eccentrics, especially rich ones," said Mr Gwynne. "Pegler played on that very well and he had the time of his life." In 1968, in a stroke of genius, Pegler managed to recreate the engine's famous non-stop 1928 trip from London to Edinburgh. "The BBC hired a helicopter to cover it," said Mr Roden. "The significance was that it was the last time steam was going to be able to do that. "It was a remarkable swansong and Pegler was in the cab, in the buffet car, all over the place." But all the fuss about Flying Scotsman would bring Pegler into confrontation with Dr Beeching. "The poor man was trying to modernise the railway and there was this steam engine getting all the headlines," said Mr Gwynne. "Beeching was not very happy." Pegler was sacked from the BR board. "There's a story that he asked Beeching whether he was being dropped because of Flying Scotsman," said Mr Roden. "Beeching sat back in his chair and looked Pegler straight in the eye. After a pause, he said, 'Yes'." Undeterred, Pegler set his sights on the United States, where he led a promotional tour in 1969 in conjunction with the British government. At first, it was a resounding success. "Amazingly, at the time of the space race and the moon landings, there was a nostalgia for the past," said Mr Roden. "The Americans came to love Flying Scotsman almost as much as we do. "There was an elegance and a romance associated with her and her name that sums up exactly what she's about." Eventually, the government decided to call time on the tour. For Pegler, the urge to soldier on alone proved irresistible. "A chap said to him, 'it's your goddamn locomotive - why don't you drive it?" said Mr Roden. "That was something you could do in the US, and Pegler, being the character he was, did. He thought it might result in him going bankrupt. But it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance." The consequences of his decision to carry on with the tour proved disastrous. His daughter, who was 17 at the time, remembers travelling on the cash-strapped second tour. "It was an almost unbelievable journey," Mrs Vaudoyer said. "We crossed the Rockies and went from Montreal, all the way to San Francisco through all this wonderful landscape. Even in the small towns we had big welcomes. "I could tell things were getting difficult for my father though. By the end of the trip, we weren't staying in nice hotels any more - we were sleeping in sleeping bags in the carriage. But it was still great fun." Pegler would end up filing for bankruptcy in the UK. "Financially, he lost it," said Mr Roden. "The tour became like a travelling circus. Business dried up and Pegler ran out of money. "He sat on his suitcase on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco and thought, 'what on earth am I going to do next?'" For his beloved engine, the future seemed equally bleak. Flying Scotsman was parked in an army base in California. There was great national anxiety she would never return to British shores. But both Pegler and his "old girl" proved equally indefatigable. William McAlpine, another wealthy businessman with a passion for railways, stepped in to buy the locomotive and bring her home. "It was absolutely mobbed when it came back. She had acquired superstar status," said Mr Gwynne. As for Pegler, who married four times, he became a shipboard entertainer and worked his passage back to the UK. "I would sing my heart out," he told the Railway Magazine. "The drinkers would pass round the hat and I would have enough for a meal the next day." Back home in Britain, he embarked on a career as an entertainer and actor, including a spell as a Henry VIII impersonator at a restaurant in London - his mutton chop whiskers and extrovert personality proving perfect for the job description. Today Flying Scotsman sits in the National Railway collection, having been bought in 2004. As for Pegler, who died in 2012, he always remained in love with the engine that ruined him financially. "My father's passion for 'the old girl' lasted all his life, right up until he died," recalled his daughter. "He always travelled behind her whenever he had the opportunity. She was part of the family." But many feel he deserves to be better remembered for his achievement in preserving a national icon. "His finest hour was saving Flying Scotsman," said Mr Roden. "He is one of the catalysts of the railway preservation movement. If you had said 50 years ago that steam locomotives would still be being built and lines reopened, people wouldn't have believed you. "The starting point for all that goes back to people like Alan Pegler."

आधी सदी से भी पहले, दुनिया का सबसे पसंदीदा भाप इंजन स्क्रैप के लिए नियत था। कि इसे बचाया गया था, यह एक आदमी के प्रयासों पर निर्भर था-एक सच्चा ब्रिटिश सनकी। लेकिन लोकोमोटिव के लिए उनके प्यार को उन्होंने "बूढ़ी लड़की" कहा, जिससे उनका भाग्य बर्बाद हो गया-और लगभग फ्लाइंग स्कॉट्समैन को संयुक्त राज्य में फंसे हुए देखा।


Care home visits given go ahead from Friday, day earlier than planned

Summary: Indoor visits to adult care homes in Wales have been given the green light for Friday, one day earlier than previously announced.

The Welsh Government had planned to allow visits from Saturday. Health Minister Vaughan Gething said the reopening date is a guide and it is for each institution to determine when they can begin welcoming visitors. Official guidance will be published on the day. Mr Gething urged friends and families "to please be patient and understand as homes begin to work through the logistics".

वेल्स में वयस्क देखभाल गृहों की आंतरिक यात्राओं को शुक्रवार के लिए हरी झंडी दी गई है, जो पहले की घोषणा से एक दिन पहले है।


Profile: Libya's Ansar al-Sharia

Summary: Libya's Ansar al-Sharia has come under the spotlight in recent weeks following the launch of attacks against the group in Benghazi. Retired General Khalifa Haftar, the self-declared leader of the Libyan National Army, announced the launch of Operation al-Karamah (Dignity) in May 2014 with the aim of cleansing Libya of "terrorism and extremism".

By Faisal IrshaidBBC Monitoring Ansar al-Sharia's leader, Mohammad al-Zahawi, 46, has urged Libyans not to be taken in by Gen Haftar's operation. The statement came only days after a series of deadly attacks and confrontations with pro-Haftar forces. In the same statement, Mr al-Zahawi said that the group opposes the interim government and democracy in the country, vowed to fight back and warned the US not to intervene, reminding it "of its despicable defeats in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, and that it will see worse from Libya than what it has seen [so far]". The group Ansar al-Sharia is an Islamist militia calling for the implementation of strict Sharia law across Libya. The group, whose name means "Partisans of Islamic law" in Arabic, emerged following the February 2011 anti-Gaddafi uprising. It is made up of former rebels from several militias based in eastern Libya, notably the Abu Obayda bin al-Jarah Brigade, the Malik Brigade and the 17 February Brigade. The group was officially formed in June 2012 when it issued the "Ansar al-Sharia First Meeting", a communique announcing its inauguration. The number of rebels that fight for the group remains unknown. The group operates mainly in Benghazi and denies having any presence elsewhere in Libya. The group's base in Benghazi's Quwarshah district was reportedly bombarded with surface-to-surface missiles by Gen Haftar's forces. Opposition to Gaddafi's rule was especially strong in eastern Libya as many people there accused him of centralizing power in Tripoli and neglecting the east economically and socially. Little is known about Mr al-Zawahi. He is from eastern Libya and was jailed in Tripoli's Abu Salim prison for standing up to Gaddafi. Benghazi attacks The group gained prominence in September 2012 for its alleged role in the Benghazi attacks that led to the burning of the US consulate and the killing of the US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens. The group denies any involvement. "They were not known [in] Libya before the revolution. We had the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, we had the Muslim Brotherhood, we had Salafis but this group, we did not hear about until recently, until after the revolution started," Libyan diplomat Ahmad Jibril has told the BBC. In October 2012, the group became known as Ansar al-Sharia in Libya (ASL), most likely to differentiate itself from Tunisia's Ansar al-Sharia group. From October 2012 onwards, Ansar al-Sharia had confrontations with a number of Libyan groups, many of which joined the Libyan army in Benghazi. Following these confrontations, the group reduced its military presence in the city but kept close links to the prominent Islamist 17 February Brigade group. Charity work, Da'wah Ansar al-Sharia subsequently started focusing on charity and da'wah - or Islamic call - work, distancing itself from militancy until the recent clashes with Gen Haftar's forces. Along with its advocacy work, which shows the group's organizational strength, Ansar al-Sharia operates social and education programmes to gain local support. The group provides social services, ranging from cleaning the streets and regulating traffic, to helping the needy and establishing cultural centres across Benghazi. This has helped Ansar al-Sharia raise funds in the form of donations from Libyan expatriates. Links to other groups? This form of charitable work is not unique to Ansar al-Sharia in Libya. Indeed, the original purpose behind the creation of the Ansar al-Sharia brand, thought to be a front for al-Qaeda and which today exists in several Muslim countries, was to avoid the negative attention associated with the al-Qaeda name, with the group operating at the grass-root levels to build a public support base. However, Ansar al-Sharia has resorted to violence when threatened and has launched attacks against other Libyan groups on several occasions. The group denies any links to al-Qaeda or other militant groups outside Libya, although the Tunisian security officials pointed to operational, financial and logistical links between Ansar al-Sharia in Libya and Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia (AST), with the latter receiving weapons from its Libyan counterpart. Ansar al-Sharia's commitment to launch attacks suggests that the conflict in Libya will still get bloodier. Africa's militant Islamist groups Jihadist groups around the world BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. For more reports from BBC Monitoring, click here. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.

लीबिया का अंसार अल-शरिया बेनगाज़ी में समूह के खिलाफ हमलों के बाद हाल के हफ्तों में सुर्खियों में आया है। लीबिया की राष्ट्रीय सेना के स्व-घोषित नेता सेवानिवृत्त जनरल खलीफा हफ्तार ने मई 2014 में लीबिया को "आतंकवाद और चरमपंथ" से शुद्ध करने के उद्देश्य से ऑपरेशन अल-करामाह (गरिमा) शुरू करने की घोषणा की।


North Wales Armed Forces Day under way at Deeside College

Summary: A military parade, field gun display and parachute display are among events being held to mark North Wales Armed Forces Day in Flintshire.

The event, at Deeside College, Connah's Quay, is designed to allow local communities show support for the UK's armed forces. The celebrations, which also include an RAF flypast, started at 11:00 BST on Saturday and will last until 18:00 BST. It is being held a week ahead of a UK-wide Armed Forces Day next Saturday.

फ्लिंटशायर में नॉर्थ वेल्स सशस्त्र बल दिवस को चिह्नित करने के लिए आयोजित किए जा रहे कार्यक्रमों में एक सैन्य परेड, फील्ड गन प्रदर्शन और पैराशूट प्रदर्शन शामिल हैं।


Q&A: DR Congo conflict

Summary: The Democratic Republic of Congo is slowly recovering from a conflict known as Africa's first world war, which led to the loss of some five million lives between 1994 and 2003, but many eastern areas are still plagued by violence as various rebel groups continue to operate there. What has the fighting been about?

DR Congo is extremely wealthy - and extremely big. Similar in size to Western Europe, it is rich in diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt and zinc. The country also has supplies of coltan, which is used in mobile phones and other electronic gadgets, and cassiterite, used in food packaging. Unfortunately for the people of DR Congo, its resource wealth has rarely been harnessed for their benefit. This vast country has hardly any roads or railways, while the health and education systems lie in ruins. Instead the natural riches have attracted rapacious adventurers, unscrupulous corporations, vicious warlords and corrupt governments, and divided the population between competing ethnic groups. In the early 20th Century, Belgian forces arrived and enslaved millions, while King Leopold ruled the country as his personal fiefdom. During a painful independence struggle in the 1960s, the vast country almost disintegrated as regions fought each other. But Joseph Mobutu seized power in 1965 and set about crushing internal rebellions and unifying the nation - eventually changing its name to Zaire. However, Mobutu was soon seduced by wealth and once he controlled most of the country and achieved a level of stability and prosperity, he began using the country's riches for one thing - to ensure he remained in power. As his rule went on, his plunder continued and the country gradually slipped out of his control. The 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda hastened his downfall and helped plunge DR Congo into the deadliest conflict in African history. Why did Rwanda's genocide affect DR Congo so badly? Eastern DR Congo has porous borders. After Rwanda's genocidal Hutu regime was overthrown, more than two million Hutus are thought to have fled into DR Congo fearing reprisals against them by the new, Tutsi-dominated government. Among them were many of the militiamen responsible for the genocide. They quickly allied themselves with Mobutu's government and began to attack DR Congo's sizeable population of ethnic Tutsis, who had lived in the country for generations. Rwanda's Tutsi government started to back rival militias, fighting both the Hutu militias and Congolese government troops. The Tutsi militias, allied to other local groups backed by Uganda, eventually marched on Kinshasa and overthrew Mobutu's government. They installed Laurent Kabila as president and he once again renamed the country - from Zaire to DR Congo. But Mr Kabila failed to expel the Hutu militia and tiny Rwanda, which had put him in power, soon sent a new force to oust him. Mr Kabila then called in help from Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola, and for the next five years all six countries, and others, fought a proxy war on Congolese land. All sides were accused of using the cover of the war to loot the country's riches. More than five million people died in the war and its aftermath - mostly from starvation or disease. Although the war was declared over in 2003, the east of the country continues to be unstable. Has DR Congo achieved any kind of peace? Most of the country has now found peace and the central government has slowly reasserted control. The country even started to live up to its name by having the first democratic elections in more than four decades, which saw the late Laurent Kabila's son, Joseph, elected as president. But a proxy war between Rwanda and the Kinshasa government continued in the east until the end of 2008. Notorious Tutsi warlord Gen Laurent Nkunda - who most analysts believe was backed by Rwanda - waged a campaign to destroy Hutu rebels from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). He accused the government of backing the FDLR. A sea-change in the conflict came about in late 2008 when Rwanda and DR Congo joined forces to combat the FDLR in the provinces of North and South Kivu. As part of the deal, Gen Nkunda was taken out of the country and put under house arrest in Rwanda - where he remains. But the bitter conflict has continued unabated and Congolese government troops, backed by thousands of UN peacekeepers, have failed to defeat the FDLR rebels. Reports of mass rapes, killings and other atrocities committed by rebels and government troops continue. The deal between DR Congo and Rwanda has also collapsed, with a new rebel group, the M23, largely made up of former Nkunda loyalists, becoming increasingly active in eastern DR Congo in 2012. The DR Congo government has repeatedly accused Rwanda of backing the M23. The group was initially said to have been led by Bosco "Terminator" Ntaganda, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on war crimes charges. Its claims have been given credence by a UN panel investigating the conflict. It says M23 leaders "receive direct military orders" from Rwanda's chief of defence staff, Gen Charles Kayonga, "who in turn acts on instructions from the minister of defence", Gen James Kabarebe. It also says Kigali has supplied the M23 with heavy weapons and stepped up recruitment for the group - allegations that President Paul Kagame's government has strongly denied. The UN panel also accuses Rwanda's regional rival, Uganda, of backing the rebels. Ugandan army commanders "sent troops and weapons to reinforce specific M23 operations and assisted in M23's recruitment and weapons procurement efforts in Uganda", the report says. Uganda has dismissed the allegations as "hogwash". What is the UN doing to end the conflict? The UN's peacekeeping mission has been in DR Congo since 1999. It is one of the biggest peacekeeping operations in the world, with almost 20,000 personnel on the ground. It is mandated to protect civilians and also help with the reconstruction of the country. It has played a key role in organising democratic elections in DR Congo and has launched military operations against various rebel groups. But a 2009 report by UN-commissioned experts said UN involvement had done nothing to quell the violence - with rebels continuing to kill and plunder natural resources with impunity, and claims that the rebels are supported by an international crime network stretching through Africa to Western Europe and North America. And the campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has suggested the UN risks becoming complicit in atrocities against civilians. In August 2010, the UN force was accused of not doing anything to stop the rape of more than 150 women and children within miles of their base near Luvungi, saying they only heard about the attacks 10 days afterwards. The Congolese government has said it is now capable of maintaining law and order, and wants the UN force to leave the country. To reflect its changing status, the force changed its name from the UN Organisation Mission in DR Congo - known by its French acronym Monuc - to the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission - Monusco.

कांगो लोकतांत्रिक गणराज्य धीरे-धीरे अफ्रीका के प्रथम विश्व युद्ध के रूप में जाने जाने वाले संघर्ष से उबर रहा है, जिसके कारण 1994 और 2003 के बीच लगभग 50 लाख लोगों की जान गई थी, लेकिन कई पूर्वी क्षेत्र अभी भी हिंसा से त्रस्त हैं क्योंकि विभिन्न विद्रोही समूह वहां काम करना जारी रखते हैं। लड़ाई किस बारे में हुई है?


How Becky Godden's murderer was caught, lost, and caught again

Summary: The murder case of Becky Godden was a strange one. Police knew who the killer was, where he was, and what he had done. But because of irregularities in detective work, Christopher Halliwell could have evaded justice for her death.

But Halliwell, 52, has now been found guilty of strangling the 20-year-old, and faces a second life sentence. The story began in 2003, when taxi driver Halliwell abducted and murdered Miss Godden, who was working as a prostitute when she disappeared from Swindon in the new year. Until 2011, no-one knew what had happened to the blonde sex worker. Also known as Becky Godden-Edwards, she had just vanished from the streets. But in March that year, another young woman went missing - Sian O'Callaghan. Miss O'Callaghan, a 22-year-old office administrator, was reported missing by her boyfriend. Halliwell had been cruising around Swindon looking for a victim. Miss O'Callaghan was in the wrong place at the wrong time. As is often sadly the case, the disappearance of a woman who was not a sex worker captured the public's - and the media's - imagination in a way the disappearance of a prostitute did not. Halliwell was arrested and admitted the crime. He also agreed to show police where he had hidden her body - at a remote beauty spot, close to the Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire. Det Supt Steve Fulcher of Wiltshire Police was the investigating officer, and in an extraordinary development Halliwell told him he had also murdered Miss Godden. The confession led officers to her remains in Eastleach, Gloucestershire, two days later. So far, so straightforward. Surely Halliwell would now face charges for both murders? But Det Supt Fulcher, acting on instinct, had pressed Halliwell for details without cautioning him or allowing him access to a solicitor. A High Court judge ruled this breach of police guidelines made Halliwell's confession inadmissible. And the confession was the only evidence the police had. Unless fresh evidence was found, the case against him for Miss Godden's murder, had to be dropped. The detective had both caught - and lost - the murderer. In 2012 Halliwell pleaded guilty to murdering Miss O'Callaghan and was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 25 years. Meanwhile, Det Supt Fulcher's actions led to an inquiry by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. He was allowed to keep his job but he later resigned from the force. New evidence was painstakingly gathered in an attempt to bring Halliwell to trial for the murder of Miss Godden. A forensic soil scientist found there was "strong scientific support" that soil from a fork and pickaxe connected with the murder came from Halliwell's garden. A witness was traced in the form of a former Swindon sex worker who recognised Halliwell as one of Miss Godden's "regulars". GP records show Halliwell visited a doctor in January 2003 - just after Miss Godden disappeared - with a swollen hand and scratched face. Despite the new evidence and having admitted the murder years ago, he decided to plead not guilty. The killer represented himself at Bristol Crown Court, even cross-examining Mr Fulcher, who now works as a consultant in Somalia. Halliwell claimed his confession was false and he had made it because he had known guidelines were being breached. "I wanted to do everything I could to destroy [Mr Fulcher's] career," he said. Today though, the jury rejected that argument and found him guilty. Other than the delay in convicting Halliwell, what effect has Mr Fulcher's maverick approach had? Speaking in 2012, Mr Fulcher defended his actions, saying the conversation with Halliwell took place at a "very tense moment". "Any intervention at that time could have broken that momentary bond and he could have changed his mind and taken another course of action," he said. The families of the murdered women are divided. Sian O'Callaghan's parents and boyfriend, and Becky Godden's mother, Karen Edwards, have praised his unconventional methods. "Had Steve Fulcher followed the guidelines, then Becky would never have been found, she would have never have come into the equation and Sian would have still have been where [Halliwell] moved her to," Ms Edwards said. "No-one would have found Sian in a million years where they found her, where he dumped her body." But Miss Godden's father John believes the former detective made a "massive mistake". "I can't explain to you what they have made me feel and what they have done to me mentally," he said. "They have got off very cheaply, Wiltshire Police. "What they have put me through, this extra pain and suffering, nobody has been made accountable for it." Miss O'Callaghan's family has always been vocal in its support of Mr Fulcher's actions. Her mother, Elaine Pickford, is adamant her daughter's body would not have been found so quickly - and that Miss Godden's body would never have been found - if it had not been for Mr Fulcher's unconventional approach. She also believes the ex-policeman has saved the lives of other young women: "Who knows what Halliwell would have gone on to do?"

बेकी गोडन की हत्या का मामला अजीब था। पुलिस को पता था कि हत्यारा कौन था, वह कहाँ था और उसने क्या किया था। लेकिन जासूसी के काम में अनियमितताओं के कारण, क्रिस्टोफर हैलीवेल उसकी मौत के लिए न्याय से बच सकता था।


If Roe v Wade is overturned, will abortion become illegal in the US?

Summary: Could abortion in the US become illegal?

By Amelia Butterly100 Women That's the question being typed into search engines across the world, as people wait to see who President Donald Trump announces as his nomination for the US Supreme Court. He's previously promised to appoint a "pro-life" judge. Since Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, questions have been raised over whether his replacement will overturn Roe v Wade. That landmark Supreme Court ruling legalised abortion across the US in 1973. There's no guarantee, regardless of who is appointed, that Roe v Wade will be overturned, but there has still been an explosion of search interest on Google as to what will happen to abortion access if it does. Because Roe v Wade was a Supreme Court ruling, it governs the whole of the US as a nation. However, each of the 50 states also employs its own rules and practices when it comes to providing women with the option to terminate a pregnancy. At the moment, these rules can't contradict the precedent that was set by Roe v Wade - that a woman has a right to terminate her pregnancy under the freedom of personal choice in family matters, as protected by the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. In the absence of Roe v Wade, a woman's access to abortion would be affected by the state she lives in. Ultimately, in most - but not all - states, a ban is unlikely come into immediate effect. However, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, 23 states would have the potential to ban abortion outright if Roe v Wade is overturned. "In nine states (including the District of Columbia), the right to abortion is at risk of loss, and in 19 states, the right to abortion appears secure," it says. Using a selection of states as examples, this is how the Supreme Court's future approach to Roe v Wade could affect women living across the US. Louisiana Overturning Roe v Wade would theoretically make abortion illegal in Louisiana. This is because it is one of four states to have so-called "trigger laws" already in place. These are laws which lie in wait, only coming into effect after another law or ruling is amended or overturned. Louisiana has an abortion ban that will spring into action "the instant or soon after Roe is overturned", according to the Center for Reproductive Rights. "This ban would not require any legal action to go into effect if Roe were reversed." Limited exceptions would be made, for example, to save the life of the mother, but in all other cases doctors could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $100,000 for providing an abortion. Punishment would only apply to the person providing the abortion, not the woman having it, according to the Georgetown Law Journal. The other states with similar "trigger laws" are North Dakota, South Dakota and Mississippi. Commentators have pointed out that abortion rights have already been rolled back in many states, and more restrictive state laws have made accessing a legal termination more difficult. In 2017, 19 states passed 63 abortion restrictions. Twenty-nine states now have enough restrictions to be considered hostile to abortion rights by the research group Guttmacher Institute. Nationwide, the number of clinics has plunged in the last decade. Seven states are now down to just one. Meanwhile, opponents of abortion protest outside of clinics, trying to persuade patients seeking an abortion not to go through with the procedure. One such demonstrator, Chris Davis, previously told the BBC: "The abortion debate is becoming prominent because there is no more important issue in life than life itself." Mr Davis, a father of three who defines himself as a "strong Christian", takes part in vigils in Louisiana. "What we focus on is not necessarily overturning Roe v Wade overnight," he said. "With every woman that changes her mind after talking to us or seeing us pray, Roe v Wade is overturned in a grassroots effort. One woman, one baby at a time". Elsewhere, reports of intimidation tactics and threats have escalated, according to the National Abortion Federation (NAF), a professional association for abortion doctors that has been compiling statistics since 1977. Threats of violence or death almost doubled at clinics in 2017 while trespassing cases more than tripled from a year earlier. California At the opposite end of the scale is California, where inhabitants are deemed to have the least risk of losing abortion access in the event of Roe v Wade being overturned, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights. Here, abortion is protected by the state constitution, separately from federal constitutional rights. "Abortion would continue to be protected in these states even if Roe fell," the Center says. Montana, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Alaska and Florida have similar protections. In addition, California has passed laws which strongly protect a women's right to seek an abortion. Other states with similar laws - but no constitutional protection - include Maine, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware and Hawaii. These laws would continue to provide for women seeking abortion but are seen as "less secure" than constitutional protection by the Center for Reproductive Rights Planned Parenthood, a leading US campaign group and provider of reproductive healthcare, has spoken out in support of Roe v Wade, and continuing legal access to abortion as the debate about who will be appointed to the Supreme Court continues. "The right to access abortion in this country is on the line," said Dawn Laguens, executive vice-president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "For more than 40 years, access to safe and legal abortion has been the law of the land and the right to control your body is an essential American liberty." Wyoming On the spectrum between Louisiana and California sits Wyoming, somewhere near the middle. While it doesn't have laws like Louisiana, which could ban abortion if Roe v Wade is overturned, it also doesn't have any laws that provide additional protections, like California. Members of Wyoming's government and state lawmakers are for the most part anti-choice, meaning - theoretically - they could support plans to restrict access to abortion. Approximately 926,200 abortions were performed in the US in 2014, according to the Guttmacher Institute's most recent data. At 2014 abortion rates, one in 20 women (5%) in the US will have an abortion by age 20, about one in five (19%) by age 30 and about one in four (24%) by age 45. The three most common reasons given by women for having an abortion were concern for or responsibility to other individuals; the inability to afford raising a child; and the belief that having a baby would interfere with work, school or the ability to care for dependents. Half said they did not want to be a single parent or were having problems with their husband or partner. What is 100 Women? BBC 100 Women names 100 influential and inspirational women around the world every year. We create documentaries, features and interviews about their lives, giving more space for stories that put women at the centre. Follow BBC 100 Women on Instagram and Facebook and join the conversation.

क्या अमेरिका में गर्भपात अवैध हो सकता है?


Migrant crisis: One day across destination Europe

Summary: The number of migrants entering Europe has reached record levels, with many seeking to travel north through the continent. We take a look at 24 hours across Europe as many more migrants arrive to try to start a new life - all the images below were taken on 1 September.

The Mediterranean Many were rescued on Tuesday in the Mediterranean - which more than 300,000 migrants have crossed so far this year and where at least 2,600 have died. The Norwegian ship Siem Pilot saved more than 800 people in Libyan waters, including 11 pregnant women and more than 30 children, according to the United Nations' refugee arm. Four people were found dead. More than 1,200 migrants were rescued in Greek waters on Tuesday, the most in one day in some time, the country's coastguard said. Palermo, Italy In the Sicilian port city, the bodies were laid to rest of 51 people discovered dead inside the hull of a ship in Libyan waters last week. A suspected trafficker has been arrested. Piraeus, Greece A ship carrying 1,800 migrants arrived into the port city of Piraeus on Tuesday night. Most came from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and had travelled to outlying Greek islands. Greek authorities said another ship, with close to 2,500 migrants on board, was expected to arrive in Piraeus early on Wednesday. Greek-Macedonian border Close to 1,500 people are waiting to cross Greece's border with Macedonia - their journey will then take them north through Serbia and Hungary. Authorities in Macedonia are allowing small groups to cross at a time, but scuffles broke out when hundreds rushed the border in near the Greek town of Idomeni on Tuesday. Serbia In the centre of Belgrade, thousands of people are sleeping in a city-centre park before travelling further north by rail. Officials said close to 10,000 people had travelled on to Hungary in the last week. "You know, there are a lot of problems in our country Afghanistan," one man in Belgrade, Shewalli, told Reuters news agency. "Two months ago I came, by foot, through mountain and forest and rain, day and night, we walked to reach here." Budapest, Hungary Hundreds of migrants were left stranded outside a major railway station in the Hungarian capital after police sealed off the terminal to stop them travelling through the EU. Many chanted "Germany! Germany! We want to leave!" as authorities said only those with valid travel visas would be allowed to travel onward. As night fell, many hundreds were still outside. Vienna, Austria Those who were able to make the journey from Budapest to Vienna arrived in the Austrian capital throughout the day, and were met by volunteers handing out food and water. Elsewhere in Austria, police rescued 24 young Afghan migrants discovered in the back of a van officers called "a prison cell on wheels". Most were in their teens. The bodies of 71 migrants were found in the back of an abandoned truck on an Austrian motorway last week. Munich, Germany Germany expects to take in 800,000 refugees this year - four times last year's total, and it is the most popular destination to migrants arriving in Europe. Police in Bavaria said they registered 3,500 migrants in between Monday morning and Tuesday afternoon - the highest number ever registered in the same time period anywhere in Germany. For many, their journeys will not end here and may continue even further north to Scandinavia.

यूरोप में प्रवेश करने वाले प्रवासियों की संख्या रिकॉर्ड स्तर पर पहुंच गई है, जिनमें से कई महाद्वीप के माध्यम से उत्तर की यात्रा करना चाहते हैं। हम पूरे यूरोप में 24 घंटों पर एक नज़र डालते हैं क्योंकि कई और प्रवासी एक नया जीवन शुरू करने की कोशिश में आते हैं-नीचे दी गई सभी छवियां 1 सितंबर को ली गई थीं।


Man charged with murder over woman's death in Halifax

Summary: A man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of a woman who was found unconscious in a Halifax street.

Levi Ogden, 26, was seriously injured during an "altercation" in Silver Street on Sunday morning. She later died in hospital, police said. Lloyd Birkby, 26, from Jubilee Road, Halifax, will appear before Bradford magistrates on Tuesday. He is also charged with assaulting two other people during the incident. A fundraising appeal has been set up to pay for Ms Ogden's funeral and to support her two children. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.

हैलिफ़ैक्स सड़क पर बेहोश पाई गई एक महिला की मौत के संबंध में एक व्यक्ति पर हत्या का आरोप लगाया गया है।


Rosetta: Icy quarry coming into view

Summary: Take your seats because the show is about to begin.

Jonathan AmosScience correspondent@BBCAmoson Twitter The European Space Agency's Rosetta probe is edging ever closer to the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for what is expected to be one of the most daring space encounters in history. Wednesday saw the satellite successfully complete the fourth of its 10 planned thruster manoeuvres. These are designed to get the mission into orbit around the 4km-wide comet on 6 August. Today (Thursday), the separation between Rosetta and its icy quarry is about 165,000km. "We're now less than half the Earth-Moon distance. That's how close we are now," explained Prof Holger Sierks, who leads the Osiris camera team on Rosetta. "I think anybody on the street will understand that - it's actually really close-by in space." The picture at the top of this page is the first of what will be a regular release now from Prof Sierks and his team at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, in Göttingen, Germany. The comet may not be much to look at just yet - it is now barely a pixel across - but it will simply get bigger and bigger. One of the key jobs the Osiris camera system has right now is to eyeball the comet to assist with navigation. But, of course, it's also a very important science instrument. Not only will Osiris map the object and its surface features, but it carries a number of filters to elicit information about chemical composition. Imaging is being supported by big ground-based telescopes. Interesting observations already emerging relate to the activity of the comet. A few weeks back, it was seen to be throwing out quite a bit of material - gas and dust. Not anymore. "The comet, after a short time of activity, is back at rest," says Prof Sierks. "So, the message I guess is expect the unexpected." As the comet moves closer to the Sun, it will get significantly more active, and Osiris will have to take care to protect the optics on its wide and narrow-angle cameras. It has a set of doors that will open only when images are being acquired. "This is a must do," says Prof Sierks. "It's essential because we want to preserve the quality of our mirrors, which are directly exposed to the dust flow. "The system is set out and qualified for many, many door cycles. We open the door and shoot, shoot, shoot - and then close the door. "In normal circumstances, such as on our camera on [Nasa's asteroid mission] Dawn, we are qualified for 400 cycles. In the environment around an asteroid, you can open the door and leave it open. "But with Rosetta, we are qualified for 10,000 door cycles. We could be opening and closing the door maybe 10 or 20 times a day. So we open an eye, look quickly for what we want, and then close the eye." The next image release is likely to occur on 3 July. By then, 67P will be about six pixels across. Osiris' early tasks will be to find a suitable location for Rosetta to put down its Philae lander. It will start by making a global map at a resolution of about 20m. A site selection process will then narrow to a choice of two landing zones (first choice and back-up), which will be imaged at roughly 50cm resolution. By moving in very close itself, Rosetta can get much more detailed pictures, but the error on the landing is going to be on the order of 100m so tracing every bump and dip on the comet is just not necessary. Philae's landing is still projected for early November. I learnt this week that the main probe may also end its days by being dropped on to the surface of 67P, in much the same way as the Near-Shoemaker spacecraft was intentionally ditched on Asteroid 433 Eros in 2001. But that is a way down the road; first, let's just get to the comet.

अपनी सीट ले लीजिए क्योंकि शो शुरू होने वाला है।


My Money: A wedding, a pay rise and some healthy eating

Summary: My Money is a series looking at how people spend their money - and the sometimes tough decisions they have to make. Here, Somi Ifeh from Lagos in Nigeria, records her spending over a week and shares tips for saving.

Somi is 26 and works for a PR firm in Lagos. A lot of Somi's money ends up being spent on food, books... and more food. She recently went head-to-head with another blogger, Maura Hannon in Switzerland, on World Business Report - have a listen here to hear Somi talk about what she spent her money on this week. Somi's week: A family wedding, a pay rise and some healthy eating I just wrapped up an event in the early hours and haven't really had much rest. Mind you, my healthy eating begins today. My sister bought me a book of recipes which I will use this week. My spending this week is going to be healthy. The afang [vegetable] soup cost me about ₦1,000 to make, and transport cost me ₦850 to and from work. The afang soup is good for my diet. Total spend: ₦1,850 ($5; £3.90) Today I spent my money only on transportation which cost me ₦800. Oh wait, I bought roasted plantain for ₦100. I prepped my meals at home. For breakfast I had two boiled eggs, for lunch I had chicken stir-fry, and for dinner I had roasted plantain because I had to run out of the office before dinner. I regretted running out because I was hungry and peckish most of the night, and I had forgotten to buy the tiger nuts for snacking. I loaded my phone with ₦750 credit and I used ₦500 to buy 2GB of mobile data today. Total spend: ₦1,650 ($4.50; £3.50) This is the same as Tuesday, I am still healthy eating, so the food was the same. Black and green tea at 11:00, chicken stir fry for lunch, afang soup for dinner. I left the office at 17:00 to see a friend. I spent ₦400 on getting to the office, ₦500 on getting to my friend's house and I took an Uber taxi home, not sure how much it cost because I didn't order it. Total spend: ₦900 ($2.50; £1.90) We are having an assessment in my office today. I was hoping for a salary increase - which might be a nice bonus as 2019 was a crazy year. Thankfully it came through - I got my pay rise. I ran late today so couldn't prep any meals. And, I am really hungry today as it is the last day of my healthy eating. I joined my cousin in her Uber to the Island today, so my transport to the office was ₦200 as opposed to the usual ₦400. I spent ₦100 on bread and another ₦100 on a biscuit. And ate chicken stir-fry for lunch. I had nothing for dinner. I spent ₦400 on the journey home, met my aunt at the gate and escorted her to my other aunt's house. I spent ₦800 on credit today. Total spend: ₦1,600 ($4.40; £3.40) I spent most of the day at home. I have a tonne of books in my house. I buy historical romances. When I've finished with them I exchange them. I stepped out to sell some novels I had read to my customer, I spent ₦250 on biking to and fro. I made a measly ₦1,000 on 30 books I had initially bought for ₦300 per book. I collected ₦1,000 from my cousin because I didn't have cash at home. I fixed my nails for ₦500, and I bought two pairs of pants for ₦500. I stepped out for my aunt's office party, I had to go home to pick up a selfie stick, so I ended up spending ₦550 on transport instead of ₦250 but my aunt paid for the Uber home. Money made: ₦2,000 Total spend: ₦1,800 ($4.95; £3.80) I got paid my December salary today, and had a logistics reimbursement [when you pay for a cab to a meeting out of your own account you can claim money back from the work account] of ₦5,000 sent to me. I went out with my aunt to Victoria Island and from there went to eat with a friend. I had two scoops of gelato for ₦1,700 and KFC Streetwise: Two pieces of chicken with fries for ₦2,000. We take turns to cook and tomorrow is my turn, so I withdrew ₦7,000 from the bank, joined my friend's Uber to the market/my tailor's to pick up my dress (made from a traditional material called aso-ebi, worn on special occasions - I have a wedding tomorrow). I bought dried fish, pepper, chicken, turkey and coconut powder for the coconut rice tomorrow. This cost me ₦4,750 including transport. I bought credit of ₦3,000, to buy data for a week (6GB) - with my phone and my love of Netflix it's best to buy in moderation. Total spend: I spent ₦11,450 ($31.50; £24.30) today, whew that's a lot. A friend is getting married today. I followed my family to church for the 08:00 mass. I am a Catholic. I stayed in church for meetings till 14:00, I took a keke [tricycle taxi] to my friend's house in the Government Reserved Area. I had a make-up artist come to do my make up for the wedding, this cost me ₦5,000. I took Bolt taxi to the venue [Bolt seemed cheaper than Uber that evening] but it cost ₦,1600 - way more than the estimate which was ₦800 - 1000. I reported the ride but still no response. I took an Uber home and it cost me ₦1,500. Total spend: ₦8,100 ($22.30; £17.17) How does Somi feel about her week? In a week I spent ₦27,350 ($75.30; £58) and earned ₦2,000 ($5.50; £4.24). I spend more than I earn so I think I need two jobs. In our city we need a side hustle. I only spent on transport and food so I didn't have any big expenses. I don't go out much Monday to Friday. I go to work and come back home. It's just the kind of person I am. Total weekly spend: ₦27,350 ($75.30; £58) We're looking for more people to share what they spend their money on. We're particularly keen to hear from disabled people about the extra cash your disability costs you. If you're interested, please email my.money@bbc.co.uk or get in touch via our My Money (World) Facebook group, or if you live in the UK, please join our My Money (UK) Facebook group and we'll aim to contact you.

माई मनी एक श्रृंखला है जिसमें देखा जाता है कि लोग अपना पैसा कैसे खर्च करते हैं-और कभी-कभी उन्हें कठिन निर्णय लेने पड़ते हैं। यहाँ, नाइजीरिया के लागोस से सोमी इफ़ेह, एक सप्ताह से अधिक के अपने खर्च को रिकॉर्ड करती है और बचत के लिए सुझाव साझा करती है।


Murder arrest after woman's death in Exeter

Summary: A woman has been found dead at a house in Exeter.

Officers were called to Chancellors Way at about 04:30 BST following reports of concerns for the welfare of a woman. The 35-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. A 35-year-old man was later arrested on suspicion of murder. The man was arrested at a branch of Spar in Pinhoe, about than a mile away, and is in police custody in Torquay. Both premises have been cordoned off. Devon and Cornwall Police said officers were not looking for anyone else in connection with the death.

एक्सेटर में एक घर में एक महिला मृत पाई गई है।


Sheffield New Year's Day fatal crash driver named

Summary: A man who died when the car he was driving smashed into railings in the early hours of New Year's Day has been named.

Greg Adams, 21, died when the silver Saab 95 crashed on Southey Green Road in Sheffield, near to the junction with Buchanan Road. Mr Adams suffered serious head injuries and died at the scene. A passenger in the car was uninjured. The crash was at about 04:00 GMT and officers want to speak to witnesses. A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "Greg's family continue to receive support from officers and have asked that their privacy be respected at this difficult time."

एक व्यक्ति की मृत्यु हो गई जब वह कार चला रहा था जो नए साल के दिन के शुरुआती घंटों में रेलिंग से टकरा गई थी।


Garden eels 'forgetting about humans' need people to video-chat

Summary: Incoming FaceTime call from... some Japanese eels.

Keepers at Toyko's Sumida Aquarium, which has been closed since 1 March due to the coronavirus pandemic, are starting to worry about their garden eels. The sensitive little creatures had become used to seeing hundreds of faces peering into their tanks. Now the aquarium is deserted they've started to dive into the sand whenever their keepers walk past. This makes it hard to check they're healthy. The aquarium says the eels are "forgetting about humans" and is making what it calls an "emergency plea". "Could you show your face to our garden eels from your home?" Yes, they're asking people to call in for a sub-aqua video chat and remind the eels that humans are friendly. "Creatures in the aquarium don't see humans except keepers and they have started forgetting about humans," the aquarium wrote on Twitter. "Garden eels in particular disappear into the sand and hide every time the keepers pass by." The eels are particularly sensitive - and the aquarium is keen to reacquaint the 300 eels it homes with humans so they can carry out important health checks on them. It's placing five tablets facing towards the tank in a "face-showing festival" scheduled for 3 to 5 May. Unfortunately, if you love eels but also love Google phones or PCs, you'll have to sit this one out - the aquarium is only offering the option to connect with the eels over Apple's FaceTime app. Garden eel facts Garden eels live in sandy burrows that they dig tail-first and coat with mucus to stop the burrow collapsing. They're some of the sea's little builders. When it comes round to mating season the males and females move their burrows closer to each other. They live in colonies of several hundred and each eel has its own burrow - with the largest male usually living in the centre burrow, according to the Georgia Aquarium. When we see them it's usually only a quarter of their body that is poked up out of the sand - the rest stays in their burrow. They rarely leave, even to mate. You could say they're the original self-isolaters. Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.

कुछ जापानी ईल से फेसटाइम कॉल आ रही है।


Exeter hit-and-run crash woman dies in hospital

Summary: A 19-year-old woman who was struck in a hit-and-run crash in Exeter has died of her injuries.

She was hit by a car near a railway bridge on Alphington Road, Exeter, at about 21:20 GMT on Saturday 15 December. The victim, who has yet to be formally identified, died in hospital on Wednesday. A 26-year-old man from Exeter was arrested and bailed until 13 January. He was arrested on suspicion of driving while unfit through drugs, driving a motor vehicle dangerously and being the driver of a vehicle which failed to stop after a road accident. Devon and Cornwall Police appealed for witnesses.

एक्सेटर में हिट-एंड-रन दुर्घटना में घायल एक 19 वर्षीय महिला की चोटों के कारण मौत हो गई है।


The white Southerners who fought US segregation

Summary: Its racist past still hangs heavy over the White South. But as with anything, it is rarely as simple as everything being bad - one of the reasons photographer Doy Gorton set out to illustrate the White South, his home, in a more nuanced light, writes James Jeffrey.

The black neighbourhood of Greenville in segregated 1960s Mississippi had never seen anything like it. Neither had Mr Gorton when he encountered white people praying alongside their black brethren during an impromptu street-side Pentecostal revival. When a burly young white man inside the revival tent spontaneously picked up a small black boy sitting with his family and clasped him to his chest amid thronging songs of praise, Mr Gorton captured with his camera the sort of moment that rarely makes it into discussions about the racist White South. Growing up in Mississippi, Mr Gorton reacted to legalised white supremacy by joining the civil rights movement. But while abhorring the institutional racism that shaped every aspect of Southern life, he retained compassion and patience for the blue-collar whites who had been left behind by the likes of mechanisation and foreign trade since the end of World War II. He also bridled at mainstream representations of the White South, which he felt didn't effectively examine the reality and nuances, such as how class divisions informed racism, and who was really to blame. As a result, he undertook an 18-month drive across the Mississippi Delta, documenting "the most Southern place on earth," including encounters with more progressive whites, such as those at the revival, and activists fighting for de-segregation and civil rights, often at great risks to themselves. "It's astonishing to me that 50 years later, the enormous sacrifices, the enormous bravery and enormous courage of ordinary white people in the Deep South in dealing with race issues is not recognised," Mr Gorton says. "So many people suffered but they have been passed over by history." Mr Gorton recalls how tense the region, and the country, was at the time, with talk of an imminent race war, how everything was going to blow up, with thousands killed. That a huge conflagration was avoided, he puts down, in large part, to local, ordinary whites who helped keep the peace. Admittedly, whites who more actively pushed for civil rights typically faced economic reprisals, often losing jobs, or physical violence, even paying the ultimate price. Kansas-native James Reeb, a pastor who participated in the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches, died in early 1965 of head injuries two days after being severely beaten by white segregationists. Shortly afterwards, Vilola Liuzzo, an activist who had grown up in Tennessee, was murdered by members of the Ku Klux Klan in Selma (later in the year, Jonathan Daniels, a white seminarian from New Hampshire, died when shielding a black teenager from a fired shotgun in Hayneville, Alabama). "When it comes to who has been honoured for the civil rights movement, there are very few white people mentioned," Mr Gorton says. But the subject matter alone makes any focus on whites problematic, says Ted Ownby, director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, and editor of The Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. Other factors are probably at play. "A lot of the white southern activists I've come across downplay their significance, saying that they were just the leader of an organisation, or a Christian activist" Mr Ownby says. "And they emphasise they were not as significant as nor sacrificed as much as the African Americans involved who couldn't go back to a safe place." There is also the Atticus Finch factor - the lawyer hero from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, who defends a black man in Alabama accused of rape. "There's the danger of presenting a white saviour figure," says Mr Ownby, adding how Finch, while fictional, is probably the best-known representation of white resistance to racism. "Of creating hero worship for people whose heroism came through doing their jobs within the system as it existed. After all, the civil rights movement was about changing the system." After getting kicked out of the University of Mississippi for organising protests and events against segregation, Mr Gorton joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the "Marine Corps of the civil rights movement," he says, "going in when no one else did". But he says it was discovering the work of American photojournalist Walker Evans, best known for documenting the effects of the Great Depression, who presented people "in a way that was really very respectful, very thoughtful and very straightforward," that motivated him to try something similar for the people he'd grown up surrounded by. He acknowledges that offering a different angle on the narrative of the racist White South is contentious, but explains he sees a parallel with the likes of the British Empire which, despite clear flaws, in its entirety was hugely nuanced and included "lots of people who did decent things". The negatives and prints from the trip Mr Gorton made across the Mississippi Delta in 1968, along with cassette tape interviews and other materials, moved between trunks and attics for nearly 50 years until Gorton retired to southern Illinois, where he took another look at everything. In 2018, the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History in Austin, Texas, acquired his "White South" collection, and it has since been the subject of national and international attention. More on the Civil Rights movement David Doggett was long-haired and fresh out of college in Jackson, Mississippi, when he became involved in the underground newspaper movement mushrooming across the US in the 1960s. He says he started Kudzu to address political and racial issues by mixing them up with more appealing material in the paper relating to "sex, drugs and rock and roll". "The idea was that people are basically good, even if racist, so I wanted to better inform them," Mr Doggett says. "Racism was basically down to misinformation. If you were living in the 1950s in the South, the only blacks most whites came across were field hands and maids, so most people couldn't conceive that blacks could be intellectually equal to whites. But the civil rights coverage was full of exceptionally smart, educated blacks." Participating in protests got him jailed four times - though never for longer than three days, he explains, as he knew "good lawyers" who supported the civil rights movement - as well as physically assaulted. He says that often it felt he wasn't achieving much. In 1967 he organised a protest following a police shooting at a nearby black college. It started with two other protesters and finished with 20 white students. Three years later, though, 200 protesters turned out after another incident at the same college. "It showed how fast things could change," Mr Doggett says. "Perhaps I can take some credit for being there at the beginning." Mr Doggett says that he understands people holding a stereotypical view of the White South as racist, because such a view is "justified." He agrees with Mr Gorton that the problem of the region's racism was compounded by the machinations of the White South's wealthy elite. "There's a long history of wealthy whites manipulating poor whites to put the blame on blacks," Mr Doggett says. "People became so full of racial hatred that they couldn't see that blacks were actually their allies." It's not possible to say with any degree of accuracy what percentage of the White South was racist, Mr Ownby says. What's most likely is that the majority were neither on the left, supporting civil rights activists, or on the far right, supporting the language and tactics of massive resistance, he thinks. Even if not keen on integration, many whites were uncomfortable with some parts of white resistance against it, he says, and didn't want to be associated with those defending segregation violently. "While there certainly were white Southerners who advocated for civil rights for black Americans, many more didn't," says Ansley Quiros, a historian and author of "God With Us: Lived Theology and the Black Freedom Struggle in Americus, Georgia, 1942-1976." "In some ways it's easier - at least for Americans - to tell those few, heroic stories than to grapple with the majority position." Mr Gorton recalls photographing an era when "everything was changing" yet it was unclear what would come next. The Supreme Court had ordered the immediate integration of schools in the South, the Vietnam War raged, and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. To many it looked like anything could happen, which wasn't all that reassuring. "Gorton's images are as robust and meaningful as texts for understanding the tensions and anxieties of Southerners of all stripes who found themselves in a society being shaken to its knees by cultural, political, and economic revolution," says Ben Wright, a historian with the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, which houses Gorton's photographic archive. Mr Gorton especially remembers photographing in 1970 white college students attending a "Youth Jubilee" at Edwards, Mississippi, to discuss the likes of race and religion. The gathering attracted the attentions of a group of white bikers, festooned with Iron Crosses and swastikas. "You could literally look between these two groups and see how one group was looking ahead, realising the direction the world was going, and how the other had no idea," says Mr Gorton, adding how for the latter group white supremacy was "a crutch, a distraction." He notes the parallels today in the face of societal upheavals, such as certain jobs being threatened by technological advances, increasing economic inequality, and, he argues, a ruling elite once again manipulating working class whites, with racism coming back into public discourse. "There has been progress," Mr Doggett says. "Sometimes now younger people seem hopeless about the situation, but people have no idea about how bad it used to be - the police would dredge the river for a black person who had been lynched and come across other bodies no one knew about. "We've come a long way - yes, there is still forever to go, but it is better." Having spent decades living elsewhere around the US, Mr Doggett says he now often thinks about returning to the South, and is encouraged by how Jackson now has a civil rights museum as well as a strong, progressive newspaper. But, at the same time, he notes how a visitor to the museum - especially a white one - can leave having been given the impression that all whites were bad all the time, which has a "a depressing effect." This in turn, he explains, doesn't encourage white Southerners - or any Americans - to think more expansively about racial tensions that the South, and the country, still wrestles with. "I do wish there was more info about those whites who have done progressive things in the South," he says. "And are still doing them."

इसका नस्लवादी अतीत अभी भी सफेद दक्षिण में भारी है। लेकिन किसी भी चीज़ की तरह, यह शायद ही कभी उतना सरल है जितना कि सब कुछ खराब है-एक कारण फोटोग्राफर डॉय गॉर्टन ने सफेद दक्षिण, अपने घर, को अधिक सूक्ष्म प्रकाश में चित्रित करने के लिए निर्धारित किया, जेम्स जेफरी लिखते हैं।


A&E delays at James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough

Summary: Health bosses on Teesside have asked people to try and avoid going to an accident and emergency department because of delays.

The ward at the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough was experiencing "unprecedented numbers" of patients on Sunday, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said. Patients with minor injuries are facing long waits. The trust advised people to contact the out-of-hours GP service.

टीसाइड के स्वास्थ्य अधिकारियों ने लोगों से देरी के कारण दुर्घटना और आपातकालीन विभाग में जाने से बचने की कोशिश करने के लिए कहा है।


Susan Brown elected new leader of Oxford City Council

Summary: Oxford City Council has appointed its first new leader since 2008.

Labour councillor Susan Brown was formally elected at a meeting of the full council earlier. She succeeds Bob Price, who stepped down because he plans to retire from the council in May having served as a councillor since 1983. Ms Brown, who has represents Churchill ward, said delivering "good customer service" for council tax payers was her priority. She also said she plans to focus on housing, which she described as a "huge issue" for Oxford. The mother-of-two will balance her commitments as council leader with her job as a senior communications manager for Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. She added that the previous two council leaders had also worked a second job and that "a foot in the workplace" would help her bring a different experience to the role. Ms Brown added it was important the role of council leader did not just become a job for people who were retired or could afford to work for "very little money".

ऑक्सफोर्ड सिटी काउंसिल ने 2008 के बाद से अपना पहला नया नेता नियुक्त किया है।


Five teens due in court over fatal Ilford stabbing

Summary: Five teenagers are due in court charged with the murder of an 18-year-old man who was stabbed to death in Ilford.

Lyndon Davis was found with a stab wound in Nash Road, Chadwell Heath, on 14 March. He died later in hospital. Five boys, aged between 15 and 17-years-old and who cannot be named, will appear at Barkingside Youth Court on Tuesday. A 34-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder has been released with no further action, the Met has confirmed.

इलफोर्ड में चाकू मारकर हत्या किए गए एक 18 वर्षीय व्यक्ति की हत्या के आरोप में पांच किशोरों को अदालत में पेश किया जाना है।


World Cup 2018: Gareth Southgate's compassion praised

Summary: Amid England's celebrations after winning Tuesday's penalty shootout to enable them to progress to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, manager Gareth Southgate was comforting a Colombian player who had missed his penalty.

Southgate knows only too well what that feels like. In the Euro 1996 tournament, England's semi-final against Germany went to penalties. Southgate's saved penalty gave Germany the chance to go through to the final if they scored their next penalty, which they did. The England manager at the time, Terry Venables, hugged a devastated Southgate. Now, images of Southgate being consoled 22 years ago and being the consoler after Tuesday's game have emerged online, prompting praise for Southgate's compassion towards Colombia's Mateus Uribe, who missed his spot-kick. One Twitter user tweeted this image of Venables talking to Southgate after his penalty miss in 1996. BBC Sport tweeted images of Southgate's emotional reaction to his team winning the penalty shootout. Many commented online how the win has laid to rest Southgate's ghosts from 1996. US radio host Roger Bennett surmises on what Southgate was feeling when he saw his England team win. One England supporter tweeted how proud he is to be English: "[Southgate's] compassion towards the Colombia players who were distraught at losing was humbling, he knows he's been there, the way this man conducts himself, his integrity/honesty/empathy is a joy to see." Another tweeted: "The more I see of Mr Southgate, the more impressive he gets." A third tweeted her admiration for Southgate: "He's been there, it destroyed him, he got back up with more self-belief and compassion to rise to the top. This is a true leader, this is what the England team needed. Hats off to Mr Southgate." Others have commented on how nice Southgate is using the hashtag #GarethSouthgateWould. One group of supporters changed the words of Atomic Kitten's Whole Again to show their love for Southgate. . By Andree Massiah, BBC UGC and Social News team

विश्व कप के क्वार्टर फाइनल में प्रगति करने के लिए मंगलवार को पेनल्टी शूटआउट जीतने के बाद इंग्लैंड के जश्न के बीच, प्रबंधक गैरेथ साउथगेट एक कोलंबियाई खिलाड़ी को सांत्वना दे रहे थे जो अपनी पेनल्टी से चूक गया था।


Government outsourcing firm Interserve faces administration

Summary: Interserve is likely to go into administration on Friday.

Simon JackBusiness editor@BBCSimonJackon Twitter Directors of the company, that employs 45,000 people in the UK, have told the BBC the firm has "a mountain to climb" to prevent it collapsing under the weight of its nearly £650m in debt. A plan to swap the majority of that debt for new shares requires the support of more than 50% of the shareholders and the company's biggest shareholder - US hedge fund Coltrane which owns 27% - is currently dead set against the plan. Since many small shareholders don't vote - even in a crisis like this - the support of Coltrane is seen as crucial in getting the deal through. The board's plan would see current shareholders awarded 5% of the company - with the rest going to the creditors. It is tempting to see Interserve as the next Carillion. An-overly indebted private provider of public services going to the wall after years of suicide bidding to win government contracts at the same time as paying out big salaries and dividends. While there are similarities, there are important differences. Sales? If the company collapses on Friday - this is what will happen. Accountants EY will be appointed administrators, they will then sell the company for a nominal amount to the current lenders (a mixture of banks and bond holders) who will own 100% of the new company. The banks would look to sell off different parts of Interserve's business in due course. The board does not expect any interruption to the company's underlying contracts or any immediate job losses. The real impact will be on the debate over the appropriateness of using big private sector contractors to carry out essential public service work. Game of chicken? The government has been monitoring the Interserve situation closely and while it has felt unable to award a company close to collapse much new work, the Cabinet Office and the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy are comfortable services won't be interrupted. In fact, Interserve - minus its crippling debts - will arguably be in one of the strongest financial positions of any outsourcer. There may yet be a last-minute deal to save the company. It is after all a curious game of chicken. If Coltrane insists on blocking the deal - it will get zero rather than the teaspoon of value its being offered under the board's plan. The biggest loser - apart from the shareholders - will be the reputation of an outsourcing business model that will doubtless once again become a political football.

शुक्रवार को इंटरसर्व के संचालन में आने की संभावना है।


Meerkat pups emerge at Isle of Man wildlife park

Summary: The first meerkat pups to be born at an Isle of Man wildlife park in eight years have emerged from their burrow.

The trio were born at The Curraghs Wildlife Park in September but only venture out of the nest after five or six weeks. Park manager Kathleen Graham said they were being fed on a diet of "mealworms or crickets". The park's last meerkat pups were born in 2010 before a breeding programme was halted. The new arrivals were busy exploring the main enclosure and playing with the rest of the gang, added Mrs Graham. "Only the alpha pair breed but the whole family help with baby-sitting and teaching them to deal with tricky food like scorpions".

आठ वर्षों में आइल ऑफ मैन वन्यजीव उद्यान में पैदा होने वाले पहले मेरकट पिल्ले अपने बिल से निकले हैं।


Marathon Oil selling UK offshore assets

Summary: Marathon Oil is putting its UK offshore assets up for sale, it has been announced.

Marathon operates the Brae complex, and also has stakes in the East Brae and Braemar fields as well in the Foinaven project west of Shetland. The company's UK operations are based in Aberdeen. Marathon is putting more resources into its shale gas projects in the United States.

मैराथन ऑयल अपनी यूके अपतटीय संपत्तियों को बिक्री के लिए रख रहा है, यह घोषणा की गई है।


Nurse who helped 200 allies escape WW1 inspires historian

Summary: A relative of Edith Cavell - the British WW1 nurse shot by the Germans for assisting the enemy - says a Cabbage Patch doll, a lost postcard, and her ancestor's extraordinary tale all helped inspire her to study the role of women in justice.

By Neil PriorBBC News Swansea University historian Dr Emma Cavell is descended from an uncle of the nurse, who helped around 200 allied men escape German-occupied Belgium in late 1914 and early 1915. Edith's plight sparked outrage amongst neutral nations who had petitioned for clemency, and her image was widely used by Britain in anti-German propaganda posters. After the war she was given a state funeral at Westminster Abbey, before her remains were reinterred at Norwich Cathedral. Dr Cavell, who grew up in Australia, says she can still recall the moment when she first learnt of her family's history. "As a child of about eight or nine, I was given a Cabbage Patch doll. They each come with their own name tag, and this one happened to be called Edith. I remember my Mum telling me, 'you had a relative called Edith'. "Long before meeting and marrying a Cavell, mum had learned about nurse Edith at school in Melbourne. "My grandfather, who was born the year after she was executed, remembered seeing a postcard Edith had sent to his father. It was long-gone by the time I came along, but I remember wishing I could have read it. "After that I became fascinated with all things historical, but especially women's history because so often it is hidden away. "I even called my own daughter Edith." Edith Cavell was the daughter of a Norfolk vicar, born in 1865. She never married, and at the outbreak of WW1 she had been nursing at the Berkendael Medical Institute in Brussels for a decade, where she had already established a formidable reputation as a matron. A devout Christian, she made no distinction between the German and Allied troops on her wards, saying: "I can't stop while there are lives to be saved." But behind the scenes she was providing forged papers and cash to help stranded British soldiers and Belgians of military age make it over the border to neutral Netherlands, and then back to Britain. After her capture she was variously portrayed in the media as both a daring spy and as a damsel in distress. But according to Dr Cavell neither depiction of her ancestor is entirely accurate. "Despite the posters of a helpless young girl lying on the ground while she is shot in cold blood by a callous German, the truth is that Edith was a tough 49-year-old woman who knew precisely the danger she was placing herself in. "She admitted quite frankly what she'd done, and doesn't appear to have been afraid of the consequences. "But nor have I seen anything to support the idea that she was involved in the intelligence services. I think she was simply a principled woman who was determined to do what she thought was right." Dr Cavell's research at Swansea University is on the role of women in the justice systems of medieval and early modern Britain. However she says that there are still parallels with Edith's case. "You see the same themes repeating themselves; women caught up in a system over which they have little overt or direct control. "But just because they weren't in the front of house military and political roles, you shouldn't overlook how women like nurse Edith influenced events from behind the scenes. "The same part Edith played on the Western Front was being played by apparently anonymous women in Wales during Edward I's conquest, over 600 years earlier." Edith Cavell has been remembered in a special edition £5 coin, minted to commemorate the centenary of her execution on 12 October 1915.

एडिथ कैवेल के एक रिश्तेदार-दुश्मन की सहायता करने के लिए जर्मनों द्वारा गोली मारी गई ब्रिटिश WW1 नर्स-का कहना है कि एक पत्तागोभी पैच गुड़िया, एक खोया हुआ पोस्टकार्ड, और उसके पूर्वजों की असाधारण कहानी ने उसे न्याय में महिलाओं की भूमिका का अध्ययन करने के लिए प्रेरित किया।


Light aircraft crash in Monmouthshire closes A40

Summary: Three people have escaped with minor injuries after their light plane crashed on the A40 in Monmouthshire.

It happened about 15:25 BST on Saturday between Abergavenny and Raglan. Two passengers and the pilot have been taken to hospital. Air accident officials have also been alerted. The road was closed, with two South Wales fire engines at the scene. Crews believed there were about 120 litres of fuel on board, which was contained as they stopped the leak.

मॉनमाउथशायर में ए40 पर उनके हल्के विमान के दुर्घटनाग्रस्त होने के बाद तीन लोग मामूली चोटों के साथ बच गए हैं।


From Glasgow student to president of Iran

Summary: The cleric, Hassan Rouhani, who is being sworn-in as President of Iran this weekend, used to stroll the streets of the Scottish city, Glasgow, dressed in a smart business suit, his turban removed.

By Richard GalpinBBC News It was the 1990s and Mr Rouhani was a post-graduate student at Glasgow Caledonian University. He once joked that he should divorce his wife so he'd stand a better chance of getting university accommodation as a single person, rather than requiring family rooms. At that time, he was also the deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament. But those who knew him say he readily accepted the more lowly status of a student. "He was on first (name) terms with fellow students," says Prof Hassan Amin, who has now retired from his post teaching law at Glasgow Caledonian University. "Many times he ate in the students' canteen and sometimes I would take him to the staff restaurant," he says. "People would come and sit down and I would introduce him… and he would happily engage in a conversation with them." Political duties The thesis Mr Rouhani wrote for his PhD is called "The flexibility of Shariah (Islamic Law) with reference to the Iranian experience." He did the research in Iran while continuing his political duties in Tehran. But he commuted regularly to Glasgow to meet his academic supervisors and discuss the progress he was making. Dr Mahdi Zahraa, who was one of Mr Rouhani's supervisors, remembers him as "a quiet-spoken, very gentle man", with whom he enjoyed "intelligent and challenging" conversations. His spoken English was good. "We had very different views on some matters, on others we found that we held similar opinions," he said. "From our discussions, I ascertained that he had a modern and reformist approach to Shariah law." Public interest His thesis can still be brought out and read at the university library. "There has been quite a bit of press interest (in the thesis), interest from the public in general and quite a bit of interest from the Iranian community," says the library director, Robert Ruthven. "The thesis seems to show he has quite a flexible and perhaps modernising outlook." In the first line of the abstract, Dr Rouhani writes: "This thesis verifies that no laws in Islam are immutable." And he goes on to state: "The primary source of the Islamic law (the Quran) is in itself flexible on the basis of the analysis that the Quranic legislation leaves room for flexibility in the evaluation of its injunctions." Experts say this is not something new in recent Iranian thinking, but it does put him in the modernist or pragmatist camp. And while he's not regarded as a reformist, his victory in the election in June has raised expectations amongst the reformist groups which rallied around him that he will bring change to Iran. Since the election, Mr Rouhani has spoken of bringing moderation back to Iranian politics and being more transparent about Iran's nuclear programme, so what he called "cruel" sanctions imposed on Iran by the international community, can be lifted. Gradual change And it seems his decision to study in Britain back in the 1990s, did to some extent reflect his more liberal outlook. "He chose Great Britain because he has respect for the legal system here, for the judiciary and also for the legislative system," says Prof Hassan Amin, who is hopeful Mr Rouhani will deliver the promises he made during the election. "However I would say it would not be an immediate change, it has to be gradual, towards an Iran of sustainable development and good relations with the rest of the world." Other experts are also cautious about how much Mr Rouhani will want to or be able to free up the system at home and re-engage with the West. "He is firm in his loyalty to the Islamic republic and to the supreme leader," says Sir Richard Dalton, a former British ambassador to Iran. "He's best described as a man of the centre with excellent political links to all parts of the political spectrum in Iran. "His maxim will be more let's go for what works, rather than to respond to a preconceived reform programme." And yet Sir Richard also believes there could be a breakthrough in the long crisis over Iran's nuclear programme during Mr Rouhani's presidency, if the United States is prepared to offer a progressive easing of the international economic sanctions and if Tehran is also flexible. "Then I believe…it should be possible to negotiate a permanent, long-term solution to the nuclear question."

मौलवी, हसन रूहानी, जो इस सप्ताहांत में ईरान के राष्ट्रपति के रूप में शपथ ले रहे हैं, स्कॉटिश शहर, ग्लासगो की सड़कों पर टहलते थे, एक स्मार्ट व्यावसायिक सूट पहने हुए, उनकी पगड़ी हटा दी गई थी।


Boxing Day swimmers take the plunge in Whitby

Summary: Festive revellers have taken the plunge into the freezing North Sea for a Boxing Day dip in North Yorkshire.

About 200 dippers and hundreds of onlookers turned out for the annual event in Whitby organised by the Whitby District Lion's Club. Conditions were described as tough due to the low tide, which meant a long run into the sea for swimmers, several of whom were dressed as sharks. Money raised from the dip goes towards local charities. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.

त्योहारों का लुत्फ उठाने वालों ने उत्तरी यॉर्कशायर में बॉक्सिंग डे डुबकी के लिए जमते उत्तरी सागर में डुबकी लगाई है।