Scottish election results 2021: When will we know the results?

Summary: Scots have cast their ballots in the Holyrood election, but don't need to stay up all night as Covid-19 restrictions have put paid to the usual overnight count. With votes to be tallied across Friday and Saturday, when will you know the result in your local area - and when will the overall winners be declared?

By Philip SimBBC Scotland political correspondent Friday, 7 May Counting will kick off from 09:00 on Friday morning, with the Electoral Management Board projecting 48 of the 73 constituencies to be tallied that day. The full lists can be found here, or you can look up your local results here: A modern browser with JavaScript and a stable internet connection is required to view this interactive. More information about these elections Who won in my area? Enter your postcode, or the name of your English council or Scottish or Welsh constituency to find out. Eg 'W1A 1AA' or 'Westminster' Friday's constituencies include both the most marginal and safest seats from 2016, and eight of the SNP's top 10 target seats. These include the Labour defences of Dumbarton, Edinburgh Southern and East Lothian, none of which have a majority exceeding 3%, and the Conservative seats in Ayr, Edinburgh Central, Dumfriesshire and Eastwood. If the SNP manage to pick off the lion's share of these seats, they will feel good about going into Saturday and winning a majority. This will particularly be the case if they can gain ground without suffering defeats in any of their own more marginal seats - Angus North & Mearns, Moray and Perthshire North are those with single-digit majorities. The reverse is also true of course - if the SNP struggle to gain many of these marginal seats or lose some of their own, the path to a majority narrows. By the end of Friday, it should be fairly clear which way the wind is blowing - but there will still be plenty to play for on Saturday. Saturday, 8 May If all goes well on Friday, the remaining 25 constituencies will count on Saturday - with the most marginal contests being between the SNP and Conservatives. The most marginal constituencies to count on Saturday are again SNP-Tory contests, with the SNP hoping to pick off Aberdeenshire West and Galloway&West Dumfries, both with majorities under 5%. There are a few chances for the Tories to fight back too, with the SNP defences of Perthshire South& Kinross-shire, Edinburgh Pentlands and Aberdeen South and North Kincardine all having single-digit majorities. Once each region has declared all of its constituencies, we will also start to get results from the regional lists - which could be pivotal for the overall result, as well as questions over who claims second place and the fate of smaller parties. How does Holyrood's electoral system work? Before we turn to the regional results, a quick note on how they are worked out. Scotland is divided into eight electoral regions, with the 73 constituency seats scattered across them. Each region elects an extra seven MSPs from lists submitted by the parties - voted for via the peach ballot paper - giving a total of 129. The idea of the list system is to make the outcome of the election more proportional. Once the constituency results have been declared, you divide the number of list votes each party has won by the number of seats they have already won in that region, plus one. So if a party has won nine seats in an area already, their list vote tally is divided by 10 - making it 10 times harder for them to win a seat from the lists. There has been particular focus on the list system in 2021 thanks to the emergence of some list-only parties which encourage tactical voting, leading to a debate over whether this is "gaming the system" or simply testing the limits of the rules. Regional list results Timings for the counts remain very much up in the air, given we don't yet know how difficult it will prove to stack up ballots in line with Covid-19 restrictions. But under current plans, with the exception of the big centres of Glasgow and Edinburgh, most of the count centres only have one constituency to finish off on the Saturday. This means they could well finish up quickly - and indeed simultaneously, if there are similar numbers of ballots to count in each constituency. Which regions will declare first? It is hard to say, but the Highlands and Islands - normally one of the last regions to come back in an overnight count due to the vast and varied geography of the area - only has one seat to count on Saturday. Similarly there will only be one seat left to count from the West Scotland region - so it is possible these two will be able to declare their full regional lists first. Other regions have at least a couple of constituencies still to polish off before they can run the equations and calculate list seats. Mid Scotland and Fife could be next in line with three seats to count, all at separate locations. However, this is largely guesswork, and a lot will depend on how the Covid-safe procedures play out at count centres. There will be four constituencies counting at the Emirates Area in Glasgow on Saturday, and three at Ingliston for the Lothian region. South Scotland also has four counts still to run on Saturday, as does North East Scotland - with two of the latter at P&J Live in Aberdeen, which may delay matters from a logistical standpoint.

स्कॉट्स ने होलीरूड चुनाव में अपना मतपत्र डाला है, लेकिन पूरी रात जागने की आवश्यकता नहीं है क्योंकि कोविड-19 प्रतिबंधों ने रात भर की सामान्य गिनती का भुगतान कर दिया है। शुक्रवार और शनिवार को वोटों की गिनती के साथ, आपको अपने स्थानीय क्षेत्र में परिणाम कब पता चलेगा-और समग्र विजेताओं की घोषणा कब की जाएगी?


Chinese business chiefs pay £12,000 for dinner with David Cameron

Summary: Fancy dinner and a photo with David Cameron?

That was what was on offer recently for wealthy business figures at an event in China - as long as they stumped up about £12,000. Mr Cameron featured on social media adverts for the Shanghai International Ball and Leaders' Forum, which took place earlier this week. A photograph of the former prime minister was accompanied by a price in Chinese renminbi. A spokesman for Mr Cameron said the event in question had actually been the Global Alliance of SMEs' Women Leaders Forum. He did not comment on the advertised pricetag. Mr Cameron is also due to meet China's President Xi Jinping during a visit to the country as he prepares to launch a new investment fund aimed at boosting trade links. As prime minister, he hosted President Xi during a state visit to the UK in 2015, which was described by both sides as the beginning of a new "golden era" in relations. Mr Cameron was UK prime minister from 2010 to 2016. He resigned after being on the losing side of the referendum which saw the UK voting to leave the European Union.

फैंसी डिनर और डेविड कैमरून के साथ एक फोटो?


Lockdown diaries: 'I hope that's it now for home-schooling'

Summary: Single mother-of-four Vicky Price lives in Henleaze, Bristol and has been juggling running her own business with home-schooling. She says she is relieved her children are going back to school on Monday and hopes it is the start of a new routine for the family. This is lockdown life in her own words.

"So school's back next week, although I think the older ones have got a bit of a staggered day. I'm really looking forward to it. "It's been a long and exhausting few weeks and it's felt longer than it has been. "I don't know whether that's because in the last year they've been to school for one term. "Everyone's bored, everyone's had enough, everyone's experiencing it slightly differently. "Things I'm not going to miss include: Peppa Pig on whilst I'm trying to work, Lego being all over the floor and food bowls being left around and the table being full of home-school work. "I'm not going to miss any of that. "I guess even though they're going back, the one thing I'm apprehensive about is: is this it now or are they going to be back home again? "Because I don't think I could do it for a third time. "I love having them here but I've been getting up at 05:00 to get work done so that for the constant interruptions I have during the day I can manage my workload. "They need to see their friends and they need a routine and they need to be out the house a bit and hopefully we'll all get back into some good routines."

चार बच्चों की एकल माँ विक्की प्राइस हेनलीज़, ब्रिस्टल में रहती है और होम-स्कूलिंग के साथ अपना खुद का व्यवसाय चला रही है। वह कहती है कि उसे राहत मिली है कि उसके बच्चे सोमवार को स्कूल वापस जा रहे हैं और उम्मीद है कि यह परिवार के लिए एक नई दिनचर्या की शुरुआत है। यह उसके अपने शब्दों में लॉकडाउन जीवन है।


The drugs derived from deadly poisons

Summary: These days we have access to a huge array of medicines to protect us from pain, disease and death. But, as Michael Mosley has been discovering, the source of many of our more remarkable medicines have been deadly poisons.

Take a look at this picture. It is the most poisonous substance known to man. A couple of teaspoons would be enough to kill everyone in the UK. A couple of kilos would kill every human on earth. It is so dangerous that it is manufactured in military installations and at around £100 trillion per kilo it is also the most expensive substance ever made. Yet despite being so toxic and so costly it is in huge demand. Many people pay large amounts of money to have it injected into their foreheads. It is botulinum toxin - better known as Botox - a toxin produced by bacteria first discovered in poorly prepared sausages during the 18th Century. It was named after the Latin for sausage - botulus. On the LD50 toxicity scale, which measures how much of a substance you would need to kill half the people it is given to, Botox measures just 0.000001 mg/kg. In other words you need would need around 0.00007mg to kill a 70kg man like me. Or to put it another way, a lethal dose for me would weigh less than one cubic millimetre of air. Botulinum toxin kills its victims by causing respiratory failure. It is a neurotoxin - it enters nerves and destroys vital proteins. This stops communication between nerves and muscles. Only the growth of new nerve endings can restore muscle function, and that can take months. Its main claim to fame is that it will iron out wrinkles in ageing faces and does so by destroying the nerves that cause frowning. The quantities used are tiny - a few billionths of a gram, dissolved in saline. In the name of science I tried Botox a few years ago. It certainly smoothed away the wrinkles but it also gave me a weird expression, until the new nerve endings grew. But botulinum toxin is far more than simply a vanity product. It is extremely useful for treating a number of medical conditions, ranging from eye squints to migraines, excess sweating to leaky bladders. In fact there are currently more than 20 different medical conditions that botulinum toxin is being used to treat. More are being discovered all the time. Botulinum toxin is just one example of extraordinarily dangerous poisons that have useful medical applications. Captopril, a $1bn antihypertensive drug, was developed from studies made on snake venoms. Exenatide, marketed as Byetta, is an effective and extremely lucrative drug used to treat type-2 diabetics. It comes from studies of the saliva of the Gila monster, a large venomous lizard that lives in the south-western US and Mexico But the impact of poisons on modern medicine go deeper than simply providing new forms of treatment. One poison in particular helped shape the entire modern pharmaceutical industry. In Victorian Britain, life insurance was a booming industry. This easy money led to a surge in murders, many of them by poison. One of the most high profile cases was a woman called Mary Ann Cotton who, in 1873, was tried for multiple murders. She had been married four times and three of her husbands, all heavily insured, died. The one who survived seems to have done so because he refused to take out insurance. So she left him. In all, 10 of her children died of what seemed to be gastric-related illnesses. Each must have been a tragic loss, but fortunately for Cotton most were insured. Her mother, her sister-in-law, and her lover all died. And in each case, she benefited. By 1872, the unfortunate woman had lost an astonishing 16 close friends or family members. But there was one left - her seven-year-old stepson, Charles. She tried to give him away to the local workhouse but they wouldn't have him. So young Charles soon died. The manager of the workhouse, however, got suspicious and contacted the police. They soon decided Cotton must have poisoned the boy and thought they knew how she'd done it - with arsenic. Arsenic oxides are minerals and as a poison are almost unrivalled. They are tasteless, dissolve in hot water and take less than a hundredth of an ounce to kill. Yet in the 19th Century, marketed as a rat poison, arsenic oxide was cheap and easily available. Children would blithely collect it from the shops along with the tea, sugar and dried fruits. The trial of Mary Ann Cotton would hinge on whether they could find traces of arsenic in the body of her stepson. Forensic science was still in its infancy but they did have a good test for arsenic. This was because there was an awful lot of arsenic poisoning around. A sample from the boy's stomach and intestines was heated with acid and copper. If arsenic was present, the copper would turn dark grey and, when placed on paper soaked in mercury bromide, produce a tell-tale yellowy-brown stain. When they tested the body of poor little Charles they discovered that he had indeed died of a lethal dose of arsenic. Cotton was convicted of his murder and hanged in Durham Jail. She was never taken to trial for the mysterious deaths of her mother, three husbands, two friends and 10 other children. It was a rash of murders and poisonings like this one that led first to the Arsenic Act and then to the Pharmacy Act 1868. This act ruled that the only people who could sell poisons and dangerous drugs were qualified pharmacists and druggists. So it was from poisonings, accidents and murders that the modern legitimate business of pharmacy finally emerged. And one compound - arsenic trioxide - has also found a legitimate medical use, as an anti-cancer agent. Pus, Pain and Poison is on BBC Four, Thursday 17 October at 21:00 BST and you can catch up oniPlayer. Follow @BBCNewsMagazine on Twitter and on Facebook

इन दिनों दर्द, बीमारी और मृत्यु से बचाने के लिए हमारे पास दवाओं की एक बड़ी श्रृंखला है। लेकिन, जैसा कि माइकल मोस्ले खोज रहे हैं, हमारी कई अधिक उल्लेखनीय दवाओं का स्रोत घातक जहर रहे हैं।


No redundancies after CHC Helicopter loses Apache contract

Summary: Offshore helicopter operator CHC has said it does not plan to make any redundancies despite losing a major contract.

However, the business, which has a base in Aberdeen, said it cannot rule out job losses in the future. The reassurance comes after oil firm Apache opted not to renew its agreement with CHC. The helicopter operator said the Apache contract accounted for less than a fifth of its business. It hopes the slack will be taken up by existing and new clients when the contract ends in eight months time.

अपतटीय हेलीकॉप्टर संचालक सी. एच. सी. ने कहा है कि एक बड़ा अनुबंध खोने के बावजूद उसकी किसी भी तरह की छूट देने की योजना नहीं है।


Call to expand Aberdeen Christmas Village

Summary: Visitors to Aberdeen's Christmas Village would like to see more stalls, greater variety and a bigger event in future years, say organisers.

It comes after the 2017 event was moved to Broad Street from Union Terrace, where it began in 2015. A survey of visitors found that more than 80% wanted to see the concept continued in 2018. That was despite visitor numbers to last year's village dropping from about half a million in 2016 to 400,000. The report, brought before Aberdeen city councillors, said 32% of visitors who responded to the survey thought the village was better or much better in 2017, while 28% said it was worse or much worse. Kate Timperley, from organisers Aberdeen Inspired, told councillors they were looking to "extend the footprint" of the village to make it "bigger and better". Related Internet Links Aberdeen City Council

आयोजकों का कहना है कि एबरडीन के क्रिसमस विलेज के आगंतुक भविष्य के वर्षों में अधिक स्टॉल, अधिक विविधता और एक बड़ा कार्यक्रम देखना चाहेंगे।


What role could the economy play in indyref2?

Summary: A combination of Brexit and heightened expectations of another Scottish independence referendum have brought economic arguments back to the fore. Some arguments will be familiar from 2014, but important factors have changed: the rest of the UK is no longer 'the status quo' option. Choices made at Westminster would force an iScotland into stark choices between its biggest market, to the south, and a European future. But do the economic arguments matter?

Douglas FraserBusiness/economy editor, Scotland From one constitutional logjam to another: Brexit's first stage may have been resolved by the election, but the question of Scotland's constitutional future is now hard to ignore. If there is to be another referendum on Scottish independence, what role would the economy play this time? It was, arguably, the decisive issue in giving 'no' the majority of votes in 2014. It certainly dominated much of the long debate leading up to that vote. The Fraser of Allander Institute has published its own take in the wake of the Westminster election, along with its regular commentary on the economy. The commentary comes with its regular forecast: weak growth in Scottish economic output this year, of 0.9%, but picking up next year, to 1.3%, and 1.4% for the two years after that. This is based on the expectation that a clearer path to Brexit has been opened by last week's election result. Business could start investing in the expectation of a smooth transition out of Europe. But if the government heads back to the threat of a "no deal" departure at the end of 2020, the Strathclyde University forecast says to prepare for a "sharp slowing" of the economy. Familiar arguments on independence On that question of a Scottish independence referendum, the institute's director, Prof Graeme Roy, who used to work at the heart of the Scottish government's economics team, argues that some arguments would be familiar. One side will say Scotland has the resources and the potential to be matching the growth rates and lower income inequalities of smaller European nations. The other will say that the United Kingdom offers economic security, and a pooling of resources to support public spending at current levels, including social security. Those for independence will welcome the observation that there is no longer a "status quo". Leaving the European Union is risky for the economy. So is independence. A referendum could be fought as a battle between two unknown outcomes, so there would be a more level playing field. After Brexit, the UK could become better or worse off, depending on policy decisions and business activity. It could take some time (no-one knows how long) before we find out which it is to be. And the transition could be costly and painful for those industries tied into European markets and supply chains. Exactly the same could be said of Scotland after independence. It could help Scotland become more prosperous than it would otherwise have been. Or it could do the reverse. It depends on the arrangements for departing the UK, and on the policy choices made at Holyrood. A more challenging option That much should be a lot clearer to voters after three-and-a half years of grinding through the minutiae of the Brexit process. Constitutional change is complex: its outcomes unclear. In the case of Brexit, it's put a lot of business investment on hold, or simply frightened it away. So heading down a similar path of potential economic dislocation could change voter perceptions of independence if there's another Scottish ballot. In 2014, the case for independence came with the assertion that Scotland could quickly become established as a member state of the European Union. That would put it within a single Europe-wide market and a customs union, making trade seamless between Scotland and the rest of the UK, and also between Scotland and the rest of the European Union. There would be no tariffs, no border posts, and they would share common regulatory standards, decided by agreement of 29 EU members, meeting in Brussels. But with England and Wales out of the single market and customs union, EU membership becomes a more challenging option for Scotland. 'Scotland may face a stark choice' Depending on the extent of divergence decided at Westminster, Scottish firms trading with the rest of the UK - which buys twice as much from Scotland as the whole of the rest of the world - would be under pressure to align instead with the regulatory framework set in Brussels. That sounds technical. In practical terms, think of farm output. Westminster may choose to align its trade with the USA, which has different regulations on genetic modification of crops and food safety standards (chlorine-washed chicken, anyone?) and trade is heavily constrained by tariffs. Or take financial services, at present completely integrated across the UK. If the City of London is required to take its lead from the USA or shifts its focus to trade with Hong Kong and Singapore, the EU could resist that, requiring Scotland to weaken that cross-Cheviot integration. As Prof Roy puts it: "Scotland may face a stark choice between aligning to the EU trading bloc or the UK bloc, with implications for trade and migration." We should now be more aware, following the Brexit debate, that such a choice is rarely, if ever, made on the terms of the smaller partner. Trade negotiations are not between equals, and outcomes reflect that. The Strathclyde University economist adds that the public finances have not gone the way of the independence movement. The Scottish government's own numbers estimating tax raised in Scotland, and public spending, continue to show an unsustainably large gap. In 2014, a careful choice of boom years for offshore oil and gas made it look like that would close the gap. It's not been looking that way in the past five years. There are billions of pounds in oil tax revenue that could flow annually into the Scottish exchequer under independence, but they are far from closing the fiscal gap. The SNP case has shifted to treating offshore oil and gas as a windfall rather than a fiscal necessity. And with climate change a rising priority, the pressure will surely grow for the industry to be wound down. A shift towards radical change According to Prof Roy, the most significant difference with the 2014 campaign is a shift from a continuity narrative to one of quite radical change. Five years ago, Alex Salmond and the 'yes' campaign could portray independence as requiring very little change, at least of the type that would be disruptive or threatening to people's finances. We were reassured that the currency would remain the same, the border would be open, and Scotland and England would share regulation of finance and much else besides. That's not so easy to argue after Brexit. The SNP's new currency is already a more complex offer: use sterling, but without any joint controls, get ready for Holyrood to create a Scottish currency, and from there, decide if it's in the country's interests to join the euro. That's harder to sell on the doorstep, particularly one owned by a resident with a mortgage, pension and savings all in sterling. Do the economic arguments matter? For what it's worth, I'll add two further factors. One was barely addressed in 2014, and still isn't clear: to balance the public finance books and to make Scotland more prosperous, where does economic growth come from? The case was made five years ago, and again by the SNP's Sustainable Growth Commission, led by Andrew Wilson, that Scotland could and should grow faster, matching similar European nations. But the case has been less clear about how that can be achieved, and what trade-offs would have to be addressed. A lower tax regime, for instance? How would productivity be boosted more effectively? Employment law tilted towards the demands of employers or those of trade unions? What level of public ownership of strategic industries? Finally, the Brexit experience has presented us with a big question of whether the economic arguments matter. Presented with expert economic opinion that warned of the impact of departing the EU, Leavers simply dismissed them as scaremongering and Project Fear (a term borrowed from the 2014 Scottish campaign). Even if there is some pain, we were being told by Leave voters that the sacrifice would be worth it to get out of Europe. Arguments about democracy and identity trumped those about economics. And so it may turn out to be with Scottish independence.

ब्रेक्सिट और एक और स्कॉटिश स्वतंत्रता जनमत संग्रह की बढ़ती उम्मीदों के संयोजन ने आर्थिक तर्कों को फिर से सामने लाया है। कुछ तर्क 2014 से परिचित होंगे, लेकिन महत्वपूर्ण कारक बदल गए हैंः बाकी यूके अब 'यथास्थिति' विकल्प नहीं है। वेस्टमिंस्टर में किए गए विकल्प एक आईस्कॉटलैंड को अपने सबसे बड़े बाजार, दक्षिण में, और एक यूरोपीय भविष्य के बीच कठोर विकल्पों में मजबूर कर देंगे। लेकिन क्या आर्थिक तर्क मायने रखते हैं?


Handforth murder arrests after woman found dead

Summary: Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was found dead at a house in Cheshire.

The 55-year-old, believed to be a local woman, was found at a property on Meriton Road in Handforth, near Wilmslow, in the early hours of Sunday. Two men, aged 43 and 51, from Wilmslow, are in custody being questioned, Cheshire Police said. A 57-year-old man from Handforth is being held on suspicion of assisting an offender. Police have asked for anyone with information to contact them.

चेशायर में एक घर में एक महिला के मृत पाए जाने के बाद हत्या के संदेह में दो लोगों को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


Bridlington Leisure World £20m plans approved

Summary: A £20m redevelopment of a leisure centre in Bridlington has been given the go-ahead by councillors.

East Riding Council said it expected work on the Leisure World facility to begin in the New Year. It will be built on the site of the current building with construction expected to take about 18 months. The centre will have three pools while Sport England will provide temporary facilities at Bridlington Sports Centre during building work. Related Internet Links East Riding Council Leisure World Sport England

ब्रिडलिंगटन में एक अवकाश केंद्र के 20 मिलियन पाउंड के पुनर्विकास को पार्षदों द्वारा मंजूरी दी गई है।


PPS reject criticisms over legacy investigation focus

Summary: The Public Prosecutions Service (PPS) insists it takes decisions on whether to prosecute cases involving the legacy of the troubles "without fear, favour or prejudice, in strict accordance with the Code for Prosecutors".

By Mark DevenportBBC News NI Political Editor It was responding to criticism from MPs in a Westminster Hall debate yesterday. It was alleged that the current system is disproportionately focussed on soldiers and police officers. A Conservative MP complained about the treatment of a former soldier. Sir Henry Bellingham said the soldier from the Life Guards regiment had previously been told he would not be prosecuted. However, he argued that the situation had changed after the appointment of Barra McGrory as Director of Public Prosecutions. Using parliamentary privilege, Sir Henry pointed out that Mr McGrory represented Martin McGuinness in the Saville inquiry, adding: "this is the person who is prepared to move away from credible evidence to political decision making, which I find very worrying. "It has to be stopped. There are potentially 278 more cases involving the security forces. "I do not want any more veterans to be dragged out of their retirement homes any more than I want Sinn Féin councillors to be dragged out of council chambers." In response the Public Prosecution Service said: "the Westminster debate reflects the political interest in historic criminal cases potentially involving military personnel. "A number of such cases have been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions by the Attorney General of Northern Ireland and have been the subject of investigation by PSNI Legacy Branch. 'Without fear, favour or prejudice' "When these investigation files are submitted to the PPS, the Test for Prosecution is applied without fear, favour or prejudice, in strict accordance with the Code for Prosecutors. "While political representatives may have an interest in such cases, the public can be assured of the rigour of the processes put in place by the Director of Public Prosecutions to ensure that this will never be allowed to influence the proper taking of prosecutorial decisions. "It is disappointing to note the unfounded nature of some of the comments made in this debate and we would wish to remind those in public office of the responsibilities they hold to maintain public confidence in the criminal justice system," it added. During the Westminster Hall debate the Northern Ireland Office Minister Kris Hopkins, who has himself served as a soldier in Northern Ireland, agreed with unionist and Conservative MPs that the current system in Northern Ireland is imbalanced in its treatment of soldiers and police officers. Mr Hopkins said: "The almost exclusive focus on the actions of the state is disproportionate and must be challenged and redressed if we are to deal with the past in a way that is fair and balanced and allows victims and survivors to see better outcomes than the current piecemeal approach." Correcting the 'imbalance' The Northern Ireland Office minister argued that the creation of a new Historical Investigations Unit (HIU) would correct this imbalance. Mr Hopkins said he believed the implementation of the proposed new body "will make the situation better for victims and survivors, and will be the only chance we have of prosecuting terrorists who murdered soldiers and police officers along with other innocent victims". Mr Hopkins said: "The HIU will not focus on the deaths caused by soldiers, as the investigations systems in Northern Ireland do today. "Instead, it will take each case in turn and will investigate the many hundreds of murders caused by terrorists, including the murders of soldiers." The minister told MPs: "It is clear that the status quo is not working well enough for victims and families, and it is time that progress is made. "This should create a more proportionate approach in dealing with the past and ensure that the balance of investigations is rightly on the terrorists who caused so much pain and suffering, rather than disproportionately on the brave soldiers and police officers who sacrificed so much to protect us."

लोक अभियोजन सेवा (पी. पी. एस.) जोर देकर कहती है कि वह इस बात पर निर्णय लेती है कि "भय, पक्षपात या पूर्वाग्रह के बिना, अभियोजक संहिता के अनुसार सख्ती से" परेशानियों की विरासत से जुड़े मामलों पर मुकदमा चलाया जाए या नहीं।


How The Beatles still grip Liverpool

Summary: Forty-six years after they split, The Beatles are responsible for one in every 100 jobs in their home city of Liverpool. That was one of the standout statistics of the group's financial legacy released in a report this week. BBC News looks at the numbers behind the Fab Four.

By Daniel WainwrightBBC News Can't buy me love A Liverpool City Council report found the enduring popularity of John Lennon, Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr still supported some 2,335 jobs in the city. Latest figures from the council show there are about 230,800 jobs in total in the city. So that means about 1 in every 100 jobs in Liverpool relies in some way on The Beatles. That is not bad for a band that broke up in 1970. We can work it out The £82m impact of The Beatles 1 in 100 jobs in Liverpool are connected with interest in The Beatles 2,335 roles sustained by Fab Four 230,800 jobs in total in Liverpool 1m to 2m visitors a year said The Beatles were why they came This might, however, be an underestimate, according to Professor Richard Evans from Liverpool John Moores University, because the figures do not take into account the marketing value of the brand or the number of people staying at non Beatles-themed hotels. The report also could not put an exact figure on how many visitors a year cite The Beatles as their main reason for visiting. Local entrepreneurs put it at about one million. The Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, made up of business and council leaders, say it is two million. Day tripper Tourism is the most obvious place to find jobs connected with The Beatles. According to researchers from the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University, about a quarter of a million people a year pay to visit The Beatles Story while The Cavern Club, where the Fab Four made their name, admits 800,000 people a year for free to listen to live music. The childhood homes of John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney also attracted 10,400 visitors between them on minibus tours. Numbers are controlled because the houses are in residential areas. Ticket to ride The Beatles Story has the largest permanent exhibition on the band 4 million visitors since 1990 70%+ from overseas 10,400 a year visit Lennon and McCartney's childhood homes 135 staff employed between The Beatles Story, Cavern Club and Fab Four-themed museums And when it came to tours of the places that inspired The Beatles - the Strawberry Field children's home and Penny Lane to name but two - an estimated 15 to 20 coaches a week come to Liverpool for this reason. Out of tour guides who responded to a survey for the report's authors, about a fifth had specific "Beatles-related qualifications". I'm only sleeping One in 10 hotel rooms in Liverpool city centre has either an overall Beatles theme or the building hosts major Beatles events, which the report says is 553 in total. However, there is a big difference between the biggest of those hotels, the 402-room Britannia Adelphi, which hosts events connected with International Beatles Week, and those dedicated to and themed around the band's legacy. The latter includes the 110-room Hard Days Night Hotel, with pictures on the walls and suites dedicated to Lennon and McCartney. The Lennon Suite even has a white piano. There is also the Yellow Submarine, a boat at the Albert Dock painted yellow and branded Fab Four but made as a copy of the submarine in the Sean Connery film, The Hunt for Red October. Additionally, there is the Penny Lane Hotel, the Sefton Park Hotel, home to original band member Stuart Sutcliffe, and Epstein House, once the home of Beatles manager Brian Epstein's father. "And that's an invitation... ...to make a reservation" £13m annual turnover by Liverpool hotels with Beatles themes and events 400 jobs in 6 hotels that host major Beatles events or have band decor 65% of overseas visitors say The Beatles are key reason for staying £23m cost of developing the 110-room Hard Day's Night Hotel (pictured) All things must pass McCartney founded the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, alongside its principal Mark Featherstone-Witty, in 1996. It cost £20m with the funding coming from McCartney and various other sources. Liverpool Hope University also has a close association with The Beatles, running a "Beatles, Popular Music and Society" masters degree. Between them the institutions take about 735 students a year. And those students spend money. About £10.3m a year, in fact, goes into the wider economy. Do you want to know a secret? £10.3m spent locally per year by students of the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts and Liverpool Hope University 15 to 30 students take the Beatles, Popular Music and Society MA at Liverpool Hope University each year £500,000 made by the university from the MA or Beatles-related activity 1,000 international students went to Sir Paul McCartney's LIPA 2006-13 720 full time students at LIPA Here, there and everywhere The overall impact of The Beatles may well be higher than the £82m the academics and economists arrived at. They stripped out economic benefits they said would have materialised anyway and those which benefitted the wider 'city region' around Liverpool or the rest of the UK's economy in general. So how much do The Beatles still contribute to the UK or indeed the world? "Calculating the equivalent value at national and global level would be a substantial, expensive undertaking because it would involve media monitoring of coverage in many different kinds of media and in the many countries where The Beatles are known," the report said. "The sums involved would undoubtedly be enormous. For example one radio station in Mexico plays Beatles music for an hour every day. Four TV documentaries about The Beatles recently screened in China were watched by 70m and a further 50m viewed them online." Finding out, then, would be a whole other magical mystery tour.

उनके अलग होने के छियालिस साल बाद, द बीटल्स अपने गृह शहर लिवरपूल में हर 100 नौकरियों में से एक के लिए जिम्मेदार हैं। यह इस सप्ताह एक रिपोर्ट में जारी समूह की वित्तीय विरासत के असाधारण आंकड़ों में से एक था। बीबीसी न्यूज फैब फोर के पीछे की संख्या को देखता है।


'I was looking for my mother but found my twin instead'

Summary: "The first time I saw my brother, I just froze.

By Shaili BhattBBC News Gujarati "I couldn't say anything. We sat down on the sofa in his house. There was silence. Then I started to cry. "The first words he said to me were 'don't cry'. Then he took my hand. Everyone who was there cried as well. It was a magical moment." Kiran Gustafsson was 33 when she met her twin for the first time. It was an unexpected twist to an already emotional journey. Kiran had returned to India to search for her biological mother. The last thing she expected to find was a missing twin. Growing up in Sweden with her adoptive family, Kiran says she had warm and loving parents who gave her everything a child could want. Her parents - retired teacher Maria Wernant and businessman Kjell-Ake - had always been open about the fact that she had been adopted from an orphanage in Surat, a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat, when she was three. 'Something was always missing' Kiran says she has no memories of those early years. "My parents never made me feel different. They always told me to be proud of what I am. I couldn't ask for anything more in my upbringing," she told the BBC. Yet, she admits, she always felt something was missing. She was jealous of the connection between her two younger siblings for instance. She felt they were close to each other in a way they never would be with her. As she grew older, she says that feeling of emptiness intensified. Finally she spoke to her family about it. They were very supportive and in 2000 the entire family undertook a trip to Surat. She visited again in 2005, this time with her college class as a part of a course on sociology and human rights. But these trips left her with more questions. Back home in Sweden, she researched more about her adoption, found out more details about the orphanage she was adopted from. By 2010, she had made the decision to look for her biological mother but was not sure how to go about it. "My parents were OK with my decision. They told me they were proud of me and they loved me," she said. But she followed through on her decision only six years later. In 2016, Kiran, now a career counsellor, found herself attending a lecture by Arun Dohle, the co-founder of the Netherlands-based NGO Against Child Trafficking. Like her, he was from India. Like her, he had been adopted. In his talk, Mr Dohle outlined his own legal battle to get information about his biological mother in India. Inspired, Kiran began communicating with Dohle. He connected her with child protection worker Anjali Pawar who agreed to help. Through her inquiries, Ms Pawar was able to uncover Kiran's mother's identity. Her name was Sindhu Goswami and she had been employed as a domestic servant in Surat. She also found that Kiran had been almost two when her mother had left her at the orphanage. But she made frequent visits to meet her there. She had also given the officials her work address. Armed with this information, Kiran returned to India in April, accompanied by a friend. She met her mother's former employers but the information they gave her was not enough to go on. They couldn't tell where she was now, or if she was even alive. But they did give her a photograph. "We look like each other," says Kiran. Those were emotional days for Kiran. But the biggest shock was yet to come. Ms Pawar had managed to find Kiran's birth certificate. And that was when she found out she had a twin brother. "It was unbelievable. The questions about feelings of connection and belonging were answered. I was shocked. It was amazing,'' Kiran said. She decided to start looking for her brother. This was thankfully, not a difficult search. He had been adopted by a Surat family and was currently a businessman. Meeting him was not easy though. It turned out his family had never told him he was adopted. They were reluctant to tell him. It took a lot of persuasion to get them to agree. Eventually, the twins met in an emotional reunion. "We discovered each other, but we still have so many questions. There is still sadness," Kiran says. She says that her brother, who has asked not to be identified in the media for now, told her "that he had the exact same feeling that something was missing in his life." "When we said goodbye that day it was still surreal so we didn't say much." The siblings decided to meet at Kiran's hotel the next day to talk some more. "He told me he was afraid of losing me again. And he didn't want to see me leave for the airport, so he left early," Kiran said. "When we parted, he gave me a hug and just left with his father. In that moment I felt so empty. But he promised me that we would celebrate our next birthday together in Sweden."

"पहली बार जब मैंने अपने भाई को देखा, तो मैं बस जम गया।


Boy, 16, arrested after homeless woman's tent set on fire in Longton

Summary: A second teenager has been arrested after a tent, which had a homeless woman inside, was set on fire.

The woman was uninjured in the incident in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent on the evening of 29 December. The 16-year-old was arrested on suspicion of arson after Staffordshire Police released an image of somebody they wished to talk about the incident. Another 16-year-old boy remains on bail after being arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk Related Internet Links Staffordshire Police

एक तम्बू, जिसके अंदर एक बेघर महिला थी, में आग लगाने के बाद एक दूसरे किशोर को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


EastEnders star's dilemma over her deaf daughter

Summary: EastEnders actress Rita Simons juggles playing Roxy Mitchell with being mum to six-year-old twin daughters - one of whom, Maiya, is slowly losing her hearing, meaning Rita and her husband must make some agonising and life-changing decisions on her behalf.

When Maiya was six months old, doctors found that she was missing nerve endings and parts of her cochlea in her ears. Over the years, her hearing has deteriorated so that she has lost hearing in her left ear and can only hear loud sounds in her right. But with two hearing aids in, she can hear people talking. Rita and her husband, Theo, had hoped that she would be able to hold on to her hearing, but doctors have warned them she is likely to lose it all. Added to this, any bang to Maiya's head could accelerate the deterioration. This has led Rita to "panic" at any playground fall. "We feel we are constantly walking a tightrope that we could fall off of at any point with no given warning," said Rita. "We are just constantly trying to preserve, preserve, preserve and sometimes it seems so pointless because unfortunately it may all be futile in the end. "It seems so unfair but it is what it is, isn't it?" Singing and dancing A typical day in Rita's house sees Maiya and her twin sister Jaimee putting on shows for family and friends, donning a vast array of costumes. Maiya says she wants to be "a fairy, a vet or a show-player" her word for actress, when she grows up. It is her love of music, singing and performing that Rita realises will play a major part in their decisions about her future. Maiya has grown up in a hearing world and the family have yet to engage with the deaf community. But with the news about Maiya's likely total hearing loss, Rita and Theo decided they needed to address what is the best way forward for her. Should they introduce Maiya to the deaf world, learning sign language and sending her to a special school? Or try to maximise her hearing with technology, implants and artificial sound. Or a mixture of the two? "People say you must engage with the deaf community, but we haven't felt we needed to," Rita explains. "Her life is very full. She goes to ballet, street dance, she does all these things without anything having to be designed especially for deaf kids, so we haven't engaged." The National Deaf Children's Society believes it is vital that deaf children and their families get all the unbiased, comprehensive information that they need to make informed decisions. And other parents of deaf children can have valuable insights as they have lived through all the highs and lows that parenting can bring. Rita realised she and Theo would need to meet some of those directly involved to understand the issues fully. Trish Thompson is mother to seven-year-old Paris, who is deaf. She urged Rita to consider British Sign Language for Maiya, pointing out how important communication is for deaf children and that Maiya might have been hiding her hearing problems. Many in the deaf community see British Sign Language as their own language and part of their cultural identity. For some,cochlear implants are controversialas they are seen as a rejection of deaf culture. "My feeling is it's like an abuse of a child to put a cochlear implant in," one of Trish's deaf friends told Rita. "They are too young and they won't understand what it is." "I feel fairly resentful of being called an abuser," Rita responded, managing to still smile. "People in the deaf community have a strong view and I don't disagree with them, I just want to know why. Give me your reasons as to why I should do what you say I should do." Spirit and perseverance While Maiya has been doing well at mainstream school, she gets very tired because she has to concentrate so hard. This has led to tantrums. And her first experience with a sign language teacher did not go well. Maiya ended up walking away bored. Rita was told by a head teacher at a special school for deaf children that it could be a better option for Maiya, if she started noticing signs that her daughter was not happy or things were distressing her at her current school. But the visit left an emotional Rita in tears. "It upsets me because those kids just get on with life - they don't see themselves as having anything wrong with them, it's their spirit and their perseverance. It's like looking at my child," she said. "I'm very reassured to know that if the time came, and I needed to, this is here. There is a conflict now because I do know there is somewhere out there that can enhance her learning experience. "I'm really surprised at how much Maiya could get out of a place like this." Rita also witnessed a nine-year-old boy called Jack having his hearing tested for the first time after having implants. A cochlear implant is a surgically-implanted electronic device that can improve hearing by stimulating the auditory nerve. Although an implant cannot restore hearing to normal, it does give the sensation of sounds. It would only be suitable for Maiya when her hearing aids stopped working. As Jack began to recognise sound, a big smile spread across his face. Rita was touched by his reaction. "I definitely went into this thinking it was a big intrusive contraption and it's all a massive nightmare but looking at Jack and his reaction - it's going to change his life for the better." Bridget Harley, at the Ear Institute in London, helped Rita decide by asking her to put herself in her daughter's position: "How would Maiya feel if she had to go without her hearing aid for a week?" "Devastated," replies Rita immediately. Rita and Theo felt they had explored the issues as thoroughly as they could. They even spent a day wearing ear plugs that reduced the hearing to what Maiya experiences. Finally, Rita believed they had found the best way forward in the best interests of singing and dancing Maiya. "Regardless to what anyone from the deaf community says, and I understand everyone has their own opinion - I cannot fathom for the life of me, and I've tried, if sound is on offer why you wouldn't take it." Rita Simons: My Daughter, Deafness and Meis on BBC One at 22:40 on Tuesday 20 March, repeatedwith sign languageat 01:20 GMT Wed 21 March. Watch online afterwards at the above links.

ईस्टएंडर्स की अभिनेत्री रीटा साइमन्स रॉक्सी मिशेल की भूमिका निभाती हैं और छह साल की जुड़वां बेटियों की मां हैं-जिनमें से एक, मैया, धीरे-धीरे अपनी सुनवाई खो रही है, जिसका अर्थ है कि रीटा और उसके पति को उसकी ओर से कुछ दर्दनाक और जीवन बदलने वाले निर्णय लेने चाहिए।


Billy Henham murder: Reward of up to £10,000 offered

Summary: Police have offered a reward of £10,000 for information leading to a conviction over the murder of a 24-year-old man who was found at a squat.

Billy Henham's body was found in a building in North Street, Brighton, at 16:30 GMT on 2 January. A post-mortem examination revealed the 24-year-old died following a sustained assault. Mr Henham, from Henfield, West Sussex, was last seen at 18:00 at a New Year's Eve party held at the site. His family paid tribute to their son, saying his "guardian angel sadly lost sight of him" the night he was killed. Five people arrested in connection with his death were released by Sussex Police under investigation. Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk.

पुलिस ने एक 24 वर्षीय व्यक्ति की हत्या पर दोषसिद्धि के लिए सूचना देने के लिए 10,000 पाउंड का इनाम देने की पेशकश की है, जो एक स्क्वाट में पाया गया था।


'Heavy fighting' in the north

Summary: More heavy fighting is reported between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Sri Lanka.

A defence ministry statement said that at least eighteen guerrillas and one soldier were killed in clashes in the Mannar district. Another report, quoting military sources, said a further seventeen rebels had been killed in the Welioya area, where seven soldiers also died. There's been no word from the rebels. Accounts of the fighting in Sri Lanka are always hard to verify, because journalists are not permitted to visit front line areas.

उत्तरी श्रीलंका में सरकारी बलों और तमिल टाइगर विद्रोहियों के बीच और अधिक भारी लड़ाई की सूचना है।


McGuinness resignation: Politicians and public bodies react

Summary: Politicians, public bodies and the business community have been reacting to the news that Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has resigned in protest at the handling of a botched heating scheme that is likely to cost the taxpayer £490m.

Here is a selection of their comments: Outgoing First Minister Arlene Foster "I am disappointed that Martin McGuinness has chosen to take the position he has today. "His actions have meant that, at precisely the time we need our government to be active, we will have no government and no way to resolve the RHI problems. "It is clear that Sinn Féin's actions are not principled, they are political. "Let me make it clear, the DUP will always defend unionism and stand up for what is best for Northern Ireland and it appears from the deputy first minister's resignation letter that is what annoys Sinn Féin the most." Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire "The UK government has a primary role to provide political stability in Northern Ireland and we'll be doing all we can over the coming days to work with the parties to find a solution to the current situation. "The position is very clear. If Sinn Féin does not nominate a replacement to the role of deputy first minister, then I'm obliged to call and election of the assembly within a reasonable period. "I would urge the leaders of the political parties to come together and work together to find a solution to current situation and we'll be doing all that we can with the political parties and the Irish government to that end." Justice Minister Claire Sugden "A reasonable resolution could have been achieved which leads me to believe that this crisis goes beyond RHI and points to a more intractable situation. "The DUP and Sinn Féin's inability to work together is a fundamental flaw not envisaged in the Good Friday Agreement and will continue to burden the people of Northern Ireland as long as their best interests come second to entrenched party politics. "Today is a dark day for Northern Ireland. I am truly fearful for our future." Ulster Unionist Leader Mike Nesbitt "If this was just about RHI, Sinn Féin would hang in, they would hold the DUP and the first minister to account, they'd take steps to introduce cost controls and they'd support a public inquiry into what went wrong. "But this is not about RHI - it's about Sinn Féin. We've now had 10 years characterised by disappointment, debacles and scandals. "They are incapable of governing this country. They cannot see the greater good. The Ulster Unionists fought hard in 1998 to get these institutions up and running. We saw devolution as being for the benefit of the people. "I don't know what Sinn Féin and the DUP have in mind [following the resignation], but it's very clear they'll do what's good for the parties, not what's good for the electorate." SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood "It looks like we're heading towards an election and that's happening because of Arele Foster's arrogance. "But if people want an election, let's have it, because people need to hear that we still have no programme for government and now we have costs spiralling out of control with RHI. "We also now won't have a public inquiry into all of this. We agree with Martin McGuinness when he tells us the DUP have disrespected the nationalist community. But some people wanted to stand side by side with the DUP, holding their hand. "If DUP and Féin aren't prepared to hold people accountable for the RHI scandal, lets have the electorate hold them to account." Alliance Party Leader Naomi Long "This changes nothing. [It] really is a case of 'any lengths' to avoid doing the job of running the country, setting a budget, preparing for Brexit." TUV Leader Jim Allister "I've long said mandatory coalition would implode. Today it has. It's time to move on. "The people of Northern Ireland deserve good government. "There's no point trying to glue back together something that will never work." Green Party Leader Stephen Agnew "I'm disappointed at the inability of the two parties to deliver stability to Northern Ireland. "We've nothing to fear from an election. As one of the parties that highlighted concerns about RHI from the beginning, I believe people will realise the constructive role we have played. "But I believe and election is not what the people of Northern Ireland want. Today can only be a bad news day for Northern Ireland. "I hope in a a week's time, we're hearing a better story and that the other parties step up and deliver what's required." People Before Profit MLA Foyle Eamonn McCann "I think it was an inevitable thing to do and when things become inevitable in politics then it is right for them to happen. "It was clear to us that there was no mechanism for dealing with the RHI scandal within the machinery of Stormont as it stood. "I believe that we cannot live any longer with the petition of concern and a number of the other aspects of the machinery of Stormont and we also can't go on without putting right at the centre issues to do with the economy and society which have been marginalised. "Everybody seems to assume that the DUP is coming back to Stormont with the same strength and numbers, we shall see whether that happens." Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams "Martin McGuinness has led from the front in the Executive for the last 10 years, defending the integrity of the political institutions and realising the potential of the Good Friday Agreement. "In spite of the provocation, disrespect and arrogance from the DUP, and the failures of the British government to fulfil its responsibilities over that time, Martin McGuinness has always put the people and the political process first. "This is in contrast to the DUP who have been acting to undermine equality and partnership. "The money squandered in the RHI project belonged to unionists as well as other taxpayers. "It is money which should have been used to end poverty and disadvantage or to build public services. No minister responsible for such bad governance in any other administration would be still in office." Former Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers "Arlene Foster took a reasonable approach. I don't think it was necessary to have an election to make sure this was all properly investigated. I believe the fundamentals of the devolved settlement are strong." Nick Coburn, President, Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce "Having remained as positive as we can for as long as we can, there is presently a very deep sense of frustration at the instability which now characterises our political institutions. "The hope and optimism which greeted the Fresh Start Agreement has dissipated. Business confidence stalled because of the uncertainty regarding Brexit and the change of the US Administration. "The current political situation adds to this uncertainty and will have a negative impact on economic and social development. "Meanwhile, the global economy is growing, so too are the economies in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, where they are working on ambitious economic growth plans. "The sad reality is that Northern Ireland is falling behind, and we need political stability to deliver the ambitious plans set out in the new Programme for Government and Export Matters Action Plan to grow trade." Angela McGowan, Director, CBI Northern Ireland "The business community is not seeking to comment on the specifics that have given rise to today's events, other than to underline that there has seldom been a more important time for all our citizens to have a strong well-functioning Executive. "Ahead of the triggering of Article 50, expected in March, Northern Ireland urgently requires strong leadership and representation as the UK negotiates its future relationship with the EU. "It is vital that our collective voice is heard during this crucial period to achieve the best possible outcome for all of our citizens. Margaret McGuckin, Historical institutional abuse campaigner "We have waited for years. The launch of the HIA report is scheduled for 20 January...and now it will gather dust. "I started this campaign, nine years I am doing this, and now the government collapses on us again. I am angry and hurting for everybody." Alison Suttie, Liberal Democrats, Shadow NI Secretary "The stability of the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland is more important now than ever, given the challenges presented by Brexit. This needs cool heads and calm leadership. "A peaceful society, politically stable institutions and a strong economy are intricately bound together. "The people of Northern Ireland must have confidence that there is a coherent, cohesive and collective government that is open, accountable and working in the best interests of the whole of Northern Ireland."

राजनेता, सार्वजनिक निकाय और व्यापारिक समुदाय इस खबर पर प्रतिक्रिया दे रहे हैं कि उत्तरी आयरलैंड के उप प्रथम मंत्री मार्टिन मैकगिनेस ने एक खराब हीटिंग योजना से निपटने के विरोध में इस्तीफा दे दिया है, जिसकी कीमत करदाता को 490 मिलियन पाउंड होने की संभावना है।


'Landlords treat us students like we're dumb kids'

Summary: More needs to be done to tackle landlords unfairly targeting students with deposit deductions at the end of their tenancies, the National Union of Students (NUS) has said. For some renters, amounts can total hundreds of pounds.

By Catherine Wyatt and John OwenBBC Victoria Derbyshire programme "I think landlords look at us and think we're just these dumb kids who don't know what we're doing," Jessica Hickey tells the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme. "It's not fair, it's not OK." The University of Lincoln graduate has been challenging her deposit deduction - amounting to £1,600 between four housemates - for two months. Strictly speaking, landlords and letting agents can make deductions only up to the total amount of a tenant's deposit but Jessica's have added an additional £400 fee to the £1,200 they have held back. "They decided we've not left the property in a fit state," Jessica says. "Even though we've been there for two years, they've not allowed for wear and tear. "We've been charged for weeding, we've apparently left the garden in not a fit state even though we had the next-door neighbour come over with his strimmer." Jessica says they have also been charged for issues they themselves reported to the landlord earlier in the tenancy, asking for them to be fixed. She says not having their deposits returned has had a serious impact on some of her housemates. One was relying on the money to go towards the deposit on a house he was purchasing. Another has been unable to put a down payment on a car. "The £300 was a stepping stone to leave university with... and it's all been put on hold," she says. Scheme 'ignored' There are legitimate reasons for landlords and letting agents to deduct deposits - such as unpaid rent or direct damage to property - but the Victoria Derbyshire programme has heard from dozens of students who say they are being penalised beyond this. The Tenant Fees Act was introduced earlier this year to protect renters from unfair agency fees but it does not cover the issue of deposit deductions. Landlords are obliged to put deposits into the government-backed Tenancy Deposit Scheme at the beginning of a tenancy, which helps resolve any future disputes. But students say this requirement is often ignored or the procedure for challenging a decision leads to a long delay - during which time their entire deposit is withheld- and many challenges end with them losing out anyway. Benjamin McNeil, in Cardiff, also has a battle to recover his deposit. His letting agents deducted £900 of his and his housemates' £1,400 deposit. This includes: The case has now been resolved, with the housemates receiving £500 of the disputed amount - but Benjamin says it has caused unnecessary stress. "After you graduate, you don't want to spend the next two months contesting to get every penny back," he says. According to NUS's 2019 Homes Fit For Study report, just 61% of surveyed students who paid a deposit said they had received it back in full at the end of their tenancy: The NUS is now calling for a tightening of legislation in this area. "What we're seeing more and more is unfair contracts," says the organisation's vice-president, Eva Crossan Jory, "landlords charging for things that are the result of wear-and-tear or where students have complained about something not working, the landlord doesn't fix it and then at the end of the tenancy tries to charge them for the breaking of said appliance. "The government should be doing more to penalise landlords when they do break the law." Currently, the government advises tenants to check their deposit is: Meera Chindooroy from the National Landlords Association told the BBC: "Most landlords do not take unreasonable deductions from deposits, with an NUS survey last year showing that the majority of students [61%] who pay a deposit have it returned in full. "It's important that students understand their responsibilities in looking after the property - and that if they disagree with the landlord on damage, they can raise a dispute." Some students are now fighting back. In Lincoln, graduate Natasha Hopewell was threatened with deductions amounting to almost all of her deposit and is now creating a forum for students in the city to warn others about bad practice. "We got together and we made a website where students can review their student accommodation providers," the founder of CribAdviser says. "It's all anonymous but it means students can warn one another of difficult letting agents and take control of our own tenancy by taking an informed decision." For those who feel mistreated, like Jessica and Benjamin, such initiatives may be a welcome start. "It seems to be part of the process that landlords will try and get money out of you because they know most people won't fight it," Benjamin says. Follow the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme on Facebook and Twitter - and see more of our stories here.

राष्ट्रीय छात्र संघ (एन. यू. एस.) ने कहा है कि मकान मालिकों द्वारा छात्रों को उनकी किरायेदारी के अंत में जमा कटौती के साथ अनुचित रूप से लक्षित करने से निपटने के लिए और अधिक करने की आवश्यकता है। कुछ किराएदारों के लिए, राशि कुल सैकड़ों पाउंड हो सकती है।


Stansted Airport to increase passenger numbers but no new runway

Summary: The man charged with finding a solution to the problem of airport capacity in the South East says he expects "significant expansion" at Stansted over the next 10 years but he says there's no demand to build another runway there.

Deborah McGurranPolitical editor, East of England Announcing Heathrow as his preferred choice for a new runway, Sir Howard Davies said: "At the moment Stansted is only carrying 20m passengers where it could take 35m, so the market is telling you that's not currently a preferred solution." All airports around London, especially Essex's Stansted Airport, and to a lesser degree Luton and Southend, will get much busier, he added. "Our modelling shows that in the period before the new runway comes into operation, which won't be for at least for another decade, there will have to be significant expansion at the airports which have got the capacity to expand at the moment, principally Stansted. It will be important that other airports around London take the strain." Sir Howard's report accepts that another runway as well as the new one at Heathrow, may be needed in the UK by 2050 but to the surprise of many observers, he refuses to name a candidate. "A wide range of options should be considered, for example, Stansted and Gatwick, and airports outside London and the South East, such as Birmingham and Manchester," he said in his report. No New Runway His report has been welcomed by MPs around Stansted, who are now convinced that after years of uncertainty, the idea of a second runway is now definitely off the table. Sir Howard notes that the airport has begun an £80m terminal redevelopment. It is also trying to grow its mix of airlines and attract long-haul routes and he notes Stansted's strategic importance to the wider London airport system. He clearly believes the airport has an important role to play, but not one big enough to warrant another runway. He was very complimentary about the proposal for a new runway at Gatwick, which he ended up rejecting. Sir Howard said it was "do-able" and would bring economic benefits but this must surely mean that the airport is now in pole position when discussions begin about another runway. It is also interesting that his report notes that there may be a case for reviewing the planning cap that currently limits Stansted to 35m air movements a year. It states that "the commission does not have any view as to the outcome of any such review". Back to the drawing board Sir Howard also welcomes the recent decision to allow Luton to expand, and the recent success of Southend. The problems of poor rail links to all our airports also came in for criticism and the report calls for improvements. He seems to suggest this could be holding airports back from realising their full potential. So the conclusion for the east seems to be - no new runways but busier airports. It is news which will come as a relief to those living near our airports but the anticipated increase in traffic will also give rise to concern from environmental groups. They will worry about noise and pollution levels and will fight any attempt by the airports to increase flights. The region's business community will be broadly happy with the report, in particular the appeal for better rail links. But just one word of warning. The recommendation to build at Heathrow is just that - a recommendation. The government will have to make the final decision, expected in the autumn and there are a host of political problems surrounding that decision. If ministers reject Sir Howard's report, everything will be back in the melting pot again.

दक्षिण पूर्व में हवाई अड्डे की क्षमता की समस्या का समाधान खोजने का आरोप लगाने वाले व्यक्ति का कहना है कि वह अगले 10 वर्षों में स्टैन्स्टेड में "महत्वपूर्ण विस्तार" की उम्मीद करते हैं, लेकिन उनका कहना है कि वहां एक और रनवे बनाने की कोई मांग नहीं है।


Bishop Auckland police offer horse micro-chipping

Summary: Horse owners are being given the chance to have their animals micro-chipped at a reduced rate.

Durham Constabulary is working with the British Horse Society (BHS) to promote a horse identification event in Bishop Auckland. To encourage responsible ownership, microchipping for £10 is being offered to owners who can produce a current horse passport. The event is at Bishop Auckland Community Fire Station on 14 January.

घोड़ों के मालिकों को कम दर पर अपने जानवरों को माइक्रो-चिप करने का मौका दिया जा रहा है।


Local elections 2021: Chesham candidates share plans for town

Summary: The local elections on 6 May offer voters across England the chance to have their say. But for people living in Buckinghamshire, polling day will be their first opportunity to vote since the county's unitary authority was launched in April 2020.

The new authority replaced Buckinghamshire County Council, Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe District Councils. The BBC has spoken to one candidate from each of the Conservatives, Green, Labour and Liberal Democrats who are standing in the unitary election in Chesham about their plans for the town are if they are elected. Alan Booth, Green Alan Booth hopes to "free the town of potholes". "They're just out of control and lead to quite a lot of issues regarding road space for cyclists, drivers and pedestrians," he said. The 52-year-old said he would take funding being targeted at building new roads to "maintain the ones we already have". "The other thing affecting us locally is HS2," he said. "It is a significant thing, it is just over the hill and the Green Party has always been opposed to it and it will continue to be a major component of what we do." The Chiltern Green Party coordinator said he would also work to protect the greenfield land in the area from development. Mr Booth said the underpass on St Mary's Way in the centre of Chesham needed to be "fixed once and for all". "There's been issues with flooding which has led to questions about whether it's safe, and it keeps being closed and then reopened," he said. Qaser Chaudhry, Conservatives For Qaser Chaudhry, the "number one priority is highway issues". The Conservative candidate said if elected he would lobby for additional funding to improve local roads and the drainage systems. "We also need to do more to fix potholes," he said. Another key area for the former mayor of Chesham was "protecting the green belt". "There is lots of development going on and it is a challenge," he said. While Mr Chaudhry said the area had "quite good schools", supporting local primary and secondary schools to "improve education" was also something he considered a priority. He said he would also lobby for additional funding to support local business. "I want to improve communication with local residents, improve the high street and local businesses and support community projects," he said. Pat Easton, Labour Pat Easton said she believed "coming out of Covid, we need to change the way we do things". The 62-year-old said she would like to set a local target to reach carbon net zero by 2030. "We need to reduce the number of local car journeys and make it easy for people to do that," she said. Ms Easton said she would create a network of safe cycle routes, improve safety for pedestrians and invest in an "integrated green bus service". Housing is another priority for the Labour candidate. "We stand for development of affordable and social housing on brownfield sites," she said. Ms Easton said she would like "high density housing in the middle of town" which was good quality and met environmental standards. "Social housing shouldn't be poor quality," she said. Frances Kneller, Liberal Democrats Frances Kneller said the Liberal Democrats in Chesham were concerned about the future of the green belt. "We know it's really important for its beauty and environmental aspects," she said. The chair of Chesham Youth Centre said she would want to take a "very proactive role in the development of a new local plan to ensure the green belt is protected". Ms Kneller said the Liberal Democrats would want to "reverse the £2m planned cuts to tackle potholes and then double the investment to £4m to make pavements safer". The party would also like to "reduce waste" by scaling down the number of councillors in the unitary authority "from 147 to under 100". "We could save £2.4m a year and we could do a lot with that," she said. "We could fix the potholes, invest more in adult social care and even open up the tips seven days a week rather than five." Ms Kneller, who also works with the Chiltern Toy Bank, said she would also "support small and medium shops and businesses through the Covid recovery stage". Other candidates standing in the unitary election in Chesham: Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk Related Internet Links Buckinghamshire Council

6 मई के स्थानीय चुनाव पूरे इंग्लैंड में मतदाताओं को अपनी बात रखने का मौका देते हैं। लेकिन बकिंघमशायर में रहने वाले लोगों के लिए, अप्रैल 2020 में काउंटी के एकात्मक प्राधिकरण की शुरुआत के बाद से मतदान का दिन मतदान करने का उनका पहला अवसर होगा।


Spending review challenges remain for George Osborne

Summary: If the chancellor is to be believed, the Crown Prosecution Service generates a million print-outs per day - that's an awful lot of paper and an awful lot of ink - and an example of the kind of "waste" in central spending that George Osborne wants to clamp down on.

By Gary O'DonoghueChief political correspondent, BBC Radio 4 But his aim to save a further £11.5bn from departments in 2015-2016 will not be met by cutting out a few toner cartridges - it will require some very difficult decisions in sensitive spending areas such as the armed forces and the police. Mr Osborne insists he has made a good start with the seven settlements he has announced so far. But it still leaves him with 80% of the cuts to find, and 29 days to do it. It is complicated by the fact that 60% percent of government spending is also protected from any cuts, lying inside the "ring-fence" established by the government at the beginning of the parliament. So the NHS, schools and overseas aid are safe from the current Whitehall wrangling - although these are exceptions that even some members of the cabinet have argued against. That means that the big budget departments yet to agree a deal with the chancellor include the Home Office (£8bn a year), the Ministry of Defence (£26.5bn), Business (£15bn) and the money distributed to local government (£23.9bn). Transport could also be vulnerable as it spends almost £5bn a year and is one of those departments that always gets it in the neck when a chancellor of the exchequer comes calling. There has been pressure to look again at the welfare budget - which accounts for a third of all government spending annually, including pensions. But this is where the politics intervenes. The Liberal Democrats have refused to allow any more cuts to welfare unless the Conservatives agree to look at the benefits that go to the elderly, such as the winter fuel payment and free television licences for the over-75s. David Cameron promised at the last election not to touch those things during the current parliament and he calculates that breaking his word would be politically impossible. The added complication for the chancellor is an understandable focus on security and counter-terrorism following the killing last week of Drummer Lee Rigby. Mr Osborne made clear on Tuesday morning that he would not do anything to endanger the security of the country, though, tellingly, he also said that did not mean these big departments should not be expected to find savings in the way they operate. The chancellor was keen to point out that the first seven deals with departments meant he was well on track to deliver agreements with the others. He also insisted that the cuts would not impact frontline services. The Home Secretary, Theresa May, and the Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, will, no doubt, take some convincing.

यदि कुलाधिपति पर विश्वास किया जाए, तो क्राउन प्रॉसिक्यूशन सर्विस प्रति दिन दस लाख प्रिंट-आउट उत्पन्न करती है-यह बहुत सारे कागज और बहुत सारी स्याही है-और केंद्रीय खर्च में "अपव्यय" का एक उदाहरण है जिस पर जॉर्ज ओसबोर्न अंकुश लगाना चाहते हैं।


General Election: Who is target voter Workington Man?

Summary: The men of Workington have found themselves in a spotlight of sorts - or a flurry of political headlines at least - after a think tank marked them out as a key election target. Workington Man is 2019's Worcester Woman. But who is he? And what do men in Workington - a former mining town on the Cumbrian coast - think of the stereotype?

By Bob CooperPolitical reporter, BBC Cumbria According to Onward - the right-of centre-think tank that gave birth to the creation - Workington Man is older, white and Northern. The imagined poster boy for "middle England" likes rugby league and Labour. He voted for Brexit and feels the country is moving away from his views. Workington resident Tony Bland, 66, would like to see industry return to his home town, which has a rich industrial history of coal mining and steel making. He said: "A lot of the big traditional industries have gone. "I'd love to see more investment in the place, in this area, instead of it all being down south." He says he'll be voting Conservative in December, and has done so in the past. Allan Mitchell, 53, a civil servant from Workington, said people were "offended by the Conservatives' northern stereotyping", adding: "This may backfire." "People expect a campaign, but they don't like being patronised," he said. "I'd expect all the parties to target voters in some way, and with Workington being a fairly marginal seat I can understand the Conservatives looking for any angle to gain more votes. "The idea that we're all simple northerners without the university degrees they seem to think are standard, and all attend rugby league matches at the weekend, is causing widespread offence. It's a cliche that belongs in the 1970s." Workington, which has a population of about 25,000, has been Labour for the last century except for a brief spell in the 1970s. Since the constituency was created in 1918, the Tories have never won the seat at a general election. Conservative MP Richard Page held the seat for three years following the 1976 by-election, and has been the only non-Labour MP to ever represent the constituency. Labour's Sue Hayman held the seat at the last general election in 2017 with 21,317 votes, ahead of Conservative Clark Vasey's 17,392. An estimated six in 10 voters in the town voted Leave in 2016. Paul Wright, 53, said: "I don't think there'll be many people voting Tory in Workington, despite Brexit. "I think there's more distrust of the Tories than there is of wanting Brexit." Paul said he wanted to remain in the EU and would only vote Labour because voting for the Liberal Democrats would be a "wasted" vote. But supporting Remain is a minority view in Workington - the Brexit Party topped the polls in the area in the European elections. Geoff Bates, 59, says he is "definitely" voting for Nigel Farage's party. "Getting out of Europe, the people have voted for that. Why's it gone over three years?" he said. But if Geoff really is representative of "Workington Man", his answer to whether he would vote for Boris Johnson will worry Downing Street: "Oh definitely not. He's a fruitcake. I want Farage." You may also be interested in:

वर्किंगटन के पुरुषों ने खुद को एक तरह से सुर्खियों में पाया है-या कम से कम राजनीतिक सुर्खियों की झड़ी में-जब एक थिंक टैंक ने उन्हें एक प्रमुख चुनावी लक्ष्य के रूप में चिह्नित किया है। वर्किंगटन मैन 2019 की वॉर्सेस्टर महिला है। लेकिन वह कौन है? और वर्किंगटन में पुरुष-कंब्रियन तट पर एक पूर्व खनन शहर-रूढ़िवादिता के बारे में क्या सोचते हैं?


Coronavirus: How ghost cruise ships became a summer tourist attraction

Summary: One of the more unusual sights of the coronavirus pandemic has been that of cruise ships drifting around in the English Channel, apparently abandoned at sea. But why are they there? And how did they become a holiday attraction?

By Hazel ShearingBBC News Paul Derham is welcoming passengers onboard when he picks up the phone. It's business as usual for his small passenger ferry in Dorset today. But when the wind dies down he'll be back to his latest venture: sightseeing tours of cruise ships anchored off England's south coast. "It's a two-and-a-half hour trip," he says. "We have a really good trip out of it, actually." During the coronavirus pandemic, ships that usually spend the summer cruising the Mediterranean and Caribbean islands have instead found themselves lingering, near-empty, in the Channel. They have been anchoring off the coast from Portsmouth to Plymouth, and at night they illuminate the horizon. The arrival of the UK's "ghost ships", as one Twitter user called them, has transformed the view from the coast and fascinated locals and tourists alike. They have now become a tourist attraction in their own right, with people paying to see them up close. "I knew people would be impressed," Paul says of his mini-cruises. The 62-year-old spent around three decades sailing cruise ships around the world before he bought the Mudeford Ferry, near Christchurch. He was even deputy captain on one of the ships he now takes his customers to see. "We whacked it on Facebook one day," he says of the idea. "We advertised two trips and we filled up within two hours." The cruise industry was hit early in the pandemic, when the virus first swept the Diamond Princess, in Japan and then the Grand Princess, in the US. Passengers were quarantined at sea after hundreds contracted the virus onboard. Holidays were cancelled and empty boats had to go somewhere. So why have so many ended up in the Channel? Ships have to pay fees to berth, meaning an already crippled industry would be losing even more money if they docked in ports. The Port of Southampton - a departure port for many UK cruises - declined to say how much it charges, citing "commercial sensitivities", but said it has "remained open during the pandemic". "Ultimately, whether cruise ships anchor off the coast or alongside in the port, it is their choice," a spokeswoman said. But space could also be an issue. Southampton has four cruise ship terminals, and can take up to six in exceptional circumstances. P&O said its ships remain at sea because Southampton, which is also its home port, does not have room for all of them. The ships do need to dock every so often to refuel and stock up on supplies for the reduced crew on board. The Cruise Lines International Association said how often they refuel depends on the ship and the type of fuel used. While they are designed to be able to run for two weeks, they "can last much longer". There are about 100 crew currently on each of the P&O vessels off the south coast, the company said. That is likely to include crew in the engine rooms, as well as cleaners, electricians, chefs and medics. To put that number into context, P&O's largest liner - the Britannia - has capacity for around 5,000 guests and crew. Professor Richard Bucknall, director of research at University College London's department of mechanical engineering, says it "isn't possible to have any ship at anchor without a crew on board". He said that is because of dangers of "anchor drag", or ships drifting at sea, due to severe weather. Although they are anchored, they don't switch off all of their generators. They need to keep a diesel-powered generator running in order to maintain things like safety systems and lighting for the crew on board, says Dr Tristan Smith of University College London's Energy Institute, who specialises in shipping. "The power requirements will be significantly lower than when operating at sea with passengers, both because they won't be using the power for propulsion or for the wider passenger comfort and 'hotel' services." "If they have full tanks before going to the anchorage, they will be able to run at lower power output for many weeks if not months without having to refuel." So is it bad for the environment? Dr Smith says it would actually make little difference to green house gas emissions if ships docked in ports rather than anchored at sea, but the impact on air pollution would likely be greater. More on cruise ships and coronavirus He says the best way to reduce the environmental impact of cruise ships in ports is for them to connect to local electricity grids, or shore power, when they berth - which should allow them to shut down onboard power generators. But shore power is not yet available at many ports, including Southampton, meaning the ships would still need to use their own generators - even in port. "Particulate matter and nitrogen oxide emissions, which can impact health of local populations, would be emitted closer to where people live and work, and therefore be more likely to impact the quality of the air they are breathing," he explains. Back in Christchurch, Paul is looking forward to his next outing. The captain of one of the cruise ships parked off the Dorset coast has even started to wave back at his tours using what he describes as a six-foot-long hand made of plywood. And his tours remain popular. "On all the trips we've done, we have a round of applause when we arrive at Mudeford Quay." Are you currently on a ghost cruise ship? If you'd like to share your experience, please email: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist.

कोरोनावायरस महामारी के अधिक असामान्य दृश्यों में से एक यह रहा है कि क्रूज जहाज इंग्लिश चैनल में इधर-उधर बह रहे हैं, जाहिरा तौर पर समुद्र में छोड़ दिए गए हैं। लेकिन वे वहाँ क्यों हैं? और वे छुट्टियों का आकर्षण कैसे बन गए?


North Korea's secretive 'first family'

Summary: Kim Jong-un became leader of North Korea in December 2011, succeeding his late father Kim Jong-il. His appointment took the Kim dynasty rule into a third generation. Explore the family tree to find out about the country's enigmatic and powerful first family.

Kim Jong-il (d) Kim Kyung-hee Chang Song-thaek (d) Kim Jong-nam (d) Kim Sul-song Kim Jong-chul Kim Jong-un Ri Sol-ju Kim Han-sol Kim Jong-il (d) Kim Jong-il was one of the most secretive leaders in the world. Tales from dissidents and past aides created an image of an irrational, power-hungry man who allowed his people to starve while he enjoyed dancing girls and cognac. But a different picture was painted by Sung Hae-rim, the sister of one of his former partners in her memoir, The Wisteria House. She describes a devoted father and a sensitive, charismatic individual, although she admits even those closest to him were fearful of him. North Korean media depicted him as a national hero, whose birth to the country's founder, Kim Il-sung, was marked by a double rainbow and a bright star. Kim Kyung-hee The youngest sister of the late Kim Jong-il and the wife of the man formerly regarded as the second most powerful figure in North Korea, Chang Song-thaek. She has held a wide range of important Workers' Party positions including being a member of the all-powerful Central Committee. Her promotion to four-star general made Kim Kyung-hee the first North Korean woman ever to achieve such status. Analysts say Kim Kyung-hee and her husband were seen as mentors for the new leader Kim Jong-un when he came to power in 2011. But news of her husband's execution in December 2013 suggests the most significant upheaval in North Korea's leadership since Mr Kim succeeded his father. Chang Song-thaek (d) Chang Song-thaek was married to Kim Kyung-hee, the younger sister of the late Kim Jong-il. When the inexperienced Kim Jong-un became the new leader in 2011, the couple were widely thought to be acting as his mentors. In December 2013, the powerful uncle - who sat on the country's top military body - was denounced by the state-run news agency for corruption. Images were shown of him being removed from a Politburo meeting by uniformed guards. He was then executed. Mr Chang's execution is the biggest upheaval in North Korea's leadership since Mr Kim succeeded his father. Kim Jong-nam (d) Born 10 May 1971 Kim Jong-nam was Kim Jong-il's eldest son. Sung Hae-rang, the sister of Kim Jong-nam's deceased mother Sung Hae-rim, has written in her memoir that Kim Jong-il was extremely fond of Kim Jong-nam and was pained to be away from him. Like his half-brothers, Kim Jong-nam studied at an international school in Switzerland. But his chances of succession appeared to be ruined when, in 2001, Japanese officials caught him trying to sneak into Japan using a false passport. He told officials that he was planning to visit Tokyo Disneyland. Some analysts argued that he may have been forgiven by his father, as there is precedent for the regime reinstating disgraced figures after a period of atonement. Confucian tradition also favours the oldest son. But in a rare interview in 2009, Kim Jong-nam said he had 'no interest' in succeeding his father. In February 2017, Kim Jong-nam died in mysterious circumstances in Malaysia. Kim Sul-song Born 1974 Kim Sul-song is Kim Jong-il's daughter born to his first wife, Kim Young-sook. Reports say she has worked in the country's propaganda department, with responsibility for literary affairs. One South Korean report said she had also served as her father's secretary. Kim Jong-chul Born 25 September 1981 Kim Jong-chul studied at an international school in Switzerland. He works in the WKP propaganda department. His mother, Ko Yong-hui, is said to have been the North Korean leader's favourite consort. However, Kenji Fujimoto, the pseudonym of a Japanese sushi chef who spent 13 years cooking for Kim Jong-il, has written that the leader considered his second son 'no good because he is like a little girl'. Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un, the second son of Kim Jong-il and his late wife Ko Yong-hui, was anointed 'the great successor' by Pyongyang. Like his older brothers, he is thought to have been educated abroad. A Japanese sushi chef who worked for Kim Jong-il for 13 years up to 2001 said that he 'resembled his father in every way, including his physical frame'. Speculation that he was being groomed to succeed his father had been rife for years. Since taking power, he has presided over a long-range missile test, North Korea's third nuclear test, and most recently the execution of his uncle, Chang Song-thaek. He married Ri Sol-Ju in 2009 or 2010 and the couple are reported to have had a daughter, Ju-ae, in 2012. Ri Sol-ju Ri Sol-ju was introduced as Kim Jong-un's wife in state media reports about the opening of an amusement park in July 2012. Reports simply said he attended the event with his wife, 'Comrade Ri Sol-ju'. Little more is known about Ri Sol-Ju, although there has been much speculation about her background since pictures first emerged of Kim Jong-un with an unidentified woman. There is a North Korean singer of the same name, but she is not now thought to be the same person. Reports say the couple got married in 2009 or 2010 and Ri Sol-Ju is since reported to have given birth to a daughter, Ju-ae, in 2012. Kim Han-sol Born 16 June 1995 The grandson of Kim Jong-il and nephew of leader Kim Jong-un has said he wants to 'make things better' for the people of his country. Kim Han-sol spoke of his dreams of reunification of the two Koreas in an television interview in Bosnia, where he is studying. Kim Han-sol said he had never met his grandfather or uncle. He described an isolated childhood spent mostly in Macau and China, after his birth in Pyongyang in 1995. In the future, he said he pictured himself going to university and then ''volunteering somewhere''.

किम जोंग-उन दिसंबर 2011 में अपने दिवंगत पिता किम जोंग-इल के बाद उत्तर कोरिया के नेता बने। उनकी नियुक्ति ने किम राजवंश के शासन को तीसरी पीढ़ी में ले लिया। देश के गूढ़ और शक्तिशाली प्रथम परिवार के बारे में जानने के लिए परिवार के पेड़ की खोज करें।


How drought is changing rural India

Summary: More than 300 million people living in 256 districts are affected by drought in India after two years of sparse monsoon rains. BBC Hindi's Ajay Sharma travels through seven states to find that the drought has changed India's villages and their residents.

When I started my nearly 7,000km (4,349 miles)-long road journey from the southern state of Karnataka in October, my brief was simply to report on how poor rains were changing India's rural landscape. I had no inkling that I would be witnessing the making of a drought, that would change a country and its people. The change is writ large in the wrinkled face of the 101-year-old widow, Hanumanthi: a face that symbolises the endless struggle of India's rural poor. Is India facing its worst-ever water crisis? Searching for water in drought-hit India India's water refugees I met her in Hunchinal village in the southern state of Karnataka. Hanumanthi, who owns a small patch of land, told me she was going to "die soon because there was nothing to eat". She told me that she had nothing, and nobody, to care for. There were no tears in her eyes, and no bitterness in her voice. Her neighbours said she could survive but only if the rains came. But the weather gods had not relented for three consecutive years, so these were high hopes indeed. It's been seven months since I met her, and I have no idea what happened to Hanumanthi. But I knew then that what I saw on my journey was a chilling warning of what lay in store for India's farmers and their families. In the southern state of Telangana, Anjamma, a 29-year-old widow, told me how her husband Ailappa killed himself because he could not repay a debt of around $400. He took this money for the revival of his cotton crop, but it failed. She told me he was running a high fever, and didn't tell her that he had drunk insecticide. This is a story I heard over and over again. The names change, but little else. The vicious cycle of drought and debt has consumed India's poor and marginalised farmers. Growing debt Two years ago, when the figures were last recorded, there were 12,360 farm suicides in India. This year the situation may actually be much worse if the monsoon plays truant again. On top of that, the price of cotton, the main crop grown in these areas, has fallen to record lows. In a village in Medak district of Telangana, I noticed there were hardly any men, only women and children. I learned that many had run away because of the growing debt. Nobody knew where they were. When a body is found in the nearby areas, the women here say their hearts sink. And they all ask the question: could he be my husband? In just five days, I came across cases of two farmer suicides. These deaths are recorded, but the stories behind them are not. Drought has dried up the lands, and people are having to move out in large numbers in search of food and work. In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, I found a village still waiting for electricity, and men waiting for wives. The villagers were using kerosene lanterns, there was no water and no power. Nobody wanted to marry their daughters into this village, so an army of bachelors - aged between 25 and 65 - waited for brides. Grim situation In another village in Maharashtra state, I saw many farmers who had long, flowing beards simply because they couldn't afford a shave. Seven months on, the situation in many of India's states remains grim. Many are dying a slow death. But one man's tragedy is another's opportunity and many are also trying to make a fast buck by illegally exploiting the dry river beds for sand. When a house in one of the villages in Jhansi district, in Uttar Pradesh, caught fire, there was no water to douse the flames. The local water bodies had all gone dry. The experts say this is a man-made drought: poor water conservation and poor long-term water policies are mainly to blame. Deficient rains have only made things worse. A drought is not just about parched lands and parched throats. It's also about parched lives. Not everyone dies, but it wreaks havoc with the lives of those who survive, and takes the joy out of living. When I look back on my 15-day-journey through seven drought-hit states, I get this sinking feeling that we have slipped too far down, and clawing our way back will not be easy. And my memory returns to the faces of the widows, Hanumanthi and Anjamma, and all those whose lives have been changed by this drought. You can hear more on this story on BBC World Service's Fifth Floor programme. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03vnycs)

दो साल की विरल मानसूनी बारिश के बाद भारत में 256 जिलों में रहने वाले 30 करोड़ से अधिक लोग सूखे से प्रभावित हैं। बीबीसी हिंदी के अजय शर्मा ने सात राज्यों की यात्रा करते हुए पाया कि सूखे ने भारत के गांवों और उनके निवासियों को बदल दिया है।