Covid-19: Tier 3 restrictions for Broxbourne 'worst-case scenario'

Summary: From Wednesday, south Hertfordshire will be under tier three of the coronavirus restrictions - the strictest available. The BBC visited Broxbourne, which has the 11th highest rate of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people in England, to find out what people made of the news.

By Kris Holland & Craig LewisBBC News "It's the worst-case scenario for us," says launderette owner Lee Judges. Mr Judges, whose Impressive Dry Cleaners business has been a feature of the town centre for 10 years, says the coronavirus pandemic has been "a complete and utter nightmare". The south Hertfordshire districts of Broxbourne, Hertsmere, Three Rivers and Watford will move into England's highest tier of Covid-19 restrictions, alongside London and parts of south Essex, from 00:01 GMT on Wednesday. It comes at the same time as a new strain of the virus has been detected in south-east England. Broxbourne itself has been one of the areas worst hit nationally for Covid-19 cases. In the week up to 10 December, the infection rate was 446 cases per 100,000 people. Mr Judges says the dry cleaning business has suffered throughout 2020 - with fewer clothes requiring cleaning as people stopped working from offices, weddings were cancelled and Christmas parties taken online. "It's not realistically worth being open," he says. "We were just starting to get back a little bit normal before the last lockdown, but tier three is going to stop people going out." Mr Judges says something needs to be done to stop Covid in its tracks - "it is rife at the moment" - but adds businesses were struggling due to a lack of the government grants that propped them up during the first lockdown. "The High Street is very vibrant normally," he says. "This has been a really good business, but it's on its knees. "I was thinking, just get over Christmas and maybe things are going to start to pick up, but now we are in tier three. The uncertainty is killing us." 'Something missing' from my life' The move to tier three also means the end of crowds at live sport events. Watford FC, about 28 miles (45km) from Broxbourne, have been able to invite up to 2,000 fans to home games in recent weeks. This will be the case later when they host Brentford, but after that it will be back to playing in front of an empty stadium. Justin Beattie, who runs the Do Not Scratch Your Eyes podcast with fellow Hornets fan Carl James, says: "It is something missing from my life. "Fans are really frustrated." Mr Beattie was drawn out of the ballot to attend Watford's game with Rotherham last week and said he was sat five seats away from anyone else. "I can understand why they are doing it, but it seems silly when the stadium can hold 20,000 people," he says. 'It will be like cutting their wings' Town centre shopper Marta Kulza says the government has been caught between imposing restrictions to curb the virus and keeping businesses open which might otherwise "die after a while of being shut". She says entering tier three just before Christmas would be "really hard". "That is the time when owners are usually earning more money," she says. "For them it will be like cutting their wings. "We have to behave, even though it is Christmas and family time. It's good to follow the instructions. "It's really hard for some people, like being in a cage. You cannot travel to discover anything." 'I've been in the overdraft for two months' The Highland Steakhouse & Carvery has been in Jimmy Demetriou's family since 1974. He took over the business in April last year, but 2020 and Covid-19 have seen restrictions shed the restaruant of two-thirds of its capacity. Jimmy is critical of the government's tier system and the rules which controlled the second lockdown. "It didn't really seem we were in lockdown apart from the fact you couldn't go out to eat at a restaurant," he says. "Prior to the lockdown we were in tier one, then we ended up in tier two. The tier system was a failure and the lockdown was a failure." He adds: "Being in tier two meant all the friends who would usually have come out for a Christmas party couldn't. We are left with single-family households, and now in tier three we can't even have that. "We do a little bit of takeaway, but essentially we are not a takeaway restaurant. "I've pretty much been in the overdraft for the last month or two. We just aren't getting enough customers to boost the bank account." What are tier three (very high) rules? 'I worry for young people' At Broxbourne Station, artist Chris Hoggins has just returned from the south coast where he has been working. He says the increased restrictions would not significantly change his life. "I lead an incredibly quiet life," he says. "I don't go out much and I feel bad because it doesn't affect me that much. "It's the young people I worry about. They want to go out and do things, and it's scuppered." Mr Hoggins, who has written a book about coronavirus, called Covid Visual Diaries, says he had been surprised by how different people were affected by different things. "You suddenly see someone with a paper bag on their head," he says. "You wonder, is it a mask? Is it a face covering?" Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk

बुधवार से, दक्षिण हर्टफोर्डशायर कोरोनावायरस प्रतिबंधों के स्तर तीन के तहत होगा-सबसे सख्त उपलब्ध। बीबीसी ने ब्रॉक्सबोर्न का दौरा किया, जिसमें इंग्लैंड में प्रति 100,000 लोगों पर कोविड-19 मामलों की 11वीं सबसे अधिक दर है, यह पता लगाने के लिए कि लोगों ने इस खबर के बारे में क्या कहा।


Refugees risking everything to reach Australia

Summary: The overloaded, decrepit fishing boat had defied the Indian Ocean for five punishing days when increasingly turbulent seas near the Australian territory of Ashmore Reef slowly began to swamp the tiny vessel.

By Phil MercerBBC News, Sydney Its panic-stricken cargo of about 60 asylum-seekers had, like thousands of others in recent years, risked everything sailing from Indonesia in search of a new life beyond the horizon. "All we could do was pray that we would get to Australia," said Ali, a 26-year old Iraqi refugee who will never forget that fraught journey in December 2009. The website designer had escaped violence in Iraq, and travelled through Iran and Malaysia before arriving in Indonesia, where trafficking gangs lie in wait for the desperate and vulnerable. "When you are in the middle of the ocean all you can see is only the sky and the water. No-one would know about you if something happened," Ali told the BBC from his new home in Brisbane. "It was a hard experience. It just was a little, old boat. We didn't have enough space to sleep. It was scary. Fortunately the (Australian) navy got to us before anything happened," he added. Others are not so fortunate, and we will never know how many boats have vanished en route. Last month, about 90 asylum seekers died when their vessel capsized north of Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean that is routinely targeted by the smugglers. A few days later 130 people were rescued when their boat sank in the same region. 'Political hot potato' The maritime emergencies sparked another bitter and ultimately fruitless round of political squabbling in Canberra. Both the Labor government and its conservative opponents want to send asylum seekers to neighbouring countries to have their refugee claims assessed far away from Australian soil. But while ministers favour a "Malaysian Solution", the other side insists that the Pacific island of Nauru would be a better deterrent. It is argued that those who take the dangerous gamble trying to reach Australia by boat would think twice if they knew they could be shipped off for processing in another country. No agreement could be reached, and while the political impasse remains the boats continue their perilous voyages. Most leave Indonesia's southern shores, but other vessels have recently made the long journey from Sri Lanka and even India, according to human rights campaigners. "I find it very distressing that we've got both a government and an opposition that seem to be abrogating their responsibilities and just using slogans to deal with a very important and increasingly tragic issue," said refugee lawyer Marion Le. "I think it does shame us. We were one of the very early signatories to the UN convention of refugees and we used to hold our head very proudly in the world." "How pathetic and ill-educated do we appear to be when we can't even cope with the small numbers that we're having to deal with," she told the BBC from her office in Canberra. Rough sea So far this year more than 4,000 asylum seekers have been intercepted in Australian waters, small by international standards but enough to ignite a fractious debate about immigration. Most unauthorised sea arrivals are eventually classified as genuine refugees, while the bulk of those seeking Australia's protection step off commercial airlines, not leaky boats. Sayad Kasim, a Rohingya Muslim who fled Burma, paid traffickers $3,000 (£1,914) for a place on a rickety vessel that left Indonesia in January 2010. "There were very big waves and we have a very small boat. All of the people were praying and crying, and thought we would die," he said. "I am looking for a better life in Australia for my children, not for me." After six months in detention on Christmas Island, Sayad was granted refugee status but his wife and four children remain stuck in Malaysia, where the family sought sanctuary after abandoning Burma. It is unclear, however, if Australia will allow them in. "They are not safe in Malaysia but I don't want my wife and young children to come here by boat," explained Sayad, who suffers from depression as he fights to reunite his family. More asylum seekers will continue to dice with the Indian Ocean to reach Australia, most driven from their homeland by persecution and war. Ali, the young Iraqi computer science graduate, says he was willing to lose everything at sea for a chance to finally escape the cruelty of the past. "The reason why we came to Australia was to stay alive, nothing else," Ali said bluntly.

अत्यधिक भरी हुई, जर्जर मछली पकड़ने वाली नाव ने पांच दिनों तक हिंद महासागर की अवहेलना की थी, जब ऑस्ट्रेलियाई क्षेत्र एशमोर रीफ के पास तेजी से अशांत समुद्र धीरे-धीरे छोटे जहाज को दलदली करने लगे।


Paraglider crashes into Innerleithen school playground

Summary: A man has been taken to hospital after a paraglider crashed into a school playground in the Borders.

The incident happened at about 15:40 on Sunday at St Ronan's Primary School in Innerleithen. A 59-year-old man who lives in the area was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary by ambulance as a result of the accident. Police said inquiries into the incident were continuing and said the man's condition was "stable". Scottish Borders Council said there had been no damage to the school in the crash and it had been able to open as normal on Monday.

सीमा पर एक स्कूल के खेल के मैदान में एक पैराग्लाइडर के दुर्घटनाग्रस्त होने के बाद एक व्यक्ति को अस्पताल ले जाया गया है।


Five takeaways from India PM Narendra Modi's new cabinet

Summary: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced his new cabinet, which includes Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veterans such as Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari and at least one surprise pick, former foreign secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Mr Modi was sworn in on Thursday along with 58 members of his new government. But their portfolios were only announced on Friday. Here are five takeaways from Mr Modi's new cabinet. There is one surprising choice - and many unsurprising ones A 64-year-old retired bureaucrat - well-known for his crucial role in India's foreign policy under Mr Modi - has become the new foreign minister. And this is unusual - cabinet posts are highly coveted and tend to go to party loyalists or important coalition allies. Rarely does a bureaucrat make the cut. But Mr Jaishankar's is no ordinary resume - a career diplomat, he has served as India's ambassador to both the US and China, among other countries. He is widely considered a tough negotiator and is credited with diffusing tensions with China in 2017 over the Doklam plateau, a border standoff that lasted several weeks. He also played a major role in brokering the historic India-US nuclear deal during the prime ministership of Manmohan Singh. In fact, Mr Singh, who attended the swearing-in ceremony, was one of the first people to congratulate him as he stepped off the stage after taking the oath. Apart from Mr Jaishankar, the other appointments were largely expected. The biggest one involved Amit Shah, a close aide of Mr Modi since his early days in politics, who has been made the home minister. Speculation had been rife and, as it turns out, right. Mr Shah's appointment only formalises what has long been talked about - the 54-year-old BJP president is the most influential politician in the party after Mr Modi. He's seen as the man who scripted the BJP's thumping wins in 2014 and 2019 - and who helped the party make inroads in states such as West Bengal where they barely had a presence earlier. There were some notable exceptions Modi 2.0, as it has been dubbed by the Indian media, lost two veteran politicians in former finance minister Arun Jaitley and former foreign minister Sushma Swaraj who opted out because of poor health. But some key figures from the previous administration were also dropped - such as Maneka Gandhi, an estranged member of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, who was a minister in four different BJP governments and the minister for women and child development during Mr Modi's first term. Former civil aviation minister Jayant Sinha is also missing from the new cabinet. He is the son of a former BJP minister, Yashwant Sinha, who has been critical of Mr Modi's government in recent months. It's men, men and more men More women have been elected to India's 545-member lower house or Lok Sabha this time than ever before. There are now 77 female MPs, but just six have become ministers, and only three of them have been given cabinet posts. Former defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman is now in-charge of finance, becoming only the second woman to hold the post after former prime minister Indira Gandhi. The other two are Smriti Irani, who defeated Congress president Rahul Gandhi in his family seat of Amethi, and Harsimrat Kaur Badal, member of BJP's regional ally Shiromani Akali Dal. A bill to reserve 33% of seats in the parliament for women has been languishing for 20 years. The new cabinet is largely upper caste - and has few ministers from the south Nine of the 25 new cabinet ministers are Brahmins, who are at the top of India's tenacious caste hierarchy. Despite the fact that 131 seats in the Lok Sabha are reserved for members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, who are among the country's most vulnerable communities, only 10 of them have been appointed ministers. Even fewer made it to the cabinet. Only three of the cabinet ministers - Ms Seetharaman, Mr Jaishankar and Sadanand Gowda - are from India's five southern states, which send 119 MPs to parliament. Only one Muslim made the ranks Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the BJP's only Muslim minister, is an MP from the upper house or Rajya Saha, which is not directly elected. A long-time member of the BJP, he has been a minister in the previous government too but this is his first cabinet post. He has been appointed minister of minority affairs. This should not be too surprising since the new Lok Sabha has just 26 Muslim MPs - three more than in 2014. The BJP contested 437 seats but only fielded seven Muslim candidates. And none of them won. Thirty two of the main opposition Congress party's 423 candidates were Muslim - only four of them won. Muslim political representation in India's parliament has been steadily falling. While the community's population in India has more than doubled from 68 million in 1981 to 172 million in 2011, the number of Muslim MPs has nearly halved from 49 in 1980 to 22 in 2014.

भारतीय प्रधान मंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने अपने नए मंत्रिमंडल की घोषणा की है, जिसमें भारतीय जनता पार्टी (भाजपा) के दिग्गज जैसे अमित शाह और नितिन गड़करी और कम से कम एक आश्चर्यजनक चयन, पूर्व विदेश सचिव सुब्रमण्यम जयशंकर शामिल हैं।


Prince Andrew: Envoy career plagued with controversy

Summary: The Duke of York is to step down as the UK trade envoy, the BBC understands, ending a controversial period in the role. Prince Andrew's suitability as the UK special representative for trade and investment has been criticised throughout his ten years in the role.

Most recently - in March 2011 - he came in for a steady stream of criticism over his friendship with US tycoon Jeffrey Epstein, who was jailed for sex offences. There were even calls for him to step down then. But it was not the first time questions were raised about Prince Andrew's judgement. Questions have been raised over the prince's suitability by such issues as lunching at Buckingham Palace with a "notorious" member of the former Tunisian regime, to taking a holiday with a Libyan gun smuggler, to claims he used an official trip to try to find a buyer for his home in the UK. Eyebrows have also been raised in some quarters about the prince' diplomacy style. One ambassador described him speaking "cockily" and "verging on rude". And he was not unscathed by the financial scandal surrounding his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, after she was recorded in 2010 offering to sell access to Prince Andrew to a reporter posing as a businessman. His private secretary said at the time that the "insinuations and innuendos" surrounding the duke were "without foundation." Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, was appointed the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment in 2001 after retiring from the Royal Navy. He worked for - but did not receive a salary from - the government body UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), which reports jointly to the Foreign Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. UKTI describes the role as "promoting UK business internationally, marketing the UK to potential inward investors, and building relationships in support of UK business interests". Before his expected departure in July 2011, it said: "The duke's unique position gives him unrivalled access to members of royal families, heads of state, government ministers and chief executives of companies". The role took him on expenses-paid delegations all over the world, and comments about his expenditure - including his use of helicopters - caused some newspapers to nickname him "Airmiles Andy". Over the years journalists have remarked on how some of Prince Andrew's trips abroad, supposedly on government business, seemed to go via ski slopes, top golf courses and other exotic locations. According to his website, in 2009 the prince undertook some 757 public engagements in the UK and overseas, 550 of which were related to his trade role. The prince's connections have not been welcomed by everyone however. Labour MP Chris Bryant, speaking earlier this year as Britain took military action against Libya, said it was becoming "increasingly difficult to explain the behaviour of the UK Trade & Investment special trade ambassador, who is not only a very close friend of [Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi's son] Saif Gaddafi but a close friend of the convicted Libyan gun smuggler Tarek Kaituni. "Is it not time that we dispensed with the services of the Duke of York?" Prime Minister David Cameron responded at the time that he would look into those connections, but added: "If we are to disqualify friends of Saif Gaddafi from public life, I think that he [Mr Bryant] will be saying goodbye to one or two of his old friends." His friendship with Mr Epstein caused huge controversy. The pair were photographed meeting in December, after the tycoon had served an 18-month prison sentence for soliciting a minor for prostitution. Prince Andrew had visited Epstein at his Florida home over the years, and newspapers have published photographs of him with Virginia Roberts, then 17, who has claimed that from the age of 15 she was sexually exploited by Epstein. Other women have also lodged claims against Epstein. There is no suggestion Prince Andrew was involved in sexual contact with any of those making claims against Epstein. The prince has also reportedly vowed to have cut all ties with him. After several days of newspaper reports on the Epstein connection, Prince Andrew was hit with a further blow. Sarah Ferguson admitted having accepted £15,000 from Epstein, to help pay off her debts. Following a story in the Daily Mail that Epstein paid the money directly to her former personal assistant, Johnny O’Sullivan, the duchess gave an interview to the London Evening Standard, in which she admitted to a "gigantic error". Mr O'Sullivan had been claiming £78,000 from the duchess, who was mired in debt, for unpaid wages and other bills. Promising to repay the money received from Epstein, she added that she was "distraught" her mistake had "compounded and rebounded and also inadvertently impacted on the man I admire most in the world, the duke". Also defending the prince, his private secretary wrote to the Times to address the "widespread comment" on his relationship with Epstein. He said the Duke of York had known the businessman since being introduced to him in the early 1990s. He added: "The insinuations and innuendos that have been made in relation to the duke are without foundation." On the duke's relationship with Sakher al-Materi, a leading member of the former Tunisian regime who was entertained at Buckingham Palace, one ambassador said Mr Materi was known as "notorious". Stephen Day, a former British ambassador to Tunisia, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I advised my clients to go nowhere near him." Agreeing with the assertion that Mr Materi was a "crook", he added that he was "the worst of all of them". Mr Materi fled the north African country after the uprising in January and is currently under investigation for money laundering. Referring to the lunch at the palace, Mr Day commented: "I cannot imagine how that happened. I think the embassy in Tunis were very clear that this was a man who carried an awful lot of baggage." A spokesman for Prince Andrew defended the duke's actions, saying: "Whatever has happened since, at the time it was a legitimate public engagement." Spoke 'cockily' The prince' s relations with Timor Kulibayev, the son-in-law of the President of Kazakhstan, have also previously been questioned. Mr Kulibayev purchased the duke's Sunninghill Park home for £3m more than its £12m asking price in 2007. The Daily Mail quoted Buckingham Palace as saying the sale did "not commit the prince to any other commercial arrangement". And in November 2010 a cable published on Wikileaks revealed a US ambassador wrote in a secret cable that the Duke of York spoke "cockily" during an official engagement, leading a discussion that "verged on the rude". Tatiana Gfoeller, Washington's ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, also said Prince Andrew had criticised the Serious Fraud Office probe of an arms deal between BAE and Saudi Arabia, and accused Guardian journalists of "poking their noses everywhere" for investigating the deal. Ms Gfoeller said Prince Andrew told her that the UK, Western Europe and the US were now "back in the thick of playing the Great Game" - a reference to the 19th Century struggle between the British and Russian Empires for control of Central Asia. "More animated than ever, he stated cockily 'and this time we aim to win'," she wrote. Following the Wikileaks revelations, Simon Wilson - Britain's deputy head of mission in Bahrain from 2001 to 2005 - wrote in the Daily Mail that Prince Andrew was "more commonly known among the British diplomatic community in the Gulf as HBH: His Buffoon Highness". He remarked on some of the prince's demands and the size of his entourage - which has also attracted criticism from a number of quarters. "Officially, he doesn't get paid for the role, but the style in which I observed him carrying it out beggared belief. He travelled with a team of six, including equerries, private secretaries, protection officers and a valet. "There was also a 6ft-long ironing board that he insisted went everywhere he went. It was hilarious to witness the valet struggling off the plane with it and placing the precious object carefully into the minibus." He said the prince often went against the official brief in business meetings, but that people were afraid to point it out. "There has to be a question mark over the value for money that British taxpayers get out of HBH's trips abroad," he said. "But the main issue has to be the prince's ploughing of his own furrow and the reluctance of senior officials to point this out."

ड्यूक ऑफ यॉर्क ब्रिटेन के व्यापार दूत के रूप में पद छोड़ने वाले हैं, बीबीसी समझता है, भूमिका में एक विवादास्पद अवधि को समाप्त करते हुए। व्यापार और निवेश के लिए ब्रिटेन के विशेष प्रतिनिधि के रूप में प्रिंस एंड्रयू की उपयुक्तता की भूमिका में उनके दस वर्षों के दौरान आलोचना की गई है।


Selling a 'lovable' Australia to the US

Summary: Australia has put Crocodile Dundee at the centre of a lavish ad campaign to attract US tourists. Trevor Marshallsea explores why Australia is betting so heavily on a 1980s character - and associations - in 2018.

An unoriginal perpetuation of tired old clichés? Or a stroke of marketing genius? The response to Australia's revival of tourism advertisements centred on Crocodile Dundee would heavily suggest the latter. Australia turned back the clock three decades for its new campaign, which peaked with a multi-million dollar advert during American football's Super Bowl on Monday. The ad, part of a A$36m (£20m; $28m), three-year drive aimed at wooing US tourists, followed a series of teasing clips purporting to be trailers for a remake of Australia's highest-grossing movie. When the minute-long ad itself aired however, just before half-time in the Super Bowl, it was revealed to be a commercial encouraging visitors to Australia. The expense of airing the ad, starring American Danny McBride and Australian Chris Hemsworth, has not been made public, but US reports said a 30-second Super Bowl slot this year cost on average more than $5m. This left some Australians recoiling at the slug to the taxpayer through government body Tourism Australia, which hopes to boost revenues from American tourists to A$6bn annually by 2020, from a current A$3.7bn. Others reported a cultural cringe. The ad - showing kangaroos, beaches, the Sydney Opera House and harbour bridge - revived memories of Paul Hogan's successful 1980s commercials inviting Americans to visit so he could "slip another shrimp on the barbie". The new campaign also portrays more outback characters in the Mick Dundee mould, whereas 89% of Australians live in cities. Why does it work? The reception from marketing experts, though, was overwhelmingly a thumbs-up. Tourism Australia was commended for an innovative strategy, with appeal across generations and multi-national reach. "Australia's tourism ads recently have moved away from the clichés too much, and those campaigns have disappeared up their own backsides," Dee Madigan, creative director of Sydney advertising firm Campaign Edge, told the BBC. "People actually come to Australia for the opera house, for Uluru. You can't see them anywhere else. "And yes, the characters in the campaign are over-the-top caricatures, but that's okay. When you've got a short amount of time in an ad you use shortcuts - landmarks, caricatures - you don't have a long time to engage people." Ms Madigan said recent Australian campaigns had failed because they had overcomplicated tourism and "tried to intellectualise it too much". There was widespread ridicule for Australia's 2004 campaign featuring a bikini-clad model beseeching tourists with her "where the bloody hell are you?" slogan. In 2009's "Come Walkabout" campaign, ads made by Australian director Baz Luhrmann showing a troubled New York couple trying to save their marriage on an outback holiday. "Some of these failed campaigns tried to get into the emotional space of why you travel. It's just not something you can do in an ad," Ms Madigan said. With the Super Bowl ad seen by 110 million viewers, only a small fraction would need to visit Australia to make investment worthwhile, she said. Furthermore the campaign has, both before and after Monday's game, sparked widespread connected publicity. Hollywood director Judd Apatow tweeted he wanted to direct a remake. Thor actor Hemsworth, a Tourism Australia ambassador, said he'd be open to starring in one. Sydney's Daily Telegraph and Darwin's Northern Territory News (near Mick Dundee's fictional home in Australia's north) have started online petitions demanding a remake. Australian golfing legend Greg Norman urged his Instagram followers to support the idea, posting a picture posing as Dundee. Tourism Australia said the campaign had a social media reach of 412 million people before the ad aired, with the fake trailers viewed 68.8 million times. The trailers, which started appearing in mid-January, starred "Aussie-wood" heavyweights including Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Margot Robbie and Isla Fisher. The actors worked for industry minimum fees of less than $20,000 per person, according to Tourism Australia CEO John O'Sullivan. In explaining a key intention of the campaign, Mr O'Sullivan told Business Insider Australia that they wanted to "really [focus] on the people, and the character that makes Australia so lovable to Americans". Cultural cringe? Still, enthusiasm for reviving Crocodile Dundee has not been universal. Before the Super Bowl reveal, film critic Luke Buckmaster queried whether a sequel would have a place in 2018, calling the original "sexist, racist, homophobic and transphobic". "Crocodile Dundee confirmed false preconceptions Americans had (and perhaps still have) about Australia and Australians," he wrote in an opinion piece for The Guardian. However as a tourism campaign it was a proven formula that had "a lot of innovating strategies behind it", according to Dr Rohan Miller, a senior lecturer in marketing at the University of Sydney. Those included its social media strategy, continued publicity via celebrities such as Apatow, and even the depiction of "warm weather" during a Super Bowl in freezing Minneapolis. "Crocodile Dundee is still Australia's highest-impact movie in the US," he told the BBC. "A lot of the older market will know it, and it will provoke a lot of discussion with younger Americans, who'll go online and Google it. "It might be cultural cringe to some, but it's a totally fresh take. The first reaction for some might have been: 'Is this the best we can do?' I think it's the best anyone's ever done, in terms of a marketing campaign for a country." Trevor Marshallsea is a freelance writer based in Sydney

ऑस्ट्रेलिया ने अमेरिकी पर्यटकों को आकर्षित करने के लिए मगरमच्छ डंडी को एक भव्य विज्ञापन अभियान के केंद्र में रखा है। ट्रेवर मार्शलसी ने पता लगाया कि ऑस्ट्रेलिया 2018 में 1980 के दशक के चरित्र और संघों पर इतना अधिक दांव क्यों लगा रहा है।


About Germany Direct

Summary: Germany Direct is part of an ongoing series featuring different countries. The BBC's Direct seasons are a chance to look behind the headlines at everyday life in one country.

Each Direct allows the BBC's experts and locally based journalists to explore the issues which reveal the heart of a particular country. Read more from the Germany Direct season of features and video. For whom the Bavarian bells toll Sleepless in a German salt mine Can cool Berlin survive gentrification? Your pictures: Germany How Germany's love of silence led to the first earplug Living the good life in Berlin's allotments They examine topics which matter to anyone trying to understand that country and its people: the economic opportunities and challenges; living life at every level of society; its traditions; its politics and innovations. The Direct seasons complement the BBC's Country Profiles by covering more personal stories through programmes such as Working Lives and The Travel Show.

जर्मनी डायरेक्ट विभिन्न देशों की विशेषता वाली एक चल रही श्रृंखला का हिस्सा है। बी. बी. सी. के डायरेक्ट सीज़न एक देश में रोजमर्रा की जिंदगी की सुर्खियों को देखने का एक मौका है।


Tributes to Komla Dumor

Summary: Tributes have been paid to BBC TV presenter Komla Dumor, who died suddenly at his London home on Saturday at the age of 41. It is thought he suffered a heart attack. A Ghanaian, Dumor joined the BBC in 2007 and became a presenter for BBC World News and its Focus on Africa programme. Here are a selection of comments sent in by readers or posted on Twitter.

FROM GHANA & GHANAIANS Our nation has lost one of its finest ambassadors. @BBCkomladumor was a broadcaster of exceptional quality and Ghana's gift to the world. Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama @JDMahama via Twitter With Komla Dumor's sudden and tragic death, Africa has lost one of its brightest young talents. Komla was an inspirational journalist, always determined to find the facts and report on the truth. I shall miss his smile and wonderful sense of humour. May his soul rest in peace. Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General Komla was the trailblazer of modern radio journalism in Ghana. He was the icon, most of us local journalists looked up to, for inspiration. May he rest in peace. Justice Lee Adoboe, Accra, Ghana As a fellow Ghanaian I'm saddened to hear the death of Komla Dumor. As a child growing up in Ghana I always listened to his shows on the local radio and when I moved to London I was honoured to have met him in person whilst at work. It's very very sad to hear this news today. My prayers are with his family. Maximus, London I first met Komla while we were both students at the University of Ghana around 2000-2001. He was working at JOY FM while still studying at the time. He was affable, friendly and had a good sense of humour... He made a mark on radio journalism in Ghana, and was a great source of inspiration for many Ghanaian youth, especially, those who wanted to get into radio. May his soul rest in peace. Emmanuel, New York City, USA It is a sad day today, we have lost a talented journalist. I am still in shock. A true representation of Africa, strong, a true gentleman, a go getter. You will be missed Komla. Rickie Davies, Ghana I never knew him personally but always looked forward to his posts on Facebook. My Facebook page will not be the same without him. Every Ghanaian loved him and we still do. Forever in our hearts. My sympathies to his wife, children and entire family. Life is really unpredictable. Rest in Peace Benjamin Tetteh, Accra, Ghana We have lost a truly dedicated and illustrious journalist...Working for the BBC, Komla was a delight to listen to; very knowledgeable and inquisitive at the same time. In his prime, we have lost him painfully. Who will now speak for Africa as a true African? Augustine Adams, Accra, Ghana I remember his coverage at the world cup 2010. The time he took off his shirt to reveal the Ghanaian football team jersey he was putting on. He was a light indeed to many particularly African journalists. He will be greatly missed for his tireless effort in journalism. Anderson Chinorumba, Gaborone, Botswana Here was truly a shining star of Africa… a beacon of Africa's warm and sunshine. Komla was Africa in every essence. I think wherever Komla is now he is smiling because he left a mark on this world. I think he has joined other great spirits, my father…We should be glad that they came into our lives, even for a short while. Nelson Mandela's daughter, Makaziwe, who was interviewed by Komla shortly after her father's death Komla swept into the world, stylish and sure, with his big chuckle, the light in his eyes, a genuine goodwill for people, a familiarity with laughter. He had no false modesty, yet an endearing insecurity lurked beneath his flair-filled confidence. He had, too, something close to innocence, a wonderful capacity for wonder. And now he is gone. We have lost a star. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nigerian author, writing in Nigeria's Premium Times Komla was evidently one of Africa's finest broadcast journalists. Whether with "Focus on Africa, or "Africa Business Report", he treated burning continental issues with a light-hearted flair, and yet a critical approach that incarnated a true spirit of Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance. Komla is truly one of Africa's brightest stars that just got extinguished. He will greatly be missed. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, African Union Commission chairperson For us Africans, we feel very proud when news about Africa are conveyed by an African... and Mr Komla Dumor did an excellent job. There is no doubt he got that job not because he was an African, but because he was highly qualified. Therefore he brought great honour to Africa... This is a great loss to us all in Africa. Ombeni Sefue, Chief Secretary to Tanzania's president His insightful commitment to convey to the rest of the world the heart of Africa was always noteworthy. I have valued and appreciated the interaction I had with Komla over the years and I will miss him. Pravin Gordhan, South Africa's Minister of Finance Mr Dumor brought to the world the hope, vision, plight, and challenges of Africa in an understandable manner with his unique perspectives, interviews and coverage of stories that no other network covered. I am sorry to learn of his passing. My thanks to his family and BBC for sharing him with the world. My sympathies to his family, friends, colleagues and fans. Denise Sangster, San Francisco, California I loved this enthusiastic and dedicated man. My heart goes out to his family and friends in this tragic time. Hard to believe I will not see his smiling face and down to earth assessments of his home roots, Africa, again. A tragedy and one which I trust BBC will honour and respect to the best of their ability. Amongst all of the BBC's many great and famous human assets, Komla Dumor's name should today be irrevocably established. Jimbo, Pattaya, Thailand I am in deep shock, hearing of the early death of Komla Dumor. He added a different aspect on the world's developing stories, somehow making many, pleasant and more understandable, even with sensitive subjects. He will be really be missed by the viewing audience. Jack Wolstenholme, Kranevo, Bulgaria Komla has left a legacy in a media arena and a better understanding of Africans stories. He will be dearly miss by everyone. He was a true symbol of hope for those want to make change in people life through media. David-Mayen, Juba, South Sudan Komla was the embodiment of the vibrancy and the strength of the BBC's relationship with the audience in Africa. In recent years, Komla's presence and expertise has been appreciated even more widely, across the world and into the UK. It is hard to imagine the newsroom without him. Peter Horrocks, Global News Director It is hard to believe that Komla is no longer with us because, in every way, he was larger than life. He had such an infectious enthusiasm for life, for Africa, for the story. He was an inspiring journalist, both on screen and off it. James Harding, Director of News and Current Affairs Our BBC family tonight mourns loss of one of our brightest & best - Komla Dumor. Big heart, big personality, brilliant broadcaster. Tweet from Mishal Husain, BBC News presenter @MishalHusainBBC I first met "Do More" as I often called him, when I was producing and editing Network Africa in 2007. Komla was every producer's dream. He delivered every assignment diligently. He came into the organisation and broke barriers. He reached for the stars and inspired many of us to do the same. I'll remember Komla as a man who understood that he had a bigger purpose and he therefore didn't allow his mission to be destructed by petty issues. He was so focused on everything he did. Rachael Akidi, Focus on Africa radio editor For me Komla epitomised excellence - the thoroughness he put into preparing for each programme. Working with him was a brilliant learning curve. I miss him terribly and I'll never forget. Thanks KD. Adieu. Peter Okwoche, BBC Focus on Africa TV presenter RIP Komla Dumor. Far too young to pass. Kay Burley of Sky News @KayBurley via Twitter BBC World TV's Komla Dumor dies - so very sad. A nice and talented man. And so young. Kevin Bakhurst, Managing Director, RTE News and Current Affairs, former Controller BBC News Channel @kevinbakhurst via Twitter #KomlaDumor brought huge energy and humour to the #BBC's reporting from #Africa. He had such character and enthusiasm. I just can't believe it. I didn't know him well. But we chatted at a party last night and he seemed entirely fine. Stunned. Tweets from Lindsey Hilsum, Channel 4 News International Editor @lindseyhilsum My utmost condolences to #KomlaDumor's family. I remember meeting him during an interview, and thinking: ace presenter. RIP. Tweet from H A Hellyer, academic and writer on Middle East issues @hahellyer Sad to hear @ the death of @BBCkomladumor so vibrant & passionate @ Africa & good journalism. Thoughts w. his family. Claudine Moore, PR and writer @ClaudineMoore The death of an African broadcasting giant. Rest in Peace Komla Dumor. Tweet from Lance Guma, Managing Editor at Nehanda Radio @LanceGuma

बीबीसी टीवी प्रस्तुतकर्ता कोमला डुमोर को श्रद्धांजलि दी गई है, जिनका शनिवार को 41 साल की उम्र में उनके लंदन स्थित घर पर अचानक निधन हो गया। ऐसा माना जाता है कि उन्हें दिल का दौरा पड़ा था। घाना के रहने वाले डुमोर 2007 में बीबीसी में शामिल हुए और बीबीसी वर्ल्ड न्यूज और इसके फोकस ऑन अफ्रीका कार्यक्रम के लिए प्रस्तुतकर्ता बने। यहाँ पाठकों द्वारा भेजी गई या ट्विटर पर पोस्ट की गई टिप्पणियों का चयन किया गया है।


India's richest family caps year of big fat weddings

Summary: India is still recovering from two back-to-back celebrity weddings but it's already time for the next one. This time it's the children of two Indian billionaires, who are all set for what promises to be the next level of big fat Indian weddings.

By Aparna AlluriBBC News, Delhi Isha Ambani, the daughter of India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, will marry Anand Piramal, the son of another billionaire industrialist on 12 December. Celebrations kick off this weekend in Udaipur, a royal city that is now a coveted wedding destination. The last time a wedding of an Indian businessman's family got this much attention was in 2004. Indian-born but London-based steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal hosted his daughter's wedding at France's historic Palace of Versailles and a grand chateau. The bill, which included gifts for family friends, ran up to $55m at the time. The wedding ceremony of Ms Ambani and Mr Piramal is not quite on that scale, but "leaked" details are still greatly exciting Indians - and it caps a year of Instagram-fuelled celebrity wedding fever. The platform's Indian universe is as driven by celebrities and influencers as anywhere else, but weddings provide it with its fashion oxygen. Indian fashion - and increasingly photography - on the platform is dominated by brides, grooms and their parties. And 2018, which has been a year quite unlike any other in terms of wedding bashes, will be capped off by the Ambani-Piramal wedding. Celebrity bloggers, entertainment writers and lifestyle magazines have been scouring Instagram to keep up with the pre-wedding festivities, which will stretch over at least three days. The wedding invites - sent in fancy mini-chests with gifts tucked inside - have their own share of Instagram videos. The families have kept most details under wraps but rumours are rife. India's biggest national newspaper has claimed that Beyoncé will perform at the sangeet, an evening of music and dance that typically precedes the wedding. The tradition originally involved friends and family putting on impromptu performances at intimate gatherings - but now it's far more common to see a few hours worth of choreographed dances as the latest Bollywood songs are belted out. Several Bollywood stars themselves are expected to perform at Ms Ambani's sangeet, according to local media reports. Actors are sometimes hired to perform at sangeets or other private events by those who can afford it. But many of Bollywood's biggest stars are personal friends of the Ambanis and are often seen attending parties hosted by the family. The Ambanis themselves attended the recent wedding reception of Bollywood actors Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh; and Isha Ambani was a bridesmaid at the wedding of actress Priyanka Chopra, which took place in Jodhpur, also in Rajasthan state, last weekend. Udaipur, the location for the Ambani-Piramal wedding - is a 16th Century city. Studded with lakes, it is home to some of India's most luxurious hotels, including a 272-year-old marble-walled palace in the middle of a lake that now serves as a hotel. It's a small city with a mostly quiet airport, but it will be busy this weekend - the families of the bride and groom have reportedly chartered at least 30 flights to fly guests in and out. This latest wedding comes on the heels of other plush, glamorous ones. The photos of Chopra and US singer Nick Jonas's wedding were carefully released on Instagram over a period of days, producing both envious gasps and eye-rolls for the extravagance on display. Her 75ft long tulle veil made international headlines and videos of her sangeet, which resembled an awards ceremony, went viral. Padukone and Singh's wedding was a far more intimate affair at a resort on Italy's Lake Como (where Ms Ambani and Mr Piramal got engaged) but it was followed by four different receptions in India. And Padukone's outfits ranged from traditional (intricate hand-woven saris) to seductive (a sparkly red couture gown by Lebanese designer Zuhair Morad) to dramatic (a floral concoction that Singh said made her look like "Frida Kahlo on acid"). And the couple's outfits were co-ordinated - if they didn't match colours, which they often did, they opted for starkly different ones. Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor's wedding to businessman Anand Ahuja in May was also almost exclusively documented on Instagram. Sonam, who is considered a fashion icon, sometimes switched outfits multiple times in a single evening - and her sartorial sense became a popular topic. Those who attended her star-studded reception also uploaded candid videos of actors and celebrities dancing with one another and singing (very badly), which quickly went viral. Over the last year, Instagram has redefined the way Indians get information about celebrity weddings. It's where photos are first released and where much of the media also gets news of what has occurred behind closed doors. And on the celebrities' side, posting to Instagram is a carefully co-ordinated affair. As Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh and even Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and Bollywood star Anushka Sharma showed, the done thing is to upload the exact same, carefully filtered couple photograph onto each person's Instagram feed at the same time. Padukone and Singh upped the ante a little by also only posting pictures of each other on their feeds. And with the pressure on to post beautiful pictures, everyone seems willing to go that extra mile - with emphasis on extra. "The biggest victim of the Instagram show-off is Bollywood," says Shefalee Vasudev, who edits digital magazine The Voice of Fashion. The social media curation exhibits the "latent competition to prove who is the most different," she says. That may be so, but Indians are not exactly complaining.

भारत अभी भी दो बैक-टू-बैक सेलिब्रिटी शादियों से उबर रहा है लेकिन यह पहले से ही अगले के लिए समय है। इस बार यह दो भारतीय अरबपतियों के बच्चे हैं, जो बड़े मोटे भारतीय शादियों के अगले स्तर के वादे के लिए पूरी तरह तैयार हैं।


General Election 2017: Parliamentary plans postponed

Summary: So the surprise election is on, all set for 8 June.

By Alex PartridgeBBC Parliament But what does an unexpected two month hiatus mean for Parliament, and the people who work there? Last week, the Leader of the House David Lidington thanked the staff of the House and expressed hope they'd get to "put their feet up" between the dissolution of Parliament and when MPs return, sometime in mid June. The Parliamentary estate, usually a hive of activity on weekdays from committee hearings at 9am to the rising of the House of Lords at 10pm, will be quieter than usual. Westminster will temporarily cede its place as the centre of British politics. From 12:01am on 3 May there'll be no sitting MPs and incumbents and their staff will be banned from their Westminster offices entirely. So what are we missing out on in Westminster while politicians and journalists head out across the country? With an unexpected election and just a week of parliamentary time left, some government bills will not make it into law, while those that do may be rushed through with concessions to opposition parties. The Finance (No. 2) Bill, Criminal Finance Bill and the Higher Education and Research Bill are among the pieces of legislation likely to get through (albeit with some tweaks), while the Prison and Courts Bill, and the Vehicle Technology and Aviation Bill are among those which will not make it. Whether any of these bills will return or not will be up to the incoming government. Almost all of the hundreds of remaining private members' bills, on subjects as diverse as bat habitats and aircraft noise will also fail. The invitation to explain yourself in front of a select committee is one of the most feared appointments in public life. This parliament has seen explosive question sessions with the likes of Mike Ashley on working conditions at Sports Direct, Sir Philip Green on the collapse of BHS and the bosses of British Cycling. But from 3 May there'll be no select committees, no questioning and because of the unexpected nature of the election, many of the hundreds of outstanding inquiries will not be concluded. Others will have reports rushed out. Some will continue where they left off when the Commons returns, but there's no guarantee committee chairs and their priorities will remain the same. Committee chairs like Culture, Media and Sport's Damian Collins, currently in the midst of high profile inquiries into fake news and doping in sport, are left to hope new committees will pick up where they left off. They may not have to put themselves up for election, but peers will take an extended break too. All scheduled business for 3 May onwards is cancelled, and the House won't return until after the election. So don't expect an answer to Baroness Jones of Whitchurch's question on the badger cull, scheduled to be asked on 4 May, anytime soon. Many events due to be held within the Palace of Westminster will be cancelled. Any event due to be hosted by an MP after 2 May won't happen. Most poignantly the unveiling of the memorial plaque to the murdered Labour MP Jo Cox in the House of Commons chamber was scheduled for 20 May, but is now cancelled. On Thursday the Speaker, John Bercow, promised the event would take place as soon as possible for after the election. But for the Palace of Westminster itself, away from the politics, it's business as usual. Far from staff putting their feet up, maintenance work will continue, commercial functions will be held in the building's hospitality areas, preparations will be made for the new intake of MPs and the lack of sittings will mean there can be more guided tours. All without the inconvenience of MPs, peers and their legions of staff cluttering the place up...

इसलिए अचानक चुनाव चल रहा है, जो 8 जून के लिए पूरी तरह से तैयार है।


Search for climber reported to have fallen in Glencoe

Summary: A search has been taking place for a climber reported to have fallen in Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland.

A spokesman for Northern Constabulary said the search operation was being carried out around Bidean Nam Bian. The alarm was raised at about 15:20 on Friday after reports of a man having fallen near the summit. No further information is available at this time.

स्कॉटलैंड के हाइलैंड्स में ग्लेनको में एक पर्वतारोही के गिरने की सूचना है जिसकी तलाश की जा रही है।


Tiffany & Co ram raid: Van driven into Sloane Square store

Summary: "Brazen" ram-raiders smashed a van into the front of Tiffany & Co in London before they fled on mopeds with "significant" amounts of jewellery.

The Ford Transit was driven into the shop in Sloane Square, Knightsbridge, at about 03:00 BST, before being abandoned, the Met Police said. No arrests have been made and police are appealing for witnesses. In a statement, Tiffany & Co said it "cannot comment on what may have been taken or its value". The company added it was "working closely with the authorities in this ongoing investigation." Workers have put barriers around the broken window at the shop on Sloane Street. Det Insp David Watkinson, said: "This was a brazen and targeted incident which has resulted in a significant amount of items stolen. "Although the incident took place overnight, it is a busy well-lit area."

"बेशर्म" राम-हमलावरों ने लंदन में टिफ़नी एंड कंपनी के सामने एक वैन को तोड़ दिया, इससे पहले कि वे "महत्वपूर्ण" मात्रा में आभूषणों के साथ मोपेड पर भाग गए।


What the floods did to Kashmir's grand heritage

Summary: Kashmir has still not fully recovered from the terrible floods that engulfed the region last month, but it is only just becoming clear how the rising waters devastated some of its most historic sites. Journalist Shujaat Bukhari in Srinagar outlines the damage done to the last monuments of Kashmir's rich and bruised history.

Graves of royalty washed away It is known as the graveyard of the royals. The site of the tomb of the great 15th Century king Sultan Ghiyas-ud-Din Zain-ul-Abidin (popularly known as Budshah) is also where the wealthy and influential of that era were buried. The tomb itself is an excellent representation of a typical Shahmiri style of architectural brilliance not seen elsewhere in India. But it is situated on the bank of the river Jhelum. When the waters rose, the tomb was spared but many of the graves were washed away, most notably the grave of Mirza Haider Duglat. He was the cousin of Mughal Emperor Babar and an eminent historian who wrote Tarikh-i-Rashidi, which chronicled the history of the Mughal era with a critical eye. Duglat ruled Kashmir for 10 years. The Christian graves that vanished Kashmir's colonial heritage was also hit when a Christian cemetery on the banks of the Jhelum was affected by the floods. Most of the British Army officers associated with the residency in Srinagar and medical and educational missionaries are buried here, but many of these graves have washed away. A grave particularly dear to Kashmiris was that of Robert Thorpe, a young British army officer who arrived in Kashmir in 1865 and fought for Kashmir's right to self-determination. He was killed in 1868 by the forces of Maharaja Gulab Singh, a feudal ruler of Kashmir, for highlighting the miseries of the Kashmiri people in international media. The colonial heritage that cannot be rebuilt One of the most fascinating sides of Kashmir's heritage has been its colonial architecture, a blend of British and Kashmir influences that evolved through British and Dogra rule. Many of the houses located in areas like Shivpora and Indira Nagar, that were badly hit by floods, have collapsed or were partially damaged. Some of the house like that of Khoslas and Rattans were important symbols of the taste of the wealthy in the city. One of the house owners lamented the damage: "It is a great loss and we had tried to protect this so far." The last customs post no longer The building known as Guzar (Customs) on the bank of Jhelum defined the river front. This late 19th Century iconic building collapsed during the flood, removing the last symbol of the strict customs regime exercised in Kashmir under Dogra rule. The building was the customs post for merchandise that would come on the river from India. It would flow against the tide from Muzaffarabad and reach Srinagar - the only trade highway of that time. With this building falling to floods, the story of ancient river trade route also comes to an end. The damaged treasures of Kashmir's museum Among the rare items in the Sri Partap Singh Museum houses are Kashmiri shawls, papier-mache goods and Gilgit manuscripts detailing Buddhist philosophy, religion and astronomy and even material dating back to the 7th Century. The museum building continues to stand but the water has caused a lot of damage inside. The building was converted into a museum in 1898 by Mahraja Partap Singh, the Dogra ruler, and houses royal collection. Archives director Mohammad Shafi Zahid says only 10% of the material has been damaged and a team from India's National Museum was helping them with restoration. Water seeping into a saint's shrine One of the oldest and most beautiful pieces of wooden architecture in the city is the resting place of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamdani, popularly known as Shah-e-Hamdan (king of Hamdan). He is revered as a saint and was instrumental in the mass conversion of Hindus to Islam when he travelled to Kashmir from Central Asia in the 14th Century. The gushing waters of the Jhelum damaged the woodwork on the ground floor, which has had a seeped into the shrine, a matter of some concern. Built by Pathan Governor Abdul Barkat Khan in early 1780 AD, the shrine is on Unesco's world heritage list. Experts say that about 150 buildings were affected by the floods. Heritage expert Salim Beg says: "We have lost a lot. We may have secured most of it. But whatever we lost is a big loss."

कश्मीर अभी भी पिछले महीने इस क्षेत्र को घेरने वाली भयानक बाढ़ से पूरी तरह से उबर नहीं पाया है, लेकिन यह केवल स्पष्ट हो रहा है कि बढ़ते पानी ने इसके कुछ सबसे ऐतिहासिक स्थलों को कैसे तबाह कर दिया। श्रीनगर में पत्रकार शुजात बुखारी ने कश्मीर के समृद्ध और क्षत-विक्षत इतिहास के अंतिम स्मारकों को हुए नुकसान को रेखांकित किया।


Detained ship Malaviya Seven to be auctioned on 17 October

Summary: A ship which has been detained at Aberdeen harbour for more than a year because its crew have not being paid is to be auctioned next month.

The Malaviya Seven was detained in June last year, and again in October, under merchant shipping regulations. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) said the 12 crew were owed more than £600,000 in total. A sheriff ruled the ship could be sold at public auction to cover crew wages. It will be auctioned on 17 October. The auction will be held at the Rox Hotel in Aberdeen. There has been interest from potential buyers all over the world. It is hoped the Indian crew could be paid within two weeks of the vessel being sold. Six crew members headed home earlier this month, amid emotional scenes at Aberdeen International Airport. The remaining six are staying until the ship is sold. The men have not seen their families for more than 17 months.

एक जहाज जिसे एबरडीन बंदरगाह पर एक साल से अधिक समय से रोके रखा गया है क्योंकि उसके चालक दल को भुगतान नहीं किया गया है, अगले महीने नीलाम किया जाना है।


Canada-US trade: How Trudeau might hit back against Trump

Summary: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed Canada won't be "pushed around" by the US on trade. But just how much leverage does Canada - with over 70% of its trade heading south of the border - have against the US?

By Jessica MurphyBBC News, Toronto US President Donald Trump has warned that Mr Trudeau's tougher talk on trade will cost Canada "a lot of money". It's the latest jab in a multi-day tirade from the American president against Mr Trudeau and the trade relationship between the two nations. On Tuesday, Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland shrugged off the comments, saying the country "expected moments of drama" when it came to matters of trade with the Trump administration. "Canada is prepared for any eventuality" and is ready with "a plan B, C, D and F and maybe to the end of the alphabet" if relations continue to sour, she said. What does a trade dispute with the US mean for Canada? Former Canadian prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau famously described the relationship between Canada and the US as that of a mouse to an elephant. Canada will "no matter how friendly and even-tempered the beast, be affected by every twitch and grunt," he said. Simply put, trade with the US matters more to Canada than the other way around. Toronto-based trade lawyer Jesse Goldman says "it's kind of evident that we don't have nearly as much leverage as the Americans do". "The proportionate impact of a bilateral trade war between Canada and the US is much greater on Canada than it would be on the US." Canadian officials like to point out that Canada is the number one customer for 35 US states, and that no other country buys more US-made goods. But trade consultant Adam Taylor notes that for the vast majority of those states, less than 10% of their economic growth is driven by trade with Canada. Canadian provinces are overwhelmingly more dependent on their US trading partners. "When the US tariffs hit us, it's like a huge wave crashing into our shores, verses the little ripple that our tariffs have as an impact on their economy," Mr Taylor says. How has Canada retaliated so far? Canada does still have arrows in its quiver. Following the Trump team's 25% tax on steel and 10% tax on aluminium from the EU, Mexico and Canada, Canada hit back with its own tariffs. Canadian officials announced C$16.6bn ($12.7bn; £9.5bn) in retaliatory measures on goods ranging from iron wire to maple syrup and beer kegs. Mr Taylor says: "It's almost like bullets ricocheting off a tank." It won't have a huge impact on the US economy, he says, but "you've got to find the ways you can have your shots land". Specific tariff targets include gherkins from Wisconsin - House Speaker Paul Ryan's state - Kentucky bourbon from US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's state, and orange juice from Florida, a state that voted for Mr Trump in 2016. The hope is that lawmakers from targeted states will in turn pressure the US administration to resolve the issue. "The tariffs are partly economic but they're really intended to send a strong political message," says Mr Goldman. Canada has also launched complaints at the World Trade Organisation, though the resolution process can drag on for years. Long-term, the country has sought to diversify its trade by signing the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the EU and joining the Trans Pacific-Partnership trade deal. What are the current trade issues between both countries? There are a handful. Canada, the US and Mexico are in the middle of renegotiating the 1994 North American free Trade Agreement (Nafta). Sticking points remain, 10 months into the talks. Dairy is one that raises the ire of the US president, though it accounts for less than 1% of the Canada-US economic relationship. US negotiators have proposed the dismantling of Canada's 50-year-old dairy supply management system entirely over the course of a decade. The long-running - and undeniably protectionist - scheme offers Canadian farmers a guaranteed price for their milk, and puts high tariffs on dairy goods from abroad. Supply management has the support of all political parties in Canada, where dairy farmers have a powerful voice. On Tuesday, Mr Trudeau met to reassure anxious dairy farmers about threats to the scheme. The US president is also insisting on including a Nafta sunset clause - an expiry date that would force partners to regularly renew the accord at regular intervals - into the new deal. That's a deal breaker for Canada, which says it would create too much uncertainty for business. Mr Trump is also keen on striking separate bilateral deals - something Canada has made clear it doesn't want. There are also tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber imports - part of a long-running dispute over the commodity between the two nations. And in June, the US slapped the steel and aluminium levies on key allies including Canada. So what's next? The issue of possible automobile tariffs is looming on the horizon. In May, the US commerce department initiated a Section 232 investigation into auto imports, which will determine whether imports of autos and auto parts into the US threaten national security. Mr Goldman calls the potential impact of those tariffs "devastating". "It will have a profoundly negative effect on the Canadian economy." That's where diplomacy comes in. Canadian officials will be pushing hard for a Canadian exemption on any potential auto and auto parts tariffs. They will also continue to work with allies south of the border who are also worried about a spiralling trade dispute. Mr Goldman says industry is well aware a trade dispute will cause economic pain on both sides of the border, though the US economy can withstand shocks for longer than other nations "Both countries will suffer significantly," he said. Industry and business organisations like the US Chamber of Commerce and the Auto Alliance have been vocal about their concerns over Nafta talks and auto tariffs. Meanwhile, Trudeau government officials and Trump administration officials are still working to try and move Nafta talks forward. And on 1 July, Canadian retaliatory tariffs against the metals levies kick in.

प्रधान मंत्री जस्टिन ट्रूडो ने प्रतिज्ञा की है कि कनाडा को अमेरिका द्वारा व्यापार पर "धक्का" नहीं दिया जाएगा। लेकिन कनाडा-जिसका 70 प्रतिशत से अधिक व्यापार सीमा के दक्षिण की ओर है-का अमेरिका के खिलाफ कितना लाभ है?


Schoolboy's Tywyn North sea death inquest is opened

Summary: An inquest into the death of a schoolboy who is believed to have drowned off the north Wales coast has been opened and adjourned.

Blake Ward, 16, got into difficulty at Tywyn North, Gwynedd, on 2 August. He was from Wolverhampton and waiting to collect GCSE results from Dudley's Hillcrest School and Community College. Coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones said: "I was informed this young man had been involved in an incident in the sea off Tywyn and appears to have drowned." He opened and adjourned the inquest in Caernarfon. Blake had been described as a "wonderful young man" by his head teacher April Garratt, who said it was a "tragic loss of life". Two others, aged 16 and 17, were rescued during the incident. The three teenagers had been at the beach with their family.

उत्तरी वेल्स तट पर डूबने से हुई एक स्कूली छात्र की मौत की जांच शुरू कर दी गई है और इसे स्थगित कर दिया गया है।


Afghan end game sees Pakistan 'paralysed' by US rift

Summary: Since US forces killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan a year ago, relations between the two countries have never recovered. Writer Ahmed Rashid looks at a relationship in crisis as US troops prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014.

The continuing breakdown in co-operation between the US and Pakistan is having a hugely detrimental effect on US and Nato resolve to withdraw from Afghanistan while trying to remain committed to the region's stability. Although the US has much to answer for in terms of mistakes made, the refusal of the Pakistani leadership - both military and civilian - to take responsibility and ownership for desperately needed decisions, is leading the country into a terrible sense of drift and despair. The recent visit to Islamabad by a high-level US delegation, consisting of officials from the defence and state departments, the CIA, the White House, and led by US special envoy Marc Grossman failed to elicit any major breakthrough in resolving any of the major outstanding issues which could lead to improving relations. Drone attacks Pakistan insists on a US apology for the killing of 24 of its soldiers last November by US helicopters on the Afghan border - yet when a US apology was on the cards a few months ago, Pakistani officials declined to meet their US counterparts. Pakistan also insists on an end to drone strikes which the US refuses to agree to. Both sides have tried to explore different scenarios for co-operation so that drone attacks can continue. If a co-operation mechanism can be found, the US wants Pakistan to be more transparent about drone attacks because Pakistani interests are also served when drones kill leading members of the Pakistani Taliban. US officials say their own lack of transparency over drones was dictated by former President Pervez Musharraf who insisted that they never be admitted to, even though drones took off from Pakistani bases until last year. Also stuck is the reopening of the road that is used to take supplies from the port of Karachi to Nato forces in Afghanistan. The road should have reopened nearly a month ago after approval from Pakistan's parliament, but threats by Islamic extremist groups to burn trucks and convoys of goods have played a part in the delay. The US has already indicated that it is willing to pay generously for use of the road. The talks were made more complicated by the Obama administration now refusing to issue an apology and US charges that Pakistan allowed the Haqqani group to launch the multiple suicide attacks on Kabul and other Afghan cities on 15 April. 'Window on the West' There is enormous frustration in Washington regarding Pakistan which is now seen by many in the US Congress and the military as an enemy rather than a friend. Many leading Americans consider that Pakistan should cease being important for the US, or should no longer be considered an ally when the US gets over the 2014 withdrawal from Afghanistan. Pakistan is doing little to stop this drift in negative opinion growing in the US. Gone are the early days of the Obama administration when major efforts were made to woo Pakistan. Now what Pakistan may lose as a US ally in the region, India will gain - something that should be worrying for the Pakistani ruling elite. The failure of Pakistan to rebuild ties with the US is rooted in actual incidents, anger and real disputes. But it is also down to the inability of the government or the military to make decisions that need to be taken collectively to preserve the state of relations with a powerful country which has acted in the past as Pakistan's window to the West - especially in terms of loans, aid and business and exports. Internal conflict There has been an unprecedented growth in violence from north to south involving sectarian, ethnic, militant Islamic, criminal and other heavily armed groups which the government appears helpless to stop. Even those areas once considered the most peaceful, such as the Northern Areas, are wracked by mayhem. Equally, religious minorities can no longer rely on the state to protect them and are being targeted at will. Many, such as the Christians, are fleeing the country if they can. Equally vital is the desperate need for tough decisions on economic reforms, austerity, greater income generation and a resolution to the power crisis through tackling the circular debt that plagues the electricity industry and is now estimated to be at US $6bn. Afghanistan Afghanistan remains the key foreign policy issue for the military which dominates all foreign policy decision making, yet the military itself seems paralysed by its inability to heal its rift with the Americans so that it can address talks with the Taliban and other issues. Pakistan wants to see the end of the US occupation of its neighbour while the military has always been determined to play a major role in determining the end game in Afghanistan. The end game is now upon us and yet everything Pakistan is not doing appears to be distancing itself further from any relevance to the future of Afghanistan and the region post-2014 when the Americans do leave. This is precisely the moment when the country should be at its most united and pragmatic so that it can deal with the enormous issues that surround the US departure. Instead the country is at its most disunited and unable to take even the simplest decisions while Islamic extremist groups have been allowed to take over the streets with their demands for a never ending confrontation with the US, the West and India. Pakistan's decision makers need to be more decisive on issues of law and order, the economy and foreign policy to give people hope that a democratic form of government will prevail. Ahmed Rashid, has just published his fifth book, 'Pakistan on the Brink; The Future of America, Pakistan and Afghanistan.'

एक साल पहले जब से अमेरिकी सेना ने पाकिस्तान में ओसामा बिन लादेन को मार गिराया है, तब से दोनों देशों के बीच संबंध कभी नहीं सुधरे हैं। लेखक अहमद राशिद 2014 में अफगानिस्तान से अमेरिकी सैनिकों की वापसी की तैयारी के दौरान संकट में पड़े संबंधों को देखते हैं।


Secondary schools to close in education overhaul

Summary: Two comprehensive schools in Powys could close as part of an overhaul of secondary education in the county.

The council is considering plans to close Gwernyfed and Brecon high schools and replace them with a £50m education campus in Brecon. Under the plans, Welsh-medium education would be provided at a bilingual school in mid Powys, currently Builth Wells High School. The measures are to address falling school rolls and financial pressures.

काउंटी में माध्यमिक शिक्षा के सुधार के हिस्से के रूप में पॉव्स में दो व्यापक स्कूल बंद हो सकते हैं।


A Bali holiday fit for a Saudi king

Summary: Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud is visiting Indonesia with a huge entourage. After extensive bilateral talks he's now on holiday on the popular island of Bali, and has apparently enjoyed the place so much, he's extended his stay by three days.

BBC Indonesian's Christine Franciska looks at why this extraordinary visit has got Indonesians talking. Open beaches but bamboo fences The Indonesia visit is part of a month-long Asia tour for the king, that includes Malaysia, Brunei, Japan, China and the Maldives. After attending bilateral meeting in Jakarta, King Salman flew to Bali on Saturday, on six Boeing planes and one Hercules. He took along a 1,500-strong entourage - including 25 princes - and hundreds of tonnes of equipment and luxury goods. When the king disembarked the plane - via his own gold-coloured escalator - there were at least 2,500 Indonesian police and military personnel ready for him to guard the island. He is staying at a luxury resort a few steps from the beach at Nusa Dua. Question were being asked about whether the beach would be closed during his visit, as happened on a public beach in southern France two years ago. But instead, reports say the hotel's management built special walkways and erected bamboo fencing covered in white fabric to provide privacy. How about Bali's semi-naked women statues? Whenever Muslim leaders from conservative countries go on visits, there is one thing that often sparks a debate: do you need to cover naked statues to respect the guests? Last year a Rome museum covered up classical nude sculptures in temporary wooden cartons during a visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. In Indonesia, the answer is yes, and no. Some naked statues in Bogor Palace, where the king met President Joko Widodo, were covered with cloth, as a sign of respect for the Muslim monarch. But officials in Bali - a majority Hindu island in the majority Muslim country - said they would not cover up the ubiquitous statues of deities and semi-naked women. "We're just going to leave [the statues] as they are, we don't have to cover up anything because it is our culture," Bali local government spokesman Dewa Mahendra told AFP, adding that the statues "are cultural creations" and art. Intruders armed with poems He may have had his privacy, but local police did arrest two women who tried to breach security to meet King Salman. One of them, a 41-year-old woman, tried to enter the St Regis Hotel to give the king 500-pages of poetry, local police told BBC Indonesian. "This is not a big threat," said Bali Police chief Insp Gen Petrus R. Golose. "It might be because there are a lot of media coverage, so people want to come here and see King Salman." Mr Golose said the two intruders had been sent for psychiatric evaluations. 'Charming princes' While fans may have no luck getting near the king, they could certainly stalk some of princes on Instagram, to see what they have been doing. Prince Faisal bin Khalid bin Sultan and Prince Abdulrahman bin Badr are active on social media, Antara news agency reports. But Prince Fahad bin Faisal Al Saud has been the one receiving a lot of the attention. He's not believed to be part of the entourage, but has visited Bali before and has a regularly updated and varied Instagram account. On Wednesday, he posted a video of King Salman's visit with the hashtag "Thank you Indonesia", winning a lot of love from internet users.

सऊदी अरब के राजा सलमान बिन अब्दुल अज़ीज़ अल-सऊद एक विशाल दल के साथ इंडोनेशिया की यात्रा पर हैं। व्यापक द्विपक्षीय वार्ता के बाद वह अब बाली के लोकप्रिय द्वीप पर छुट्टी पर हैं, और जाहिर तौर पर इस जगह का इतना आनंद लिया है कि उन्होंने अपने प्रवास को तीन दिनों के लिए बढ़ा दिया है।


How acceptable is artistic licence in history entertainment?

Summary: With 1,000 actors recreating 2,000 years of British history on a stage the size of five football pitches, Kynren lives up to its billing of being an epic production. But with false claims about Queen Elizabeth I and William Shakespeare, it raises the question of where the line should be drawn between accuracy and artistic licence in history-based entertainment.

By Duncan LeatherdaleBBC News The Kynren team has spent several years getting ready for this week, from writing a script and sourcing volunteer actors to transforming a former golf course on the banks of the River Wear in County Durham into an enormous arena. It aims to tell 2,000 years of history and legend through the eyes of a boy called Arthur, from the arrival of the Romans and Vikings to the start of World War Two. The £30m show, which has now opened on the outskirts of Bishop Auckland, certainly has some spectacular scenes, but among the horse-riders, animal parades and sword-fighting skirmishes there is a claim that William Shakespeare met Queen Elizabeth I at Auckland Castle, the palatial home of the Bishops of Durham which overlooks the Kynren site, in 1599. It would be a fascinating fact - if it were true. "The reference was made for artistic effect," a Kynren spokeswoman admitted. "The story of Kynren is about Arthur encountering myth, legend and history, and the soundtrack of the show is about his dreams, so the reference can be attributed to this fact." In short, in that instance artistic licence was favoured over historical accuracy. Kynren is not the first historical drama to prioritise entertainment over fact and it certainly won't be the last, says Dr Christian O'Connell, a history academic at the University of Gloucestershire. He says one of his favourite shows, The Tudors, was often criticised for deviating from historical evidence. "It is fair for dramas and entertainment to take artistic licence but I think it should be made more evident to the viewer when that has been done," Dr O'Connell said. "Dramas are entertainment and can introduce people to topics they knew nothing about. "They simplify complex history and enable people to engage with a topic that might otherwise seem accessible only to academics. "We then have documentaries to offer more evidence-based information on a subject." However, dramas do have some responsibility too, especially when they are successful and drawing in large audiences, Dr O'Connell argues. "There is an element of education about them, history is very important and shows do have a responsibility to be sensitive to the nuances of it." But it does not matter, according to Terry Deary who has made a living presenting history in an entertaining way in his Horrible Histories series of books. The author, who lives in County Durham, said history itself is a fabrication and quoted philosopher George Santayana who said: "History is a pack of lies about things that never happened told by people who weren't even there." "So many historians are charlatans who invent and distort the past," said Mr Deary. "Kynren's aim is to entertain and, unlike the charlatans, they don't pretend to be historically accurate. Good luck to Kynren." Though some historians will agree with Mr Deary, others most certainly will not. "This issue has really divided the historical community," said author and historian Dr Tracy Borman. "In the one camp are the purists who would say if you must do historical fiction then it must be based on the fact. "Then there is the second camp, which I lean towards, which is history is always good and what's really important is to make people excited about history. "You should not insult people's intelligence and think they are taking things as read, most people know the difference between fiction and fact and hopefully historical fiction is an inspiration to find out what really happened." Embellishments are acceptable so long as they serve a purpose, Dr Borman said. "When I write historical fiction, where the known facts exist I go with that but the embellishments are made around the gaps, of which there are many. "Where changes are made to the facts then they should be made for a good and justifiable reason; change for change's sake is irritating. "Where I'm more supportive of embellishment is where we just do not know. "Some of the great questions of history, such as was Queen Elizabeth I a virgin, are therefore fair game." There is a balance to be achieved: while The Tudors might have tipped towards entertainment, 1970s series Elizabeth R is cited as being successful for the historical accuracy of the events it portrays. "It is the only drama some purists like," said Dr Borman, "It was undoubtedly based on facts - the script was almost made up of original documents - it was pretty much as accurate as you could be. "I found it ponderous, quite tricky to watch; because it was so true to the facts it was a long series." So has anything come close to being the perfect fusion of fact and fiction? "I'm not sure you can ever please both camps but I think Wolf Hall has come the closest to it," Dr Borman said. "Hilary Mantel did more research into Thomas Cromwell than probably many other Tudor historians, every detail she could find was included. "And the BBC's adaptation was very good too, I think both the book and the series were exemplars of historical fiction done properly." Wolf Hall is also a good example of filling in the gaps between historical evidence said Dr O'Connell. "Hilary Mantel did a lot of research on evidence from that time and about that subject but then she has put thoughts and feelings into the character of Thomas Cromwell which you would not have been able to find from those documents." So, with so many gaps in history, is it even possible to make a historical drama that is 100% accurate? "No," said Dr O'Connell. "Yes," said Dr Borman. "There are always going to be gaps when looking backwards, things will be missing like context or specifics, you can approximate but can never fully recreate the past," Dr O'Connell said. "It's really tricky to get it right but I'm going to be optimistic," Dr Borman said. "I'd say it is possible but it depends on the subject. "Take the Tudors, it was such a dramatic period of history you do not need to make it up, there is no need to embellish the facts." Related Internet Links Kynren Tracy Borman

पांच फुटबॉल पिचों के आकार के एक मंच पर 2,000 साल के ब्रिटिश इतिहास को फिर से बनाने वाले 1,000 अभिनेताओं के साथ, किनरेन एक महाकाव्य निर्माण होने के अपने बिलिंग पर खरा उतरते हैं। लेकिन रानी एलिजाबेथ प्रथम और विलियम शेक्सपियर के बारे में झूठे दावों के साथ, यह सवाल उठाता है कि इतिहास-आधारित मनोरंजन में सटीकता और कलात्मक लाइसेंस के बीच की रेखा कहाँ खींची जानी चाहिए।


Four arrested after man found dead in Bradford street

Summary: Four people have been arrested after a man was found dead in a Bradford street.

Officers went to Jinnah Court near the city centre just after 03:50 GMT following reports that a man was lying injured in the road. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. West Yorkshire Police said it had launched a murder inquiry and that the four arrested people remained in custody.

ब्रैडफोर्ड गली में एक व्यक्ति के मृत पाए जाने के बाद चार लोगों को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


Aberdeen Donside by-election: UKIP selects Otto Inglis

Summary: The UKIP candidate for the forthcoming Aberdeen Donside by-election has been named as Otto Inglis.

The by-election, which will be on Thursday 20 June, follows the death of the SNP MSP Brian Adam. Mr Adam died last month, aged 64, after a battle with cancer. Mr Inglis, the party's Scotland secretary, runs a business in Edinburgh.

आगामी एबरडीन डॉन्साइड उपचुनाव के लिए यूकेआईपी उम्मीदवार को ओटो इंगलिस के रूप में नामित किया गया है।


In pictures: Brazil samba schools battle it out in Rio rain

Summary: Some of Rio de Janeiro's top samba schools braved the rain in the city's Sambadrome on Sunday evening in an effort to win Brazil's most competitive carnival parade.

Six samba schools had 82 minutes each to parade down the 730m-long (2,400ft) arena. Another six will compete on Monday evening before a jury crowns this year's champion in the elite Grupo Especial (Special Group) category. The groups will be judged in 10 categories, including their percussion section, costumes and floats, and their samba song composed especially for the occasion. Last year's champions, Unidos da Tijuca, will be the last to perform.

रियो डी जनेरियो के कुछ शीर्ष सांबा स्कूलों ने ब्राजील की सबसे प्रतिस्पर्धी कार्निवल परेड जीतने के प्रयास में रविवार शाम को शहर के सांबाड्रोम में बारिश का सामना किया।


Elections 2021 in Northamptonshire: Votes to replace country's 'worst-run' council

Summary: Two spending bans, the imposition of government commissioners and a failing children's services department - the recent turbulent history of Northamptonshire County Council has seen the authority scrapped, with the 6 May elections ushering in a whole new system of local government. The BBC has been looking into how it will work, and how we got here.

By Craig LewisBBC News, Northamptonshire What's happening in May? This year's elections will see a new system of local government in Northamptonshire. Residents will be asked to elect councillors for two new unitary authorities - West Northamptonshire Council and North Northamptonshire Council. These authorities only started life at the start of April 2021, replacing the scrapped Northamptonshire County Council. District and borough authorities in Northampton, South Northamptonshire, Daventry, Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering and Wellingborough were also replaced. The new West Northants council will cover Daventry, Northampton, and South Northamptonshire, while the North authority takes on the area previously covered by the other four district and boroughs. Parish and town council elections will also take place, including for the new Northampton Town Council, which will be the largest authority of its type in the country. Why? In short, due to the financial failure of the old county council - but there's a longer story. How did we get here? The fault lines in Northamptonshire County Council started to appear - publicly at least - towards the end of 2017. In September that year, the then council leader Heather Smith made an appeal to government for fairer funding. She insisted the government's funding formula did not take into account the levels of demand for services across the county or population data. By the end of 2017, the council's Conservative administration had revealed it needed to make savings of £34.3m and by January 2018 it had announced it was considering selling its £53m One Angel Square headquarters. Things quickly began to spiral out of control. Sajid Javid, then the newly-appointed Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government, ordered an investigation into the council's finances. Just a month later, the authority was banned from any new spending, except on services for vulnerable people. Conservative MP for Kettering Philip Hollobone called it the "worst-run" authority in the country. It was the first time such a ban had been issued in more than 20 years. Incredibly by July 2018 a second such ban had been imposed. In-between these two notices being issued, the investigation started by Mr Javid had reached a conclusion. Led by Max Caller, who more recently looked into failings at Liverpool City Council, it concluded the county council should be scrapped saying it had not been "particularly badly treated by the funding formula". Instead, he blamed the authority for its own demise, saying "living within budget constraints is not part of the culture" in Northamptonshire. Mr Caller made two major recommendations - the appointment of government commissioners to stabilise the authority and a major overhaul of the county's political system. What is a unitary authority? The introduction of the two new unitary councils not only spelt the end for the county council, but for Northamptonshire's seven borough and district councils. The county council had been in charge of services such as education, community health, social care, waste disposal/recycling and libraries, while the borough and districts looked after services including waste collection and planning applications. Under the unitary authority model all council services will be under one roof. Or at least nearly all. The county's failing children's services department has already been moved under the authority of a stand-alone trust. That body came into being in November 2020 and will remain in place under the unitary system. May's local elections will see 93 councillors elected in West Northamptonshire, and 78 to represent North Northamptonshire. Why the long wait for elections? Elections in Northamptonshire are long overdue. That is because elections scheduled across the county were cancelled in 2019 due to cost implications of electing councillors who may only have been in place for a year. They were then shelved for a further 12 months following the coronavirus outbreak last year. Two shadow authorities for the West and North, composed of all existing borough, district and county councillors in each area, came into being in April 2020 in preparation for the changeover. These will also cease to exist on 1 April when the new authorities come into place. As we are in an election period, the two new unitary authorities come into being with no elected councillors at present. All of which makes May's elections in Northamptonshire somewhat different from the norm. 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 North Northamptonshire Council West Northamptonshire Council

दो खर्च प्रतिबंध, सरकारी आयुक्तों को लागू करना और एक असफल बाल सेवा विभाग-नॉर्थम्पटनशायर काउंटी काउंसिल के हाल के अशांत इतिहास ने प्राधिकरण को समाप्त कर दिया है, 6 मई के चुनावों ने स्थानीय सरकार की एक पूरी नई प्रणाली की शुरुआत की है। बीबीसी देख रहा है कि यह कैसे काम करेगा, और हम यहाँ कैसे पहुँचे।


Shrewsbury's Lord Hill statue to get safety check

Summary: A statue, cordoned off since a piece of masonry fell from it in April, is to be inspected.

The masonry was from the left hand of the 17ft (5m) high Lord Hill statue, which stands on top of The Column in Shrewsbury. Shropshire Council said conservation specialists would look at the statue and decide if repairs are required. The 133ft (40.5m) tall column is the tallest Doric column in the world. It commemorates Waterloo general Lord Rowland Hill who was born in Hawkstone in 1772 and was second in command to the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo in 1815.

अप्रैल में चिनाई का एक टुकड़ा गिरने के बाद से घेराबंदी की गई एक मूर्ति का निरीक्षण किया जाना है।


News Daily: Grenfell council criticised, Italy government latest, and Lucas to stand down

Summary: Hello. Here's your morning briefing:

By Rob CorpBBC News Grenfell authorities' response 'badly flawed' Kensington and Chelsea Council has been criticised for its response to last June's Grenfell Tower fire in a report which says it was "slow to provide direction, co-ordination and information and to address multiple pressing needs". While the investigation, commissioned by the charity Muslim Aid, also recognises that the voluntary sector came up short, it says in a major disaster local secular and faith organisations could draw on their "local rootedness" to act quickly and sensitively to help their communities. Key Italy talks amid fears of snap poll The Italian President, Sergio Mattarella, is set to meet with his nominee for prime minister later, as efforts to form a government continue. According to reports, Mr Mattarella's preferred candidate Carlo Cottarelli - a former International Monetary Fund economist - has failed to win the support of Italy's major political parties. The country has been without a government since elections in March. The prospect of fresh elections and the possibility of eurosceptic parties strengthening their position has hit financial markets and caused worries in the eurozone. Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning Lucas to step down as Green Party co-leader The Green Party's only MP, Caroline Lucas, has said she will step down as co-leader in September. Ms Lucas, who represents Brighton Pavilion, said she would be focusing more on her constituency. In 2007, the Greens moved to a new structure where they elect a leader every two years. Ms Lucas won leadership elections in 2008 and 2010, before being succeeded by Natalie Bennett, who led the party until 2016. It is not yet known whether the Greens other co-leader, Jonathan Bartley, will stand again. Seventeen hurt as bus ploughs into cars A man has been arrested on suspicion of careless driving after a bus collided with 25 vehicles in Dartford, Kent, injuring 17 people. The incident, involving an Arriva Kent and Surrey bus, happened just before 19:00 BST on Tuesday evening in the town's Hythe Street. One witness said the vehicle "made it a good way through at least five rows of cars before coming to a stop". A number of "walking wounded" were treated at the scene, officials said. Canada politician seeks to decriminalise payment for surrogacy By Jessica Murphy Leia Swanberg is the only person ever to be prosecuted under a Canadian law that prevents payment for surrogacy and limits the activities of surrogacy agencies. A two-time surrogate herself, the fertility agency owner and her company walked away with a combined C$60,000 ($46,000; £35,000) fine in 2014. "My office being raided, my house being raided - you know it was a little unnecessary, it was a little overkill," she says. The fines received by Ms Swanberg - who pleaded guilty to purchasing eggs, paying surrogates, and taking money to arrange surrogacies - could have been worse. Surrogacy is legal in Canada but paying a surrogate is not. Will Canada commercialise surrogacy? What the papers say New efforts to crack down on cold-calling is the lead for the Daily Mail and the Daily Express. They report that the bosses of companies who conduct nuisance calls could be held personally liable and fined up to £500,000 under plans put forward by the UK's data watchdog, the Information Commissioner. Elsewhere, the Guardian reports that the billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros is behind a campaign to get a second EU referendum in the UK. And the Times says police will be given new powers - similar to those used in terror cases - to tackle gang violence. Daily digest Arkady Babchenko Russia's opposition journalist is shot dead in Kiev Roseanne Barr US sitcom star's show dropped after racist tweet Testing temperatures Hotter years mean lower exam results, says major study Waste not Coffee cups ban in Scottish government buildings If you watch one thing today Clever bins that save money If you listen to one thing today The Day Hope Died: Remembering Robert Kennedy If you read one thing today Caroline Flack: 'You can't fake love' Sign up for a morning briefing direct to your phone Lookahead 09:45 The final day of public commemorations by the friends and family of those who died in the Grenfell Tower fire will be heard at the public inquiry. Today Kim Yong-chol, vice-chairman of North Korea, is due to arrive in New York later as part of efforts to revive the plans for a summit between President Trump and the secretive state's leader, Kim Jong-un. On this day 1981 The president of Bangladesh, Zia Rahman, is assassinated in Chittagong in a coup attempt. From elsewhere How to survive in Fortnite if you're old and slow (The Guardian) Trump is winning his effort to demonise Mueller (CNN) What France’s “Spiderman” reveals about your views on immigration (New Statesman) I like a fight too much. That's why I'll never go on social media (Spectator)

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