Amol Rajan: My 9 media predictions for 2020

Summary: Well, my predictions from last year inevitably adhered to the forecasters' tendency to be better on generalities than specifics.

Amol RajanMedia editor@amolrajanon Twitter Facebook didn't make a big move into live sports; no foreign investor swooped on Fleet Street. That said, the Cairncross Review didn't save a single newspaper, and Ofnet was indeed mooted. I am familiar with the argument that reporters shouldn't pretend they know the future. That is obvious. But the exercise of predictions has value because it embodies analysis of current trends, prompts reflection, can inform strategy, and is fun. So with all due humility, here we go for 2020. 1. Trends vs Events: a rebalancing For many years I have tried and failed to shift the balance of news from sudden events to gradual, global trends. The advent of social media has wrenched news further in the direction of events. But in 2020, I reckon the fightback will accelerate. If journalism is about conveying the world accurately, then global trends deserve much, much more attention. They are harder to find pictures for, and often less dramatic (hence the phrase, "if it bleeds, it leads"). Yet they have the immense virtue of truth. The data shows we really are living through the most extraordinarily peaceful, prosperous, wealthy, healthy, safe period in human history. There is strong evidence to suggest life is getting better in many other ways too. But the news industry struggles to convey this, preferring bad news to good news and creating - especially with social media - a sense of being besieged by crises and disasters. A rebalancing toward global trends would not only be a truer, more accurate reporting of the of world as it really is; it would also make news a more positive environment. Editors will always favour recency. The clue is in the name: they want to put the new in news. But sometimes the new, while dramatic, isn't as significant - or accurate - as the gradual. The sheer strength of the story about deep global trends and the improving state of the world has entered popular consciousness. See Fraser Nelson's excellent recent BBC Radio 4 documentary, which featured Steven Pinker, whose thought and recent work was on the agenda when I interviewed him on stage last year. These thinkers' work, and that of organisations like Our World in Data and Gapfinder will, I hope, begin to change the story in 2020, rebalancing toward trends while events inevitably still dominate. 2. Half a world on Huawei The next great technological revolution will probably be something that's been talked of for years: the Internet of Things. This basically just means loads of connected devices, all in effect talking to each other. So your mobile telling your car you didn't sleep much last night, and prompting it to ask if you're too tired to drive. And so on. That requires machinery with sensory devices - and super-fast connectivity. The latter will come from 5G, itself a revolutionary technology, which provides very much faster browsing speeds. But here's the thing: the cheapest (and probably best) 5G technology is made by Huawei, which, like all mega technology companies in China, is not wholly independent of government. So some people think using Huawei is like letting Xi Jinping and his mates into your bedroom. Ericsson, Samsung and Nokia are all sophisticated 5G builders - but behind Huawei. I've written before about the splinternet, the splitting of the internet into various domains or kingdoms. As we enter an era in which the Sinosphere and Anglosphere quarrel, Huawei will be deployed as a technological arm of the former, operating super-fast browsing that powers economic growth in countries that fall within China's orbit. 3. Eco-browsing takes off Do you know how much energy is used by the data centres that power the internet? By the end of this decade, it could be 10% of global electricity usage, and cause five times the CO2 emissions of air travel. The more electricity they use, as more people come online and spend more time browsing, the more energy is required to cool them. In the coming year, I expect you'll hear more and more about the case for limiting your web browsing. Not because it will save your addicted brain and addled eyes - but because it will supposedly save the planet. 4. Amazon's break-up will be mooted The phrase Big Tech, which I and others have bandied about a lot in recent years, is becoming less useful as the Chinese giants rise and the Californian ones move into different sectors. Depending on who becomes US president, talk of breaking up Amazon could grow fast (especially if it's Elizabeth Warren). A superb recent series in The New York Times detailed just how extraordinary is the company's ambition, reach - and effect on smaller players. You can imagine countless fronts on which Amazon faces a backlash, from the impact on struggling high streets to the conditions of workers in their warehouses and the environmental impact of their riders driving small packages vast distances - all in the name of our convenience. As the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos is an obvious target. Of course, it is very hard to know how you would break his company up; forcing them to sell Amazon Web Services, for instance, isn't wholly practical. 5. Streamageddon Obviously it is marvellous for consumers that a few (sadly all American) companies are spending stupendous amounts on the best quality television and film ever made. But I'm here to tell you that it can't last. Netflix is likely spending $15bn (£11.5bn) on content this year; others such as Disney and HBO will spend over $10bn (£7.6bn); and that relative entertainment also-ran called Apple will probably spend something like $6bn (£4.6bn). They're doing this to get you to sign up for their services. Yet at some point, you will either have signed up already or decided you don't want to sign up to any more (so-called subscription fatigue). And then the prices of these services will rise as shareholders demand profits as much as breakneck revenue growth, and you might decide to cancel your subscription. When a market is overcrowded, you get consolidation. It sounds like a Black Swan event, and regulators may consider it anti-competitive, but just as the once unthinkable happened when Rupert Murdoch sold the majority of his company, so some of these streaming giants may eventually merge. If not this year, in the future. 6. A shortage of friends for the BBC What 2020 holds for the BBC deserves a blog in itself. In short, all the pressures faced by the corporation will accentuate, while most traditional sources of support continue to shrink. Legislation to make non-payment of the licence fee a civil rather than criminal offence is likely to be introduced, and will cost the BBC a couple of hundred million pounds over time. People under 35 will spend ever less time on BBC services, and more on YouTube in particular. Changes to those eligible for free TV licences will prompt a noisy backlash. And all the while the BBC will find it has fewer friends in Westminster than for a long while. Talk of abolishing the "telly tax", as critics call the licence fee, will regularly go viral. 7. ITV will be bought Every set of predictions needs a wild card. This is mine. I have no intelligence on current approaches, and actually ITV's decent share price performance under chief executive Carolyn McCall means it might be less likely to go this year than in previous years. For ITV to be sold, a huge number of circumstances have to align. A deep-pocketed media investor, a willing board, a favourable exchange rate, an exceptionally strong business case based on marrying content and distribution: they all need to be in place. Yet while building a digital business, and moving into the IP game through their studio arm, ITV remains above all an ad-funded linear broadcaster. It has a lot of great brands that another content provider might want to fold into their international, direct-to-consumer offer. Might this be the year to swoop? 8. Slaves to the Algorithm I'm afraid this has to be in every year, because it's one of the biggest stories of our time. The willingness of humanity to forfeit decision-making to algorithms will, sadly, grow exponentially in 2020. 9. No foreign investor will swoop on Fleet Street Having consistently, outlandishly and wrongly predicted in recent years that a foreign investor would come in for a British news brand, I'm now obviously going to predict it won't happen. (Which means it probably will - geddit?) The obvious candidate is The Daily Telegraph. But there was always something very fishy about the story last year that the Barclay brothers had put it up for sale as part of a review of their business. Not that the story was wrong, just peculiar. It seemed exactly the wrong the time to put it for sale, when profits had tumbled year after year - but were forecast to rise as digital subscriptions took off under CEO Nick Hugh. Moreover, if the Barclays needed quick cash, selling the Ritz would make more sense. Putting the story of The Telegraph's availability out there seemed a way of sending a message to the bondholders of Shop Direct - also part of the Barclays' empire - or airing tensions within the family. As night follows day, it was obvious that former media owner David Montgomery would tell interested journalists that he was keen on buying the title. If a foreign investor did come in, Axel Springer or Belgian group Mediahuis are more likely. DMGT, the owners of the Daily Mail, have just bought the i newspaper and want to spend the coming months plugging it into their commercial and back-office operations. They can see a lot of efficiency savings in buying a title like The Telegraph, but independent competition regulators might not like it. And anyway, Paul Zwillenberg, the DMGT CEO, is much more turned on by growing their digital businesses than buying newspapers. My most confident prediction for 2020 is that at some point this year, a senior figure from DMGT and a consigliere of the Barclays will have lunch - probably at the Mayfair club 5 Hertford Street - to muse on what a friendly Conservative government led by a former Telegraph columnist would make of such a merger. Best wishes for 2020 - and beyond - to all readers of this blog. If you're interested in issues such as these, you can follow me on Twitter or Facebook; and subscribe to The Media Show podcast from Radio 4.

खैर, पिछले साल की मेरी भविष्यवाणियां अनिवार्य रूप से पूर्वानुमानकर्ताओं की विशिष्टताओं की तुलना में सामान्यताओं पर बेहतर होने की प्रवृत्ति का पालन करती थीं।


Cameron bares teeth over EU migration

Summary: The first days in office are challenging for any new government and this will certainly be a busy week for UK Prime Minister David Cameron - who, amongst other things, says he has already rolled up his sleeves to change the UK's relationship with Europe.

Katya AdlerEurope editor@BBCkatyaadleron Twitter The first "fight" with Brussels already loomed large on Monday in the British papers. The front-page lead story in The Times reported that "Brussels forces Britain to accept Med migrants". Migration is clearly a huge story, and a controversial one for the UK and Europe. It has been for years, with an economic downturn and anti-immigrant political parties on the rise on the one hand, while at the same time television screens bring the horrors of a humanitarian crisis on our shores straight into our living rooms as we watch desperate people from the Middle East and Africa arriving, some dying, in their boatloads. The European Commission, under new President Jean-Claude Juncker, says something decisive must be done. He and his migration commissioner will on Wednesday unveil a migration strategy for the EU. Some parts are extremely controversial. Included are two proposals strongly opposed by the UK, which says the migration crisis must be tackled by other means: Now, the Cameron government wants to curb migration to the UK by EU citizens as part of his new deal with Brussels. So he certainly will not agree to increase the number of non-EU migrants to the UK. And, as he has promised the UK to have "less Brussels" in daily life, he will oppose any migration quotas "imposed" by Brussels. So actually this migration headline is less of a challenge and more of a gift for the new Cameron government. It will be a chance to publicly bare its teeth at Brussels - the Home Office has put out a strongly worded statement about opposing Commission proposals to introduce non-voluntary migrant quotas - and to show some muscle-flexing to Eurosceptics, including in the Tory party itself, ahead of EU-UK renegotiations starting in earnest. Nothing new In fact, the Commission proposals are not new. They have been rejected in the past by UK Home Secretary Theresa May and quite a number of her European counterparts. The Netherlands and Denmark will hear none of it. France is nervous about the idea, with the anti-immigration National Front doing so well in the polls, and countries in Eastern and Central Europe, which house very few asylum seekers, do not want to start opening their doors now. Estonia and Slovakia have already said "no" outright. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban described the migration quota plan as "mad" in a radio interview. The migration strategy will be debated at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels next month and you can expect a heated argument. It is not just the European Commission pushing the quota proposal. Mediterranean migrants: in numbers In 2014: In 2015 (1 Jan- 27 April): source: UNHCR Powerful Germany backs the plan - loudly - as the country that receives the lion share of asylum application in Europe- 200,000 last year alone. Berlin fears that number could double in 2015. The Mediterranean frontline states of Greece, Italy and Malta are also in favour of refugee-sharing, for obvious reasons. When it comes to home affairs issues like asylum, the UK has a so-called opt-in clause, which allows it to decide whether or not to adopt EU legislation. So, whatever is eventually agreed on migration at EU level, it is hard to see how quotas could be forced on the UK.

कार्यालय में पहले दिन किसी भी नई सरकार के लिए चुनौतीपूर्ण होते हैं और यह निश्चित रूप से ब्रिटेन के प्रधान मंत्री डेविड कैमरन के लिए एक व्यस्त सप्ताह होगा-जो अन्य बातों के अलावा कहते हैं कि उन्होंने यूरोप के साथ ब्रिटेन के संबंधों को बदलने के लिए पहले ही अपनी बाहें ऊपर कर ली हैं।


Enfield stabbing: Murder arrest after man fatally stabbed

Summary: A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a fatal stabbing in north London.

Paramedics and Met Police officers were called to a property in Macleod Road in Enfield, at about 17:00 GMT on Friday. They found a man aged in his 30s with stab injuries and although he received first aid at the property, he was later pronounced dead. A man was arrested at the scene and remains in police custody. Inquiries continue into what happened.

उत्तरी लंदन में एक घातक चाकू हमले के बाद हत्या के संदेह में एक व्यक्ति को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


Coronavirus: Manx care home coronavirus death toll rises to 18

Summary: Another person has died with coronavirus at an Isle of Man care home where serious safety concerns were raised.

Eighteen residents from Abbotswood Nursing Home, which has had it's licence suspended, have now died. There have been 16 deaths at the home itself, while a further two died after being transferred to Noble's Hospital. The total number of people on the island to have died as a result of the pandemic now stands at 21. Of 309 people to have tested positive for the virus, 252 are "presumed recovered" after self-isolating for the required period of time.

आइल ऑफ मैन देखभाल गृह में कोरोनावायरस से एक और व्यक्ति की मृत्यु हो गई है, जहाँ गंभीर सुरक्षा चिंताएँ जताई गई थीं।


Why so many Japanese children refuse to go to school

Summary: In Japan, more and more children are refusing to go to school, a phenomenon called "futoko". As the numbers keep rising, people are asking if it's a reflection of the school system, rather than a problem with the pupils themselves.

By Alessia CerantolaBBC World Service Ten-year-old Yuta Ito waited until the annual Golden Week holiday last spring to tell his parents how he was feeling - on a family day out he confessed that he no longer wanted to go to school. For months he had been attending his primary school with great reluctance, often refusing to go at all. He was being bullied and kept fighting with his classmates. His parents then had three choices: get Yuta to attend school counselling in the hope things would improve, home-school him, or send him to a free school. They chose the last option. Now Yuta spends his school days doing whatever he wants - and he's much happier. Yuta is one of Japan's many futoko, defined by Japan's education ministry as children who don't go to school for more than 30 days, for reasons unrelated to health or finances. The term has been variously translated as absenteeism, truancy, school phobia or school refusal. Attitudes to futoko have changed over the decades. Until 1992 school refusal - then called tokokyohi, meaning resistance - was considered a type of mental illness. But in 1997 the terminology changed to the more neutral futoko, meaning non-attendance. On 17 October, the government announced that absenteeism among elementary and junior high school students had hit a record high, with 164,528 children absent for 30 days or more during 2018, up from 144,031 in 2017. The free school movement started in Japan in the 1980s, in response to the growing number of futoko. They're alternative schools that operate on principles of freedom and individuality. They're an accepted alternative to compulsory education, along with home-schooling, but won't give children a recognised qualification. The number of students attending free or alternative schools instead of regular schools has shot up over the years, from 7,424 in 1992 to 20,346 in 2017. Dropping out of school can have long-term consequences, and there is a high risk that young people can withdraw from society entirely and shut themselves away in their rooms - a phenomenon known as hikikomori. More worrying still is the number of pupils who take their own lives. In 2018, the number of school suicides was the highest in 30 years, with 332 cases. In 2016 the rising number of student suicides led the Japanese government to pass a suicide prevention act with special recommendations for schools. So why are so many children avoiding school in Japan? Family circumstances, personal issues with friends, and bullying are among the main causes, according to a survey by the ministry of education. In general, the dropouts reported that they didn't get along with other students, or sometimes with the teachers. That was also the case for Tomoe Morihashi. "I didn't feel comfortable with many people," says the 12-year-old. "School life was painful." Tomoe suffered from selective mutism, which affected her whenever she was out in public. "I couldn't speak outside my home or away from my family," she says. And she found it hard to obey the rigid set of rules that govern Japanese schools. "Tights must not be coloured, hair must not be dyed, the colour of hair elastics is fixed, and they must not be worn on the wrist," she says. Many schools in Japan control every aspect of their pupils' appearance, forcing pupils to dye their brown hair black, or not allowing pupils to wear tights or coats, even in cold weather. In some cases they even decide on the colour of pupils' underwear. Strict school rules were introduced in the 1970s and 1980s in response to violence and bullying. They relaxed in the 1990s but have become more severe recently. These regulations are known as "black school rules", reflecting a popular term used to describe companies that exploit their workers. Now Tomoe, like Yuta, attends Tamagawa Free School in Tokyo where students don't need to wear a uniform and are free to choose their own activities, according to a plan agreed between the school, parents and pupils. They are encouraged to follow their individual skills and interests. There are rooms with computers for Japanese and maths classes and a library with books and mangas (Japanese comic books). The atmosphere is very informal, like a big family. Students meet in common spaces to chat and play together. "The purpose of this school is to develop people's social skills," says Takashi Yoshikawa, the head of the school. Whether it's through exercising, playing games or studying, the important thing is to learn not to panic when they're in a large group. The school recently moved to a larger space, and about 10 children attend every day. Mr Yoshikawa opened his first free school in 2010, in a three-storey apartment in Tokyo's residential neighbourhood of Fuchu. "I expected students over 15 years old, but actually those who came were only seven or eight years old," he says. "Most were silent with selective mutism, and at school they didn't do anything." Mr Yoshikawa believes that communication problems are at the root of most students' school refusal. His own journey into education was unusual. He quit his job as a "salary man" in a Japanese company in his early 40s, when he decided he wasn't interested in climbing the career ladder. His father was a doctor, and like him, he wanted to serve his community, so he became a social worker and foster father. The experience opened his eyes to the problems children face. He realised how many students suffered because they were poor, or victims of domestic abuse, and how much this affected their performance at school. Part of the challenge pupils face is the big class sizes, says Prof Ryo Uchida, an education expert at Nagoya University. "In classrooms with about 40 students who have to spend a year together, many things can happen," he says. Prof Uchida says comradeship is the key ingredient to surviving life in Japan because the population density is so high - if you don't get along and co-ordinate with others, you won't survive. This not only applies to schools, but also to public transport and other public spaces, all of which are overcrowded. But for many students this need to conform is a problem. They don't feel comfortable in overcrowded classrooms where they have to do everything together with their classmates in a small space. "Feeling uncomfortable in such a situation is normal," says Prof Uchida. What's more, in Japan, children stay in the same class from year to year, so if problems occur, going to school can become painful. "In that sense, the support provided for example by free schools is very meaningful," Prof Uchida says. "In free schools, they care less about the group and they tend to value the thoughts and feelings of each single student." But although free schools are providing an alternative, the problems within the education system itself remain an issue. For Prof Uchida, not developing students' diversity is a violation of their human rights - and many agree. Criticism of "black school rules" and the Japanese school environment is increasing nationwide. In a recent column the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper described them as a violation of human rights and an obstacle to student diversity. In August, the campaign group "Black kosoku o nakuso! Project" [Let's get rid of black school rules!] submitted an online petition to the education ministry signed by more than 60,000 people, asking for an investigation into unreasonable school rules. Osaka Prefecture ordered all of its high schools to review their rules, with about 40% of schools making changes. Prof Uchida says the education ministry now appears to accept absenteeism not as an anomaly, but a trend. He sees this as a tacit admission that futoko children are not the problem but that they are reacting to an education system that is failing to provide a welcoming environment. You may also like: At least half a million young men in Japan are thought to have withdrawn from society, and refuse to leave their bedrooms. They're known as hikikomori. Their families often don't know what to do, but one organisation is offering "sisters for hire" to help coax these young men out of their isolation. Rent-a-sister: Coaxing Japan's hikikomori out of their rooms

जापान में, अधिक से अधिक बच्चे स्कूल जाने से इनकार कर रहे हैं, एक घटना जिसे "फ़्यूटोको" कहा जाता है। जैसे-जैसे संख्या बढ़ती जा रही है, लोग पूछ रहे हैं कि क्या यह छात्रों के साथ समस्या के बजाय स्कूल प्रणाली का प्रतिबिंब है।


How a team of students beat the casinos

Summary: When it comes to gambling, everyone knows the casino always comes out on top - right? But in the 1990s a group of students proved the punter didn't have to be the loser. This is the story of the MIT Blackjack Team.

By Janet BallBBC World Service Bill Kaplan laughs, remembering his mother's reaction when he told her he was postponing his entrance to Harvard to make his fortune at gambling. "Oh my God, this is ridiculous! What am I going to tell my friends?" she said. Kaplan had read a book about card counting and believed he could use a mathematical model to make good money from blackjack. It was certainly not his mother's dream for her straight-A student son. But Kaplan's stepfather was more open to the idea and threw down a challenge. "Play me every night and prove you can win," he said. "I crushed him for 2 weeks straight," recalls Kaplan. "He told my mother 'I can't believe this but he can really win at this game - just let him go.' So my mother wasn't wild about it but I went to Vegas and I spent a year there." That was in 1977 - Kaplan took $1,000 (£600) and within nine months had turned it into about $35,000 (£20,000). He went on to graduate from Harvard and over the years kept playing blackjack around the world. His life took a dramatic turn when the leader of a small group of students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who had dabbled with card counting overheard him discussing his Vegas exploits. They asked him to train and manage what would later become known as the infamous MIT Blackjack Team. In 1992, with the gambling industry booming and new mega-casinos springing up, Kaplan and his partners saw an opportunity for them to go mega as well. Friends and partners who had previously seen 100% returns on smaller investments, stumped up a startling $1 million to fund a new company, Strategic Investments, which would train bright students to card count and gamble - and then unleash them on the unsuspecting casinos. One of these students was Mike Aponte, then a 22-year-old who was unsure what he wanted to do with his life. After perfecting the technique in empty classrooms, he was shocked to be handed $40,000 (£24,000) in cash to gamble on behalf of the team. He was even more shocked to lose $10,000 (£6,000) of it in his very first ten minutes at a blackjack table in Atlantic City. "An executive casino host came over right away and greeted me and took me up to a penthouse suite. It had a jacuzzi, pool table - it was amazing. I was in awe of the room but I didn't enjoy it as much as I would normally have, because I was still upset about losing all that money." It was a lesson in just how volatile blackjack could be - even with a scientifically proven system. But he continued to rely on the team's method that weekend and was, in the end, able to return to college with a net profit of about $25,000 (£15,000). Casino hosts look after high rollers - clients who gamble big money - and reward them with perks of free food, drinks, tickets and rooms, whether or not they win. So the students, who spent the week going to class, eating in canteens and sharing dorm rooms, soon got used to being treated like VIPs. But they also had to look the part - something that wasn't easy for many. For Aponte, it was like going undercover. "You just have to pass that initial test where they size you up and think, 'OK, is this someone we're going to make a lot of money from?'" He says that while skill at maths wasn't a problem for anyone at MIT "what was important was being comfortable, being able to deal with the attention, because money just attracts attention." As an Asian, Aponte says he had a big advantage. "We really played off that stereotype that Asians are big crazy gamblers. So my standard story was that I came from a rich family and I was the spoiled son." If the students soon got used to enjoying the perks of casino life, they also grew very relaxed about carrying around a lot of money. Sometimes too relaxed. One night some members of the team came straight from a gambling trip in Las Vegas to join in a practice session in a MIT classroom. One put a brown paper lunch bag under his chair. At 06:00 the next morning Kaplan received a phone call. "You won't believe what I've done!" the student said. "You know I came back from Vegas and I had $125,000 (£74,000) in a paper bag? Well I left in the classroom. I totally forgot about it. I ran back and it's not there." It turned out that a cleaner had put it in his locker. It took six months and investigations by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI before the team eventually got their money back. Pressure was also growing as more players started being spotted by the casinos and were barred from playing. A private detective had been employed to find them and realised from the Boston addresses of many of those caught that this was a student team from MIT. He even obtained a yearbook including some of their photos. Many worried about being caught, even though Aponte says it was usually quite painless. "You'd get a tap on the back and the security man would say, 'Mike, casino management has decided you're welcome to play any game except blackjack.'" But he says sometimes security guards could get aggressive and outside of the US it was even more risky. He remembers the experience of one new team member who had just passed the tests to act as a big player. "Looking back it was a mistake as he didn't have a good look for a big player. He wore glasses, he had a very meek personality, and he just looked really smart. He was really smart - he was a PHD student." Having just got married, the man thought it would be good to take his new wife, who was also in the team, to the Bahamas and try his luck at the casinos there. "He was up about $20,000 or $30,000 (£12,000 or £18,000) and the casino figured out he was card counting and they brought the police in. "They threw them in jail and confiscated not only all the money they'd won but the team money they'd brought with them. That player and his wife - they never played for the team again." How card counting works In blackjack, or 21, high cards favour the gambler, low cards the casino. So a card counter keeps a running tally in their head, adding 1 for low cards and subtracting 1 for high cards. When their tally increases (meaning more high cards than low ones are left in the deck) they know it's time to start placing higher bets. Card counters won't win every time - they often lose a lot of money - but statistically, and over time, the odds are in their favour. It has to be done secretly because although it's not illegal, casinos don't like it and have the right to refuse to let someone play. It was researched in the 1950s by a mathematics professor from MIT, Edward Thorp, using some of the earliest computers. In 1962 he published a book about it called Beat the Dealer and forever changed how the gambling public viewed blackjack. After being caught, many gave up. But some took drastic measures to stay on the team. Kaplan remembers how one 21-year-old managed to keep playing as a spotter - someone who counts cards and then signals to their partner who places the big bets when the cards were favourable. "He shaved his head, put on a wig, dressed like a woman and then he played for the longest time. He was a very good looking guy!" In the end, the increasing pressure meant Strategic Investments was dissolved in December 1993 marking the end of Kaplan's blackjack career. By then the team had grown to around 80 players and he says it was time to call it quits. "As a player it's an amazing experience, but as a manager we might have 10, 20, 30 people playing in five different casino locales, some in Las Vegas, some in New Orleans, some in Canada, and we're keeping track of their play, we're trying to make sure no-one's stealing money." The venture had had mixed success and the money earned wasn't as much as many had hoped, especially as it had to be split between so many players and investors. Kaplan decided that for the amount he was making, he would be better off investing in property and business. His wife was relieved people weren't calling at two in the morning saying "I just got kicked out of Caesars what do I do?" "I was just running a business and it just seemed like so much of the business was more headaches than fun," he says. After Strategic Investments folded, Aponte went on to form another team, as did other players. Those teams learned from their experiences with Strategic Investments and concentrated more on the personalities of the people they recruited. Mike says the amount of money they won rocketed. Eventually, Aponte became too well known as a card counter to play but he still makes his living from the game. He became the World Series of Blackjack champion in 2004, he teaches people to play and advises the casinos. Ironically, he has become friendly with some of the people who used to spend their days hunting for him. But he still looks back at his MIT team days with fondness. "We pulled off something that very few people have. Everyone knows the golden rule that you can't beat the house over the long run but that's exactly what we were able to pull off." Bill Kaplan and Mike Aponte spoke to Witness - which airs weekdays on BBC World Service radio. Follow @BBCNewsMagazine on Twitter and on Facebook

जब जुए की बात आती है, तो हर कोई जानता है कि कैसिनो हमेशा शीर्ष पर आता है-है ना? लेकिन 1990 के दशक में छात्रों के एक समूह ने साबित कर दिया कि पंटर को हारने वाला नहीं होना चाहिए। यह एम. आई. टी. ब्लैकजैक टीम की कहानी है।


How Meghan made her mark as a 'real deal' campaigner

Summary: She has sparkle, style and star quality, as newspaper headline writers like to tell us. But Meghan Markle also has something else about her which wasn't always part of the princess-to-be package - but has become a key part of the modern role.

By Marie JacksonBBC News She comes into her new royal role already firmly established as a campaigning force. Indeed, her and Prince Harry's shared passion for social change was, she says, what got him the second date. Aged 11, she wrote a letter to the then US first lady, Hillary Clinton, lamenting a washing up liquid's TV ad strapline: "Women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans". Within a month, manufacturers Procter and Gamble had changed the word "women" to "people", she says. "It was at that moment that I realised the magnitude of my actions. "I had created my small level of impact by standing up for equality," she was to say some 20 years later, in an International Women's Day speech before the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon. At 15, she was volunteering in soup kitchens. She's tackled the delicate issue of the stigma around menstrual health in an article for Time magazine and been global ambassador for World Vision Canada, which campaigns for better education, food and healthcare for children around the world. It may not be unusual for actors to take up fashionable causes to boost their profile and appear kind and thoughtful. But Meghan is the real deal, says Kate Robertson, co-founder of the charity One Young World. She invited her to speak on a stage in Dublin after watching her in her hit TV series, Suits, and seeing her UN speech. She said she thought Meghan would be a famous face that would interest their audience of young people from around the world, but couldn't be sure how good she'd be on a panel or speaking freely in a question-and- answer session. But, when it came to the crunch, Meghan was "so eloquent, so erudite", she says. "It wasn't your average actress stepping up and talking about gender equality. It was the real deal - very forthright, very confident and very un-celebrity," she adds. As Meghan readies herself for royal life, she has said she wants a "clean slate" and so will no longer work as a UN women's advocate or for World Vision. Instead, she plans to focus her attention on the UK and Commonwealth. "This is the country that's going to be her home now and that means travelling around, getting to know the towns and cities and smaller communities," Harry's press secretary Jason Knauf said. She will also become the fourth patron of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. The foundation is behind Harry's Invictus Games - the Paralympic-style competition for injured servicemen and women and veterans - and also the mental health charity Heads Together. For her first public appointment on Friday, Meghan will join Harry on his previously-arranged visit to a Terrence Higgins Trust World Aids Day fair in Nottingham. Later, they'll meet head teachers taking part in the Full Effect programme, another of the Royal Foundation projects which aims to stop youth violence in the city. Over time, Meghan is expected to carve out her own charitable interests. Her friend Elizabeth Nyamayaro, a senior adviser with UN Women, knows Meghan won't rush into anything. "She will spend a few months, if not years, working behind the scenes - listening, learning, identifying what needs to change, and pinpoint what she wants to make a difference on," she said. Allan Bryce, editor of Royal Life magazine, thinks the Palace probably already has a good idea what Meghan wants to do. Once she's fully initiated into the Royal Family's inner circle, she'll also have advisers to help guide her choices, he says. And Mr Bryce sees a day, possibly as early as next year, when the Queen will step down from her official duties. This will mean Prince Charles and his sons, William and Harry, will have to shoulder more of that work, he says. Of all the royals, Princess Anne has consistently shown the greatest dedication to her causes, performing more engagements each year than any other member of the family. Those visits and engagements don't make the papers that often but she's the busiest, says Mr Bryce. Both Diana, the Princess of Wales, and the Duchess of Cambridge married into the Royal Family at a younger age - Catherine was 29 and Diana was just 20. At 36, Meghan is fully-formed, she's older, she's used to the public eye, says Mr Bryce. By contrast, in the early years, Diana was "like a fish out of water". "She had nothing to do, her marriage was not what it should be and it was the Duke of Edinburgh who pointed her towards doing something," he said. By the time of her death at 36, Diana had used royal visits around the world to show empathy to the ill and impoverished, and overturned the image of the royals as aloof. In particular, she had challenged the public's perception of HIV and Aids by shaking patients' hands. The Duchess of Cambridge has also taken time to build up her portfolio since her marriage to Prince William - and is demonstrably keen to support the arts and children's causes including a hospice, the Scouts and tackling cyberbullying. "Kate has been the big royal story for a while but Meghan might elbow her off the stage," says Mr Bryce. He believes Meghan will fast become the biggest royal ticket, drawing interest in the UK and in the US. "She has not got the fragility of Diana so will never achieve the saintly reverence, but she will attract that level of interest. It's going to be massive. "The public will realise that unlike Princess Diana who was learning as she went along, Meghan Markle will step up to the job and be off and running." Elizabeth Nyamayaro agrees. With her grace, ability to listen and passion to make social change, "she'll be fine - she'll be great in fact".

उनके पास चमक, शैली और सितारों की गुणवत्ता है, जैसा कि समाचार पत्र के हेडलाइन लेखक हमें बताना पसंद करते हैं। लेकिन मेघन मार्कल के पास उनके बारे में कुछ और भी है जो हमेशा राजकुमारी बनने वाले पैकेज का हिस्सा नहीं था-लेकिन आधुनिक भूमिका का एक महत्वपूर्ण हिस्सा बन गया है।


CO2 shortage: Why it really matters for the UK's food and drink supply

Summary: A shortage of CO2 gas is starting to bite. From pig processors to beer firms, the lack of carbon dioxide is hitting production. Booker, a wholesaler to bars and restaurants, is rationing sales. And soft drinks giant Coca-Cola says its UK bottling plant was interrupted by the shortage.

By Russell HottenBusiness reporter Trade journal Gas World, which first revealed there was a problem last week, said it was the "worst supply situation to hit the European carbon dioxide business in decades". What is CO2 used for? CO2 is widely used in the food processing and drinks industries. It puts the fizz into beer, cider and soft drinks, and is used in food packaging to extend the shelf life of salads, fresh meat and poultry. The gas is also seen as the most humane way to stun pigs and chickens before slaughter. Carbon dioxide is also needed to create dry ice, another product extensively used in the food industry to help keeps things chilled in transit. The gas is also widely used outside the food and drinks sectors. CO2 is needed for certain medical procedures, and is used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices and by oil companies to improve the extraction of crude. Why is there a shortage? A lot of CO2 is, simply put, created as a by-product from ammonia production that is used in the fertiliser industry. Other sources are bio-ethanol plants. However, a number of big mainland European fertiliser plants closed down for routine maintenance. And in the UK, only two of five plants that supply CO2 are operating at the moment. Peak consumption for fertiliser is the winter, so chemical companies have traditionally scaled back production as summer approaches. Also, the current low price of ammonia means producers have little incentive to restart production quickly. It's a case of bad timing that several plants wound down operations together, just as demand for food and drink was being ramped up by the good weather and football's World Cup. Who has been affected? The impact has been felt from the big drinks companies to the small bottling firms. Heineken said its John Smith's Extra Smooth and Amstel were hit, while Coca-Cola production was interrupted until fresh CO2 supplies arrived. Tesco-owned Booker, a big supplier to restaurants and bars, has started rationing customers to ten cases of beer. And Ei Group, Britain's biggest pub operator, said some beer brands were in short supply or not available. Scotland's biggest abattoir - which handles 6,000 pigs a week - has temporarily closed, with animals being sent to England for slaughter. But that is only a temporary solution, as these abattoirs, too, are also low on carbon dioxide. Small UK bottling firms have also been hit. In the West Midlands, Holden's, which has 80 customers, shut down last Friday until further notice. "I'm left with people sitting around doing nothing," said operations director Mark Hammond. Also in the West Midlands, a firm called The Beer and Gas Man, which provides CO2 to 750-plus pubs which use the gas to force drink through pipes and taps, has run out of supply. Will we run out of beer and meat? We seem to be a long way from this, although food and drink trade groups say much depends on how long the CO2 shortage continues. The British Poultry Association say its members are "living day-to-day" in order to conserve dwindling CO2 supplies. Morrisons supermarket has suspended online deliveries of some frozen foods due to a lack of dry ice (created from CO2). Ocado has done the same. The Scottish Pigs Producers' co-operative is not ruling out meat shortages and higher prices, but does not want to be alarmist. And British Meat Processors Association chief executive, Nick Allen, said the situation was getting "pretty tight". What is the government doing? There seems to be very little activity at the moment. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) says it "is aware that there are reports of a CO2 shortage", and is in contact with the industry and gas suppliers "to understand the implications of the situation". That prompted one food trade body to tell the BBC: "They (Defra) will certainly have to wake up soon if this shortage continues for much longer". However, there is very little the government can do to force CO2 suppliers to ramp up production. The situation is, said a government spokeswoman, "still industry-led". Is there an end in sight? There have been suggestions in the industry that supplies could start returning to normal in early July. Trade journal Gasworld reported that the shortage is likely to continue for the next week at least. However, trade groups for both the food and the drinks sectors have criticised CO2 suppliers for a lack of communication, leaving them unable to plan for the future. It's also likely that some companies will be given priority as supplies return to normal. Meat producers have asked for priority treatment, given that the welfare of animals is involved. And smaller companies fear they will be put at the back of the queue as CO2 companies satisfy the demands of their biggest customers first.

कार्बन डाइऑक्साइड गैस की कमी बढ़ने लगी है। सुअर प्रोसेसर से लेकर बीयर कंपनियों तक, कार्बन डाइऑक्साइड की कमी उत्पादन को प्रभावित कर रही है। बुकर, जो बार और रेस्तरां का थोक विक्रेता है, राशन बिक्री कर रहा है। और शीतल पेय की दिग्गज कंपनी कोका-कोला का कहना है कि उसके यूके बॉटलिंग संयंत्र में कमी के कारण बाधा आई थी।


Syrian war: Red Cross doctor's heart-breaking letter from Aleppo

Summary: As some of the most vulnerable people in Aleppo were moved from a former old-people's home near the city's front line on Wednesday, a Red Cross doctor involved in their evacuation sent the BBC this letter:

Working as a doctor for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), I have seen many things in Syria during the past five years. But nothing like this. We'd tried to reach the centre the previous day, but couldn't get the necessary security guarantees. The fighting had been too intense. Three people at the centre died during that time. Now we'd got permission to go to the former old people's home, which had become a refuge for around 150 people, some disabled, some mentally ill and the rest just desperate people with nowhere else to go. We, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the ICRC, were there to take them out of eastern Aleppo. It was already going dark as we drove into the narrow streets of the Old City. I'd known the area before the war, a thriving, bustling place. Now, it was a sea of rubble. I couldn't recognise streets, never mind buildings. A ghost town of smashed concrete. An end of the world place. Like a fury had swept through. Gunfire rattled in the distance but here there was no noise, no people. We had to walk the last bit that vehicles couldn't pass. In the midst of the landscape, two crumbling buildings. One building for the men, one for the women. We entered the yard. A group of patients sat huddled round an open fire. They had few clothes and were shivering. Many looked bemused. They were very near to each other, pushing their shoulders together, looking around, trying to reassure one another. To one side, there were bodies, maybe around 10 of them. I knew the man who ran the centre and we found him. We learnt that he'd lost his entire family three days earlier: among them, his wife, son and grandson. He'd brought his family here because he thought no-one would attack the centre. Some of the bodies in the yard were members of his family. As darkness closed in and temperatures dropped further, we had to move fast. We identified those who needed help most. As we worked, an old man died in front of us from the cold. No medicines. No heating, No fuel to cook the food. I checked a few nearby buildings to see if there were any other people. There weren't. But there was another body. We could see it, but it was trapped under a collapsed building. We couldn't do anything about it. The evacuation was not simple. Many, especially those with mental illness, didn't want to leave. They were confused, helpless. They didn't realise they were living in a war zone. Some had been living there for four or five years. They knew nothing else. "We have no other relatives, we have nowhere else to go." Some said they'd prefer to stay. And then some soldiers arrived. They brought six children with them. They'd been found among the rubble, lost, helpless. The oldest was a seven-year-old girl, the youngest a seven-month-old baby boy. They hadn't eaten for two days. They'd all just become orphans, their parents killed by a bomb during the past few days. They had nothing, and no-one. What can you say? What can you do? At the centre, 18 people wanted to stay behind. Because they had nowhere else to go. I hope we can get back soon to bring them some help. Another chapter in a god-awful war. Those people paid the cost of this terrible war which they had nothing to do with and did not decide to be a part of. They were the most vulnerable of the vulnerable. And no side protected them. This is not about who is right, or who is wrong. Who is winning, who is losing. This is about people: flesh and blood, human beings. Bleeding, dying, being made orphans, every day. I feel so very sad, today. Please, there have to be some limits to this war. More on life in Aleppo:

जैसा कि अलेप्पो में कुछ सबसे कमजोर लोगों को बुधवार को शहर की अग्रिम पंक्ति के पास एक पूर्व बुजुर्ग के घर से स्थानांतरित कर दिया गया था, उनकी निकासी में शामिल रेड क्रॉस के एक डॉक्टर ने बीबीसी को यह पत्र भेजाः


How Village People's cop Victor Willis rebooted his group

Summary: Victor Willis was the traffic cop in 1970s pop group Village People - and sang lead vocals and co-wrote their hits. After winning back the right to use their name from his former bandmates, he's making a fresh start.

By Matt EverittBBC 6 Music News Village People still have one of the most instantly recognisable images in pop. Created in 1977 in New York by French producers Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo alongside Willis, their characters - the cop, the GI, the construction worker, the cowboy, the Native American and the biker - were the public face for colossal worldwide hits like Go West, In The Navy and YMCA. They sold around 100 million albums and singles, but Willis quit at the peak of the band's fame in 1979. That was shortly before their universally derided film Can't Stop the Music, which coincided with disco music falling out of fashion and the end of the band's hits. In the years that followed, the remaining members continued to tour under the Village People name, frequently replacing members (in fact, more than 20 different people have played the roles) while affection for their songs enjoyed a renaissance. YMCA became a regular sports stadium anthem and their image was absorbed into popular culture, being pastiched by everyone from U2 to Despicable Me. Since leaving the group, Willis's personal struggles with substance abuse led him to rehab. Since then, he's been focused on reclaiming his legacy. In recent years, he won a series of lengthy legal battles to own the copyright for the hits he co-wrote and sang, claiming millions in unpaid royalties and wresting the name Village People back from his one-time bandmates. He's just finished touring the UK, headlining the 40 Years of Disco arena tour, and says now was the right time return to fronting the band. "There was nothing I could do about it until this legal stuff was straightened out," he says. "And this just happened to be at the 40-year anniversary of Village People. Everything seemed to fall into place where I could say, 'OK, it's time for me to take over the group again.' "Not a reunion, but to reboot the group. To have to get new characters. Then I have to get a band like when Jacques and I first sat down and decided we're going to create this Village People thing. "We have to have a band so that people can know that this is not a 'Milli Vanilli' thing. This is something that's live. This is real. And this what I came back to do." 'Straight, gay, whatever...' The image of Village People reflected the gay culture that emerged from New York clubs in the mid-1970s, but Willis explains the songs he wrote were concerned with universal themes rather than specifically targeting an LGBT audience. "My situation with Jacques was that we would write music and I would make my lyrics, which they call 'double entendre', which means that you can take it any way you want it. Gay people? If you liked it, fine! Straight people? If you liked it, fine! It doesn't matter. "There were certain songs, which cannot be denied, that were generated toward that particular lifestyle, because that was Jacques' lifestyle. But that's not what Village People represents. "Village People represents people, period. Any lifestyle. Male, female, straight, gay, whatever. So when I would write lyrics, instead of saying 'he' or 'she', I would say 'everybody'. "I would just leave it open so that anybody could interpret it to fit the way they wanted it to fit them." He explains that in YMCA, Village People's most famous hit, he was telling the "story" about his own experiences when he was young. "It was about the urban lifestyle of when I grew up going to the Y and playing basketball and hanging out. That was my interpretation of it. I didn't know anything about the lifestyle of other people that go there. "For me, YMCA was about, like the last line says, 'They can start you back on your way'. A person could go stay at the Ritz Carlton or the Hilton, or these expensive hotels. But if you don't have that kind of money, you might have to go to the Y." It's been nearly 40 years since Willis took went on tour singing Village People songs, but he believes his long battle has been worth it. "It's what they call perseverance," he says. "I've been from the Bucket of Blood to the White House. I've been from the top to the bottom. "And I had to hold on to my dream that I would one day be able to do - and continue to do - what it is that I love. And that is to make music and make people happy. "I didn't know 40 years ago that people were going to still like YMCA when I wrote it. It was written just for sharing the enjoyment of the music. "So it's mindblowing that it has lasted and that people still love it, but I didn't think that they wouldn't. "The future holds trying, attempting and hoping to be able to bring more music to the world that will be enjoyable and will last as long as YMCA has." Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

विक्टर विलिस 1970 के दशक के पॉप समूह विलेज पीपल में ट्रैफिक पुलिस थे-और उन्होंने मुख्य गायन गाया और उनके हिट गीतों का सह-लेखन किया। अपने पूर्व बैंडमेट्स से उनके नाम का उपयोग करने का अधिकार वापस जीतने के बाद, वह एक नई शुरुआत कर रहे हैं।


No place like home: What to do when jihadists return

Summary: Over 15,000 foreign jihadists from 80 countries are believed to be fighting alongside militants in Syria, the US intelligence agency CIA says. Some countries try to stop the flow, others turn a blind eye, but all face the same problem: what to do when the jihadists return home?

By Mirren GiddaBBC News Analysts have drawn parallels between the current conflict and the Afghanistan war of the 1980s. Then, like now, thousands of foreigners flocked there to help the mujahideen (Islamic fighters) battle Soviet forces. The decade-long conflict finally ended in 1989 with the Islamists victorious. But for many foreign fighters, the war was not over. One name stands out amongst the jihadists who returned home to countries like Egypt and Algeria to carry out attacks there. Osama Bin Laden, one of the founders of al-Qaeda, was a Saudi Arabian citizen who fought with the mujahideen. Few wish to see a similar figure emerge from Syria, but there is little consensus on how to prevent this. Threats and beheadings In September, Belgium, the country with the highest number of foreign fighters per capita, tried 46 of its citizens - some in absentia - for their involvement with Sharia4Belgium, a group that helped send jihadists to Syria. Only eight appeared at the trial, the others are still in Syria, dead or alive. Belgium's response is not unusual. France, Australia, Norway and Britain - countries with high numbers of foreign fighters - have also arrested returning jihadists, many of whom joined the militant group Islamic State (IS). UK police say they have made 218 arrests so far this year while around 40 British citizens are currently awaiting trial on terror charges. Under existing terror legislation the UK can seize passports of suspected jihadists and detain returnees from Syria for up to 14 days without charge. The UK government is due to publish a new Counter-Terrorism bill by the end of November which will include special exclusion orders. These measures, which could last for more than two years, will prevent suspected fighters entering the UK unless they agree to strict controls. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, whose government has introduced new anti-terror laws, made his position on foreign fighters clear. "If they come back, they will be taken into detention, because our community will be kept safe by this government," he said. But deciding who to arrest is difficult. Travelling to Syria is not illegal and determining what foreign fighters did in the country - namely whether they were involved in acts of terror - requires detailed intelligence. However, the desire to arrest is perhaps understandable. When IS first came to international attention, they claimed the West was not a target. Their goal, they said, was to establish a caliphate in the Middle East, away from Western influences. Now the situation is different. Western-backed air strikes have angered the group, and they have beheaded British and American captives in what they say is revenge. Videos of the killings come with graphic threats to the West. Bravado perhaps, but a challenge nonetheless. Careers advice In the port city of Aarhus in Denmark, IS threats do not deter the authorities. Instead, returning jihadists are met with counselling and careers advice rather than jail. The thinking behind the Aarhus model is simple. Many of those who left were young men, some with few prospects, who didn't feel welcome in Danish society. Interrogating and arresting them on their arrival could further radicalise them, but engaging them in dialogue might not. Officials are also making their presence felt at Aarhus' Grimhojvej mosque. A suspected hotbed for jihadist recruitment - the US claims one of the imams has links to al-Qaeda, which the mosque denies - authorities hope by engaging mosque leaders in debate they can deter future jihadists. What the experts say Eventually, many fighters might long for the leniency Denmark offers. Hundreds arrive in Syria only to realise the persuasive recruitment videos do not match the brutal reality. But once in Syria, it is difficult to return. Professor Peter Neumann of King's College London told the Times newspaper in September that he had been contacted by 30 British jihadists eager to leave Syria but fearing arrest on their return. The family of British student Muhammed Mehdi Hassan who was killed in Kobane in October blamed his death on the government making it difficult for foreign fighters to return home. Jihadists from Saudi Arabia, however, may not worry as much. Despite the country being notoriously harsh on criminals, the kingdom has had its own jihadi rehabilitation programme for several years now. 'Underwear bombing' Set up to help repatriate former Guantanamo Bay inmates, the Care programme offers Islamist extremists counselling and education within an impressive compound in the country's capital Riyadh. Residents discuss the meaning of the Koran with clerics, receive counselling and are helped to find jobs, housing and even wives on their release. Care claims a 90% success rate but an investigation by the BBC programme Newsnight found that two of its residents, once released, escaped to Yemen where they founded al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP). This group later planned the failed "underwear bombing" attack over Detroit in 2009. Constant monitoring If rehabilitation is too "soft", treating returning fighters like criminals can be equally problematic. There is a risk they will turn against their home country or try and travel back to the conflict. The US has opted for the middle ground. In September, Washington confirmed it was monitoring American jihadists who had returned though no public arrests have been made. Those that come back from Syria and Iraq do not fit one profile. For every jihadist with extremist views, there are many more who believe their fight is now over. If used properly, surveillance allows security services to gather evidence against those planning acts of terror, whilst enabling them to reach out to those who don't pose such a threat. But surveillance, as previous attacks have shown, is not foolproof. Constant monitoring of an individual requires a team of around 30 intelligence officers, and with hundreds of fighters now coming home, security services must make difficult choices about who to watch, and who to leave.

अमेरिकी खुफिया एजेंसी सी. आई. ए. का कहना है कि माना जाता है कि 80 देशों के 15,000 से अधिक विदेशी जिहादी सीरिया में आतंकवादियों के साथ लड़ रहे हैं। कुछ देश प्रवाह को रोकने की कोशिश करते हैं, अन्य आंखें मूंद लेते हैं, लेकिन सभी को एक ही समस्या का सामना करना पड़ता हैः जब जिहादी घर लौटें तो क्या करें?


Coffee, wine, cheese: How much can pregnant women have?

Summary: Pregnant women face a lot of dos and don'ts when it comes to food and drink, as in other areas of life. Working out where to draw the line is not always easy - though having a good head for statistics can help.

By Ruth AlexanderBBC News "When I first found out I was pregnant, I really wanted to have a cup of coffee. It was first thing in the morning. And then I thought all of a sudden, 'Oh my gosh - am I even allowed to have one cup of coffee?'" recalls Emily Oster, an associate professor of economics at the University of Chicago. She turned to the internet and found, not surprisingly, that there was no consensus. Then she found that even books disagreed... and her doctor didn't always agree with the books. Some writers said pregnant women should avoid coffee completely. Others advised drinking no more than two cups. Yet others drew the limit at three. "I've read books that said six. And so I felt like there must be an answer to this," says Oster. "The answer isn't both zero and six. Surely there is an actual number in here, and I wanted to try to understand both why there's so much disagreement but also really what is the right decision." Using her statistical training, Oster decided to review the medical literature herself. It is fine to have two cups a day, she concluded. But she describes herself as "more of a two-to-four cups a day coffee lady" - and at this level, she says, the evidence appears to be mixed. "Early on I felt terrible, and I was not really able to have any coffee which was very sad for me, but once I got into the second and third trimester and I was feeling better, I often had three cups a day and I felt comfortable with that. "When you look at more - at six or eight cups of coffee - there is some more evidence that that might be risky." Oster, now the proud mother of a healthy two-year-old girl, has gathered together her work in a book, Expecting Better. She hopes that where the evidence is mixed, readers can consider the facts and make their own decision, based on what they are personally comfortable with. It is difficult to draw firm conclusions, she says, because most of the studies are not randomised - it wouldn't be fair to divide pregnant women under study into two random groups and ask one group to drink coffee and the other to drink none. Consequently, Oster says, the people involved in the studies differ in many ways that could affect the course of their pregnancies, not just in their coffee-drinking habits. "The big issue is that caffeine consumption correlates very strongly with how nauseous you are. A lot of pregnant women are very sick, especially early on - the women who are sicker tend to drink less coffee. "But we know that being sick is a sign of a healthy pregnancy. And so when we see that women who drink less coffee also have more successful pregnancies we don't really know if that's just about coffee or whether it's really a confounding factor from this nausea." But coffee was just one item on a long list of forbidden, or semi-forbidden, items that Oster wanted to investigate. Alcohol for example. Some health services, like the National Health Service in England, recommend that women avoid alcohol altogether in pregnancy, but Oster says she decided that on the available evidence, she felt comfortable having three glasses of wine - in total - in the first trimester, and then half a glass three or four times a week in the second and third trimester. "One thing that comes out very quickly, which is very important to emphasise, is that heavy excessive drinking in pregnancy is very dangerous. That's something you see very clearly in the data.," Oster says. "But when I looked at the evidence on having an occasional drink - a couple of drinks a week maybe in the first trimester, up to a drink a day in later trimesters - I found that the evidence suggests that is safe. "We don't have large randomised trials, but we do have a lot of high-quality studies which show that the children of women who drink occasionally have very similar outcomes to the children of women who abstain." This is not the view of the UK's National Health Service. Dr Vivek Muthu, director for healthcare at the Economist Intelligence Unit and chief executive of the healthcare evidence consultancy, Bazian, says the evidence suggests that even a low alcohol intake can risk damaging the developing foetus. "Therefore the best and simplest advice which the NHS gives out is not to drink at all," he says. And while the risk of damage might be lower the less alcohol the pregnant mother drinks, that doesn't mean, Muthu says, that the magnitude of the damage will be lower. "The consequences could be just as bad as with higher levels of intake, and could result in permanent and severe physical and mental disability," he says. He adds: "There are additional difficulties around defining from the evidence what a 'low intake' would be in terms of units of alcohol, and how this might be interpreted by different people in practice." But of course there are many other things pregnant women are told to avoid. "One of the things I found overwhelming about the food list was that it was just so long," Oster says. "There were so many things to not eat. I was carrying it around trying to sneak it out during lunch so people wouldn't know I was pregnant. What I came to think was, 'Look I need to understand why these foods are restricted, so I can at least have some sort of framework for understanding what's really going on.'" Oster reviewed the last 15 years of data from the US Center for Disease Control on listeria outbreaks. The evidence on unpasteurised milk and cheese was clearer than on other "banned" foods, Oster says. "I found that about 20% of those outbreaks can be linked to unpasteurised cheese; about 10% to deli turkey. But there's one outbreak linked to ham; there's one outbreak linked to cantaloupe [melon]; one outbreak linked to celery; one to beansprouts - there are many things like this. And I came to think for a lot of these things there's kind of no way to predict. "So I decided that on the occasion when I wanted ham, that was OK." Much of the information pregnant women receive is over-simplified in Oster's view. Doctors just don't have time to explain things in detail, and help patients think through the decisions. "And so I came to think that maybe it's time for women to understand these decisions - really think through the details carefully for themselves - and that that will ultimately improve the quality of medical care," she says. "Then you can come into your doctor and say, 'Look, now I understand what's going on, let's talk about how this applies to my particular situation.'" That, she says, is when "really productive conversations" can happen.

गर्भवती महिलाओं को जीवन के अन्य क्षेत्रों की तरह भोजन और पेय के मामले में क्या करें और क्या न करें के बारे में बहुत कुछ करना पड़ता है। यह पता लगाना कि रेखा कहाँ खींचनी है हमेशा आसान नहीं होता है-हालांकि आंकड़ों के लिए एक अच्छा दिमाग रखने से मदद मिल सकती है।


Coronavirus: How is Suffolk's Little America coping in lockdown?

Summary: While most of the country looks to Downing Street for guidance on the coronavirus crisis, there is one corner of England whose fortunes are also influenced by the decisions of the US government. How are the communities that rely so heavily on the US airbases coping with the pandemic?

By Laurence Cawley & Orla MooreBBC News There is no defined border for "Little America" - arriving there is mostly signalled by a preponderance of large, American cars and signs bearing the Stars and Stripes. It is an area of north-west Suffolk largely reliant on the custom of those occupying the US military bases at its heart - RAF Lakenheath, Mildenhall and Feltwell. Between them, the bases employ more than 12,000 US and UK nationals - and the United States Air Force claims their presence is worth a combined £700m ($910m) to the surrounding economy. When the BBC visited in 2017, it found a community where the American dollar thrived. But in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, these businesses are as much affected by the dictates of the US military as those of the British government. Before the crisis hit the UK, Terry and Sylvia James would see a steady flow of air service personnel perusing the automatic cars at their showroom, Mildenhall Car Sales. The firm also usually carries out up to 40 MOTs a week and offers advice to its customers about driving on the "wrong" side of the road. But the couple has temporarily shut up shop. About 80% of their business came from the US air bases, which have suspended their usual service rotations under Stop Movement Orders made by the US Department of Defence banning movement or travel, except in exceptional circumstances. "We have furloughed five staff," says Mr James. "The government's scheme to pay 80% of salaries has been fantastic, and I am going to pay them the other 20%. "I could have kept the MOT centre open but there was no point because I could not have got the parts for repairs anyway." A dramatic drop in custom was one aspect behind his closure; the other was that because of social distancing, showing customers prospective cars was not an option. He believes the pandemic will fundamentally change the way people work in the future - the "personal touch" offered by businesses such as his might become a thing of that past as employees continue to work remotely. As for when his own business will reopen, Mr James remains uncertain. He says it will be dependent on what the government requires and when his suppliers are back up and running. He has a tentative target of 1 June, but that is not set in stone. "We have to rely on what Boris says, but I'm trying to keep positive," he adds. "Social distancing will make it very difficult. But we have the 'welcome back' banners and flags ready to put out once we get the OK." You might also be interested in: 'If one of us gets ill, we're all getting it' The rise of the lockdown milkmen and women Coronavirus: Single, pregnant and self-isolating In the town of Mildenhall, which lies at the south-eastern side of the base, most shops are closed until further notice. It is usually a bustling centre serving both those living in the town and the numerous outlying villages, but only its Co-Op supermarket, which houses its post office, regularly opens its doors. Town centre manager Mark Knight says the bases are a crucial part of life in the area and the absence of US personnel on the town's streets had been noticed and felt. "The base and the town are closely entwined," he explains. "For example, when we were having an issue with a bridge here the base sent out a team of engineers to help out. They come and help us out for our summer events." "Everyone is feeling the pressure. People have been told to stay away, whether they're Americans or locals." Also feeling the effect is Bill Flynn, the managing director of a removals firm in the town. In a normal year, his company Safepac handles about 2,000 US house shipments, helping service families move their belongings back and forth "across the pond". Because base staff are currently unable to move, business has "disappeared" and he has had to furlough 30 people. "Cash-flow has been a killer," he says. "What has happened is 50% of my business has gone and we are staring down a barrel." The haulage side of his business is still functioning and his costs - as a result of the drop in the price of fuel - have decreased. But Mr Flynn remains concerned about the general economic future. "Even when the furlough scheme ends and people return to work, what will the consumer confidence level be?" The Stop Movement Order came into effect at the bases on 25 March, four days after their first confirmed cases of coronavirus - one, an active duty airman at RAF Lakenheath, the other a dependent of a service member at RAF Mildenhall. The US Department of Defense recently extended the order to 30 June. A spokesman for the base says the restrictions were implemented to help stop the spread of coronavirus and base leaders were reminding airmen to follow both the UK government's guidelines and the US order. "[We are] communicating to Liberty Airmen and families the importance of adhering to UK lockdown measures regarding physical distancing, limiting travel to/from work, and travelling for essential needs only." Mr Knight says that planning for the end of lockdown, and the re-opening of the business bearing the brunt of their disappearing customers, is not an option at the moment. They - as with much of the country - are looking to Sunday, when the prime minister will reveal whether any restrictions can be eased. "We are holding our breath," says Mr Knight. "And keeping positive." Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk

जहां अधिकांश देश कोरोना वायरस संकट पर मार्गदर्शन के लिए डाउनिंग स्ट्रीट की ओर देख रहा है, वहीं इंग्लैंड का एक कोना है जिसकी किस्मत भी अमेरिकी सरकार के फैसलों से प्रभावित है। वे समुदाय जो महामारी से निपटने के लिए अमेरिकी हवाई अड्डों पर इतना अधिक भरोसा करते हैं, वे कैसे हैं?


My Money: 'I've gone from being a photographer to a farmer'

Summary: My Money is a series looking at how people spend their money - and the sometimes tough decisions they have to make. Here Anna Jackson, 27, takes us through a week in the life of her family's farm in Bottesford near Scunthorpe, where she has returned after the coronavirus outbreak brought her freelance photography work to a halt. Over to Anna....

Like most people, corona has really turned my life upside down. I've gone from being a freelance sports photographer in London to being a farmer in Lincolnshire. Rather than my life revolving around shoots, coffee meetings and cycling around the Big Smoke, I now wake up early for lamb feeding with Timmy our orphan lamb, learning about drilling and fixing fence posts with nosy cows trying to lick you. Currently I am not furloughed as I was freelance, so money is in short supply to say the least. I'm still paying £815 a month for rent plus bills for a London flat that I'm not living in, plus £114 for my monthly subscriptions. I'm volunteering for my Mum (Sally) doing photography, social media and videography at The Pink Pig Farm shop and park in Scunthorpe, whilst also working full time on the farm with Dad. Mum has furloughed 24 staff, so she only has my sister and me to help with her daily farm shop stall, where we sell everyday essentials. Our chickens haven't stopped laying. Weekly shop. Now that I'm back living with my parents (it's taken some adjusting to) we do a weekly shop, this includes all the meals throughout the week. We try to only go to the supermarket once a week. As my parents are older I don't want to add potential risk when we don't need to. One person is the designated shopper. My sister has been relegated as she buys too many naughty treats, my Dad has been kindly asked not to go because he deviates from the whole shopping list and I can't go anymore because I take too long. So Mum grudgingly does the weekly shop. Total spend: £88 for the weekly shop. (£22 per person). I've been one of the rare key workers who has been travelling around in the car ever since the virus was announced. When we first started driving to the agricultural suppliers the roads were empty apart from lorries. We, of course, had our government letter of authority to travel, just in case we got stopped. Since then the roads have definitely got busier. We aren't quite sure where people are going but it's definitely increased. Travel per week costs around £70. We travel to the abattoir once a month to deliver pigs or sheep, and to an outlying farm three times a week. Although I don't have to pay this as it's a business expense, it has made me realise how much it costs to be a farmer and how much of a risk you spend upfront before you get full payment from your harvested crops. Total spend: £0 Lamb chaos. We noticed one of the lambs had a swollen red eye so we took a photo and sent it to the vets. The vets said it was best to get an ointment to treat it. This isn't an easy feat as you need to first catch the lamb and then administer the ointment daily. Lambs are a pain to catch, they are nimble and speedy. However, first we needed to get the lotion from the vets, and vets are not cheap. This costs the business money but luckily not me. It's making me understand how much it costs to run a family business, it's not dissimilar to the money I was spending in London. Total spend: £0 Come quarantine with me. Every day has been blending into one, so we've decided to have a special dinner once a week as a family. There's a fancy dress theme and going over the top is advised. A different person hosts it each week and cooks food associated with said theme. This is a great way to be creative with food, share the cooking and it doesn't cost any extra dimes. We each get rated with a score, because there's four of us we pronounce the winner at the end of the fourth week. Dad is at a slight disadvantage as his cooking often comes with a health warning. As a family we've had to find creative ways to keep entertained that are low on cost: Total spend: £0 A tricky sell. I sold one of my cameras and lenses today for extra cash to pay rent, as a photographer you need at least two cameras for events or shoots. Two reasons: if one goes wrong you have a back up, and secondly, during events you want a different lens on each camera to capture moments quickly. This gave me an extra £450 which is great but doesn't even cover one month's rent. I've been doing some photo editing on the side with clients who need it/can afford it. This has helped immensely even though I only earn around £100 a month, every little helps. Total spend: £0 My Money More blogs from the BBC's My Money Series: Internal debate. Sadly since corona I've had three second-hand (borrowed) phones die on me, as my phone broke just before corona. Not through any fault of my own, they all just bit the dust one after another. A few thoughts came to my head: that I probably shouldn't buy a new phone when currently I'm only losing money, and in theory I won't receive money from the government as a self employed taxpayer until June. However, as I'm doing social media for my photography business (Anna Rachel Photography) and my Mum's farm park, I would struggle to do both without a phone (I've already been stealing my Mum's for a good week, she isn't too pleased). So I decided to bite the bullet and buy one. My savings have covered it and my theory is that I will need a new phone at some point anyway. Still a very scary decision, which took weeks of back-and-forth and an internal debate. Total spend: £400 Farming isn't cheap. Sunday is a slow day, we wake up, feed the lambs, Dad and I go on a bike ride spying on all the other farmers' fields and then run the stall from outside the cafe. Sunday is really the only rest day for farmers. My Dad wears his smarter clothes, and we try and not farm unless there's an emergency, like this week. We got a phone call from our next-door neighbours saying we had piglets on the road. We hopped in the car but after driving up and down the road we couldn't find any loose piglets. This left us stumped for ages trying to figure out how they had gotten out. Eventually we realised they were getting under a fence. Often on farms you need to spend money on repairs. This week we've bought lamb ointment, bolts for the tractor, lamb powder and a new nozzle for the sprayer. Expenses I know I couldn't afford this right now, but I feel fortunate that my Dad can keep the farm going. Total spend: £0 Pre-corona spend: *£261.21 *Since corona I've stopped paying for a workspace, unsubscribed from lots of subscriptions, and the Adobe software company has paused payment on memberships during corona. Post-corona spend: £22 Including new phone (an irregular expense): £422 How does Anna feel about her week? Whilst at the abattoir this week we got chatting to a 76-year-old farmer waiting in line (at a distance) and he mentioned how farmers are struggling so much during this crisis. Every farmer gets the single farm payment every year from the EU. This helps to covers costs as the supermarkets often don't pay farmers enough for their produce. However these farm payments often don't leave room for savings, so lots of farmers don't have pensions, they will work their whole lives with an uncertain retirement. When I say "work" I'm talking about 12-hour shifts every day, on their feet, in the cold, it's hard labour (as I've discovered). But they never complain and always greet you with a smile. This week I've realised I may be losing money and paying for things I can't afford but I feel very lucky to have learned so much about where our food comes from. Farmers are key workers that often get forgotten about. They are constant key workers as without them we'd all have empty bellies. I guess I feel grateful for the farmers we have in the UK and lucky that I am involved in the process. You may be eating some of the quinoa I've planted this time next year (if it rains)!

माई मनी एक श्रृंखला है जिसमें देखा जाता है कि लोग अपना पैसा कैसे खर्च करते हैं-और कभी-कभी उन्हें कठिन निर्णय लेने पड़ते हैं। यहाँ 27 वर्षीय एना जैक्सन हमें स्कनथॉर्प के पास बॉट्सफोर्ड में अपने परिवार के खेत के जीवन में एक सप्ताह के माध्यम से ले जाती है, जहाँ वह कोरोनावायरस के प्रकोप के बाद अपने स्वतंत्र फोटोग्राफी के काम को रोकने के बाद लौट आई है। अन्ना के लिए।


Carlos Acosta on why the classical ballet world needs new Romeos

Summary: Carlos Acosta, one of the world's leading ballet dancers, bids farewell to classical ballet next week at the Royal Albert Hall, at the age of 43. He's spent much of his career in the UK and he has a message for the government - that it must do more for people from different backgrounds to access free training to find the British dancing talent of the future. This he believes will end elitism in the profession.

By Nicola StanbridgeBBC Today programme As Carlos Acosta effortlessly rehearses his classical ballet steps for the last time backstage at the Royal Opera House, he doesn't show the strain the recent birth of new twins must be adding to his hectic schedule. But pain and hard work are his forte. From humble beginnings in Cuba he has become one of the best and most famous dancers in the world. He arrived in the UK aged 18 as the youngest principle dancer at the English National Ballet. He went on to become the first black principal at the Royal Ballet and the first black Romeo. Starting out in the UK was overwhelming, he says. "Coming straight from Cuba it was like another galaxy. But I was on a mission at the time I really wanted to learn all the best I could learn and be the best dancer I could be." 'New generation' Acosta studied ballet at the Cuban National Ballet School and says ballet is not tinged with the same elitism in Cuba as it is in the UK. "It was the interest of the government [in Cuba] to educate a country in the arts," he says. "They would go to the most desolate place in the countryside to audition dancers for the school for free. "I think the role of the government and of free access - so poor people from different backgrounds receive training for free - means the more chances we have to launch careers of the greatest artists of the new generation. "In this country the government, I think, should do more. There are schemes like Chance To Dance which does community work, but government involvement should be more and I think that would breach the gap of elitism." There have been black ballet companies pushing forward the next generation in the UK and around the world - but Acosta is adamant this isn't the solution. "Hire anybody that shows skill and talent and give people the chance to surprise us. They would never have thought I would end up one day playing Romeo in the Royal Ballet, so the same thing has to be done for others - give them the chance to see what Romeo lies inside of them." The roles he has mastered in the classical ballets with their dramatic high leaps audiences demand came at considerable cost. Carlos Acosta has endured pain and surgery. "I've got tendonitis everywhere. It's not a secret we have to deal with pain all the time." He said he takes painkillers, adding that "everybody has sort of painkillers they use". Acosta added: "I try not to abuse it, it's not a habit. But when I am in crisis I need all the help I can get. But nobody is forcing us to dance. It's normal for us." But this isn't the only reason he's saying goodbye to the classical repertoire at the Royal Albert Hall in October. "It's not just that, I've done it all many times. What's another Swan Lake? An artist needs new challenges," he says. "It's better to leave it when I can dance with dignity and give the people what they're after. There's so much I want to explore now while I still can and carry on doing my career as a contemporary dancer." Carlos Acosta, The Classical Farewell, is at the Royal Albert Hall from 3-7 October

कार्लोस अकोस्टा, दुनिया के अग्रणी बैले नर्तकियों में से एक, अगले सप्ताह रॉयल अल्बर्ट हॉल में 43 साल की उम्र में शास्त्रीय बैले को अलविदा कहते हैं। उन्होंने अपने करियर का अधिकांश समय यूके में बिताया है और सरकार के लिए उनका एक संदेश है-कि भविष्य की ब्रिटिश नृत्य प्रतिभा को खोजने के लिए विभिन्न पृष्ठभूमि के लोगों को मुफ्त प्रशिक्षण प्राप्त करने के लिए और अधिक करना चाहिए। उनका मानना है कि इससे पेशे में अभिजात वर्ग का अंत हो जाएगा।


Motherwell split on identity ahead of independence vote

Summary: I first went to Scotland as a teenager on a school trip on a sailing training course. Pembrokeshire to Glasgow by train was the longest rail journey I had ever undertaken. It took the best part of 18 hours - much of it overnight.

By Jamie OwenBBC Wales Today presenter: Gauging opinion on Scottish independence and investigating whether independence is on the agenda in Wales Thirty years on, I remember the sheer distance I had travelled from home on my own. Scotland was another country. Thirty years on, I'm back in Scotland and the political landscape is being reshaped. From Cardiff, it's a six-hour drive to Motherwell in North Lanarkshire. My home in Wales is only two hours from Westminster - London is a day trip away. But Scotland is much further from the seat of UK government power. It's an obvious thing to say but Scotland's geographical distance from London also partly explains why Wales is so far from Scotland's independence vote. We're geographically closer to London and perhaps still politically closer to Westminster. In six months, Scotland will vote on independence. But I want to know why Scotland's nationalists are in government and powerful enough to offer the prospect of independence and yet in Wales, voters have largely ignored nationalism and independence doesn't appear to be on the radar. I've come to Motherwell to the site of Ravenscraig steelworks to meet Colin Fox, leader of the Scottish Socialist Party. His grandfathers and uncles worked here before British Steel mothballed the plant. Like Welsh towns including Ebbw Vale, Motherwell's wealth and purpose almost disappeared overnight. Colin tells me: "Scotland watched as British Steel pulled out. Without British Steel in Motherwell, Motherwell stopped looking to Britain and defined its future - not as British - but as Scottish." He says, if Scotland votes yes in the referendum - the campaigners will owe a debt of gratitude to Margaret Thatcher and her government's industrial policy in the 1980s. He says, Ravenscraig's closure explains the Conservative Party's virtual annihilation in these parts but what is significant is that increasing numbers of disaffected working class voters placed their trust not in Labour but in the Scottish National Party (SNP). These days, the SNP is in government in Scotland, and recipients of support from those who might have once backed Labour. Despite a generation of the Scotland-educated Tony Blair and Gordon Brown dominating Labour at Westminster, Scotland's political compass is set by the SNP. So why is Scotland voting on independence - and yet Wales not even mentioning the word? Early in the morning, Glasgow University is my first stop of the day to find answers to Scotland's journey to a referendum. Prof Duncan Ross, has granted me his first tutorial. Why does he think independence is on the agenda in Scotland but unspoken of in Wales? He says Scotland was never conquered and to this day views itself as a sovereign country with its own long-standing legal and education system. Its institutions' age gives the country a confidence and swagger of a dominant neighbour that Wales can only dream about. Scotland's experience of Westminster's political parties is viewed as highly centralised, distant and reluctant to devolve power. Devolution delivered Prof Ross says people who support the yes campaign say Scotland has the wealth to see it through - but there is something else in the mix too. Devolution has been a success here. The SNP's stewardship of Scotland's health, education and inward investment has been successful. Even some of the government's critics will tell you Alex Salmond's government has delivered on devolution. In contrast, in Wales, a recent BBC poll on St David's Day suggested nearly a quarter of people want to abolish the assembly. But don't run away with the thought that everyone in Scotland is about to vote yes. On the other side of Motherwell, in Dryburgh Road, members of the Orange Order, are gathering for the weekly old folks' lunch. Jim McNab is in charge. He's an Orangeman. I ask him if he thinks of himself as British or Scottish? Jim is the first person to tell me that he will leave Scotland if his fellow countrymen vote yes. There's no real equivalent to the Orange Order in Wales, no similar organisation that declares its undying affection to the Union of the United Kingdom. In Scotland, the Orange Order's members are the standard bearers of keeping Britain together. These men and women want to keep the Queen, the monarchy, Westminster's power over Scotland and see off republicanism, separatism, the SNP and independence. The country is plastered in yes campaign posters, but he says the no campaign is keeping its powder dry. Most of the people at the lunch are elderly but representative of a large chunk of Scottish society - those who think devolution has delivered - but want to stop any further constitutional change at the next opportunity. Meanwhile in Motherwell town centre, it looks much the same as every other town in Britain. There's the inevitable pedestrianisation, the string of familiar chain stores, businesses fighting to stay alive in the face of internet shopping and out of town retail. But everywhere you walk there are reminders of the coal and steel industry that once dominated the landscape. The pit-head winding gear sits at the side of a roundabout - the scene so familiar in regeneration towns like Ebbw Vale. For all its similarities to Wales, our shared industrial past, memories of the coal and steel, there is something economically different about Scotland. And that is oil - and whatever the arguments over its future and its value - it is a significant factor fuelling the argument over Scotland's viability as an independent country. Jennifer Winter is 16 years old and joins a generation of young Scots who will be eligible to vote for the first time in this referendum. She is taking part in BBC Scotland's Generation 2014 which follows 50 young people aged 16 or 17 who are eligible to vote in the referendum. We sit round the kitchen table and flick through the encyclopaedia-like book that 16-year-olds have been given to help them decide how to vote. It looks un-thumbed. Her father Brian says he's voting no. His mind is made up. No amount of campaigning or canvassing will sway him now. "Scotland can't afford to go it alone," he says. His view is forget the dreams and the romanticism, this all comes down to money and Scotland can't afford it. And he certainly doesn't think that someone like his daughter, who has never worked and never paid tax, should have a say. Jennifer hasn't decided how to vote. It'll be her decision and not her dad's she says. But she's been interested to watch the interventions of the businesses in Scotland who say they'll pull out if it's a yes. Watch more on Jamie Owen's Postcard from Scotland on BBC Wales Today at 1830 GMT on Tuesday.

मैं पहली बार एक किशोर के रूप में एक नौकायन प्रशिक्षण पाठ्यक्रम पर स्कूल की यात्रा पर स्कॉटलैंड गया था। ट्रेन से पेम्ब्रोकेशायर से ग्लासगो तक की रेल यात्रा सबसे लंबी थी जो मैंने कभी की थी। इसमें 18 घंटे का सबसे अच्छा हिस्सा लगा-इसका अधिकांश हिस्सा रातोंरात था।


Two teens admit stabbing 17-year-old in Telford

Summary: Two teenagers have admitted stabbing a 17-year-old boy, on what was set to be the first day of their trial.

The victim was taken to hospital after being found injured in Waltondale, Woodside, in Telford, in February. Connor Shepherd, 18, of Willowfield, Telford and a 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, both admitted wounding with intent and carrying a bladed weapon. The pair will be sentenced at a later date. At the hearing on Monday, Judge Jonathan Gosling advised the pair they would be facing long custodial sentences. Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, and sign up for local news updates direct to your phone.

दो किशोरों ने एक 17 वर्षीय लड़के को चाकू मारने की बात स्वीकार की है, जो उनके मुकदमे के पहले दिन होने वाला था।


Police search for man who stamped on and killed seagull in St Helier

Summary: Officers from the States of Jersey Police are looking for a man who stamped on a seagull in St Helier.

The police said the bird had died from its injuries. The incident happened outside Burger Palace in Mulcaster Street at about 00:45 BST. A spokesperson from the police force appealed for information from witnesses and urged "the female who was seen with the male at the time of the incident to come forward".

जर्सी राज्य पुलिस के अधिकारी एक ऐसे व्यक्ति की तलाश कर रहे हैं जिसने सेंट हेलियर में एक सीगल पर मुहर लगा दी थी।


Two held over 'serious assault' in Swansea city centre

Summary: Two people have been arrested following a serious assault which left a man in hospital.

South Wales Police said it was called to High Street, Swansea, near to the disused Palace Theatre, at about 15:10 BST. The injured man was taken by air ambulance to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. The force said a man and woman had been arrested in connection with the incident.

गंभीर हमले के बाद दो लोगों को गिरफ्तार किया गया है, जिसमें एक व्यक्ति को अस्पताल में भर्ती कराया गया है।


Breck Bednar stab death: Lewis Daynes denies murder

Summary: A teenager has denied murdering a 14-year-old boy from Surrey, who was stabbed to death in Essex.

Breck Bednar, from Caterham, Surrey, was found with a neck wound at a flat in Grays, Essex, in February. Lewis Daynes, 18, a computer engineer from Rosebery Road, Grays appeared at the Old Bailey where he entered a not guilty plea. He was remanded in custody ahead of a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court in November.

एक किशोर ने सरे के एक 14 वर्षीय लड़के की हत्या से इनकार किया है, जिसे एसेक्स में चाकू मारकर मार दिया गया था।