Japan's ninjas heading for extinction

Summary: Japan's era of shoguns and samurai is long over, but the country does have one, or maybe two, surviving ninjas. Experts in the dark arts of espionage and silent assassination, ninjas passed skills from father to son - but today's say they will be the last.

By Mariko OiBBC News, Japan Tools of a dying art Japan's ninjas were all about mystery. Hired by noble samurai warriors to spy, sabotage and kill, their dark outfits usually covered everything but their eyes, leaving them virtually invisible in shadow - until they struck. Using weapons such as shuriken, a sharpened star-shaped projectile, and the fukiya blowpipe, they were silent but deadly. Ninjas were also famed swordsmen. They used their weapons not just to kill but to help them climb stone walls, to sneak into a castle or observe their enemies. Most of their missions were secret so there are very few official documents detailing their activities. Their tools and methods were passed down for generations by word of mouth. This has allowed filmmakers, novelists and comic artists to use their wild imagination. Hollywood movies such as Enter the Ninja and American Ninja portray them as superhumans who could run on water or disappear in the blink of an eye. "That is impossible because no matter how much you train, ninjas were people," laughs Jinichi Kawakami, Japan's last ninja grandmaster, according to the Iga-ryu ninja museum. However, ninjas did apparently have floats that enabled them move across water in a standing position. Kawakami is the 21st head of the Ban family, one of 53 that made up the Koka ninja clan. He started learning ninjutsu (ninja techniques) when he was six, from his master, Masazo Ishida. "I thought we were just playing and didn't think I was learning ninjutsu," he says. "I even wondered if he was training me to be a thief because he taught me how to walk quietly and how to break into a house." Other skills that he mastered include making explosives and mixing medicines. "I can still mix some herbs to create poison which doesn't necessarily kill but can make one believe that they have a contagious disease," he says. Kawakami inherited the clan's ancient scrolls when he was 18. While it was common for these skills to be passed down from father to son, many young men were also adopted into the ninja clans. There were at least 49 of these but Mr Kawakami's Koka clan and the neighbouring Iga clan remain two of the most famous thanks to their work for powerful feudal lords such as Ieyasu Tokugawa - who united Japan after centuries of civil wars when he won the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. It is during the Tokugawa era - known as Edo - when official documents make brief references to ninjas' activities. "They weren't just killers like some people believe from the movies," says Kawakami. In fact, they had day jobs. "Because you cannot make a living being a ninja," he laughs. There are many theories about these day jobs. Some ninjas are believed to have been farmers, and others pedlars who used their day jobs to spy. "We believe some became samurai during the Edo period," says Kawakami. "They had to be categorised under the four caste classes set by the Tokugawa government: warrior, farmers, artisan and merchants." As for the 21st Century ninja, Kawakami is a trained engineer. In his suit, he looks like any other Japanese businessman. The title of "Japan's last ninja", however, may not be his alone. Eighty-year-old Masaaki Hatsumi says he is the leader of another surviving ninja clan - the Togakure clan. Hatsumi is the founder of an international martial arts organisation called Bujinkan, with more than 300,000 trainees worldwide. "They include military and police personnel abroad," he tells me at one of his training halls, known as dojo, in the town of Noda in Chiba prefecture. It is a small town and not a place you would expect to see many foreigners. But the dojo, big enough for 48 tatami mats, is full of trainees who are glued to every move that Hatsumi makes. His actions are not big, occasionally with some weapons, but mainly barehanded. Hatsumi explains to his pupils how those small moves can be used to take enemies out. Paul Harper from the UK is one of many dedicated followers. For a quarter of a century, he has been coming to Hatsumi for a few weeks of lessons every year. "Back in the early 80s, there were various martial art magazines and I was studying Karate at the time and I came across some articles about Bujinkan," he says. "This looked much more complex and a complete form of martial arts where all facets were covered so I wanted to expand my experience." Harper says his master's ninja heritage interested him at the start but "when you come to understand how the training and techniques of Bujinkan work, the ninja heritage became much less important". Hatsumi's reputation doesn't stop there. He has contributed to countless films as a martial arts adviser, including the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, and continues to practise ninja techniques. Both Kawakami and Hatsumi are united on one point. Neither will appoint anyone to take over as the next ninja grandmaster. "In the age of civil wars or during the Edo period, ninjas' abilities to spy and kill, or mix medicine may have been useful," Kawakami says. "But we now have guns, the internet and much better medicines, so the art of ninjutsu has no place in the modern age." As a result, he has decided not to take a protege. He simply teaches ninja history part-time at Mie University. Despite having so many pupils, Mr Hatsumi, too, has decided not to select an heir. "My students will continue to practice some of the techniques that were used by ninjas, but [a person] must be destined to succeed the clan." There is no such person, he says. The ninjas will not be forgotten. But the once-feared secret assassins are now remembered chiefly through fictional characters in cartoons, movies and computer games, or as a tourist attractions. The museum in the city of Iga welcomes visitors from across the world where a trained group, called Ashura, entertains them with an hourly performance of ninja tricks. Unlike the silent art of ninjutsu, the shows that school children and foreign visitors watch today are loud and exciting. The mystery has gone even before the last ninja has died. You can follow the Magazine on Twitter and on Facebook Mariko Oi's radio report on the last ninja can be heard on the BBC World Service's Outlook programme. Download the Outlook podcast here.

जापान में शोगुन और समुराई का युग बहुत पहले खत्म हो चुका है, लेकिन देश में एक या दो निंजा बचे हुए हैं। जासूसी और मूक हत्या के काले कला के विशेषज्ञ, निंजा ने पिता से बेटे को कौशल दिया-लेकिन आज के लोग कहते हैं कि वे आखिरी होंगे।


Nigeria's Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in profile

Summary: Abubakar Shekau is the leader of the Nigerian militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which been behind a deadly insurgency in the north-east of the country for the last five years. Nigeria analyst Abdullahi Tasiu Abubakar looks at the country's most-wanted man, who has been designated a terrorist by the US government.

Boko Haram's leader is said to be a fearless loner, a complex, paradoxical man - part-theologian, part-gangster. Since he took over, Boko Haram has become more radical and carried out more killings. Perhaps the most shocking revelation about him was the video clip of him laughing as he admitted the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in April 2014, promising to sell them. "I abducted your girls," he said. "I will sell them in the market, by Allah. I will sell them off and marry them off." Fondly called imam or leader by his followers, Abubakar Muhammad Shekau was born in Shekau village in Nigeria's north-eastern state of Yobe. Some say he is in his late 30s, others believe he is in his mid-40s - the uncertainty adds to the myths surrounding him. The US government has offered a reward of up to $7m (£4.6m) for information about his location. Radical theology student Shekau was once said to have been killed by security forces in 2009 - only for him to reappear in videos posted on the internet less than a year later as Boko Haram's new leader. Similar subsequent claims of his death also turned out to be false. The group's founder, Muhammad Yusuf, died in police custody in July 2009, and hundreds of others were killed during that massive crackdown - which many blame for making the group even more violent. Shekau has not been seen in public since. Instead, still images and video clips of him are released from time to time, mostly online, by the group's faceless "public enlightenment department". Shekau is said to have met his predecessor in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state and Boko Haram's then-stronghold, through a mutual friend, Mamman Nur. Nigeria's authorities say Nur masterminded the August 2011 bombing of the UN office complex in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. All three were theology students - and Shekau was seen as the quietest and perhaps the most radical of them. "He hardly talks, he is fearless," says Ahmed Salkida, a journalist with such good access to Boko Haram that, at one stage, he was suspected of being a member. He says he only escaped summary execution by police in Maiduguri after an intelligence officer intervened. "He is one of those who believes that you can sacrifice anything for your belief," Mr Salkida says. 'Aping of Osama Bin Laden' Shekau is fluent in his native Kanuri language, as well as Hausa and Arabic. He now also adds English sentences in the tapes his group releases to journalists. When Muhammad Yusuf was killed, Shekau is said to have married one of his four wives and adopted their children - perhaps, say sources who do not want to be named, to preserve Boko Haram's cohesion or "purity". The group has a highly decentralised structure - the unifying force appears to be ideology, though many believe that they are now more interested in vengeance than in ideology. Shekau does not communicate directly with the group's foot soldiers - he is said to wield his power through a few select cell leaders, but even then contact is minimal. "A lot of those calling themselves leaders in the group do not even have contact with him," Mr Salkida says. Shekau has neither the charismatic streak nor the oratorical skills of his predecessor - but he has an intense ideological commitment and ruthlessness, say people who study the group. "He is the leader of the more militant wing of the group as testified by his aping of Osama Bin Laden in his video appearances," says Abubakar Mu'azu from the University of Maiduguri. Shekau issued a chilling message in one of those appearances - which provides a major insight into what his leadership of the group will bring. "I enjoy killing anyone that God commands me to kill - the way I enjoy killing chickens and rams," he said in the video clip released just after Boko Haram had carried out one of its deadliest attacks, in January 2012, killing more than 180 people in Kano, northern Nigeria's largest city. Boko Haram at a glance Who are Boko Haram? Why Nigeria has not defeated Boko Haram Shekau is also the group's spiritual leader - and, judging by video footage, he seems equally comfortable delivering sermons to his followers. "He has a photographic memory and is well-versed in theology," Mr Salkida said. His followers nickname him "Darul Tawheed", which translates as a specialist in Tawheed. This is an orthodox doctrine of the uniqueness and oneness of Allah, which is the very cornerstone of Islam. But Nigeria's mainstream Muslim clerics do not regard Shekau as a scholar and question his understanding of Islam. They regularly condemn the bombings and drive-by shootings committed by his followers against anyone who disagrees with them.

अबुबकर शेकाउ नाइजीरियाई उग्रवादी इस्लामी समूह बोको हराम का नेता है, जो पिछले पांच वर्षों से देश के उत्तर-पूर्व में एक घातक विद्रोह के पीछे है। नाइजीरिया के विश्लेषक अब्दुल्लाही तसीउ अबुबकर देश के सबसे वांछित व्यक्ति को देखते हैं, जिसे अमेरिकी सरकार द्वारा आतंकवादी घोषित किया गया है।


Two dead in Easter Monday Somersham house fire

Summary: A man and a woman have died in a house fire.

The blaze broke out in Queens Road in Somersham, Cambridgeshire, at about 20:00 BST on Monday. The two people died at the scene, police said. Neighbouring houses were evacuated as the firefighters spent about three hours tackling the blaze. Police said they were not treating the fire as suspicious. The cause is not yet known and the fire service is continuing its investigation. More on this and other news from Cambridgeshire

एक घर में आग लगने से एक पुरुष और एक महिला की मौत हो गई है।


Banning the Uluru climb: 'This rock means everything to us'

Summary: For decades the Anangu people in central Australia have asked tourists not to climb Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock, because of its sacred value. From next year, scaling the giant monolith will be banned. The BBC's Rebecca Henschke reports on why the rock is so significant, and discovers her own personal link along the way.

"When tourists come they just see this one big beautiful rock in the centre of Australia. But this rock means everything to us Anangu." Pamela Taylor stares up at the mighty rock. She is one of the traditional owners of Uluru and a holder of the ancient sacred stories that are enshrined within it. "The rock has got a lot of stories," she says as we sit down in the red sand. "Some of them I can't tell you. [They are] too sacred or we will be in trouble - I will be in trouble. Some I tell so people like you can understand." The stories are passed down orally as precious inheritance through families. The Anangu believe that in the beginning, the world was unformed and featureless. Ancestral beings emerged from this void and travelled across the land, creating all living species and forms. Uluru is the physical evidence of the feats performed by ancestral beings during this creation time. Ms Taylor points to a deep cave high in the rock. "Blue tongue lizard lives right up the top there," she says. Her family holds the story of Lungkata, a greedy and dishonest blue-tongue lizard ancestral being, who came to Uluru from the north and stole meat from Emu. When Emu followed him back to his cave, Lungkata ignored him. "He went back to sleep, pretending he was asleep. Emu got very angry and made a fire and it went right up into the cave and the smoke blocked him and he fell down," Ms Taylor says. She points to a huge blue patch that runs down from the cave. That is where his burnt body rolled down and left a mark, she says. "He did bad things by going around stealing. That's why we tell the children not to go around stealing things, because they will get punishment like Lungkata." "I tell [the] story about that to my grandsons, so they learn." The tale of Kuniya The caves, lines and marks on the rock all have deep meaning, and stories that tell how they were created. The family of Sammy Wilson, another traditional owner, holds the story of Kuniya, a woman python at Uluru. She fought Liru, a poisonous snake, at Uluru, to protect her nephew. Signs of that ferocious battle are all around a waterhole at the base of the rock, he says. Mr Wilson points out Kuniya herself in the stone, the image of her python head turning to look back. "When you go to a city, you find parks with statues of someone who has done something important," he says. "Well this is equivalent of a statue like that. This is what we have in our country to show us our past." And elders say that when you climb Uluru, you are on the traditional route taken by ancestral Mala men - a path of deep spiritual significance. Ignoring Anangu wishes "Tourists are like ants up and down every day, climbing up and down," says Ms Taylor. "Their shoes they are scraping away at the rock, little by little bit. It's now like a rope when you see it from far away. It wasn't meant to be like that." Signs in six languages at the base of Uluru ask people not to climb the rock, explaining that it violates traditional law. But despite that, every day that I have been here a steady stream of people have gone up. Many have come to climb it before it is closed next year. One tourist from Queensland, Pamela, says she read the signs. But she says: "I am going to do it anyway because this will be the last chance, because next year they are closing it off and next year I will be too old." She admits she hasn't thought too much about the sacred nature of the rock. "It's because of my ego I want to climb it," she says. "I just turned 70 and I have two replacement knees and I want to see if I can do it." For Mr Wilson, it's a painful thing to watch. "Sometimes it feels like I could be talking and talking until I am exhausted and worn out and some people would still not understand," he says. "We have been talking for so long about wanting to have it closed, that some of our elders have passed away." Ending the climb Mr Wilson is a member of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Board, which jointly manages the national park. In a historic vote last year, its board of 12 people - including eight Anangu elders - decided to end the climb. "I was there on that day, and there were tears in people's eyes. Not just Anangu, but people who have been here for many, many years," says Steve Baldwin, manager of the Uluru and Kata-Tjuta Park Operations and Visitor Service. "Everyone felt so relieved that finally it's being closed," he adds. So why has it taken so long? "Anangu are very mindful that for tourism, there are many people who want to climb Uluru," he says. "And that's why you have the lead time of two years. They have done things the right way." But for the Anangu people, mass tourism on their land hasn't been done the right way for decades. It was not until 1979 that they were recognised as traditional owners of this land - despite living there for more than 40,000 years. It took another six years to be presented with the freehold title deeds for the area - an event known as the "Handback". And it was not until 2001 that there was an official Anangu ranger of the park. The threat of losing tourism felt like a gun being held to their head, says Mr Wilson. "That's what it felt like - people trying to stop us from expressing ourselves," he says. "[They were] stopping us from doing what we needed to do - what we felt was right - so we just asked, please put that gun aside so that we can talk properly." Mr Wilson has set up his own tourism company for visitors to see the land through the eyes of the Anangu people. "This is our country here and we want people to come and learn from us and how sacred it is," he says. My family I grew up on Anēwan land, in Armidale, in an area of European settlers called New England. But my family on my father's side were among the first settlers to come from Europe to South Australia. And while I was working on this story I realised I had a much closer connection to Uluru, or Ayers Rock, than I had realised. In 1873, when European explorer William Gosse came across the giant rock in the middle of the desert, he named it after the chief secretary of South Australia at the time, Henry Ayers, who is my great great great great uncle. He married my ancestor Lady Anne Ayers. I tell Mr Wilson that I am sorry for that ignorant act and my family's role in disrespecting the indigenous people of this land. His reaction surprises me. He is excited - because he says his great great grandfather met Mr Gosse. "He wrote down my ancestor's name down too! The blue tongue lizard ancestor," he says. "I have no idea why they gave it that name (Ayers Rock). White fellows seem to give names randomly," he laughs. Later I tell another Anangu elder, Alison Hunt, and apologise again for my family's role. "Oh, that's interesting!" she says. "But Aboriginal people don't hold grudges, because that was done in the past," she adds, kindly. "Now today Aboriginal people want to walk together with non-indigenous people and develop that understanding, and that trust about what happened rather than living in the past," she says, while giving me a cuddle. "We all about coming together." Last year about 300 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people came together at Uluru, to demand real legal and political recognition and power as the first peoples of Australia. The Australian government later rejected a proposal to form a body in parliament representing indigenous peoples. The response drew criticism from Aboriginal leaders. More than 200 years since the British invasion, Australia remains the only Commonwealth country to have never signed a treaty with its first inhabitants. "Government and people should respect and recognise that we are the first people of the land," says Ms Hunt. Next generation To the rhythm of clapping sticks, Ms Hunt sways, slowly moving forward, sliding her feet through the rich red sand, her bare breasts painted with markings. This is an inma, or welcome ceremony for tourists who are here for a cultural festival called Tjungu that showcases indigenous music and arts from across the country. Also performing is a schoolgirl drumming group Drum Atweme. Speaking to the girls after the show, it's clear that despite enormous pressure the sacred stories are being passed on. "When I go to the rock and see the paintings in the cave I felt like my great great great grandfather is right beside me," says 11-year-old Tilley. "We are not allowed to go on the rock or you will be sick because you are stepping on your culture and on your dreaming." With the closing of the climb, the elders hope visitors can spend more time talking with them to understand this. "There will be more time to sit and talk like we are doing here - right now there is not enough of this kind of talking," says Ms Taylor. Reclaiming the Rock will air on the BBC News channel on Saturday 30 June at 0930 and 2130 (GMT), and Sunday 1 July at 0230 and 1530 (GMT), and at various times across the weekend on BBC World. You can also listen to Rebecca Henschke's World Service documentary on the BBC World Service website.

दशकों से मध्य ऑस्ट्रेलिया में अनंगु लोगों ने पर्यटकों से उलुरु, जिसे पहले आयर्स रॉक के नाम से जाना जाता था, पर चढ़ाई न करने के लिए कहा है, क्योंकि इसका पवित्र मूल्य है। अगले साल से, विशाल मोनोलिथ पर चढ़ाई पर प्रतिबंध लगा दिया जाएगा। बीबीसी की रेबेका हेंस्के ने बताया कि चट्टान इतनी महत्वपूर्ण क्यों है, और रास्ते में अपनी व्यक्तिगत कड़ी का पता लगाती है।


Joe Pooley river death: Ipswich man and woman bailed

Summary: Two people have been bailed over the suspected murder of a man with learning difficulties found dead in a river.

Joe Pooley was found on 13 August in the River Gipping, near Suffolk Retail Park, in Ipswich. Post-mortem tests found the 22-year-old had drowned. A man, 30, and a woman, 24, both from the town, were arrested on Thursday and have been bailed until the 12 and 14 February respectively. Three others have all been released under investigation. A 29-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of murder, while a 36-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

नदी में मृत पाए गए सीखने में कठिनाई वाले व्यक्ति की संदिग्ध हत्या के मामले में दो लोगों को जमानत दी गई है।


The US inmates charged per night in jail

Summary: A widespread practice in the US known as "pay to stay" charges jail inmates a daily fee while they are incarcerated. For those who are in and out of the local county or city lock-ups - particularly those struggling with addiction - that can lead to sky-high debts.

By Jessica LussenhopBBC News Magazine David Mahoney is $21,000 (£13,650) in debt. Not from credit cards. Not from school loans. He's accumulated the massive tab because of the days he spent locked up in the local jail in Marion, Ohio, which is a small town with a major heroin epidemic. Mahoney, a lanky 41-year-old, has struggled with addiction since he was a teenager, eventually stealing to fuel his habit. He got caught a lot, even burgling the same bar twice. "The urge to use cocaine and crack - that's what it led to it. Once I start using there's no going back for me," he says. Today, he's 14 months sober, and is a resident and employee of the Arnita Pittman Community Recovery Center, a sober living house on the northern edge of town. His counsellor says he is doing "awesome" and he hopes to one day to become an addiction counsellor himself. But while Mahoney may have left his habits behind, he can't shake his debt. It has accumulated over 15 years of trouble with the law and is a separate charge from the restitution he must pay to the victims he stole from, or any administrative costs he has incurred by going to court. It comes from a daily "pay-to-stay" fee - sometimes called "pay for stay" - that he was charged by the local jail, the Multi-County Correctional Center. He was charged $50 each day he spent in jail, plus a $100 booking fee. It works almost as if he checked into a hotel and got a bill when he checked out. "Obviously, it's my fault I'm in the situation I am in. I'm trying to start over," he says. "People that end up in jail are usually down on their luck anyway. They're going through some trials and tribulations in life. Why focus on the people who are already struggling?" He is not alone - the guy that lives down the hall from him at the sober living house owes nearly $22,000. Yet a third resident has them both beat at $35,000. Anecdotally (and confirmed by the Multi-County jail's administrator) they know of at least one other man in town who owes $50,000. "I got collection people calling on it," says Brian Reed, the man with the $35,000 tab. "I just get hopeless." Combined, five residents of the tiny Arnita Pittman Center represent over $100,000 worth of pay-to-stay debt. None of them believe they will ever be able to pay it off. Both Reed and Mahoney are still paying off their fines and restitution, not to mention school and medical bills. They're working on their other debts, but they don't see the point of putting money towards their pay-to-stay. Even Marion County Sheriff Tim Bailey, who is supportive of the fees, was surprised when he heard how high some of the debts had climbed. "Wow," he told BBC News. "That's outrageous." There's an estimated $10bn worth of criminal justice debt in the US, held by 10m men and women who have had some interaction with the criminal justice system. It's a type of debt that's not well understood or studied. Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio released the first comprehensive study looking specifically at pay-to-stay policies and how they are used in the state. At a press conference, the legal group called for the practice to be eradicated. "Pay-to-stay jail fees devastate prisoners and their families," said Mike Brickner, the group's senior policy director, in a prepared statement. After requesting records from all 75 city and county lock-ups in Ohio, the study shows that 40 charge per diem fees in a patchwork style. Where you are arrested and jailed can make a huge difference in whether and how many fees are assessed - the fees affect mostly rural and suburban counties, and some charge as little as $1 or as much as $66 a day. The ACLU found former inmates with debts ranging from several hundred dollars up to $35,000. "We're hearing from people who are claiming this is going on their credit scores and preventing them from doing all sorts of things," says Brickner. According to Lauren-Brooke Eisen, senior counsel in the Brennan Center's Justice Program at New York University's School of Law, these types of fees are legal in nearly every state - only Washington DC and Hawaii do not have a law authorising pay-to-stay charges. Her group is working on a multi-year project to show what the revenue and costs are of these programmes around the country, but at the present time the practice remains largely unexamined. "You're really shifting the onus onto the poorest members of our society in the justice system. If they can't pay their family members pay, or their grandmothers pay," she says. In the aftermath of Ferguson, courts around the country from Michigan to Texas have been called out for using law enforcement as a revenue-generating arm of the local government. Brickner says pay-to-stay policies are just another example of attempting to make money off poor people caught in the criminal justice system. "They simply don't work. People are coming out of jail with hundreds or thousands of dollars' worth of debt, and if you are a returning citizen, having that is just another albatross around your neck," he says. "It's a programme that maybe feels good to people who have a tough on crime mentality, but in fact it's sort of a fruitless exercise." Dale Osborne, the jail administrator at the Multi-County Correctional Facility, makes the same argument for pay-to-stay that's been made since the practice became legal in Ohio in the mid-90s. "It offsets the expenses that the taxpayers are required to have," he says. "The more revenue I can generate within a facility, the less the taxpayers have to pay." But he admits that while the programme bills for about $2m a year, they collect only about $60,000-$70,000. That's about a 3% collection rate. "If we lost the ability to have a pay-for-stay programme here I'm not going to have any huge heartache over the loss of it," he says. The sum that is able to be collected doesn't go straight into the county coffers, either - the jail contracts with a company called Intellitech Corporation, which acts as a collections agent, sending letters and making phone calls to former inmates. If the debtor sends a check to Intellitech or arranges a payment plan with them, 30% of the money goes to the county and 70% goes to Intellitech. According to the company's president, John Jacobs, Intellitech runs pay-to-stay programs in 12 counties in Ohio and in six other states. He says that by becoming the "Walmart" of pay-to-stay collections, his company makes the practice viable for counties. "It's something we'll continue to do because we believe in it," he says, calling it "a win for the taxpayers and a win for the sheriff." Other jurisdictions around the country have opted to run pay-for-stay programmes for themselves. Macomb County, Michigan, has one of the oldest programmes, and in the past reported that the practice has collected $18m over 26 years. But Sheriff Tony Wickersham says that revenue has dropped off since 2009, and in the last three years collected only an average of $240,000 a year with two full-time staffers running it. The cost of running it is almost equal to what they bring in, he says. Many counties who've had similar results or even operated the programme at a loss have abandoned the practice. Others say even the small amounts yielded are worth the effort, and one programme in Dakota County, Minnesota, specifically puts all its pay-to-stay revenue into programmes to assist with prisoner re-entry. "Our goal is to reduce recidivism. If we can use that money to turn around and not see them again it's well worth it," says chief deputy Joe Leko. In a 2005 study of 224 local jails across the country, researchers found that while per-day fees generated millions in revenue, jail administrators rated the practice as their "most effective" policy almost as often as they cited it as their "least effective" policy. How strictly counties choose to go after outstanding debts varies quite a bit as well. Many debtors around the state interviewed by the ACLU of Ohio described "collections agents as very aggressive and the threat of credit reporting was used," says Brickner. The study found that 26 counties in the state pursue debts with collections. In Michigan, Macomb County's website says that it "often uses legal action and or collections agencies. We sue approximately 1,200 cases per year…We have garnished wages, bank accounts, and tax refunds. We have filed and collected with execution against property (taken vehicles, boats, mobile homes, etc)". Wickersham says they only pursue cases where the inmate has found employment after release. Although Intellitech acts as a collections agent for its clients, Jacobs says they do not report any of the debt to credit reporting agencies. In a national survey, jail administrators around the country were split as to whether or not they believed collections processes were worth pursuing. Brickner of the ACLU argues that regardless of whether or not debts are aggressively pursued, the practice is fundamentally flawed. "Nationally and here in Ohio we are really in a place where we want to see reform of our criminal justice system," he says. "I'm really hopeful that through the data and through these stories people will see this is a policy that just doesn't work. There are better things we can do here in Ohio." Both Mahoney and Reed say their families have stepped in over the years to try to pay down the debt, but at this point they have stopped. Mahoney is concentrating on his school debt so that he can go back to class and finish his associate degree. Although he says he has little hope that his pay-to-stay debt will ever be wiped out, he hopes the practice will fall out of favour. "I would love to see it stopped and quit affecting people's live by charging them for being down and out," he says. Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

अमेरिका में "रहने के लिए भुगतान" के रूप में जानी जाने वाली एक व्यापक प्रथा जेल के कैदियों से जेल में रहने के दौरान दैनिक शुल्क लेती है। उन लोगों के लिए जो स्थानीय काउंटी या शहर के लॉक-अप में हैं और बाहर हैं-विशेष रूप से जो नशे की लत से जूझ रहे हैं-जो भारी ऋण का कारण बन सकते हैं।


Bravery award for Rhoose school crash lollipop lady

Summary: A lollipop lady who stepped in front of an out-of-control car to protect schoolchildren has received an award for her bravery.

Karin Williams from Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan, was injured along with five children and three adults outside Rhws Primary School in July 2013. On Wednesday, she was presented with a Royal Humane Society bronze medal for her actions. The driver of the car was found guilty of careless driving in May 2014.

स्कूली बच्चों की सुरक्षा के लिए एक अनियंत्रित कार के सामने कदम रखने वाली एक लॉलीपॉप महिला को उनकी बहादुरी के लिए पुरस्कार मिला है।


Tonypandy fire: Crews battle blaze across four premises

Summary: About 35 firefighters have been tackling a blaze spread across four premises in the Rhondda valleys town of Tonypandy.

Emergency crews from South Wales Fire and Rescue were called to the properties at Dunraven Street at 19:45 BST on Thursday evening. The fire involved floors above commercial properties in the street. There have been no reports of any injuries and roads in the area have been closed to traffic. The fire is thought to have started in the ground floor of an empty shop and travelled up through a flat above and into the roof before next door premises caught light. Crews from Tonypandy, Treorchy, Gilfach Goch were initially called in, followed by a request for more resources from Cardiff, including an aerial platform, while a water bowser has also been brought in from Aberbargoed.

लगभग 35 अग्निशामक टोनीपैंडी के रोंडा घाटी शहर में चार परिसरों में फैली आग पर काबू पा रहे हैं।


Elderly couple found dead in Torquay house

Summary: A man and a woman in their 80s have been found dead at a house in Devon.

The elderly couple were discovered at the property on Drake Avenue, Torquay, when police were called to check on them at about 11:00 BST. Devon and Cornwall Police said it was investigating the circumstances surrounding their deaths. The force said it would "like to reassure the local community no-one else is being looked for in relation to this incident at this time". Related Internet Links Devon and Cornwall Police

डेवोन में एक घर में 80 के दशक में एक पुरुष और एक महिला मृत पाए गए हैं।


Morocco train crash: Rabat derailment 'kills four'

Summary: At least four people died and dozens more were injured when a train derailed near Morocco's capital Rabat, reports say.

Reuters news agency quotes an official who says up to eight people may have died, with 80 more injured. The incident occurred in Bouknadel, on the Atlantic coast between the capital and the city of Kenitra. Social media images after the crash show a train carriage flipped on its side, with debris strewn on the tracks. Earlier reports in the Moroccan press suggested that two trains had collided.

मोरक्को की राजधानी रबात के पास एक ट्रेन के पटरी से उतरने से कम से कम चार लोगों की मौत हो गई और दर्जनों लोग घायल हो गए।


NHS strike talks to resume on Friday

Summary: Talks aimed at averting strikes by NHS staff in England will resume on Friday after being adjourned on Wednesday evening, unions have said.

Union leaders met Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt for a second time to try to resolve the pay dispute. Industrial action remains on for 29 January, as unions criticise ministers for not accepting a recommended 1% pay rise for all NHS staff. Unison's Christina McAnea said unions were willing to continue with talks. But she added: "The industrial action planned for next week will go ahead unless a fair pay deal for NHS workers can be reached." Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, Mr Hunt said: "The public will find it hard to understand why unions are taking this action when services are under pressure." Several NHS walkouts were staged across the country last year.

यूनियनों ने कहा है कि इंग्लैंड में एन. एच. एस. कर्मचारियों द्वारा हड़ताल को टालने के उद्देश्य से बातचीत बुधवार शाम को स्थगित होने के बाद शुक्रवार को फिर से शुरू होगी।


New visitor car park at Queen's Medical Centre

Summary: A new 150-space visitors' car park is to open at a hospital in Nottingham.

It will be on the site of a former multi-storey car park that was demolished because of safety fears at the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC). The car park, which opens on Monday, is part of a £3m revamp of parking facilities at the QMC and at the City Hospital over the next two years. Danny Mortimer, of Nottingham University Hospitals Trust, said the lack of spaces had been a problem.

नॉटिंघम के एक अस्पताल में एक नया 150-स्पेस आगंतुकों का कार पार्क खोला जाना है।


Coronavirus crisis tests Putin's grip on power in Russia

Summary: They're still baking at the Factory of Happiness.

By Sarah RainsfordBBC News, Moscow Staff in face masks sprinkle nuts and berries on to buns and pipe chocolate into pastries, but only a handful are left working the production line and their creations are for takeaway only now. The coronavirus lockdown has forced the firm to close its chain of family-friendly cafes, leaving the business struggling to stay afloat. But its owner says the state isn't holding out any lifelines. So when Anastasia Tatulova came face-to-face with Russia's president, she didn't hold back. "I'll try to beg for your help without crying, but this really is a tragedy," she told Vladimir Putin last month, informing him that "half-measures" of support would not work. As Covid-19 restrictions began kicking in and companies shed staff, Ms Tatulova found herself in the front row at a meeting between entrepreneurs and the president. Her passionate 12-minute takedown was shown live on state television. "At that moment, I just needed him to hear me," the businesswoman explained recently, saying she was barely sleeping now - constantly conjuring up new ways to survive. "I thought he understood. But there've been no results, and the government's measures are not enough. We just have to manage, ourselves." With the International Monetary Fund predicting the worst global recession since the 1930s Great Depression, Russia's economy is clearly not immune. Neither are its politicians, including President Putin. He has crafted an image for himself over his long rule as the leader who lifted Russia out of the post-Soviet chaos to bring order and prosperity. Mr Putin had planned to play on that trademark "stability" this week by winning a nationwide vote to alter the constitution and clear his way to stay in power for another two terms. But the ballot was reluctantly postponed, judged too dangerous at the height of a pandemic. Now, some sense problems ahead for the president. "The paternalistic Russian state… can't implement their promises. They can't help people, can't help business," argued Andrei Kolesnikov of the Moscow Carnegie Centre think-tank. The bulk of state help and handouts is being directed at big business: more employees, more critical for Russia's economy - and less critical of its president. It has left others feeling abandoned. "I can't predict a catastrophe for this regime [but] it's a serious challenge to Putin," Mr Kolesnikov suggested, pointing out that the Kremlin has no obvious new rallying cry to distract people from their difficulties. "The pandemic works more efficiently, compared to the political opposition and protesters." There are already some signs of that frustration spreading to Russia's regions, like the virus itself. On Monday, hundreds of people in the southern city of Vladikavkaz came out to rally against the lockdown. The regional government is offering just 3,000 roubles (£32; $40) additional payment to those who lose their jobs. There has also been a scattering of virtual protests using online map applications, where people clustering outside government buildings post messages "demanding" more help. "It feels like a big failure of government right now," Nastya Mikhailova told the BBC from Novosibirsk in Siberia. The 29-year-old just lost her job in events management and only has savings for a couple of weeks. It is thought coronavirus will wipe out some eight million jobs in Russia, before it's done. "I don't feel they are really thinking how to make people happy; we are only worried," Nastya said. President Putin has ordered an increase in the unemployment benefit, but only to subsistence level. As for wage support for companies, Russia is offering to cover some 12,000 roubles a month - a far smaller share than many governments in Europe. It only applies if a firm retains 90% of its staff, which for many smaller companies is impossible. Struggling to pay his own team, the owner of a chain of fitness clubs in Yekaterinburg vented his annoyance, in an online letter to staff. Alexei Romanov accused Vladimir Putin of being "fixated" on his constitutional reform project rather than the coronavirus crisis. He described Russia's political class as "totally lost". "The government measures are nowhere near enough, they won't save us," the businessman told the BBC. "I think they're showing incompetence... We can only rely on ourselves." The Kremlin's spokesman shrugged off a question about the potential political impact of any discontent, saying he disagreed with the very concept. Vladimir Putin, he stressed, was "working every day to take measures to minimise the negative impact" of the pandemic. How long that might last is unclear. At one of Anastasia Tatulova's cafes, the tables are still set with salt and pepper and there are giant stuffed bears propped up in some of the seats. But the doors are firmly shut, with a peak to the epidemic still not in sight. Whatever happens, Ms Tatulova will have no further say in how businesses cope: she was removed from a government advisory group following her unscripted exchange with the president. "They probably worried what I'd say next," she told us, smiling. "I don't think I said anything offensive, though. It's only what everyone there wanted to tell him."

वे अभी भी फ़ैक्टरी ऑफ़ हैप्पीनेस में खाना बना रहे हैं।


Villagers in Herne protest over Tesco Express store

Summary: Campaigners have marched through a Kent village in protest at plans to build a Tesco Express store in a former pub.

They oppose the supermarket giant opening a convenience store at the former Upper Red Lion pub in Herne. Frank Holden, who chairs the Herne Against Tesco group, said it wanted to keep the village free from "corporate business". In a letter to residents, Tesco said it would create about 20 jobs and it had a policy of being "a good neighbour". The company was unavailable for comment on Sunday.

एक पूर्व पब में टेस्को एक्सप्रेस स्टोर बनाने की योजना के विरोध में प्रचारकों ने केंट गांव में मार्च किया है।


Rats driven from South Georgia's wildlife paradise

Summary: They have gone, or so it seems.

Jonathan AmosScience correspondent@BBCAmoson Twitter The biggest rat eradication programme ever undertaken appears to have rid South Georgia island in the South Atlantic of its pest problem. A survey of the British Overseas Territory has found no trace of the rodents that had been attacking the local birdlife. The outcome is a triumph for the South Georgia Heritage Trust, the Scottish charity that led the £10m campaign to protect the biodiversity hotspot. Helicopters were used to systematically drop poison pellets across the island's coastal fringes in three phases starting in 2010/11. But international best practice had required the extermination team to wait two years after the last distribution of rodenticide before assessing its work. That has just now been completed with experts combing the island with sniffer dogs. Traps were also set, along with enticing "chew sticks" pasted with peanut butter. But there is not a jot of evidence to suggest any live rats are still present. Prof Mike Richardson, the chair of the restoration project steering committee, said it had been a nerve-wracking wait for the survey's result to come through. "We've been on tenterhooks; would there be a remnant enclave somewhere? But I'm pleased to say over the last six months, not a single sign of a rodent has been found. And so to the best of our knowledge, this island is now rodent-free," he told reporters. First visited by the great explorer James Cook in 1775, the UK overseas territory is rightly famed for its wildlife. Thousands of tourists flock to the 170km-long island each year to see its seals, penguins, and albatrosses. Indeed, millions of birds, representing more than 30 different species, breed on this sub-Antarctic landmass - and all of them must nest either on the ground or just below it in burrows because there are no trees. And it is this behaviour that exposed them to predation from the invasive rodents that got on to the territory when sealers and whalers started using it as a base in the 19th and 20th Centuries. The rats and mice were voracious, eating birds alive - albatrosses, petrels, prions; anything they could get their teeth into, and that included chicks that were often several times their own size. Of particular concern, though, was the plight of the South Georgia Pipit (Anthus antarcticus), the world's most southerly songbird; and a duck - the South Georgia Pintail (Anas georgica georgica). These two land birds live nowhere else on the planet. The good news is that their numbers are already bouncing back in the absence of the rats. One can never say never, but the chances of a rodent being alive on South Georgia today are very, very slim. Dickie Hall, the director of the restoration project, paid tribute to his team. Over the past six months, the group monitored more than 1,500 sites. And in their search for any hangers-on, the three detection dogs in the party walked an extraordinary combined total of 2,420km. "Dogs have an incredible sense of smell," Mr Hall said. "They can detect rodent scent from several metres, or even tens of metres if conditions are right. So by walking through a piece of habitat, we can be very confident with these dogs of finding rodents if there are any present." Alison Neil, the chief executive of the Dundee-based SGHT, also lauded those who worked in the field. In addition, she thanked the trust's many financial donors, including the tourists who go to the island. "We get something like 9,000 of them a year on South Georgia. They all really contributed and we actually raised about £200,000 a season from the cruise ship passengers." Ordinarily, extermination on the scale seen in South Georgia would be very difficult to achieve - but for one factor. The sub-Antarctic island is covered by numerous glaciers and these effectively divided up the territory into convenient killing zones. With rodents unwilling to cross ice fields, the project team knew it could clear areas and have confidence they would not be re-infested from places yet to be baited. All this is knowledge that bears down heavily now on the future. Climate change has put the glaciers into rapid retreat. When this ice is gone, it will be much more difficult to tackle any future invasion - maybe even impossible. A big responsibility rests on current biosecurity protocols. Already, tourist ships are not allowed to dock in port; passengers come ashore on inflatables after inspection of their clothing and bags. Government and navy vessels that are permitted to tie up have had their cargo baited and fumigated. Sweeping ships with rat-detecting dogs is also being trialled. "Invasive non-native species continue to be one of the biggest environmental threats to biodiversity," said Lord Gardiner, a minister at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). "As the minister responsible for biosecurity, it's absolutely essential that all of this work is not put in jeopardy by one loose connection," he told BBC News. And Prof Richardson added: "Even one pregnant rat getting back on to South Georgia could restart this whole cycle." Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

वे चले गए हैं, या ऐसा लगता है।


Donald Trump faces tough January tests

Summary: Donald Trump spent 11 days golfing and tweeting from his oceanside resort, basking in the warmth of the southern Florida sun and the glow of successful passage of a tax-reform bill, the first major piece of legislation of his nearly year-old presidential term.

Anthony ZurcherNorth America reporter@awzurcheron Twitter Now Mr Trump has returned to Washington, where he faces the cold reality of a January filled with deadlines, hard decisions and an ever-lingering potential for missteps and bad news - a winter of peril for a presidency balanced on a knife's edge. With November mid-term elections looming, here are just a few of the major tasks that sit in the White House in-box as the new year gets under way. Budget blues From the people who brought you the impending budget showdown of 30 September, 8 December and 22 December, comes the exciting fourth instalment of this epic saga. Once again, legislators are faced with funding the federal government for the current fiscal year or risking a government shutdown. Every previous cliffhanger had ended with a decision to temporarily approve spending at the previous year's levels. The most recent extension ends on 19 January. Would Donald Trump win an election today? If they decide to continue along that path, it wouldn't be the first time in recent memory - but at some point legislators will want to put their mark on the federal government by rejigging how dollars are allocated. Mr Trump's much-touted border wall, increased defence spending, cuts to government programmes (once a headline-grabbing affair but now largely forgotten) and infrastructure investment are all up for grabs. In addition, Congress has to vote to raise previously mandated budget caps or an axe will fall on military and domestic spending alike. Bottom line: Congress has been kicking the can down the road like a legislative Lionel Messi. Will they finally take their shot? Immigration issues On 5 September Mr Trump started a countdown - what he termed an "orderly wind down" - to the termination of a programme that provided temporary normalised immigration status for hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children. Some previously covered individuals began losing protections from the Obama-era measure, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca), in December, with the number growing at a rate of more than 100 a day. It is unclear, however, if the Trump administration will make any special effort to target them for deportation. What is clear, however, is that the political pressure for some form of legislative Daca authorisation is increasing. In a tweet on 2 January, the president tried to assign blame for the impasse on his opponents, saying that Democrats are "doing nothing" and "just interested in politics", which he says will lead to increased Hispanic support for his party. Although it seems unlikely that Republicans will benefit from a crisis Mr Trump himself instigated, Democratic politicians have been targeted by pro-Daca protesters, who feel the party has been insufficiently aggressive in attempting to force a deal. The president has said he wants immigration reform and border-wall funding to be part of any Daca agreement, while Democrats have insisted on much narrower legislation. Someone will have to budge. Bottom line: Unless a deal is brokered soon, more and more Daca recipients will be forced back into the legal shadows, where they can't pursue proper jobs, financial security or educational opportunities. There could be political winners and losers in such a situation, but there is likely to be plenty of blame to go around. Healthcare headaches The Children's Health Insurance Program (Chip), which provides government-funded health insurance for 9 million US children from low-income families above the poverty line, has had broad bipartisan support since it was first enacted in 1997. In the past few months, however, it has been the centre of a political tug-of-war, as funding was set to expire without reauthorisation. Five things we learned from Donald Trump's Christmas holiday In late December, Congress allocated enough money to keep Chip afloat until March, but the states that manage the services want a permanent fix so they don't have to continue to make preparations for a budgetary crunch. Democrats are pushing for a straight-up reauthorisation, while Republicans seek to tie the bill to cuts in other government healthcare programmes. The arguments over Chip are nothing compared to the Obamacare repeal conflagrations, which show no signs of ending in 2018. In the recently passed tax reform bill, Republicans dealt a blow to the system by setting a January 2019 end to the mandate that all Americans have insurance or face a tax penalty. The provision was an Obamacare lynchpin, as it increased the number of healthy Americans in the insurance pool and prevented individuals from waiting to buy health insurance until they got sick. Democrats and some Republican moderates have been clamouring for a number of legislative provisions that will bring increased stability to the health-insurance marketplaces in 2018. Hard-line conservatives, on the other hand, seem content to chip away at the foundations until the whole thing collapses. Bottom line: Expect more healthcare fights in 2018, with poor children caught in the middle. Iranian intrigue Back in mid-October, Mr Trump - to great fanfare, including a high-profile White House statement - officially decertified Iran's compliance with the terms of the nuclear deal that Barack Obama and representatives of five other major world powers brokered in 2015. That set off a 60-day period during which Congress could, by majority vote, choose to re-impose sanctions on Iran. Congress chose to do … nothing. On 11 January, as mandated by the agreement, Mr Trump must once again decide whether to certify Iran's compliance. If the president again declines, the bite of such a move given recent congressional inaction will be greatly diminished. The president could choose to bypass Congress and re-impose sanctions on his own. Mid-January will mark the next once-every-three-month opportunity for him to end the current waivers suspending previous economic punishments. Given Mr Trump's sharp rhetoric in support of the recent Iranian protests, he may decide more dramatic action is warranted. Too heavy a US hand, however, could prompt the Iranian public to rally behind their government. Bottom line: In October the president said if Congress failed to "reach a solution" on Iran, he'd terminate the deal. Congressional inaction - and Iranian unrest - puts the president on the spot again. Trying times As if all this weren't enough, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which grants the US government sweeping powers to monitor communications without individualised court-issued warrants, is set to expire on 19 January. Congress passed a temporary extension of the measure in December, but civil libertarians on the left and right will make an effort to derail a lengthy reauthorisation. In December the House of Representatives approved an $81bn disaster relief bill, including funds for hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, but the Senate has yet to take action. Nearly half of Puerto Rican customers are still without power after Hurricane Maria hit the island in mid-September. Beyond these immediate concerns, the president and his fellow Republicans will have to settle on a legislative course for the coming months. They could try for a stand-alone infrastructure spending bill, which was one of Mr Trump's top campaign promises. The president could push for new trade legislation, such as a revised North America Free Trade Agreement (if such a thing ever emerges from negotiations with Mexico and Canada). Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has shown interest in making another run at reforming US social safety-net programmes. And, oh yeah, there's still that little matter of Robert Mueller's investigation into possible Trump campaign ties to Russia to account for. A metaphorical bombshell here - or real bombshells on the Korean Peninsula - could throw everything else into total disarray. The stakes are high, as the next few months will be the last chance for Republicans to make their mark before the US political world focuses squarely on the November mid-term elections. Every seat in the House of Representatives, a third of the US Senate and a gaggle of key state governorships will be up for grabs this year. Trump believes he will be treated 'fairly' Can Republicans maintain their unified control of the US government for another two years, or will Democrats regain control of at least one chamber of Congress, slamming the door on Mr Trump's more ambitious legislative goals? If the recent elections in Virginia, New Jersey and Alabama are any indication, it could be a rough ride for the incumbent party. Bottom line: The holidays are over. January is going to have all the excitement of the first year of the Trump presidency, condensed into one action-packed month.

डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प ने अपने समुद्र तटीय रिसॉर्ट से 11 दिन गोल्फ़ खेलने और ट्वीट करने में बिताए, दक्षिणी फ़्लोरिडा के सूरज की गर्मी और कर-सुधार विधेयक के सफल पारित होने की चमक का आनंद लिया, जो उनके लगभग एक साल पुराने राष्ट्रपति कार्यकाल का पहला प्रमुख कानून था।


Swindon cultural hub idea approved by council

Summary: A cultural hub in Swindon, to include a newly re-homed museum and art gallery, has moved a step closer with the borough council approving the idea.

The town centre proposal is for land between the Wyvern Theatre and the Magistrates' Court in Princes Street. The present Museum and Art Gallery in the Old Town has been deemed too small and unfit to display a decent sample of the town's collection of civic art. A timescale and the costs for the development are not yet known. Detailed feasibility work is now expected to be launched with funding sought from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The idea of creating a cultural centre for the town was first published by Forward Swindon in its 15-year plan, published in 2012.

स्विंडन में एक सांस्कृतिक केंद्र, एक नए पुनर्निर्मित संग्रहालय और कला दीर्घा को शामिल करने के लिए, नगर परिषद द्वारा इस विचार को मंजूरी देने के साथ एक कदम और आगे बढ़ गया है।


Child-on-child sex offence reports 'tip of the iceberg'

Summary: Reports of sexual assaults by children on other children are rising, according to police figures seen by BBC Panorama. But those reported cases are only the "tip of the iceberg", according to one police child abuse expert.

Emily - not her real name - was 15 when she was sexually assaulted by a boy in her class, unnoticed by her teacher, who was at the front of the room. But after reporting the ordeal to the police, she says she was bullied by her classmates. "About 10 to 15 pupils were all swearing and shouting at me, like 'you're a grass'… I got some comments like 'he should have raped you'. I was tagged in photos. I was called a liar." She says her head teacher was unsympathetic. "He'd say 'well, maybe this isn't the school for you. You can leave, you know, we suggest you do and make a fresh start'." The number of reported sexual offences by under-18s against other under-18s in England and Wales rose by 71% from 4,603 from 2013-14 to 7,866 from 2016-17, according to figures from a Freedom of Information request. A total of 38 out of the 43 forces in England and Wales responded. The number of reported rapes among under-18s rose 46% from 1,521 to 2,223 over the same period, according to 32 police forces that supplied a breakdown of figures. Reports of sexual offences on schools premises also increased from 386 in 2013-14 to 922 in 2016-17, according to 31 police forces - including 225 rapes on school grounds over the four years. Simon Bailey, the national police chief lead for child protection, said: "We are dealing unequivocally with the tip of the iceberg ... we are seeing an increasing number of reports, we are seeing significant examples of harmful sexual behaviour and the lives of young people blighted and traumatically affected by sexual abuse." James and Anna's daughter, Bella, was six when they discovered she had been sexually assaulted in the playground for six weeks by two boys. "She burst into tears, she just dissolved in front of me," Anna says. Anna and James went straight to the police, but were told that as the boys were under the age of criminal responsibility they could not be charged. The family say they had to fight to get the police to make a record of the incident. They are now taking legal action against the local authority, as they say the school failed in its duty of care. "We have all of these unheard victims... and they're unheard because there's no register, because there's no crime," Anna says. Since March 2013 a total of 1,852 children under the age of 10 were reported to police for sexual offences. The youngest was a four-year-old accused of attacking another boy, aged five, in Northumbria. Teachers have a duty to report an alleged assault by an adult, according to the Department for Education, but there is no such obligation if a child is accused - schools are advised to follow their own child protection procedures. "School leaders and schools want to get it right, but they're not always getting the help and support they need," Sarah Hannafin, policy adviser for the National Association of Headteachers, told Panorama. "There needs to be some more clarity in terms of the specific procedures that schools must take." Of the sexual offences perpetrated by under-18s, 74% resulted in no further action, according to responses from 36 out of 43 police forces in England and Wales. Mr Bailey said such cases are very difficult to prosecute. "You're dealing with people who'll be reluctant; you're dealing with cases whereby there's been a relationship in the past. "It's very much a case of the Crown Prosecution Service deciding to charge, invariably on the word of one person against another." The Department for Education said: "Sexual assault is a crime and any allegation should be reported to the police. "Schools should be safe places and they have a duty to protect all pupils and listen to any concerns." You can see more on this story on Panorama on BBC One on Monday at 20:30 BST.

बीबीसी पैनोरमा द्वारा देखे गए पुलिस आंकड़ों के अनुसार, अन्य बच्चों पर बच्चों द्वारा यौन हमलों की खबरें बढ़ रही हैं। लेकिन एक पुलिस बाल शोषण विशेषज्ञ के अनुसार, वे रिपोर्ट किए गए मामले केवल "हिमशैल का सिरा" हैं।


Europe hates Trump. Does it matter?

Summary: Invoking global opinion in the context of US elections is a fool's errand. Perfectly understandably, voters in Paris, Pennsylvania, really don't give a damn what voters in Paris, France, think about their political choices. And why should they?

Katty KayPresenter, BBC World News@KattyKayBBCon Twitter This is America's choice, not anyone else's. How would British voters feel if Texans weighed in on Brexit? This time, however, the international reaction to Donald Trump is so forceful and so unanimous in its condemnation that it is worth drawing attention to. I do so well aware that recent history is replete with examples where the world's opinion of a US presidential candidate backfired against those same critics. Back in 2004, Europeans assumed that their own well-publicised opposition to President Bush's Iraq war would make it harder for him to get re-elected. In fact, anti-Americanism had the opposite effect. It drove people to the president. "If those squishy Europeans hate him so much," the thinking seemed to go, "then he must be doing something right." That same year, Britain's left-leaning Guardian newspaper ran a public campaign targeting a critical county in Ohio with a letter-writing blitz, urging people there to vote for John Kerry. It was a bid to give foreigners a say in the US presidential election. Clark County was a swing district in a swing state; in 2000 Al Gore won the area by a narrow margin. But the Guardian's Operation Clark County backfired. It did indeed galvanise local voters, but it did so for Bush not Kerry. On election night, George Bush carried the county with 51% of the vote. At the time, a local newspaper editor told the BBC that it was the well-publicised letter campaign that lost it for the Democrats. It will go down in history as one of the biggest fiascos in foreign meddling. In 2008 of course the world rallied firmly behind Barack Obama. Two hundred thousand people turned out to see the candidate in Berlin before the election. Italian trattorias started a roaring trade in Obama pizzas, a curious, un-Italian mix of ham and pineapple toppings. We began to joke that France was so invested in the election it felt it should have a Paris primary. That time around, world opinion was on the side of the winner and American voters seemed to enjoy the rehabilitation of their global reputation. So, what does the world make of Donald Trump? Mr Trump has some admirers in Europe. A few on the extreme end of the political spectrum like his tough line on immigration. Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the French National Front, said if he were American he'd vote Trump. There are echoes of Trumpism in the nationalist parties of Britain, Denmark, Netherlands, Greece as well as France. The dissatisfaction with the status quo, the sense that middle-class and working-class people have been neglected by the existing political establishment, a feeling that politicians aren't honest with voters - you can find all that in the appeal of Europe's populists. While the politics of Jeremy Corbyn, the socialist leader of the Labour Party, are the opposite of those of Donald Trump, the disillusionment that drives his supporters is not so different. But the voices of support are drowned out by almost universal condemnation. When it comes to Trump, Europe is apoplectic. Fascinated, but appalled. I'm sometimes asked by Americans what Brits make of Trump and the best analogy I can come up with is this. Imagine if your much-respected but slightly annoying older sibling (the US) came home with a fantastically unsuitable date (Trump). Part of you is titillated but part of you is appalled, thinking, "Oh my God, this could go horribly wrong." After Super Tuesday, Europe is fast moving from the former to the latter. Here's a sample of the public disapproval. Germany's Der Spiegel has called Trump the most dangerous man in the world. Britain's David Cameron says his plan to ban Muslims is divisive and unhelpful. The French liberal newspaper Liberation has described him as a nightmare turned reality. JK Rowling tweeted that he's worse than Voldemort. A recent Economist cover has a picture of Trump dressed as Uncle Sam with just one word, "Really?" That pretty much sums up the mood of global elites. Will the international reaction make a shred of difference to Trump's chances of getting nominated and then elected? 2004 would suggest not. Indeed you can easily imagine a scenario in which Trump's American supporters rally round their candidate even more closely because the world is against him, just as they did with President Bush. If you like Trump, you're likely to shrug off French disdain - who cares what a bunch of cheese-eating surrender monkeys think? And if you don't like Trump, you're likely to see the criticism as a source of embarrassment - God, what does the world think of us? What really matters is whether the 6-10% of voters in the middle of the American political spectrum, the people who actually decide elections here, are swayed by global opinion. And they may be, for two reasons. This is a different time from 2004. For a start, Donald Trump is not yet president. As a candidate, he doesn't command the automatic respect imbued by the Oval Office. Although America still feels under siege from Islamic extremism, American troops are not being killed in large numbers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Supporting Bush was in some ways a proxy for supporting those soldiers. America rallies round the flag when its men and women are serving in combat in foreign countries. In a time of war, US voters didn't like their leader being criticised by foreigners. What's more, that small percentage of American voters who sway elections tend to be more moderate. They often classify themselves as independents. So they may look at the way foreign allies view Donald Trump and feel it would damage America's standing in the world if he were president. It's hard to know at this stage what impact foreign opinion will have in this race, but it's fairly clear the world is not going to suddenly fall in love with the man Republicans are rapidly choosing to be their candidate for the White House.

अमेरिकी चुनावों के संदर्भ में वैश्विक राय का आह्वान करना मूर्खतापूर्ण काम है। पूरी तरह से समझ में आता है कि पेरिस, पेंसिल्वेनिया के मतदाता वास्तव में इस बात की परवाह नहीं करते हैं कि पेरिस, फ्रांस के मतदाता अपनी राजनीतिक पसंद के बारे में क्या सोचते हैं। और उन्हें क्यों करना चाहिए?


Viewpoints: UK trade v human rights

Summary: Prime Minister David Cameron is under fire for his decision not to join a boycott of the Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka. He is also attempting to build bridges with China after he angered its leaders last year by meeting the Dalai Lama.

Is he getting the balance right between promoting British trade and other interests abroad and human rights? Dr Stephen Davies, education director at the Institute for Economic Affairs "Everyone wants to see individual liberty expanded in all parts of the world - the question is how to do this most effectively. "The key is to expand 'social power', the ability of people to act, and to reduce 'political power', the capacity of elites to use force and the power of government against people to limit their freedom of action, speech and thought. "More trade is crucial for this. It undermines the power of despots, their ability to control populations, while increasing ordinary people's resources, their connections with each other and their ability to organise and co-operate. "The spread of the mobile phone through trade and commerce has done more to undermine authoritarian government than any amount of action by more liberal states. "While we should all strongly support action by civil society organisations such as Amnesty it is not clear what governments should do. "The main role of governments is to protect the rights of their own citizens and to provide a stable system of law for them. "Attempts to make greater trade dependent upon changes in policy will simply lessen the kind of transformations brought about by trade and private action, which in the longer run will do more to increase liberty and undermine tyranny." Allan Hogarth, head of policy and government affairs at Amnesty International UK "In all its foreign relations it's absolutely vital that the UK government raises human rights issues with as much enthusiasm as it does trade ones. Presently, we're far from convinced the government is getting this balance right. "So it's vitally important that human rights are not downplayed when the prime minister visits China next month. While we understand that No 10 is keen to develop trade with China, this must not be done by turning a blind eye to China's absolutely dreadful human rights record. "We'd like to see Mr Cameron and other senior members of government publicly raising human rights concerns with senior Chinese officials. "One case they should raise is that of Cao Shunli, a prominent activist who's been detained for two months under a charge of 'picking quarrels and making trouble'. She's one of numerous prisoners of conscience in China. "Meanwhile, we'd like to see the prime minister meeting Chinese human rights activists during the visit. We'd be happy to personally brief Mr Cameron or his officials prior to the visit. "Announcing the trip during his Lord Mayor's Banquet speech, Mr Cameron said he wants Britain to show an 'entrepreneurial, buccaneering spirit, where people who take risks to make money are celebrated and admired. "However, historically speaking a buccaneer is a pirate acting with total contempt for the law. We need to make sure that countries like China aren't themselves acting lawlessly." Richard Ottoway, Tory chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee "It is not a perfect world so there will always be conflict between our interests and our values. "Boycotting countries just to emphasise our values will achieve very little and could be counter-productive. By far the most effective way is to argue our case in private, as we do in a number of countries around the world." William A Callahan, professor of International Relations, London School of Economics "China is well-known for having a pragmatic approach to international relations. "Since Deng Xiaoping launched the policy of economic reform and opening up to the outside world in 1979, Beijing has quite effectively separated economic issues from political ones in its international strategy. One could say that David Cameron is taking a Deng-ist approach to the UK's relations with China because his government now sees the People's Republic of China as an economic opportunity rather than as a human rights problem. "But this would be a mistake. "Recently, Beijing has retooled its diplomatic strategy to focus on political issues as well as economic development. Since he became China's new leader last year, Xi Jinping has stressed the role of values in Chinese diplomacy. "Rather than talking about the rise of China in terms of geo-economic power, Xi declared that his 'China Dream' is the 'rejuvenation of the Chinese nation' as a moral force in global affairs. "The Chinese government now promotes a combination of socialist values (equality, stability and justice) and Confucian values (order, harmony and family) not just at home but on the world stage. Beijing's 'values diplomacy' is specifically designed to provide an alternative to the liberal values of freedom, human rights and the rule of law. "Since the UK is known in China as a human rights superpower, it would be a shame if Cameron missed the opportunity to join in the values debate that is already raging in the People's Republic of China. "If you want the Chinese people to take you seriously, it is best to speak honestly about differences." Ann Clwyd, a Labour member of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee "It is not a trade issue, but the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is a very important meeting. We put forward a strong argument (in committee) why the UK should not be going there because of human rights concerns, the past failure of the Sri Lankan government to investigate some of the many allegations about that country. "I have met the president of Sri Lanka myself and I have put to him the case for allowing a proper investigation into what went on in the civil war. There were atrocities on both sides but they are still refusing to allow a UN investigation. By going to a conference of this kind, it is giving the wrong signal about where the UK is coming from. "World leaders should be allowed to raise these issues. We will see in a few days whether Cameron and Hague have done this in Sri Lanka. "On trade and human rights, we have constantly debated this in our committee. "We understand there must be trade but at the same time we ask that human rights is up at the top of the agenda, not just mentioned in a few sentences as a throwaway. "It must be on the agenda and it must be discussed."

प्रधान मंत्री डेविड कैमरन श्रीलंका में राष्ट्रमंडल शिखर सम्मेलन के बहिष्कार में शामिल नहीं होने के अपने फैसले के लिए आलोचनाओं का सामना कर रहे हैं। पिछले साल दलाई लामा से मिलकर उसके नेताओं को नाराज करने के बाद वह चीन के साथ सेतु बनाने का भी प्रयास कर रहे हैं।


Tour de France Grand Depart diary

Summary: With the world's biggest bike race starting in Leeds on 5 July, BBC Yorkshire's Tour de France correspondent Matt Slater rounds up the best of the gossip, opinion and stories, on and off the bike, and also tries to explain some of cycling's unique lingo. TOP STORIES

It is less than three weeks now, folks - that is not even as long as the race itself. And Leeds got a little taste of traffic-free cycling on Sunday with the second annual Sky Ride. Thousands of would-be Wiggos and faux Froomes ignored the light drizzle to take in 6.5km route around the city centre. Full story: Yorkshire Evening Post There is no point having a big party like Le Tour if you are not going to tell anybody about it, so 'chapeau' (cyclese for 'well done') to VisitBritain for the come-hither images of Yorkshire's natural charms that it has put up on 134 digital screens at Heathrow Airport. Full story: The Northern Echo Having drawn your attention to The Wall Street Journal's interest in Yorkshire's approach to Le Tour last week, it is only fair I flag up the City of London's response via its parish newsletter, The Financial Times. It sent noted cycling scribbler Tim Moore up north to ride stage one, and what a lovely job he made of it. Full story: The Financial Times CYCLING ROUND-UP I will forgive you if you missed it - there was a smattering of other sport on this weekend - but the world of pro cycling provided at least a novella's worth of drama over the last 72 hours. I, however, do not have a novella in me this morning, so you are going to get a few paragraphs. First, Chris Froome fell off his bike in the Criterium du Dauphine's sixth stage on Friday. No broken bones, but there was a lot of "road rash" (grated skin). His rivals sportingly did not try to take advantage of his discomfort on Friday, but they ganged up on him on Saturday and Sunday. His chief rival Alberto Contador took the lead from him on stage seven, and seemed to be heading for victory, only for American Andrew Talansky to surprise everybody on Sunday - perhaps even himself - with an epic ride to glory. Froome, meanwhile, endured his worst day on a bike for years, finishing five minutes down and back in 12th place. Contador came second and will now be many people's favourite for Le Tour. Team Sky's leader Froome was clearly hampered by his injuries but his face during the presentations - he won the points competition thanks to his wins on stages one and two - said it all. This was a painful setback in every sense. It was also a strange week for his team. The pick of his lieutenants Mikel Nieve claimed a superb and deserved solo win in Sunday's final stage, but Froome's preferred 'plan B' rider at Le Tour, his friend Richie Porte, had a very mediocre time of it. This, of course, will only add to the calls for Sir Bradley Wiggins' inclusion in Sky's Tour line-up, although he did not help himself with a fairly tame display in the Tour of Switzerland's opener on Saturday. He was only 14th best in the short time-trial, 32 seconds behind his great foe, Germany's Tony Martin, but it is hard to know what kind of climbing shape he is in, having spent the last couple of weeks getting ready for a possible return to track cycling at the Commonwealths. He looked OK during Sunday's stage, but the real tests are to come later this week. There is one other big story from the weekend that cannot be ignored and that is the continuing noise around Froome and Team Sky in terms of doping allegations - or perhaps it would be better to say allegations of pushing the anti-doping rules to their limits. Froome's week in Switzerland started with speculation about the times he had set on a training ride on a famous climb in France, continued with the revelation that he has to use an inhaler for his asthma (a controversial topic in endurance sport because of the performance-enhancing qualities of some asthma drugs) and ended with a French newspaper revealing that he was given special dispensation by the sport's governing body at a race earlier this year to use an oral corticosteroid for a bad cold. Froome and his team have responded to each of these stories in a timely, forthright but calm manner, and there is no smoking gun. But the key point to make here is that sections of the media, particularly in continental Europe, remain unconvinced by cycling's protestations of a new, cleaner era, which means Froome is going to get a lot more of this in July. TWEET OF THE DAY "Drum roll…we've just gone past current world record of 10km. How far can we go?" An update from @Craggvale2014 on their attempt to break the record for the longest string of bunting when the Tour visits England's longest continuous uphill gradient on Sunday, 6 July. TODAY'S TOUR TRIVIA There was too much Froome news in the cycling summary to mention another good line from the Dauphine, and that was the latest piece of evidence in the case for Adam Yates being British cycling's next big star, so I am going to do it here. The 21-year-old from Bury finished third on Sunday's final stage to climb to sixth in the general classification. This followed his win at the Tour of Turkey and a fifth-place finish behind Wiggins at the Tour of California. We knew he was good, we just did not think he would be this good so soon. Yates' first big result came at last year's Tour de l'Avenir, the Tour de France's amateur version which literally translates as the "Tour of the Future". Yates came second, matching Britain's best result in the prestigious race. Originally set up by the Tour's organisers to attract "amateur" riders from the Soviet Bloc, it is now open to national U23 teams. Five future Tour winners have won the race in the past, totalling 12 Tour wins between them, and many think the 2010 Tour de l'Avenir champion, Colombia's Nairo Quintana, will make it six at some point in the future. But he will have to get past Yates - and his twin brother Simon - to do it. THE COUNTDOWN - 19 DAYS TO GO The leaders of the Tour de France get a new yellow jersey at the end of every stage they complete with their advantage intact; so there is a distinction between the WEARER of the yellow jersey, the current leader, and the WINNER of the yellow jersey, the leader when it matters. Eddy Merckx won 96 yellow jerseys during the course of his career, but Fausto Coppi, the man who many think runs the Belgian closest in the greatest-of-all-time stakes, claimed only 19. Coppi only rode the Tour three times, as he lost a large chunk of his career to WWII. But he won two of those races by massive margins, which is why Italians called him Il Campionissimo, "the champion of champions".

5 जुलाई को लीड्स में शुरू होने वाली दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी बाइक दौड़ के साथ, बीबीसी यॉर्कशायर के टूर डी फ्रांस संवाददाता मैट स्लेटर बाइक के अंदर और बाहर गपशप, राय और कहानियों का सबसे अच्छा दौर पेश करते हैं, और साइकिल चलाने की कुछ अनूठी भाषा को समझाने की भी कोशिश करते हैं।


The man correcting stories about Muslims

Summary: When one newspaper reported last year that "enclaves of Islam see UK as 75% Muslim" last year, Miqdaad Versi's instinct was to challenge it. He believes errors in the reporting of Muslims have become all too common, and has made it his mission to fight for corrections.

By Catrin NyeVictoria Derbyshire programme Miqdaad Versi sits in front of a rather geeky-looking spreadsheet at the offices of the Muslim Council of Britain in east London. He is the organisation's assistant secretary general, but the task in front of him is a personal project. The spreadsheet has on it every story published concerning Muslims and Islam that day in the British media - and he is going through them looking for inaccuracies. If he finds one, he will put in a complaint or a request for a correction with the news organisation, the press regulator Ipso, or both. Mr Versi has been doing this thoroughly since November, and before that on a more casual basis. He has so far complained more than 50 times, and the results are visible. He was personally behind eight corrections in December and another four so far this month. In the past, corrections to stories were mostly printed when individuals were the victims of inaccurate reporting, but Mr Versi is looking at a whole topic. "Nobody else was doing this," he tells the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme. "There have been so many articles about Muslims overall that have been entirely inaccurate, and they create this idea within many Muslim communities that the media is out to get them. "The reason that's the case is because nobody is challenging these newspapers and saying, 'That's not true.'" Find out more Watch the Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel. See Catrin Nye's full film on this issue here. Mr Versi goes through some of the corrections from December. Five of them concerned a review into integration by Dame Louise Casey. The Sunday Times reported that "Enclaves of Islam see UK as 75% Muslim" in a preview of the review. This was incorrect, with the review actually citing a survey of pupils in one largely Asian school who thought 50-90% of the population in Britain were Asian. The paper corrected the article, and later apologised. As the same story was reported in other publications, it led to five corrections. Mr Versi highlights another article, concerning the Muslim president of the National Union of Students (NUS). She was accused on Mail Online of refusing to condemn so-called Islamic State, when she had openly done so. Also in December, he points out a report in the Sun on Sunday confused the identities of two Muslim individuals - one fighting against extremism and one accused of extremism. "Quite a mix-up," says Mr Versi. He has met several newspaper editors and has been pleased with the quick corrections he has received in some cases. But he is concerned that these revisions are not obvious enough to the reader. "Sometimes the corrections lack a clear acknowledgement of the error they made and often do not include an apology. In addition, they are rarely given the prominence of the original article," he says. He adds that while he is concerned with "significant failings" in the reporting of Muslims, the same issues "might also be replicated for refugee, migrant or other groups". 'No middle ground' One particularly high-profile correction in December last year - that Mr Versi was not behind - involved a 2015 article in which Mail Online columnist Katie Hopkins wrongly suggested Zahid Mahmood and his brother were extremists with links to al-Qaeda, after they had not been allowed to board a plane to the US. The Mail Online and Ms Hopkins apologised and paid £150,000 in damages. At his home in Walthamstow, north-east London, Mr Mahmood says he has forgiven her. He now says it is not her original false accusations that he finds the most upsetting, but the public reaction. "First they were all against us when Katie Hopkins published the article, and then when she made the apology a year later - then they all turn against her. "There's no middle ground. It's not just about Katie Hopkins, it's the mindset of people - how they can very easily be led against somebody, or in favour of somebody." Mr Mahmood says he feels this kind of reaction is causing divisions in society, and - keen to do his bit for unity - tells the BBC he is formally inviting Katie Hopkins to his home for tea and coffee. "We have no grudge against her, and we would like her to learn and know that we are as British as she is. "In fact, my wife's grandfather and great-grandfather both fought in World War One and World War Two. They fought for the very freedom of this country." Mr Versi says he wants to improve community relations too. He thinks inaccurate reporting has far-reaching consequences, especially because negative stories are often widely circulated by far-right groups and then the corrections are not. Some free speech campaigners, however, are concerned about this kind of work. Tom Slater, deputy editor of Spiked Online, says these complaints could create a fear of reporting certain issues. "I, like anyone else, want a press that's going to be accurate... but what we're seeing here is quite concerted attempts to try and often ring-fence Islam from criticism." Mr Slater says he found a recent correction to a story about a suspected "honour killing" particularly problematic. In May 2016, the Mail Online and the Sun used the phrase "Islamic honour killing" in their headline. Mr Versi successfully complained to Ipso that Islam does not condone honour killings and that the phrase incorrectly suggested it was motivated by religion. The word "Islamic" was removed from the papers' headlines, and at the bottom of the articles they wrote: "We are happy to make clear that Islam as a religion does not support so-called 'honour killings.'" Mr Slater says he found that statement added by the papers "absolutely staggering". "We all know a religion is just an assortment of ideas and principles. What these papers were effectively asked to do, and what they did do, was to print one accepted interpretation of a religion - and to me this was just like backdoor blasphemy law." Mr Versi, however, insists his work is about ensuring the facts are right - not silencing critics. He says there are many examples where Muslims can be rightly criticised and he is not complaining about those. "All I'm asking for is responsible reporting."

जब पिछले साल एक समाचार पत्र ने बताया कि "इस्लाम के परिक्षेत्र ब्रिटेन को 75 प्रतिशत मुसलमान के रूप में देखते हैं", तो मिकदाद वर्सी की प्रवृत्ति इसे चुनौती देने की थी। उनका मानना है कि मुसलमानों की रिपोर्टिंग में त्रुटियां बहुत आम हो गई हैं, और सुधार के लिए लड़ना उनका मिशन बन गया है।


AstraZeneca and UK prosperity

Summary: Barely a day goes by at the moment when a big British company isn't flogging a big asset or isn't on the end of a takeover bid; and banker chums tell me the "deal flow" (dread phrase for takeovers of companies) looks set to be strong.

Robert PestonEconomics editor The explanation is psychological. The economy is recovering. There hasn't been a big economic whoopsy since the eurozone's banks almost went splat two years ago. And most substantial companies accumulated mountains of low-yielding cash in the years of the Great Recession. When it comes to investing and buying businesses, companies aren't a good deal more sophisticated than sheep: when they sense the big bad wolf of recession or crisis is over the hill, they all rush in a flock to spend. Which raises that hoary issue once again of whether companies buying other companies is a good or bad thing, for investors and the wider economy. There is so much empirical evidence that takeovers regularly damage shareholders' wealth, and yet the bids-and-deals game goes on and on, that it is probably fatuous to expect the owners to exercise caution, and block deals. As for the economic impact, well it is not cut and dry. Many of the UK's more successful industrial competitors, including the US, see politicians intervene to block or amend deals for national strategic reasons in a way that almost never happens here. Which begs two questions. First, whether the government should intervene to frustrate takeovers in a way that hasn't been fashionable for decades. Or whether the boards of companies in receipt of takeover offers should explicitly take into consideration more than the price being proffered. Key sector In the UK, this is once again a semi-urgent issue, following the announcement that the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer wants to buy AstraZeneca. This transaction is particularly resonant because AstraZeneca has great intellectual property, it employs significant numbers of scientists and brainy researchers in the UK, and it has important links to top British universities. The legitimate fear would be that - whatever promises and undertakings are given by Pfizer - over time the deal would hollow out an industrial sector important to British prosperity. The noises from government are that ministers understand this concern. But the British industrial convention of the past 30 years is that everything is for sale - and that the UK attracts much more inward investment than other comparable rich countries because it rarely frustrates the operation of the market. And even if ministers wanted to block the deal, it is not clear they could, on the basis of current competition law. So what about the directors of AstraZeneca? The point is that since the great Crash of 2008, caused in large part by short-term, financially driven deal-doing by reckless banks, most big companies have talked the talk that short-term profits and the short-term share price isn't everything. They all make a big deal of their responsibilities to employees, to customers and to the local and wider communities. So could AstraZeneca's board cite the interests of these other interested parties or stakeholders to reject Pfizer's offer? Err no. Its primary and overwhelming responsibility is to its owners, the shareholders. But they could perhaps discuss the effect of the deal on the UK's economic prospects in a full and frank way, so that - if they think the effect would be negative - the public and politicians would know what is genuinely at stake. If they did not believe there would be a cost to the UK, that would be worth knowing too, of course. Opening up in this way would be a scary prospect for most boards. Most company directors hate engaging in that kind of public debate. That said, if they don't do it willingly, there is a strong likelihood they will be compelled to give their views, by MPs on one of a number of relevant select committees. True defence? One other thing. In my too-long experience, bankers, brokers and public-relations advisers working for a target company always want the deal to happen - and that all they are really striving to do, underneath the rhetoric of "defending" the company, is to secure the highest price in an auction. That is unsurprising, given that typically they receive more millions for their services if the takeover happens above a threshold price set by the board, than if it is not completed. Which, given the powerful influence of these advisers, on the opinion of investors, media and politicians, means the probability of the deal collapsing is minimal. Some might therefore argue that advisers should be rewarded for the quality of their advice, not for the outcome.

इस समय बमुश्किल एक दिन ऐसा गुजरता है जब एक बड़ी ब्रिटिश कंपनी किसी बड़ी संपत्ति को कोड़े नहीं मार रही हो या अधिग्रहण बोली के अंत में न हो; और बैंकर सम मुझे बताते हैं कि "सौदे का प्रवाह" (कंपनियों के अधिग्रहण के लिए भयानक वाक्यांश) मजबूत प्रतीत होता है।


Eleven men deny involvement in Bulmers family art theft

Summary: Eleven men have denied offences linked to the theft of millions of pounds of artwork and jewellery from a cider-making family's luxury home.

Paintings worth £1.7m and jewellery worth £1m were stolen from Esmond and Susie Bulmer's home in Bruton, Somerset, in 2009. The men denied offences including conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to receive stolen goods. They will face trial on 4 June at Bristol Crown Court. Most of the paintings stolen during the burglary - such as Endymion by 19th Century painter George Frederic Watts - have since been recovered. The 11 men are: Judge Julian Lambert released Mr Ali and Mr Regan on technical unconditional bail while their co-accused were all released on unconditional bail. Art collector Mr Bulmer was a Conservative MP - first for Kidderminster from 1974 then for Wyre Forest from 1983 until 1987.

ग्यारह लोगों ने एक साइडर बनाने वाले परिवार के लक्जरी घर से लाखों पाउंड की कलाकृति और आभूषणों की चोरी से जुड़े अपराधों से इनकार किया है।