The people saving pantomime this Christmas - oh yes they are!

Summary: Many pantomimes have been called off this Christmas, but some theatres are making sure that, despite coronavirus restrictions, Jack can still climb his beanstalk, Puss can get her boots and Cinderella can go to the ball.

By Ian YoungsEntertainment & arts reporter Every day at this time of year, Iain Lauchlan would normally be climbing into a selection of dazzling panto dame dresses, donning his wondrous wigs and arranging his bosoms, just as he has done for three decades. "There are not many years in my working life that I haven't done panto," says Lauchlan, one of the UK's longest-serving panto dames. "I wake up in the morning thinking, I should be doing a school show at half past 10. I do miss the live shows." Lauchlan usually stars in Coventry's traditional festive family shows. But with the city's coronavirus restrictions at tier three, its theatre, the Belgrade, is shut. There may be no live shows, but that doesn't mean there's no panto. Lauchlan, who co-created children's TV favourite The Tweenies, has his own television studio, so has filmed a panto to be streamed via the Belgrade's website. The Belgrade is one of a number of theatres putting their pantos online this year, and Lauchlan's TV knowhow has ensured his Jack and the Beanstalk is still hugely entertaining on screen instead of on stage. "We thought, well, if anybody can do it, maybe we can do it," he says. "The biggest problem was there wasn't going to be a live audience." It was, he says, very strange to perform panto to an empty studio, although he got around the absence of an audience by using sound effects to recreate shouts of "It's behind you!" for one routine. Another traditional fixture of pantos is the jokes made at the expense of the people and things in the news - and Lauchlan found lots of material in lockdown. In Jack and the Beanstalk, the king spoofs Boris Johnson's press conferences, while The 12 Days of Christmas becomes The 12 Days of Lockdown ("Eight Joe Wicks workouts, seven months of furlough, six home deliveries, five toilet rolls...") "We tried to base it on lockdown rather than Covid because we were a bit concerned that people have had terrible experiences," Lauchlan adds. For the filming, coronavirus rules meant Lauchlan had to put the cast and crew into three bubbles and arrange accommodation and catering to prevent them from mixing. "We tried to stay as safe as possible," he says. "I found myself worrying about whether lunch was going to work one day, when I was supposed to be thinking about my performance. So it was quite an undertaking." While an online show will never compare with watching a panto in person, it's better than nothing, he says. "I wanted everything to look like panto, and it was important that when people watch it they think, I would love to be there just having a laugh. Hopefully it will go some way to giving some people enjoyment." Meanwhile in tier two areas, where theatres can reopen, many venues have salvaged their pantos for socially-distanced audiences. York Theatre Royal is in tier two, and is taking its panto on tour to community centres, church halls and social clubs in all 21 of the city's wards. "People were really excited to be out of the house," says actress Faye Campbell, one of the five-strong cast, after the first night. "There was such a great buzz - we could feel it as the cast. People were just really glad to be watching the show, because it's been so long." Theatre Royal executive director Tom Bird says he was not ready to fully reopen the historic venue, and some audience members were not ready, or able, to travel into the city centre. "We've noticed that people are coming out [of the show] almost emotional as though they've seen a deep drama rather than a pantomime, just because they're so emotional to have had a night out," he says. Theatres have a role to play in lifting spirits, especially at Christmas, Bird believes. "We don't pretend we're key workers," he says. "But we do know we're important and it's our job to entertain people, especially at times like this. So that's why we're determined to do it, despite the logistical mountain it gave us to climb to try to get this panto around the city." 'A huge challenge' How big is the logistical mountain? "It's an Everest," Bird replies. "Risk assessing 21 different venues for Covid safety and working out how you do temperature checks and all the things we're doing in 21 different venues is of course crucial, but it's a huge challenge." If Coventry joins York in tier two when restrictions are reviewed next week, Iain Lauchlan will play Santa in a smaller-scale live show for young children for five days. If not, it will be the first time in years that he hasn't been on stage at Christmas. But he'll be keeping busy. "I'm a carpenter too, so I've just finished the gates for the churchyard in the village," he says. "I've got a bus shelter to make, you know!" Pantomonium - how panto is surviving the pandemic The back garden panto The panto in cinemas The open-air panto The one-man panto The drive-in panto The star-studded panto The National panto The TV panto The site-specific panto The interactive panto The rearranged panto The precarious panto Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

इस क्रिसमस पर कई पेंटोमाइम बंद कर दिए गए हैं, लेकिन कुछ थिएटर यह सुनिश्चित कर रहे हैं कि कोरोनावायरस प्रतिबंधों के बावजूद, जैक अभी भी अपने बीनस्टॉक पर चढ़ सके, पुस अपने जूते ले सके और सिंड्रेला गेंद पर जा सके।


Why 'gay' gestures are discrimination

Summary: "Tim" is a gay man who has been subjected to many isolated incidents of verbal and physical homophobic abuse in the seaside town where he lives. He has been spat at, headbutted and called derogatory names.

By Clive ColemanLegal correspondent, BBC News In late 2013, he returned some locks to local locksmith's Taylor Edwards, and after a minor altercation, the man serving him, Peter Edwards, blew him a sarcastic kiss. For months afterwards, whenever Tim walked past the shop and Peter Edwards was outside, he gestured at Tim. "He would just make gestures ranging from what I would call quite low level. He would wink at me, limp wrist, [make the shape of a] tea pot, kiss at me and what I would class as a vile, vulgar homophobic gesture as well, inferring oral sex with a male. That was the most offensive," Tim told me in an exclusive interview. "I was his joke I think, his source of amusement. I don't know what his mindset was. I was stressed out by it, distressed. Bit of anger in there. I suffer from depression and it contributed to a relapse," said Tim. He brought an action against Taylor Edwards alleging discrimination under the Equality Act. It prevents anyone supplying goods and services - hairdressers, hotels, health clubs - from discriminating against customers on a variety of grounds, including race, religion, disability and sexual orientation. The Equality Act 2010 It is against the law to discriminate against anyone because of: You're protected from discrimination in these situations: Even though Peter Edwards was on a work break outside the shop at the time of the gesturing, he was still deemed to be acting in the course of his employment, and Tim won, and the judge awarded him £7,500 damages. "For the first time, the court has said that the discrimination on the part of businesses can be by gestures only. You don't need to show that there were any words spoken. Importantly, for gay men like Tim who experience acts of discrimination that they think that they can't enforce, this judgement means that they can," says solicitor Chris Fry from the firm Unity Law, which represented Tim. I contacted Taylor Edwards and Peter Edwards, but they declined to comment on the case. Changing times There was a time when limp-wristed gestures were accepted as humorous and formed a staple part of the nation's sitcoms. The 1970s BBC series Are You Being Served? itself set in a shop, treated its camp character Mr Humphries, he who was always "free", with liberal amounts of innuendo and gesturing. But Tim's case underscores that for service providers, whether they be restaurants or shops, times have changed. Employers are responsible for the behaviour of their workforce in both words and gestures. And that's what is groundbreaking about Tim's case. The discrimination was entirely non-verbal. It was just gestures. I went to a gay bar in central London to ask people how big an issue homophobic gesturing is for the gay community. "I think it's a big thing. I think it still happens. I think people see it as comical in a way, and I don't think that many people know how to deal with it," one man told me. "We've come a long way," another said, "but I think we're still not on a level playing field if you think of sexism and racism. People think those things are much worse than taking the Mickey out of someone who is gay." 'Deeply worrying' According to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) equality rights charity Stonewall, there were 6,000 hate crimes against LGBT people in the UK in the last year, but there are many that go unreported. And Stonewall says 75,000 young LGBT people are bullied each year simply because of who they are. "In 2015 it is deeply worrying that many LGBT people still face persecution, harassment and discrimination whether verbal of non-verbal, simply for who they are, and that means that they are not able to walk down the street holding the hands of the person they love," says James Taylor, head of campaigns at Stonewall. For Tim, however, the case was about standing up for who he is. "You don't have to be a wallflower, you don't have to be a shrinking violet, you can report this kind of behaviour. As it said in the final order, it is 'unlawful direct discrimination'. I think those three words sum it up," he says.

"टिम" एक समलैंगिक व्यक्ति है जिसे समुद्र के किनारे के शहर में मौखिक और शारीरिक होमोफोबिक दुर्व्यवहार की कई अलग-अलग घटनाओं का सामना करना पड़ा है जहां वह रहता है। उसे थूक दिया गया है, सिर पर प्रहार किया गया है और अपमानजनक नाम से पुकारा गया है।


Coventry 'boot camp' aims to change lives of 14 'Neets'

Summary: "When you go for a job it seems like everyone is getting them because they are older or they have more qualifications... and just because I'm 16 it doesn't mean I don't want a job."

Those are the words of Jesica McBride, from Coventry, who has been out of work since she left school last year. The economic downturn of the past few years has seen the number of young people leaving education and struggling to find work grow to an extent whereby the acronym "Neet" has been coined for them - standing for "not in education, employment or training". The term is even used by the government. And Miss McBride is one of 14 Coventry "Neets" going on a "boot camp" with the aim of finding them employment. Housing associations and community organisations have joined together to run the two-week course for the 16-to-18-year-olds. 'Opens your eyes' While compulsory schemes aimed at getting people back to work have hit the headlines recently, this course is voluntary. Activities include a physical boot camp and lessons on business pitching and a number of paid apprenticeships and work placements are offered at the end of the course. Miss McBride, who lives in Hillfields, wants to get into nursing and working with the elderly. She said her main barrier when finding work and apprenticeships was her lack of experience and she hoped this course will help her to gain employment at the end of it. She said: "You do stuff like this and it opens your eyes and makes you think about what you really want to do." According to figures from Lancaster University, about 16% of young people in Coventry aged between 18 and 24 are considered as Neets. Nearby in the Midlands, in Leicester the figure is less than 14% but Birmingham has one of the highest figures in the country, of more than 20%. Another study carried out by CSWP - The Careers Guidance Company, which provides careers information, advice and guidance to people throughout Coventry and Warwickshire, showed the number of 16-to-18-years-olds considered Neets fell from 915 in 2010 to 712 in 2011. But latest indications show the figure is set to rise again. Miss McBride has never been in trouble with the police, but some of the people on the course are youth offenders. She continues: "Some people, when they say they're from youth offenders, people expect the worse from them but some of them do actually want to change their life around. "Some of them here today want to see a difference and it's opening them up and they realise not to do bad things, and hopefully get things out of it." Paid opportunities Whitefriars Housing, Midland Heart and Orbit Heart of England have funded the programme and are working with a number of organisations, including West Midlands Fire Service, Coventry City Council and West Midlands Police. It is based on the boot camp scheme that was run by Whitefriars Housing Group last year and was backed by the government's champion of active, safer communities and member of the House of Lords, Baroness Newlove. At the end of the boot camp, the people who excel most on the course will be offered paid opportunities. There are four paid apprenticeships and two six-month paid work placements available. As part of their activities, the young people will also visit an older persons' sheltered home in Keresley, to share stories with the residents and participate in a decoration project. Last month, it was reported the proportion of people aged 16 to 18 who were "Neets" rose slightly when the education maintenance allowance scheme was scrapped. Mick Rawson, chairman of Whitefriars housing group, hopes courses such as these will give the young people some guidance. He said: "Many youngsters live on our estates and often problems exist with gangs and difficulties that can occur. "Sometimes that's the fact that they haven't got any guidance or people that they can rely on to give them that sort of guidance." It is hoped that more camp courses can be held in the future.

"जब आप नौकरी के लिए जाते हैं तो ऐसा लगता है कि हर कोई उन्हें इसलिए प्राप्त कर रहा है क्योंकि वे बड़े हैं या उनके पास अधिक योग्यता है... और सिर्फ इसलिए कि मैं 16 साल का हूं इसका मतलब यह नहीं है कि मुझे नौकरी नहीं चाहिए।"


Call for laws on discrimination from Guernsey deputy

Summary: The only way of ensuring equal opportunity in Guernsey is to tackle disability discrimination, says one island politician.

Deputy Jane Stephens champions the cause of disabled people within the island's government. She said outlawing discrimination would help islanders realise that people with disabilities do have the same rights. Deputies are due to debate the priority and need for such a law at a strategic planning meeting in September. There is currently no law covering disability discrimination in place in Guernsey.

एक द्वीप राजनेता का कहना है कि ग्वेर्नसे में समान अवसर सुनिश्चित करने का एकमात्र तरीका विकलांगता भेदभाव से निपटना है।


Analysis: Risk of conflict in East China Sea

Summary: China's declaration of an "air-defence identification zone" that extends over disputed islands in the East China Sea is just the latest step in Beijing's effort to assert its claims over the islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

By Jonathan MarcusBBC diplomatic correspondent US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel described the move as "a destabilising attempt to alter the status quo in the region". And on Saturday, almost as if to underline the risks involved, the Japanese authorities say that they scrambled two F-15 fighters to intercept two Chinese surveillance planes that were approaching the islands. China's more assertive policy and Japan's apparent willingness to push back against it raises the possibility of sparking a wider conflict, albeit by accident perhaps, rather than by design. All of the necessary points of friction are there. Last January, Japan insisted that a Chinese frigate locked its targeting radar on to a Japanese warship near the disputed islands. China denied it. In the year ending last March, Japan scrambled aircraft to intercept what it regards as Chinese intruders a record number of times. And both China and Japan have mounted exercises that encompass the seizure or the defence of remote islands. Having sought to draw lines at sea, Beijing is now seeking to draw lines in the air. The upshot could be greater instability, with the ever-present danger that an incident between warships or aircraft could precipitate a localised conflict between China and Japan. The consequences of such an encounter risk an escalation that could ultimately draw in other powers. 'Trump card' While China is pursuing the rapid modernisation of its air and naval forces, in any localised conflict it might be at a disadvantage compared to the modern and probably more capable Japanese. But drawing up a military balance between Japan and China is not really the issue here. The real question is how might such a crisis be managed? How might it be contained? Indeed is containment actually possible? For there is a growing concern that the traditional tools of crisis management may be less useful than in the past. Earlier this month a wargame was held at the US think tank, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, acting out just such a scenario involving China and Japan. It focused on how the US might respond to such a crisis. As matters got increasingly fraught between China and Japan the players acting out the roles of senior US officials resisted the deployment of US military muscle for fear of worsening the drama. But then the Chinese actors in the wargame escalated significantly. Long-range Chinese anti-shipping missile units were moved to high-alert. Forces were despatched towards the islands in contention. The US was forced to act; the recommendation was made to send two aircraft carrier strike groups to the East China Sea. At this point the wargame apparently ended; the US having played its trump card, and with the heavyweights of US naval power on the way the assumption was that the crisis would die down. But one US strategic expert who follows events in this region closely - Robert Haddick - has warned that such assumptions may be outdated. In the past, he notes, the despatch of a US carrier battle group was seen as the escalatory trump card, because there was very little that potential adversaries could do against them. Antidote However, China's growing area-denial or access-denial strategy seeks explicitly to put such US assets in jeopardy. Long-range anti-ship ballistic missiles are intended specifically to take out US carriers. Escalating by despatching a carrier or two might in future not calm a crisis, warns Mr Haddick. It could actually encourage the Chinese to strike out against them. The growing tensions between China and Japan are just one aspect of the wider strains in the region, which both Chinese and US strategy may actually be making worse. One antidote is for better understanding between the US and Chinese militaries and there has been some recent progress here. But in a broad sense the whole US strategic doctrine in the region - dubbed Air-Sea Battle - seems designed to contain China's rising military might, while China's area-denial strategy seems intent on hampering the ability of US air and naval forces to make significant interventions in waters that it regards as its strategic backyard. This is why an unwanted Sino-Japanese clash puts so many experts' teeth on edge.

पूर्वी चीन सागर में विवादित द्वीपों पर फैले एक "वायु-रक्षा पहचान क्षेत्र" की चीन की घोषणा, जापान में सेनकाकू और चीन में दियाओयू के रूप में जाने जाने वाले द्वीपों पर अपने दावे का दावा करने के बीजिंग के प्रयास में नवीनतम कदम है।


The blind woman developing tech for the good of others

Summary: An accident in a swimming pool left Chieko Asakawa blind at the age of 14. For the past three decades she's worked to create technology - now with a big focus on artificial intelligence (AI) - to transform life for the visually impaired.

By Virginia HarrisonBBC News, Singapore "When I started out there was no assistive technology," Japanese-born Dr Asakawa says. "I couldn't read any information by myself. I couldn't go anywhere by myself." Those "painful experiences" set her on a path of learning that began with a computer science course for blind people, and a job at IBM soon followed. She started her pioneering work on accessibility at the firm, while also earning her doctorate. Dr Asakawa is behind early digital Braille innovations and created the world's first practical web-to-speech browser. Those browsers are commonplace these days, but 20 years ago, she gave blind internet users in Japan access to more information than they'd ever had before. Now she and other technologists are looking to use AI to create tools for visually impaired people. Micro mapping For example, Dr Asakawa has developed NavCog, a voice-controlled smartphone app that helps blind people navigate complicated indoor locations. Low-energy Bluetooth beacons are installed roughly every 10m (33ft) to create an indoor map. Sampling data is collected from those beacons to build "fingerprints" of a specific location. "We detect user position by comparing the users' current fingerprint to the server's fingerprint model," she says. Collecting large amounts of data creates a more detailed map than is available in an application like Google Maps, which doesn't work for indoor locations and cannot provide the level of detail blind and visually impaired people need, she says. "It can be very helpful, but it cannot navigate us exactly," says Dr Asakawa, who's now an IBM Fellow, a prestigious group that has produced five Nobel prize winners. NavCog is currently in a pilot stage, available in several sites in the US and one in Tokyo, and IBM says it is close to making the app available to the public. 'It gave me more control' Pittsburgh residents Christine Hunsinger, 70, and her husband Douglas Hunsinger, 65, both blind, trialled NavCog at a hotel in their city during a conference for blind people. "I felt more like I was in control of my own situation," says Mrs Hunsinger, now retired after 40 years as a government bureaucrat. She uses other apps to help her get around, and says while she needed to use her white cane alongside NavCog, it did give her more freedom to move around in unfamiliar areas. Mr Hunsinger agrees, saying the app "took all the guesswork out" of finding places indoors. "It was really liberating to travel independently on my own." A lightweight 'suitcase robot' Dr Asakawa's next big challenge is the "AI suitcase" - a lightweight navigational robot. It steers a blind person through the complex terrain of an airport, providing directions as well as useful information on flight delays and gate changes, for example. The suitcase has a motor embedded so it can move autonomously, an image-recognition camera to detect surroundings, and Lidar - Light Detection And Ranging - for measuring distances to objects. When stairs need to be climbed, the suitcase tells the user to pick it up. "If we work together with the robot it could be lighter, smaller and lower cost," Dr Asakawa says. The current prototype is "pretty heavy", she admits. IBM is pushing to make the next version lighter and hopes it will ultimately be able to contain at least a laptop computer. It aims to pilot the project in Tokyo in 2020. "I want to really enjoy travelling alone. That's why I want to focus on the AI suitcase even if it is going to take a long time." IBM showed me a video of the prototype, but as it's not ready for release yet the firm was reluctant to release images at this stage. AI for 'social good' Despite its ambitions, IBM lags behind Microsoft and Google in what it currently offers the visually impaired. Microsoft has committed $115m (£90m) to its AI for Good programme and $25m to its AI for accessibility initiative. For example, Seeing AI - a talking camera app - is a central part of its accessibility work. And later this year Google reportedly plans to launch its Lookout app, initially for the Pixel, that will narrate and guide visually impaired people around specific objects. "People with disabilities have been overlooked when it comes to technology development as a whole," says Nick McQuire, head of enterprise and AI research at CCS Insight. But he says that's been changing in the past year, as big tech firms push hard to invest in AI applications that "improve social wellbeing". He expects more to come in this space, including from Amazon, which has sizeable investments in AI. More Technology of Business "But it's really Microsoft and Google... in the last 12 months that have made the big focus in this area," he says. Mr McQuire says the focus on social good and disability is linked to "trying to showcase the benefits [of AI] in light of a lot of negative sentiment" around AI replacing human jobs and even taking over completely. But AI in the disability space is far from perfect. A lot of the investment right now is about "proving the accuracy and speed of the applications" around vision, he says. Dr Asakawa concludes simply: "I've been tackling the difficulties I found when I became blind. I hope these difficulties can be solved."

एक स्विमिंग पूल में एक दुर्घटना ने 14 साल की उम्र में चीको असकावा को अंधा कर दिया। पिछले तीन दशकों से उन्होंने दृष्टिबाधित लोगों के जीवन को बदलने के लिए तकनीक बनाने के लिए काम किया है-अब कृत्रिम बुद्धिमत्ता (ए. आई.) पर एक बड़ा ध्यान देने के साथ।


Anti-Tiger protest in Geneva

Summary: Members of the Sri Lankan community gathered in front of the UN headquarters in Geneva Switzerland protested against the LTTE while the parties started talks in a nearby castle.

Shouting slogans the protesters condemned the LTTE for violating the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) signed in 2002. The protest was organized by the Universal Campaign for the Protection of Democracy. Speaking from the protest campaigner H.D.L Mahindapala said that he does not see the Geneva talks a useful initiative. Commenting on the speech made by the Norwegian Minister of International Development Mahindapala said “there is very little room for optimism and this is going to just another talk shop”. The Norwegian minister warned that there should not be over expectations on the out come of talks. Members of Sinhala organizations and Tamil political parties opposed to the LTTE joined in the protest.

श्रीलंकाई समुदाय के सदस्य जिनेवा में संयुक्त राष्ट्र मुख्यालय के सामने एकत्र हुए, स्विट्जरलैंड ने एलटीटीई के खिलाफ विरोध प्रदर्शन किया, जबकि दलों ने पास के एक महल में बातचीत शुरू की।


Storm-hit tree pulls down Jersey power lines

Summary: Engineers are trying to restore electricity to a number of homes in Jersey after a falling tree pulled down power lines.

The tree at La Commune in St Saviour was brought down as strong winds and high tides hit the island. Large waves have damaged part of the sea wall at St Clement and there have been reports of some coastal flooding. The stormy conditions have also led to number of road closures and cancelled bus services. A "red" tidal and flood warning has been issued by Jersey Met Office for Saturday night and Sunday morning.

पेड़ गिरने से बिजली की तारें गिरने के बाद इंजीनियर जर्सी में कई घरों में बिजली बहाल करने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं।


Will Gompertz reviews Scotland's first design museum, V&A Dundee ★★★★★

Summary: Sitting opposite me on the train to Dundee was a 30-something woman and her son. As we crossed the Tay Rail Bridge she turned to her child and said wistfully, "it's great to be going back to Dundee".

Will GompertzArts editor@WillGompertzBBCon Twitter He looked up at her wise face, blinked once or twice, and said, "No it's not. It's rubbish". A lively conversation then ensued between the two who traded pros and cons about Scotland's fourth-largest city, before the mother finally brought matters emphatically to a close by saying, "You've never been to Maidstone!" A bit random, I thought. And unnecessary. There is no need for put downs of Kentish towns. Dundee has a new star attraction that should win over even the most entrenched naysayers. Admittedly, it cost £80.1m, looks like a crushed municipal car park, and is framed by some of the ugliest modern buildings I've ever seen. And yet - and despite years of difficulties and political turmoil - the V&A Dundee is terrific. I'll go further, it is world class. The first purpose-built design museum in Scotland is itself an instant design classic Nothing is perfect, but small niggles aside (the triangular walkway under the building creates a hurricane-effect wind-tunnel), Kengo Kuma's building is close to being impeccable. From its concrete-clad, craggy cliff-face of an exterior that juts out into the Tay estuary like the prow of a ship, to the wood-panelled atrium that gives visitors the warmest of welcomes - it is a showcase of design at its best. Quite why the Japanese architect has never made a building in the UK before is baffling. He is a master of his craft, working without the pomp and ego of some of his fellow so-called "starchitects" whose attention-grabbing projects aim to dominate their landscape. The V&A Dundee does not. It is as restrained as a royal footman: modest, sympathetic, and respectful of its surroundings. Its relatively small scale and simple navigation reflect an attitude that seems to pervade the entire project, which is to connect visitors with design excellence in all its forms, by removing as many obstacles as possible. Hence a two-storey building with a single staircase (or a lift if you prefer) that leads to the museum's two well-proportioned galleries. One will host temporary exhibitions, the other the story of Scottish design. The opening show is Ocean Liners, which recently closed at the V&A in London (about a third of the new museum's shows will come from the Mothership in South Kensington). The exhibition was good down south but, frankly, looks a whole load better in Dundee, which says something about the quality of the new flexible spaces Mr Kuma has created. The Galleries of Scottish Design are also a success. Partly because the objects are allowed to speak for themselves without overbearing visual effects or walls clogged up with impenetrable "interpretation" panels. But also due to the content, which is well displayed and broad in range, genre, and period. Vivienne Westwood's Harris Tweed tartan jacket, Alexander McQueen's gothic wedding dress, and a 500-year old Book of Hours all perform the role of warm-up act for the star exhibit: Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Oak Room (1907). It was originally built for Miss Cranston's Tearoom in Glasgow before being salvaged by enthusiasts in the 1970s, who removed it piece by piece after the building in which it was housed was sold off to a hotel developer. For the past 50 years it has been stored, oak plank-upon-oak plank, in a warehouse while waiting for an opportunity to re-enter the public domain, which it now has at the V&A Dundee. It feels a bit bare without any tables or chairs, but is still a splendid sight to behold, and is given added poignancy by the recent fire at the Glasgow School of Art, which destroyed important examples of Mackintosh architecture and interiors. Should you tire of man-made creations, there are windows a-plenty on the first floor, from which you can enjoy the magnificent River Tay, a constant silvery presence, reflecting light back into the main hall and restaurant. That's to the south. Fortunately, you don't get to see what's going on just over the road to the north. But you will when you go outside. And with your sensibilities at their most aesthetically tuned after an hour or so in the museum you will be appalled by what confronts you. The new railway station-hotel combo is ghastly. As is the crass looking rectangular block being built to its side. There are, I am told, plans for more of the same in a £1bn regeneration of Dundee's Waterfront. Oh dear. What a shame. What a missed opportunity. Was there not a design tsar in place to oversee the city's regeneration masterplan? If not, why not? If there is one, what is he or she thinking? The new museum was always intended as the "jewel in the crown", but that's no reason to decorate the rest of it with tacky add-ons. Dundee had the foresight to invite a very good architect to build his first project in the UK on its waterfront. Why not extend the invitation and ask him to oversee a coherent design for the entire area before it's too late, and his wonderful new building is rendered invisible by cheap-and-cheerless eyesores.

डंडी जाने वाली ट्रेन में मेरे सामने एक 30-कुछ महिला और उसका बेटा बैठे थे। जब हम टे रेल ब्रिज को पार कर रहे थे तो वह अपने बच्चे की ओर मुड़ी और उत्सुकता से कहा, "डंडी वापस जाना बहुत अच्छा है।"


M6 near Stafford shuts for hours after fatal lorry crash

Summary: The M6 southbound was shut for nearly four hours after a fatal crash involving a lorry.

The road between junctions 13 and 14 at Stafford was closed after the crash which happened at about 12:30 BST. A man involved in the crash was confirmed dead half an hour later. The crash led to long delays with queues stretching back to junction 16 but the road was reopened shortly before 16:00 BST. Officers urged witnesses to the crash to contact them.

एक लॉरी की घातक दुर्घटना के बाद दक्षिण की ओर जाने वाली एम6 को लगभग चार घंटे के लिए बंद कर दिया गया था।


MPs want curbs on 'unacceptable' religious slaughter

Summary: The government is facing renewed calls to curb the slaughtering of animals that have not first been rendered unconscious - a debate that pits religious sensitivities against the convictions of animal welfare campaigners.

By Ed LowtherPolitical reporter, BBC News Senior Conservative backbencher Greg Knight has told MPs that the practice of slaughtering cattle, lambs and chickens in this way is "rife". The law demands that animals be stunned before they are killed - by electrocution, gassing, or shooting retractable rods into their brains - but there are exemptions for animals to be killed according to Jewish and Muslim traditions, without stunning them first. In the Commons on Thursday, Mr Knight described these exemptions as "unacceptable". This is the culmination of a series of interventions from the Conservative backbenches in recent weeks, adopting progressively more hardline stances on the subject. The previous week, Conservative MP for Ealing Central and Acton Angie Bray claimed that "more than 25% of meat sold in our shops comes from animals that have not been stunned before slaughter". 'Freedom of choice' As this amount "exceeds easily the needs of our communities with special religious requirements", she suggested that some abattoirs were using the exemptions for kosher and halal meat as an excuse to cut costs. "New measures" might be needed to enforce the law properly, she said. And last month, Tory MP for Shipley Philip Davies launched a bid to change the law to ensure that halal and kosher meat on sale in shops and eateries was labelled as such. "My sole reason for introducing the bill is to give consumers more information, so that they can exercise their freedom of choice," the former Asda employee told MPs. Mr Davies said his objective was to ensure that consumers knew "how the meat has been killed". Kosher meat is not processed in the UK from animals stunned prior to slaughter. But EU research from 2006 indicated that 75% of cattle, 93% of sheep and 100% of chickens slaughtered in the UK for halal meat were stunned prior to their deaths. Figures produced by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in 2011 give a similar picture: 84%, 81% and 88%, respectively. Meanwhile, Denmark and New Zealand have both legislated to ensure that all animals killed for halal meat are stunned first. So labelling meat as halal will not fully achieve Mr Davies' objective, since consumers will be unaware whether the animal had been stunned or not. Commons canteen MPs were quick to point out flaws in Mr Davies's bill, before voting to consign it to the legislative scrap heap by a majority of just three. "If it said that all chickens had to be labelled in a certain way if the birds had been battery hens, or if he had proposed that meat had to be labelled in a certain way if the animals had been kept in dreadful conditions before being killed... I would at least regard him as consistent," Sir Gerald Kaufman said. The veteran Labour MP accepted that Mr Davies had not the "tiniest anti-Semitic feeling in him", yet he had come forward with a bill that "picked on two small minorities". Concerns about the extent to which non-Muslim consumers are unwittingly eating halal meat were voiced during the recent French presidential campaign by far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, before being taken up by Nicolas Sarkozy, who declared that it was the "issue that most preoccupies the French" as he failed in his bid for re-election. These concerns were echoed in the Commons by Mr Davies, who told MPs that "state schools, hospitals, pubs, sports arenas, cafes, markets and hotels [are] serving halal meat to customers without their knowledge". Reports have also revealed that halal meat has been served in the House of Commons canteens without labelling. 'Stricter rules' While committing itself to the principle of providing accurate information to consumers, the government has warned that there are "real practical difficulties in establishing traceability to identity method of slaughter to the point of consumption". Finding out exactly how much halal and kosher meat is being sold in the UK is also problematic, since accurate data on the subject is not gathered. Ms Bray's 25% figure for halal meat appears to be based on a recent article by former president of the British Veterinary Association, Bill Reilly - but he emphasises that some of these animals would have been stunned before slaughter. The FSA estimates that less than 1% of all meat produced in the UK is kosher. Members of the lower house of parliament in the Netherlands agree with Mr Knight's suggestion that slaughter without stunning is "unacceptable". The chamber recently voted in favour of an outright ban, but the legislation was subsequently blocked by the senate after the country's Chief Rabbi, Binyomin Jacobs, reportedly drew a parallel with Nazism. "One of the first measures taken during the occupation was the closing of kosher abattoirs," he said. Although no changes to the current regime on religious slaughter are mooted in a new EU directive on animal welfare, due to come into force in January 2013, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minister James Paice has noted that "member states can impose stricter rules in relation to religious slaughter if they wish". He added: "I am currently considering what might be done to improve welfare in this context." The UK government plans to consult on how to bring the directive into force later this year, giving an opportunity for both proponents and opponents of the current regime to rekindle the debate.

सरकार उन जानवरों के वध पर अंकुश लगाने के लिए नए सिरे से कॉल का सामना कर रही है जिन्हें पहले बेहोश नहीं किया गया है-एक बहस जो पशु कल्याण प्रचारकों के विश्वास के खिलाफ धार्मिक संवेदनशीलता को दर्शाती है।


Government looks to Takeover Panel for Pfizer five year "lock"

Summary: One of the most telling attacks on the possibility of a deal between Pfizer and AstraZeneca is that any pledges on jobs and research made by the US drugs giant are "not worth the paper they are written on".

Kamal AhmedBusiness editor@bbckamalon Twitter The shadow business secretary, Chuka Ummuna, has deployed the point regularly, everywhere from the floor of the House of Commons to Question Time. With few direct powers to intervene, Number 10 and the Treasury have been working urgently on a way of cutting off the line of attack. I am told they are now coalescing around the powers of the Takeover Panel which is able to scrutinize the details of any deal for up to five years following completion. Binding promise The move comes ahead of a major week in the progression of the deal. Ian Read, the Pfizer chief executive, arrived in the UK tonight in readiness for his appearance before the Business Select Committee on Tuesday and the Science Select Committee on Wednesday. Mr Read will argue during his session - which starts at 10am - that his letter to the prime minister detailing a series of pledges on research and development spending, science facilities in Cambridge and manufacturing in Macclesfield is indeed worth the paper it is written on. To prove it, the letter will be made part of the offer document that will make up the AstraZeneca deal. By making it part of the offer document, the government believes that "legally binding" does have some force. It was the Takeover Panel that censured Kraft for its failure to honour commitments to the Somerdale factory it made during its purchase of Cadbury. Repercussions Is a Takeover Panel censure any more than a slap on the wrist? The government, if it makes the panel the final arbiter (and it is only one option being looked at), will say that it is. The panel statement's on Kraft in 2010 led to the resignation of the organisation's new director general, Peter Kiernan, who had advised US confectionary giant on its £11.6bn hostile bid. Sources close to the panel also said that any banker advising on the deal would be professionally damaged by any censure. Pfizer itself would also be weakened, and the move could haunt any future takeover bids elsewhere in the world. Concrete Mr Read will say he has legal opinion that reinforces the position. He will also argue that the exceptional circumstances sentence in the letter to the prime minister, suggesting that the pledges could change, would only be used in extremis. And by that he appears to mean if the deal does not go through in the first place, for example because of regulatory hurdles. As well as the issue of making the pledges "binding", the government has also been looking for more concrete promises from Pfizer. Here, they may hit more reluctance. Mr Read is likely to make the point on Tuesday that without actually being able to see AstraZeneca's books it is difficult for the company to go any further. Although some have been demanding 10 year commitments, Pfizer is highly reluctant to go so far in an industry which is notoriously difficult to forecast. Critics What will be clear from Mr Read is that he is here to face his critics. Unlike Irene Rosenfeld, the chief executive of Kraft who refused to appear before Parliamentary Select Committees while the Cadbury deal was in play, Mr Read has decided that being here is better than not. He will meet Ed Miliband, the leader of the opposition, to make his case after the two missed each other during Mr Read's first visit to the UK two weeks ago. On that occasion it seems Pfizer did offer a meeting but was rebuffed. This time there will be no such confusion, although Labour has made it clear it is not at all keen on the deal. Sources at the Business Select Committee have also told me there will be three key areas where Mr Read will be questioned tomorrow morning: There will also be one key question for Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, who appears after Mr Read at 1pm: Is he considering a broader public interest defence when it comes to foreign takeovers, and if not, why not? Given that this will be the first time many of the British public will see either Mr Read or Pascale Soriot, the AstraZeneca chief executive who is also giving evidence, there will certainly be plenty of meaty issues to chew over once the sessions are completed.

फाइजर और एस्ट्राजेनेका के बीच सौदे की संभावना पर सबसे अधिक कहने वाले हमलों में से एक यह है कि अमेरिकी दवा दिग्गज द्वारा नौकरियों और शोध पर की गई कोई भी प्रतिज्ञा "उस कागज के लायक नहीं है जिस पर वे लिखे गए हैं।"


Jersey's borders get extra security during London Olympics

Summary: Jersey's borders will have extra security this summer during the London Olympics after fears the island could be used as a backdoor for terrorism.

Michael Robinson, the head of Jersey's Customs and Immigration, said there would be more checks at all Channel Islands airports and ports to ensure they were not a "weak link". He said passport control would be fully manned with stringent checks. He warned it could result in longer queues for travellers. Mr Robinson said Jersey needed to fall into line to ensure Britain was safe. He said: "What I am anxious to avoid is somebody slipping into Jersey and then going on to the mainland. "We are part of what's called the common travel area so once you are in Jersey there are no more immigration controls anywhere between the island and the UK. So we have a part to play."

जर्सी की सीमाओं पर इस गर्मी में लंदन ओलंपिक के दौरान अतिरिक्त सुरक्षा होगी क्योंकि इस आशंका के कारण कि द्वीप का उपयोग आतंकवाद के लिए पिछले दरवाजे के रूप में किया जा सकता है।


Has the Kremlin been meddling with its Arctic friends?

Summary: Russian shoppers fill its supermarkets. Russian boats throng its harbour. Its museum celebrates the Red Army. But the little town of Kirkenes isn't in Russia. It's in Norway. It's a tiny bubble of cross-border friendship in a Nato country. Now, though, as East-West tensions rise, the sacking of a prominent local journalist has highlighted the fragility of the special relationship.

By Tim WhewellBBC News, Kirkenes The wild, desolate coast of the Arctic Ocean is an ideal environment for journalist Thomas Nilsen. A lean, rugged, outdoor type with greying hair but a boyish intensity, he likes nothing better than exploring the rocky inlets and boggy forests that stretch between the far north of his native Norway and Russia's adjoining Kola peninsula - on foot or cross-country skis, by boat or canoe. He's been an environmental campaigner and guide for adventure tours as well as a journalist. But all his work has involved bringing Norwegians and Russians closer together. Nilsen lives in the small town of Kirkenes, where until recently he edited an online newspaper, the Barents Observer, with a mission to break down barriers in a region which was one of the world's most dangerous and sensitive during the Cold War. Russian submarines with nuclear warheads are still based just across the border. But Kirkenes has become what Nilsen calls a "laboratory of East-West contacts." Local people from both countries enjoy visa-free travel across the border. Russians shop in Kirkenes for babies' nappies, clothes, and a huge variety of food - providing a bonanza for the town's economy. Some have moved to Kirkenes to live and work. Meanwhile, Norwegians go to Russia for cheap petrol, vodka, haircuts, and dentistry. "It's High North - low tensions," says Nilsen, referring to the Norwegian government's policy for the region. "It's a slogan, but it's also quite serious for Norway, because Norway is a very little country. We are five million people - and we are neighbouring the biggest country in the world." Now some fear the relationship is under threat - and they're worried partly because of what has happened to Thomas Nilsen. Last month he was suddenly sacked as editor of the Barents Observer in a row with its owners, a group of local councils in the north of Norway, over editorial freedom. The disagreement stemmed, Nilsen says, from the paper's coverage of Russia - particularly an article he wrote during the Ukraine crisis criticising Russian president Vladimir Putin's increasing crackdown on independent media and voluntary organisations. "The head of the board called me into his office and said, 'You're sacked. Please take your things and leave the office by the end of today.' I'm very frustrated that something like this could happen in Norway in 2015." In Norway, proud of its record of media freedom, the incident became a political sensation - particularly after the state broadcasting company, NRK, claimed the Russian security service, the FSB, had demanded Nilsen's removal. That was angrily denied by the Russian Embassy in Oslo. But Nilsen says the Russian consul-general in Kirkenes had earlier told him, "There are some facts in the Barents Observer that Moscow doesn't like very much." Nilsen says: "I think no Norwegian politician could actually receive orders from Russia. I think it's more the stupidity of our owners, because they don't want to harm the traditionally good relations over the border." The paper's owners say Nilsen's sacking had nothing to do with the paper's Russian coverage, and they never had any contact with any Russian official. But it's raised questions about whether the intricate web of cross-border ties can survive the current East-West tension, with Western sanctions against Russia and a Russian ban on Western food imports. The friendship dates back to the end of World War Two, when Soviet troops liberated Kirkenes from German occupation. Local author Olaug Bye Gamnes, now aged 80, remembers watching them arrive in October 1944 when she was a nine-year-old girl. "We really looked upon them as saviours," she says. "During the year they stayed, they supplied the population here with food. They even went to Russia to get it. They didn't take houses from people, like the Germans did. They stayed themselves in the open or in tents, and let people have what was left of the buildings." Later, during the Cold War, the relationship was put on ice. The outgoing mayor of Kirkenes, Cecilie Hansen, grew up in sight of the border - but didn't cross it until she was 14. Now she goes regularly to Russia - and last year 320,000 Russians came to Kirkenes. To welcome them, many signs are written in Russian - particularly in the town's three shopping centres. Hansen says they even buy expensive Norwegian alcohol - while Norwegians get their drink in Russia. "The Russians trust Norwegian products - but when we go to Russia, we don't care, as long as it's cheap and there's a high percentage of alcohol, we don't care what's inside," she says. More vital for the local economy is co-operation in the oil and gas sector. A Norwegian company, Norterminal, organises the transfer of Russian oil to Western tankers in Kirkenes Fjord - because it would be uneconomic for the small Russian tankers, which are built to break through Arctic ice, to transport the crude further West. But though the oil trade is not directly hit by sanctions, technical co-operation in the energy sector is. That's put joint projects to develop the vast new deposits discovered under the Barents Sea on hold. "The challenge now with these sanctions is that a lot of business is experiencing a decline," says Odd Arne Haueng of Norterminal. "And if you are going to do business it has to be predictable. You need to know what's coming… A lot of businessmen actually just give up." Fewer Russians have come to Kirkenes this year. Mayor Hansen says that's partly because of the fall in value of the Russian currency, the rouble, but also perhaps because of a more anti-Western mood on the other side of the border. Norwegian fishermen who used to export to Russia have been badly hit by Russian counter-sanctions. But still flourishing is a business at Bugoynes west of Kirkenes, where massive king crabs - some 1.5m long - are packed and transported live to some of the world's smartest restaurants, under the supervision of a Russian marine biologist, Roman Vasiliev. King crabs were originally introduced to the region in the 1960s by Soviet scientists - and regarded by many Norwegians as alien invaders, destroying existing sea life. Later, however, local fishermen realised what a valuable catch they were. "I would call them a gift from Russia to Norway," Vasiliev says - though he admits that the creatures, which can easily crush a man's finger, are dangerous. "They will fight to the end. In some ways they are like Russians!" he says. It's a joke, of course, but in the current political climate a slightly uneasy one. Thomas Nilsen, the journalist, is now setting up a new online publication of his own to cover events in the region. He blames the Russian authorities for "building mistrust against the West" - and rejects any suggestion that Norwegian media should keep quiet about problems in Russia as a price to ensure good relations. But he hopes that any chill between the Norwegian and Russian governments won't damage the cross-border friendship that ordinary people living far away in the High North have forged. "This laboratory up here proved that co-operation is important," he says, "and especially that's true in times of trouble, in times of cold winds between East and West." Listen to Tim Whewell's report on Crossing Continents on BBC Radio 4 at 11:00 on Thursday 12 November, or catch up later online. Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

रूसी खरीदार इसके सुपरमार्केट भरते हैं। रूसी नावें इसके बंदरगाह पर उमड़ती हैं। इसका संग्रहालय लाल सेना का जश्न मनाता है। लेकिन किरकेन्स का छोटा सा शहर रूस में नहीं है। यह नॉर्वे में है। यह एक नाटो देश में सीमा पार दोस्ती का एक छोटा सा बुलबुला है। अब, हालांकि, जैसे-जैसे पूर्व-पश्चिम तनाव बढ़ता है, एक प्रमुख स्थानीय पत्रकार की बर्खास्तगी ने विशेष संबंध की नाजुकता को उजागर किया है।


Guernsey politicians shape new vote system

Summary: Workshops are being held for Guernsey's politicians to ensure they can all contribute to proposals for a new island-wide voting system.

A debate was postponed in June after several deputies criticised the Constitution Committee for proposals that were too simplistic. Currently the island is divided into seven electoral districts, which each elects six or seven members of States. A new system would let islanders vote for people outside their districts.

ग्वेर्नसे के राजनेताओं के लिए कार्यशालाएं आयोजित की जा रही हैं ताकि यह सुनिश्चित किया जा सके कि वे सभी एक नई द्वीप-व्यापी मतदान प्रणाली के प्रस्तावों में योगदान कर सकें।


Great Art? The graffiti of the New York subway

Summary: Forty years ago author Norman Mailer published an essay in which he declared the graffiti of the New York subway to be "The Great Art of the 70s". But what happened to the artists and why is there no subway graffiti any more?

By Chris SummersBBC News "It started with someone just writing their name - someone saw that, and added on to it," recalls New York graffiti artist Nicer, born Hector Nazario. "Letters going in front of letters, coming back through a letter, behind a letter, going across a letter... the subways became our playground," adds Riff170. New York in 1974 was a city in crisis. The Mayor, Abe Beame, slashed the city's budget in a bid to stave off bankruptcy, which meant laying off school teachers, police officers and subway staff. "They was taking the money from the schools, there was a lot of corruption here, in this community, and so they took the after-school programmes away, and there was no outlets for this. So the outlet became our city," says Bronx-born designer Eric Orr. "And for the artist guys, those type of creative guys, it became the paint, the aerosol and the marker." "It was like an explosion. The graffiti explosion. All of a sudden it took over the whole city. I don't know what happened, but overnight in the early 70s it was from no graffiti to all graffiti," says another former artist, Flint Gennari. Eric Felisbret, author and former graffiti artist, says graffiti culture was in a way a product of the civil rights movement. "It was never political," he says, "but many people were brought up with that, and to express yourself by breaking the law became a natural process for them." The graffiti pioneers came from all races, however. "There were writers that were African American, Latino - Puerto Rico, Dominican, Cuban - Jewish, Asian, and it became one unit - one family," says another graffiti pioneer, Roberto Gualtieri, the man behind the Coco144 tag. He recalls a great sense of camaraderie between the young men with their spray cans, as does Gennari, who describes them as a "brotherhood" of the city's anti-establishment youth. There were also bitter rivalries, however. "There were crews that were after me, and, you know, I would cross their names out, and then just bank on the fact that they wouldn't catch me," reminisces Jayson Edlin - aka Terror161. "One guy from a crew that really wanted to get me wrote a death threat on a station - 'You're dead Jayson'. Within two months of writing that he made headlines for murdering two people in a drug deal gone bad. [He] did 17 years." There was another threat to their lives that they diced with every night. The mantra was "stay away from the third rail" says Cornell Perry, a graffiti writer better known as Jester1. "Just don't hit the third rail... you know the story if you hit the third rail, you'd get electrocuted, man… I mean, I stepped on the third rail many times, but I guess as I had rubber soles on, I never got electrocuted." The third rail did claim lives though, and still does. Last month graffiti legend Jason Wulf - who used the tag DG - was electrocuted at 25th Street Station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. His friend, June Lang, told the New York Post: "He had a talent that nobody had. It was more than tagging to him. It was an art. It was beautiful. He would do side walls for businesses. He didn't just do the trains; he did everything." In his essay in Esquire magazine, Mailer wrote: "They adopt a name. It is like a logo. Moxie or Socono, Tang, Whirlpool, Duz. The kids bear a not quite definable relation to their product. It not MY NAME but THE NAME. Watching The Name Go By..." He went on: "They had written masterpieces in letters six-feet high on the side of walls and subway cars...There was panic in the act, a species of writing with an eye over one's shoulder for the oncoming of the authority... "There was real fear of being caught. Pain and humiliation were the implacable dues and not all graffiti artists showed equal grace under such pressure. Some wrote like cowards, timidly, furtively, jerkily. 'Man, you got messed-up handwriting,' was the condemnation of their peers." Prof Gregory Snyder, sociologist and author of Graffiti Lives, says: "For lots of people, graffiti is ugly, vandalistic, and I'm not denying that. It's vandalism... now, oftentimes it's very clever vandalism. It can be written on a dumpster, like a garbage bin, and if someone's attempting to make a garbage bin look a little prettier maybe that's not the worst thing in the world." But although Mailer was not alone in welcoming the flowering of creativity, the authorities hated it, as did many passengers, who felt it symbolised a city that was going to rack and ruin. In 1977 a huge power cut led to blackouts in the city, sparking widespread looting and rioting. Mayor Beame was turfed out of office in the wake of the debacle and was replaced by Ed Koch, who came in on a law and order ticket. Koch was determined to clean up the city and set about targeting graffiti. "I remember in 1982 he brought everyone out to a train yard and there was a single train painted white," says former New York Daily News reporter Salvatore Arena recalls. "They were introducing a new security system, with fences and dogs. The mayor was confident it would stay white. Of course it didn't." That same year Bob Kiley, a former CIA agent, became chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), who in 1983 hired David Gunn, as President of the NYC Transit Authority. Gunn launched a new campaign to banish graffiti - and this time it worked. Trains were taken out of service and cleaned as soon as graffiti was spotted. Carriages were protected at night behind razor wire and the city agreed to ban the sale of spray cans to minors. Benjamin Kabak, who writes a blog in New York, says the tipping point was the shooting by Bernard Goetz of four people on the subway in 1984. "There was this sense of lawlessness underground. He shot people who were allegedly trying to mug him. I was only a child at the time but I remember the whole atmosphere - trains were covered in graffiti and stations were dark and it didn't feel safe to be underground," he says. The mood changed. Mailer's celebration of graffiti began to feel out of date. If in 1984 80% of subway carriages contained graffiti by May 1989 the MTA was celebrating the network being graffiti-free. The change was reflected in the falling number of graffiti-related arrests - 2,400 in 1984, and only 300 in 1987. But Prof Snyder is keen to repudiate the idea that subway users always hated graffiti. "There was an opportunity to utilise these young people's artistic energy in the service of NYC culture," he says. "And one of the outgrowths of the graffiti movement is that people all over the world came to New York seeking NYC culture - and part of that culture they were seeking was the graffiti written on our subways." The men behind Coco144, Jester1, Riff170 and Terror161 "retired" from the graffiti game in the 1980s but some, like Coco, went on to become professional artists. "Graffiti has gone through an evolution, and it will continue to evolve. It's now socially accepted in places where 20, 30 years ago that would have been impossible. It's now showcased in certain museums - and let's say in another 30 years from now it may be hanging in the White House," says Nicer. Nowadays painted graffiti is largely gone from the New York subway trains themselves and is seen instead on the walls and tunnels of the city. It has been replaced by scratchiti - tags which are etched on to carriage windows using keys, knives, emery boards or chunks of lava. Unlike the vivid images of 40 years ago, these ghostly patterns are somehow easy to ignore. Graffiti has faded quietly into the background. Graffiti: Kings On a Mission was broadcast on Radio 4 on Thursday 7 August. Listen to the programme on the BBC iPlayer. Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

चालीस साल पहले लेखक नॉर्मन मेलर ने एक निबंध प्रकाशित किया था जिसमें उन्होंने न्यूयॉर्क सबवे के भित्तिचित्रों को "70 के दशक की महान कला" घोषित किया था। लेकिन कलाकारों का क्या हुआ और अब कोई सबवे भित्तिचित्र क्यों नहीं है?


Edwin Poots and the DUP facing big questions after smash-and-grab win

Summary: It was a classic smash-and-grab operation.

By Enda McClaffertyBBC News NI political editor Smashing the previous leadership and then grabbing power before his challenger even entered the race. Edwin Poots boxed off the support he needed to succeed Arlene Foster as Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader as she prepared her resignation speech - and never looked back. He pulled off a political masterstroke to land his dream job, leader of the party he joined as a 16-year-old, after winning an election over Sir Jeffrey Donaldson on Friday. But, for others in the DUP, his rise to the top is the nightmare outcome they dreaded. "We didn't see this coming," said one party officer, as he watched his new leader march down the Stormont hill in triumph to meet the press. He waited like the rest of us to hear the new leader answer questions about his plan for the DUP. It didn't happen. Instead we got a statement with no follow-up questions before Edwin Poots, chased by the press pack, was whisked away in a car under the shadow of Edward Carson's statue. Our questions for Edwin Poots It was a chaotic start for the new leader but not surprising for a minister prone to a political solo run. So here are some of the questions we would have posed to the new DUP leader and why. Almost 50% of those MLAs and MPs who voted didn't want him as leader - how does he plan to win them over? Might he consider making room for some of the 17 supporters of Sir Jeffrey in his ministerial reshuffle? It is expected Economy Minister Diane Dodds and Education Minister Peter Weir won't survive the cull. Junior Minister, and Arlene Foster loyalist, Gordon Lyons could also be pushed out. They, along with their special advisors, may have to make way for those who backed Edwin Poots from the outset when others were holding back. Paul Givan, Paul Frew, Christopher Stalford and Mervyn Storey could be in line for a front bench role. His key appointment will be to the role of Northern Ireland first minister, who will sit alongside the party leader around the executive table. Could that go to the party's new deputy leader Paula Bradley who, as one of the more socially liberal voices in the DUP, already views her role as a "critical friend" to the leader? Here is another question we didn't get to ask - will the new leader allow his predecessor to remain in post as first minister for another six weeks? That is the timetable Arlene Foster set for her departure but whispers of an earlier exit have already started circulating. What about those plans to reform the party from top to bottom? How nervous should some senior staff feel about that prospect is another question we didn't get to pose. Employment contracts may prevent any immediate move to remove key figures behind the scenes. But one member of Team Poots hinted change is on the way. "Edwin is not going to waste any time reforming the party structures as promised, that will start over the weekend," he said. Next question - his critics within the party fear he will drag the DUP backwards and won't be able to grow its voter base. How does he plan to prove them wrong? As one Donaldson-supporting MLA put it: "Edwin's fundamental views are niche and the real winners today will be the Alliance Party." Stemming the leaking of DUP votes to the left and right of the party will be a key challenge for the new leader. He only has to look to his own backyard - Lagan Valley - where the party's vote share in the last Westminster election fell by 16% in the face of a 17% surge by Alliance. We can expect the new DUP leader to reach out to other unionist parties to try to maximise their numbers in the Stormont chamber. Edwin Poots said he plans to galvanise unionism to fight the Northern Ireland Protocol, which is a familiar battle cry - but what will it mean in practice? Can we expect more DUP boycotts of north-south meetings? The new leader has already snubbed two cross-border Zoom calls as agriculture minister. Will he be logging on for the full plenary meeting of the North South Ministerial Council next month? Another more pressing unanswered question - is the new leader of the DUP prepared to bring down Stormont in his battle to scrap the protocol? Can he oppose the protocol and continue to operate it at the same time? That was the question posed but not answered by former DUP leader Peter Robinson. As the minister in charge of the ports operating the Irish Sea border, Mr Poots has a weak spot which his unionist opponents like to exploit. However, as minister he has moved to obstruct the protocol and may do so again. We may hear more about his protocol protest plans after he meets the prime minister next week. Other questions which didn't get asked include: The DUP effectively gagged the candidates from speaking during the election campaign. In his first minutes as leader, Edwin Poots chose to gag himself. He knows he can't do that for long. When he finally speaks. he needs to have answers to at least some of those pressing questions. Read more: The issues facing Northern Ireland

यह एक क्लासिक स्मैश-एंड-ग्रैब ऑपरेशन था।


Brexit deal: How did my MP vote?

Summary: Theresa May's revised Brexit deal has been defeated in the House of Commons as MPs voted against it by 391 to 242, despite last minute assurances over the Irish backstop.

To find out how your MP voted in the so-called "meaningful vote", use the look-up below. Please upgrade your browser to view this interactive Did your MP vote for or against the provisional Brexit deal? Enter a postcode, or the name or constituency of your MP Seat vacant Click here if you cannot see the look-up. Data from Commons Votes Services. The last time Mrs May's withdrawal agreement was put to Parliament in January, it was voted down by a margin of 230. At 149, this defeat is narrower than the previous vote but still ranks fourth in the biggest government defeats since 1918. In Tuesday's vote, 39 Conservative MPs who had previously voted against Mrs May's deal backed it. Please upgrade your browser Your guide to Brexit jargon How did your MP vote on previous Brexit debates?

थेरेसा मे के संशोधित ब्रेक्सिट सौदे को हाउस ऑफ कॉमन्स में हार का सामना करना पड़ा है क्योंकि आयरिश बैकस्टॉप पर अंतिम समय में आश्वासन के बावजूद सांसदों ने 391 से 242 से इसके खिलाफ मतदान किया।


Man arrested after teenager raped in Gloucester city park

Summary: An 18-year-old man has been arrested after a teenage girl was raped in a park.

Gloucestershire Police said it was investigating a report of a serious sexual assault at the Nelson Foster Memorial Park in Gloucester. A spokeswoman said an investigation had been launched following the incident on Friday evening. She added the man had since been released on bail until later this month. Any witnesses to the incident have been asked to get in touch. Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: bristol@bbc.co.uk

एक पार्क में एक किशोर लड़की के साथ बलात्कार के बाद एक 18 वर्षीय व्यक्ति को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


Southampton Airport expansion plan backed by public

Summary: A plan to expand Southampton Airport has been backed by the public.

Airport bosses want to extend the runway and increase the number of flights, allowing it to more than double passenger numbers from two million to five million a year by 2037. Hundreds of people took part in a consultation with over 60% backing the proposals, the airport said. A final version of the plans will now be drawn up with a planning application due to be submitted in the spring. Winchester City Council said while it welcomed the proposed development "from an economic perspective", it has asked to see additional details about the resulting noise impacts. The authority is asking to see fuller details of noise levels across areas that may be affected by flights including Shawford, Colden Common, Otterbourne, Brambridge and Winchester. The expansion would see the airport continue to operate within its current operating hours with no scheduled night flights, the airport said. Under the plans the runway would be extended by 558ft (170m) to allow larger 190-seater aircraft to use the airport, allowing it to offer a wider route network. Flight numbers will also increase but the airport said the doubling of passenger numbers did not mean the number of flights would double. With new routes expected to be served by larger aircraft with more than 180 seats. The most common aircraft flying out of the airport currently has around 78 seats. If the expansion goes ahead, the airport said a staffing increase from 950 to 1,500 was expected by 2037. Cost details on the expansion are yet to be released. Dutch airline KLM recently announced it is to stop flying from the airport from March. The carrier currently operates two daily flights to Amsterdam but is blaming commercial reasons and changes to landing slots in the Netherlands for the decision.

साउथेम्प्टन हवाई अड्डे के विस्तार की योजना को जनता का समर्थन प्राप्त है।


Man charged after cyclist seriously hurt in crash in Fleetwood

Summary: A man has been charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving after a cyclist was hit by a car.

The victim had been cycling on the pavement in Fleetwood, Lancashire, on Sunday at 13:30 BST when he was struck by a Peugeot 206, police have said. The cyclist, in his 20s, suffered serious arm and leg injuries and was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital. Gareth Baker, 24, of Harbour Way, Fleetwood, is also charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent. He is due to appear before Blackpool Magistrates' Court later. Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk

एक व्यक्ति पर साइकिल चालक को कार से टक्कर मारने के बाद खतरनाक तरीके से गाड़ी चलाकर गंभीर चोट पहुँचाने का आरोप लगाया गया है।


'True friendship' photo moves others to share stories

Summary: The "Sensational Six" have been friends for 40 years.

By George PierpointBBC UGC and Social News However, when one of the group died from cancer earlier this year, the remaining women decided to commemorate their lost member. On a trip to Florida, which had originally been booked for six, the women conducted a sunset photo shoot in memory of their missing friend, Denise Bundridge. The loving tribute, and the story of the women's bond, has moved many to share their own examples of the importance of life-long friendships. Kris Robinson, the daughter of Sharon, posted the photographs on Twitter with the caption: "My mom and her friends have been best friends for 40 years now. They call themselves 'the Sensational Six'. They planned this trip to Florida for the six of them. Unfortunately, one of them passed due to cancer in April. "This is the type of friendship I want to have." The photos inspired an overwhelmingly positive response online, as many described the Sensational Six as "beautiful" and "heart-warming". The post has been liked more than 290,000 times and has been retweeted more than 67,000 times since Saturday 9 June. Twitter user Jaclyn, from California, replied to Kris' tweet to share the "incredible" support her mother received from her group of friends after her cancer diagnosis. Another woman explained how, after her mother's death, her friends take an annual trip to remember her each year. Kris told the BBC that she was "shocked" by the reaction to her tweet. She said: "I just wanted to share a picture of my mum and her friends because I thought it was beautiful. "They made such an effort to remember and include Denise. "That's not just friendship anymore to me, that shows how friends become family. That's love." Another Twitter user, Molly, was inspired to share her similar experiences. She wrote that following her mother's death in 2016 her friendship group, "The Lake Ladies", had been a "huge source of love and support". Sara described how after her mother passed away when she was 11, her mum's best friends - known as "The Seesters" - became an "integral" part of her life. She wrote: "Groups of strong women to look up to is life changing." You may also like: Others were moved by the photos to heal rifts in their own group of friends. While many commented on the photos to highlight the power of female friendships, some men posted photos of their own friendship groups. Kris responded to the outpouring of support for the Sensational Six, saying: "Thank you for all of your kind words. Our moms are loving it!"

'सेंसेशनल सिक्स' 40 साल से दोस्त हैं।


Arrest after multiple car crash in Wolverhampton

Summary: A 32-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving after a crash involving several cars.

The crash happened just before 20:00 BST on Saturday on St Georges ring road in Wolverhampton and left one vehicle on its roof. West Midlands Police said "at least three cars" were involved but were unable to confirm exactly how many as some may have left the scene after suffering minor damage. No serious injuries were reported. The man remains in police custody. Officers have launched an investigation. Related Internet Links West Midlands Police

एक 32 वर्षीय व्यक्ति को कई कारों की दुर्घटना के बाद शराब पीकर गाड़ी चलाने के संदेह में गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


Woman dies in tipper truck crash on A39 in Barnstaple

Summary: A woman hit by a tipper truck has died.

The 59-year-old pedestrian was hit at about 07:45 GMT on the A39 in Barnstaple, Devon and Cornwall Police said. The road between the Roundswell roundabout and the Instow turn-off was closed for several hours while investigations took place. Officers have appealed for witnesses to the crash or motorists with dashcam footage recorded in the area at the time to contact them.

टिप्पर ट्रक की चपेट में आने से एक महिला की मौत हो गई है।


'Beautifully human' Julia Rawson 'deserved so much more'

Summary: Julia Rawson lived life to the full - but her murder at the hands of a man obsessed with serial killers left her defined as a victim of macabre acts. The reality was a fun-loving and talented woman whose loss rocked those who loved her. Here they remember their friend.

By Rebecca WoodsBBC News Her face was usually spattered with paint - a hint she had been following artistic pursuits; a favourite pastime. "A happy child is a mucky child," Julia Rawson would say, should people point out the mess. Her friend Debbie Maskell recalled: "She was like a big kid - it was like she never grew up. Everything was just 'wow - look at that'." They were 18 when they met. Julia - or Ju, as she was known - was a student at Stafford Art College, and Debbie's friend Elaine Higginson had introduced Julia as her new partner. The three were inseparable. And it was usually Julia, with her seemingly endless energy, who instigated a lot of their fun. "She was really full of life," said Debbie. "She used to drag us out, make us do things. She was like an excited schoolgirl." Whether it was socialising in the pubs of home town Dudley, running her popular market stall, or exhibiting her paintings, Julia did it with a smile. "If there was a word to describe her, it would be 'sunshine'," said friend Steve Gibbons. "If Ju walked into the room, you knew you were in for a good night. She was a pleasure to be around." Music was among her passions. She loved The Strokes, and when she heard they were playing a gig in London, she bought tickets and surprised Elaine with them last year. The pair spent months looking forward to the show, but it was one they would never make. The band performed on 25 May 2019 - 14 days after Julia went missing. Elaine, left distraught by Julia's death, has felt unable to go to a concert without her. Julia was murdered by Nathan Maynard-Ellis and his partner David Leesley. The former was fascinated with decapitation and horror movies, and the pair hid Julia's dismembered body parts in undergrowth. They were jailed on Monday. Another reminder of grim detail where the person behind the victim can become lost. It was distressing for Julia's friends to read reports into her death. During the October trial it was said that while a lesbian, she was known to be "flirtatious with men while drunk". And it was this, at least according to the hearing, that led her to talk to Maynard-Ellis in a Dudley pub on the night she disappeared. The truth is no one knows why she decided to go back to his flat in Tipton after meeting the stranger by chance. But those who knew Julia recall an outgoing and friendly nature. "She'd speak to anyone," said Debbie. "She could be very trusting, but she'd have her guards up, usually." Others talk of Julia's kindness, and remember a person ready with a pep talk for anyone in need of a boost. Among them was Charlotte Almanzi, whom Julia encouraged to start a business despite a health setback. "She encouraged me to get out there and make a difference - she believed in people," Charlotte said. "Her willingness to connect with people in jest and smiles is what we all loved." It is why Charlotte remembers her friend as "beautifully human". Charlotte's mum Norma de Wolf echoed the sentiments. "[Julia] was larger than life. She'd have no qualms walking into a pub on her own because she knew everybody - they all knew her from the market and the shop." The ventures, both in Dudley, offered candles and incense, along with pagan statues and artefacts. Julia was deeply interested in the religion and it was through monthly social meetings on the topic that she met Steve Gibbons. "You'd always know Julia was there because she'd come and put her head on your shoulder," he said. "She'd always greet people with a hug - she was just a very happy, tactile person." When Julia went missing and no one saw her for a couple of days, Debbie had an "awful, sinking feeling". She said: "I knew something really bad had happened. I knew she wouldn't let Elaine worry." Seeing Julia's flat from the street was painful. "I'd look up at the window and I would see her paintbrushes in a little sun catcher," Debbie said. "I'd just look at them and be like 'where are you'?" Debbie still finds it difficult to walk past the site. "Julia deserved so much more than [what happened]. She was a bright light to everyone. You'd never forget her if you saw her. She was so full of life, and we are lost without her." Elaine, meanwhile, feels as though something of herself has gone. "They killed a part of me too," Elaine said. "Not a day goes by when I'm not thinking about her. She was my world. She took me out of myself. "It's like that quote - I loved her in colours that don't exist. And now it's the same how much I miss her. "Not a day goes by [without it hitting] me that I'll never see her again, and it just knocks me for six." Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk

जूलिया रॉसन ने जीवन को पूरी तरह से जिया-लेकिन सिलसिलेवार हत्यारों के प्रति जुनूनी एक व्यक्ति के हाथों उसकी हत्या ने उसे भयानक कृत्यों की शिकार के रूप में परिभाषित कर दिया। वास्तविकता एक मज़ेदार और प्रतिभाशाली महिला थी जिसके नुकसान ने उन लोगों को हिलाकर रख दिया जो उससे प्यार करते थे। यहाँ वे अपने दोस्त को याद करते हैं।


Iain Lee death: Man denies Newton Aycliffe street attack murder

Summary: A suspect has denied the murder of a County Durham man described as "everyone's friend" by his family.

Iain Lee was found with serious head injuries near the Roundhouse Bar in Newton Aycliffe on 8 September. The 31-year-old, from the town, died in hospital 11 days later. After a brief hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Nathan Buckland, 24, of Lumley Close, in Newton Aycliffe, was remanded in custody until a trial to be held in January.

एक संदिग्ध ने काउंटी डरहम के एक व्यक्ति की हत्या से इनकार किया है जिसे उसके परिवार द्वारा "सभी का दोस्त" बताया गया है।


£2.6m funding for old YMCA building in Merthyr Tydfil

Summary: A YMCA in Merthyr Tydfil which was once used as a boxing gym by a British champion will receive £2.6m lottery funding to revive the building.

The money will help preserve the Grade II listed building in Pontmorlais, with hopes of creating up to 70 jobs by converting it for business use. The 1911 building, designed by architect Sir Percy Thomas, once housed boxing champion Eddie Thomas's gym. The building has been regarded as "at risk" for more than 30 years.

मेरथिर टायडफिल में एक वाई. एम. सी. ए. जिसे कभी एक ब्रिटिश चैंपियन द्वारा बॉक्सिंग जिम के रूप में इस्तेमाल किया जाता था, को इमारत को पुनर्जीवित करने के लिए 26 लाख पाउंड का लॉटरी फंड प्राप्त होगा।


Tyseley fire: Birmingham garden furniture factory destroyed

Summary: A large fire has destroyed a garden furniture factory in Birmingham.

The blaze at Dreams Living in Hay Hall Road, Tyseley, broke out on Monday morning. West Midlands Fire Service said about 100 firefighters tackled the fire at its height, and officers were investigating its cause. Some Dreams Living customers were told their deliveries had been cancelled. The company has been contacted for comment. Incident commander Neil Griffiths said firefighters had stopped the blaze spreading to surrounding businesses. Latest news from the West Midlands "Sadly the building is totally destroyed," he added and that crews could have done nothing more to save it given the fire's severity. Customers later received a text from Dreams Living apologising for disruption to deliveries. Residents were advised to keep windows and doors closed as a precautionary measure. Roads in the area were also closed and rail services disrupted. The Environment Agency tweeted that it was on the site to "ensure any impact on the local environment is minimised". Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, and sign up for local news updates direct to your phone.

बर्मिंघम में एक बड़ी आग ने बगीचे के फर्नीचर कारखाने को नष्ट कर दिया है।


Analysis: Hewlett Packard's big strategic U-turn

Summary: The world's largest computer maker, Hewlett Packard, plans to sell its personal computers business, ditch its line of smartphones, and buy UK software company Autonomy for $11.7bn (£7.1bn) - but how does it all fit together?

By Tim WeberBusiness editor, BBC News website For Hewlett Packard, it is a dramatic strategic turnaround. In January this year, HP was gearing up for a huge surge in the market for consumer products. HP would become "as cool as Apple," promised its new chief executive Leo Apotheker when I interviewed him on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. In February, he unveiled the Touchpad and a new range of "Pre" smartphones, based on the WebOS software that HP got when it bought mobile phone maker Palm. This was not just about challenging Apple's iPad and iPhone, and the many mobile devices using Google's Android software. WebOS, he said, would soon appear on PCs and printers, creating a new software ecosystem to excite developers. In March, Mr Apotheker outlined a sweeping vision for HP being the "platform for the cloud and connectivity," with HP setting itself up to become one of the world's top providers of cloud computing services. HP, Mr Apotheker implied, was the one company capable of combining cool design with security and reliability, to straddle the consumer space and corporate computing. Beige is profitable No more. Instead of becoming cool, HP is decidedly turning corporate beige again. The thing is, beige is very profitable. HP's strategic turnaround is not an attempt to move the company into Mr Apotheker's comfort zone of enterprise computing (before running HP, Mr Apotheker was chief executive at German enterprise software giant SAP). Rather, it is a sign of the brutal competition in the computer industry. Yes, HP was - and still is - the world's biggest maker of personal computers. It has a 17.6% market share, well ahead of second place Dell (12.5%). But the industry's profit margins are razor-thin; it's the result of technology commoditisation, where there is not much left to distinguish one PC from another. Only Apple has a brand that consumers perceive as so desirable that they are happy to pay a hefty premium for what in the end are perfectly ordinary computers. Doing an IBM Commendably, Mr Apotheker did not take long to realise that both the Touchpad and the Pre smartphones flopped with consumers, and that HP would struggle to out-Apple Apple. So he is taking the bold move to "do an IBM". When the company that invented the PC was struggling, it sold most of its hardware business to China's Lenovo and built its business around highly profitable services and hardware for enterprise customers. HP will do the same, focusing on services, servers and software (although it will keep its printer business, which serves both consumers and corporations). This is where the purchase of UK software firm Autonomy fits in. Companies have one big IT problem right now: how to process, store and understand the rapidly growing data deluge that is flooding in from ever more connected devices and web services. It's called "business intelligence" or "business analytics", and Autonomy - best known for software that searches and organises vast amounts of unstructured data - has been pushing hard to make its name in the field. Can HP elephant dance? Mr Apotheker's strategy is not without risk. For starters, he has no buyer yet for HP's computer business, the "Personal Systems Group" (PSG). He hopes to find one over the next 12 to 18 months. Given today's speed of computing, that's a couple of generations away, and PSG will suffer. Talent may leave; corporate customers may hesitate. IBM's deal worked because it had lined up a willing buyer. And while Mr Apotheker knows all about enterprise computing, any IT firm would struggle to integrate successfully a large new division like Autonomy. It can be done. The man who saved IBM, Lou Gerstner, put it thus: "Who says elephants can't dance?" Mr Apotheker may be remembered as the Lou Gerstner of the 21st century. But to succeed, Mr Apotheker will need a lot of luck, and very patient shareholders.

दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी कंप्यूटर निर्माता, हेवलेट पैकर्ड, अपने व्यक्तिगत कंप्यूटर व्यवसाय को बेचने, स्मार्टफोन की अपनी श्रृंखला को छोड़ने और यूके सॉफ्टवेयर कंपनी ऑटोनोमी को $11.7bn (£ 7.1bn) में खरीदने की योजना बना रही है-लेकिन यह सब एक साथ कैसे फिट बैठता है?


WW1: The letter that reveals a brutal day at Scapa Flow

Summary: The mighty ships of the German High Seas Fleet were scuttled by their own sailors in Scapa Flow in Orkney on 21 June 1919. A newly discovered letter paints an extraordinary picture.

By Marek PruszewiczBBC World Service It was the single greatest loss of warships in history, and the sailors killed that day were the last fatalities of World War One. One young British officer not only witnessed the astonishing events, but recorded his own dramatic involvement in an account which has remained unpublished until now. Edward Hugh Markham David - Hugh, or "Ti" (short for "Tiny") to his family - was 18 years old in 1919, but had already been in the Royal Navy for two years. By June he was a sub-lieutenant aboard the battleship HMS Revenge, flagship of Admiral Sir Sydney Fremantle. Fremantle was the man charged with guarding the interned ships of the German High Seas Fleet in the Orkney anchorage of Scapa Flow. On the morning of Sunday 21 June, the British fleet steamed out on exercise. Hundreds of miles away, in Paris, the wrangles over the peace treaty to officially end the Great War were reaching a climax. The fate of the magnificent German warships was due to be decided. The German commander, Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, believed that his ships were about to be seized as spoils of war and divided up between the victorious Allies. He felt duty-bound not to let that happen. At 10:30 von Reuter's flagship, Emden, sent out the seemingly innocuous message - "Paragraph Eleven; confirm". It was a code ordering his men to scuttle their own ships. Beneath decks, German sailors immediately began to open seacocks - valves that allow water in - and smash pipes. There have been many accounts of the drama that followed, but Hugh David's version of events has never been published. My Dearest Mummie, I am writing this at sea, after witnessing perhaps the grimmest and certainly the most pathetic incident of the whole war..." David wrote the very next day to his mother from HMS Revenge, as the battleship steamed south to Cromarty, loaded with German sailors, now prisoners-of-war. Even after nearly a century, the words are clear. So too are the feelings of the young man. In the emotion of telling his story, David got the date of his letter wrong - recording it as 26 June instead of 22 June. HMS Revenge received a message at around 12:45 on 21 June that its captive German ships were sinking. The fleet turned back at full speed. It was too late. "The sight that met our gaze as we rounded the Island of Flotta is absolutely indescribable," wrote David. "A good half of the German fleet had already disappeared, the water was one mass of wreckage of every description, boats, carley floats, chairs, tables and human beings, and the 'Bayern' the largest German battleship, her bow reared vertically out of the water was in the act of crashing finally bottomwards, which she did a few seconds later, in a cloud of smoke bursting her boilers as she went." The Germans took to small boats to escape their sinking ships. From one of them Admiral von Reuter was taken aboard HMS Revenge. "About the most dramatic moment of the whole day was the meeting of the English and German Admirals," wrote David. "The two men were about the same height, both fine looking and tall." As the German climbed wearily over the side there was a deadly hush on board. I was a few feet behind von Reuter so heard every word..." Although von Reuter later recalled this conversation in his memoirs, David's record appears to be the only contemporaneous one: "At first there was a pause, the German standing at the salute then the following conversation - Fremantle: I presume you have come to surrender? Von Reuter: I have come to surrender my men and myself (with a sweeping gesture towards the fast sinking ships) I have nudding else. Pause Von Reuter: I take upon myself the whole responsibility of this, it is nothing to do with my officers and men - they were acting under my orders. Fremantle: I suppose you realise that by this act of treachery [hissing voice] by this act of base treachery you are no longer an interned enemy but my prisoner of war and as such will be treated. Von Reuter: I understand perfectly. Fremantle: I request you remain on the upper deck until I can dispose of you. Von Reuter: May my Flag Lieutenant accompany me? Fremantle: Yes, I grant you that. The drama recorded by David took place at about 16:00 that Midsummer Day. It seems David was then ordered to join a boarding party to try to save the few German ships still afloat. "I strapped a revolver round my waist grabbed some ammunition and leapt into the drifter with an armed guard and took off to save the Hindenburg," wrote David. The Hindenburg was the biggest German battlecruiser. She sank as Hugh's small boat drew alongside but before he climbed on board "very nearly taking us with her." David's launch turned instead for the giant battleship Baden, sister of the Bayern. She was the only German battleship the Royal Navy succeeded in saving. "We then got alongside 'Baden' who was going down fast and hurried below to see what we could do to save her - we closed watertight doors which kept her up temporarily but she eventually had to be towed ashore," explained David. "We found one little German sub-lieut (sic) below who was dragged onto the upper deck." The flag captain told him he would be shot at sunset if he did not immediately take us below and show us how to shut off the valves..." The German said that he didn't mind if he was shot straight away. David, however, doesn't record whether the unfortunate man was shot, but there's no doubt that others were. They were the final casualties of World War One - the Treaty of Versailles was signed a week later on 28 June 1919. "The terrible part of the whole show, to my mind, was that the Huns hadn't got a weapon between them and it was our bounden duty to fire on them to get them back to close their valves," wrote David. He describes the British as being in an "awful position". It was quite obvious that the huns would die to a man rather than save their ships so that there was no point in going on firing – yet what could we do?" Andrew Choong, Curator of Ships, Plans and Historic Photographs at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, has read a transcript of David's letter. "I think it's an absolutely fascinating account. Our knowledge and analysis of this event are based on the recollections of the great and the good, like von Reuter and official reports. I haven't ever seen an account of a similar experience. Here's a mid-level officer placed right in the middle of it all." Choong was struck by David's feelings. "Here is a man who comes across first as a human being and is obviously very uncomfortable about the whole thing," he says. "I think it's very moving because there is no relish in what he's doing and he finds time to mark the acts of German bravery. It's a remarkable document." After his eventual return to Germany, von Reuter helped to put together a government report on "British breaches of international law" against the German sailors, charges consistently denied by Britain. Choong says the British would have had justification to fire in some cases. "The rules of engagement were that if you saw a German opening a seacock or giving orders to others to do so you could order him to stop - and if he refused, you could shoot him," he says. However, there's evidence, including in David's letter and a subsequent one he wrote a few days later to his Uncle Walter, to suggest some British sailors went further, firing on Germans who were trying to escape from their sinking ships. "Today you would say there's probably no excuse, but that's to impose a modern view of the situation which then was very unclear and very uncertain," says Choong. "In one or two places in the letter it makes it sound like a bit of a massacre but in fact only nine men were killed and 16 wounded out of hundreds and hundreds." The tumultuous events of that day clearly had their effect on Hugh David. I have seen men killed for the first time in my life and at that without the crash of action to keep ones spirits up, and it has made me think, God, it has made me think..." He died in 1957. His letter to his mother eventually passed to his daughter, Hilary Chiswell Jones. It was her decision to make it public, after 96 years. "I probably didn't read it until I was 25 or so," explains Hilary. "I remember being impressed by the way he portrayed the event and also by his awareness of how awful it was for the Germans. "He obviously had compassion for them and I admired him for it - I was pleased he showed it, especially at 18, when you tend to be perhaps a bit cocky. I thought that showed his humanity." Does she think her father did fire on the German sailors? "I think he would have told his Uncle Walter in his letter to him had he shot anyone, so I don't think so." Within months of the scuttling, David had left the Royal Navy. He joined the fledgling RAF, where he served with distinction until 1950, rising to the rank of Group Captain. But it seems unlikely he ever forgot the extraordinary things he witnessed at Scapa Flow. More from the Magazine Armistice Day is remembered as the day World War One ended, but for naval historians Britain's greatest victory came 10 days later. Operation ZZ was the code name for the surrender of Germany's mighty navy. For those who witnessed "Der Tag" or "The Day" it was a sight they would never forget - the greatest gathering of warships the world had ever witnessed. The day the entire German fleet surrendered Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

जर्मन हाई सीज फ्लीट के शक्तिशाली जहाजों को 21 जून 1919 को ऑर्कनी में स्कैपा फ्लो में उनके अपने नाविकों द्वारा नष्ट कर दिया गया था। एक नया खोजा गया पत्र एक असाधारण तस्वीर पेश करता है।