Blue Planet II: 22 things to know about the new series

Summary: A year after the epic Planet Earth II, Sir David Attenborough is returning to our screens with a follow-up to 2001's Blue Planet.

By Steven McIntoshEntertainment reporter No spoilers, but we've seen the first episode and as sequels go we can confirm it's better than Sex And The City 2. We've also been to the press conference and spoken to some of the team behind the new series. Here are 22 things you need to know about Blue Planet II - complete with behind-the-boat info and what you can expect from the first episode. 1. Five babies were born to crew members in the time it took to film. Blue Planet II involved "125 shoots, 6,000 hours filming underwater and 1,000 hours filming in submersibles", explains production manager Katie Hall. But away from the shoots, she adds, it was also a busy time for the crew: "We had three weddings. Four houses were bought. Five babies. Two babies on the way. "That's what happens when you're filming for four years." 2. "Oceans cover 70% of the surface of our planet, and yet they are still the least explored," says Sir David Attenborough in the opening sequence. "Hidden beneath the waves, there are creatures beyond our imagination," he continues. Roughly translated, we think he's saying: "Look, I know you might have seen Finding Dory multiple times but this is the real deal." 3. Hans Zimmer is doing the music again. It's bad news for Fifth Harmony fans as the soundtrack has already been sorted by composer and general legend Hans Zimmer. "We actually put the music out to tender, we weren't sure who we wanted to do it," explains executive producer James Honeyborne. "And although we loved Planet Earth II [which Zimmer also did the soundtrack for] we wanted to keep this feeling fresh. "But Hans came to us with such an impassioned pitch as to why he wanted to do it, which was incredible." 4. There will be seven episodes in the series. And they're split into different habitats - like deep ocean, the coral reefs, the open ocean and the coastlines. "Once you start dividing those up, you start to see where some of the stories would naturally fit," says James. 5. We wouldn't fancy filling out the risk assessment form for this show. "When we green light each shoot, we're constantly mitigating risk," says Katie. "But bar a couple of earaches, a little bit of water at the bottom of a submersible, and one cameraman stubbed his finger, we were extraordinarily lucky. "But the planning that goes into every single shoot, and managing the risk - whether that's financial risk or health and safety - you don't see any of that." Shame. 6. There's some serious drama in the opening episode. Spoiler alert etc, etc. In the opening episode, we meet some birds. Who sometimes like to fly down to the ocean and chill out a bit on the surface. Unfortunately for them, there's some rather hungry giant trevallies (ie big scary fish) lurking under the water. And they have a particular taste for birds. We won't give much more away, but it's safe to say you're about to see some snakes and iguanas-level drama go down. 7. Fish are Facebook-friendly. The trailer for the new series has already built up 43 million views on social media. Which is all part of a new digital strategy this year, according to Tom McDonald, who is (deep breath) head of commissioning at the BBC's Natural History and Specialist Factual unit. "One of the interesting things about Planet Earth II was that more people watched it than the X Factor results show when they were up against each other last year," he says. "So if there is a younger audience out there that is going to consume natural history content, we should focus our digital strategy on them, which is what we've done this year." 8. New technology was built to film the series. "We built a huge piece of housing which we called the megadome which allowed us to slice the sea in half so you can see above and below at the same time," James says. "We also built a tow-cam which can be pulled behind a boat which allowed us to travel with really fast-moving animals like dolphins and tuna." 9. They've brought back those 'making of' segments at the end of the episodes. Remember on Planet Earth II, you'd get 50 minutes worth of TV show, and then 10 minutes of how the episode you've just seen was shot? Half the time, the "making of" bit was even more interesting and eventful than the show itself. Well, they've brought that bit back - and this series will have a segment called Into The Blue at the end of each instalment. 10. There's some stuff in the series that even Sir David Actual Attenborough didn't know about. "When we first showed him some clips, he was like, 'Oh I didn't know this' and 'I didn't know that'," James says. "Genuinely he was surprised. It's always good if you can surprise David, it doesn't happen often." 11. One Walrus has clearly been watching Titanic. At one point in the first episode, a walrus tries to seek refuge from a preying polar bear on a floating iceberg. Problem is, there are already some walruses (walri?) on said berg. Clearly, this walrus watched Titanic, and, like the rest of us, thought there was plenty of room for Kate Winslet to shift over and make room for Leonardo DiCaprio on that piece of wood. Unfortunately, the extra weight of this particular walrus on this particular iceberg causes it to collapse, ruining the party for everybody (there's always one). 12. Bottle-nosed dolphins are super-cute They just look so friendly don't they, you'd definitely go for a drink with one. 13. Dolphins surf, Sir David explains, "to strengthen friendships, develop social skills, and for the sheer exhilaration of it". Coincidentally, this is also why humans do karaoke. 14. The show doesn't shy away from the impact of pollution. "You can't go out there and make a series like this without seeing some really big issues unfolding in front of you," says James. "You can go to the middle of the ocean and find plastics from many different continents coming together. "The impact that has on the wildlife can be devastating." In the show, we hear Sir David comment: "There are worrying signs that conditions in the oceans that have remained relatively stable for millennia, are changing radically." 15. Warning: The first episode includes "mating". In case you're planning to watch with your parents. Fortunately, the mating involves this handsome chap. 16. Some shots weren't filmed on location. Earlier this week, The Guardian said some footage had been captured in "controlled laboratory conditions". After the report was published, James explained the series was overwhelmingly shot on location, but in a few select instances, such as rock pools in the Coasts episode, labs were used. "Filming in the wild would have been too disruptive for the wildlife," he said. "It would have been impossible to film close-ups of this magical world, so we worked with scientists to accurately recreate a rock pool in the controlled conditions of the lab." 17. It wasn't originally going to be called Blue Planet II. "The series was commissioned as Oceans," explains Tom. "It was a very easy commission, instinctively the channel understood it was a brilliant thing to do and it felt like it was the right time to go back to this habitat. "It was never designed so that we'd have Planet Earth II last year and Blue Planet II this year, so now it looks like it was a brilliant strategy, but it wasn't exactly conceived that way." 18. Tusk fish are determined little creatures. There is one tusk fish who travels to the edge of the coral reef every morning, Sir David explains, looking for some breakfast. While most of us would grab some Special K from the cupboard, this guy travels quite some distance in search of a small clam. Using his mouth, he takes it back to his "kitchen" - which is essentially a massive rock, against which he starts bashing the clam repeatedly in order to crack it open. "It's not easy when you have no hands," Sir David observes. 19. Not all of the plans for the series came off. "There were lots of shoots that failed, to put it bluntly," says Tom. "The team set out to capture particular species, and when you watch this, I think James and his team make it look really easy. "And when I think about the number of variables when it comes to filming in the ocean, I think it's remarkable what they were able to capture." 20. In true W1A style, the show has led to more collaborative BBC working. "Some of the new technologies that were invented specifically for this series are already being deployed by the Natural History Unit on future projects," says Tom. James adds: "There was a sequence on The One Show last week about sturgeon [not Nicola], and they borrowed our probe lens, which is great - we built it, they were able to use it." 21. There's going to be a podcast to accompany the series. So make sure you're all caught-up on Serial. 22. So... Planet Earth II. Blue Planet II. What's next? "We have a big landmark series for next year which is very different to Blue Planet II," says Tom. "It's been announced already, it's called Dynasty, not to be confused with Carringtons and Colbys, so who knows if it will stay that title. "But the premise of each film is we take one animal family and follow them for a number of years to see the ups and downs of their family lines. "I'm already viewing episodes of it, and it's incredibly visceral. It feels so different to this." There's more. "One other thing I'm really excited about is a series the NHU have made which is on in January called Animals With Cameras, a really simple proposition. "We've built bespoke cameras for different species, that the animals wear, so we can see the world from an animal's point of view. "There's meerkats in it," he adds. "That's my innovation for 2018, more meerkats." Blue Planet II begins on BBC One at 20:00 GMT on Sunday. The series has been sold to more than 30 countries around the world. Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

महाकाव्य प्लैनेट अर्थ II के एक साल बाद, सर डेविड एटनबरो 2001 की ब्लू प्लैनेट के अनुवर्ती के साथ हमारे पर्दे पर लौट रहे हैं।


HMP Ranby prison death: Four men arrested

Summary: Four men have been arrested after a prisoner died following an assault at a Nottinghamshire prison.

The 37-year-old man was attacked at HMP Ranby, near Retford, on Monday. He died the next day in hospital. Nottinghamshire Police said four men, aged 22 to 39, were being questioned by officers. The man has not yet been formally identified and a post-mortem examination is to be carried out later to determine how he died.

नॉटिंघमशायर जेल में हमले के बाद एक कैदी की मौत के बाद चार लोगों को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


The perils of the Streisand effect

Summary: Former motor racing boss Max Mosley is suing Google for continuing to display photographs he says breach his privacy. But does pressing for information to be kept private, or suppressed, often have the opposite effect?

By Justin ParkinsonBBC News Magazine At first sight not much unites Beyonce and Max Mosley. But they, and several other celebrities and organisations, have become victims of the "Streisand effect". In 2005, Mike Masnick, founder of the Techdirt website, coined the term. Two years earlier singer Barbra Streisand unsuccessfully sued photographer Kenneth Adelman, who was documenting the coastline of California, for including her clifftop home in Malibu. The resulting publicity helped drive 420,000 visits in a month to the site where the photo was published. According to documents filed in court, images of Streisand's house had been downloaded only six times before the legal action. It's not always a fight over privacy. In February last year the Buzzfeed website published a selection of singer Beyonce's "fiercest moments" - mocking her facial expressions while performing at the Superbowl. Her publicist reportedly contacted it to ask that seven of the most "unflattering" photos be removed. Buzzfeed refused and republished exactly this selection with the headline: "The 'Unflattering' Photos Beyonce's Publicist Doesn't Want You To See". The exposure of the unflattering photos was magnified. A few months later it was reported that lawyers for Pippa Middleton, sister of the Duchess of Cambridge, had asked for the removal of a parody Twitter feed, which offered ridiculously obvious lifestyle advice in her name, such as "Avoid getting lost by consulting with a map" and "A party isn't much fun without people attending". Its following increased. In 2008 the Church of Scientology reportedly tried to get a video featuring film star Tom Cruise talking about his faith, designed for viewing by its followers only, removed from websites after it was leaked. The publicity meant it became shared more widely. In 2012, Argyll and Bute Council banned nine-year-old Martha Payne from taking pictures of her school meals and posting them, along with dismissive ratings out of 10, on a blog. Her family complained and this was overturned, amid much publicity. To date the blog has had more than 10 million hits and Martha has raised more than £130,000 for charity. You don't need to be famous to suffer from the Streisand effect. Spaniard Mario Costeja Gonzalez fought a long legal battle for the right to be forgotten. He complained that a search of his name in Google brought up newspaper articles from 16 years ago about a sale of property to recover money he owed. He enjoyed a landmark victory to establish the right to be forgotten. But it is unlikely he will ever be forgotten. As of this moment, his name conjures up hundreds of thousands of Google search results. The Streisand effect But Max Mosley is arguably the greatest example. He is suing Google for continuing to display in search results images of him with prostitutes at a sex party, citing alleged breaches of the Data Protection Act and misuse of private information. Every time he makes a legal move in his crusade over privacy, there's a danger it becomes more likely people will seek out the very images he is complaining about. The 74-year-old former president of Formula One's governing body FIA wants Google to block pictures first published in the now-defunct tabloid News of the World, which he successfully sued in 2008. "As the gateway to the internet Google makes enormous profits and has great influence, so I have not taken this action lightly," he has said in a statement. His lawyers add that the company should not be allowed "to act as an arbiter of what is lawful and what is not". Google says it has been working with Mosley "to address his concerns". But is there a risk that Mosley will cause himself more embarrassment by bringing a fairly old, and perhaps half-forgotten, news story back to people's attention? A survey of Twitter shows some users are posting the pictures that he is keen to remove. "Anyone trying to get something banned is always going to be of more interest than something that people don't seem bothered by," says Jenny Afia, head of talent at the law firm Schillings. "It's a spark for curiosity." In previous generations there's no doubt it was more straightforward to attempt to suppress information or images. The ease of sharing now almost means that nothing can really be suppressed. You could argue that the internet makes attempts to guard your privacy risky on a scale proportional to the likelihood of your privacy being meaningfully breached in the first place. If there was a danger that lots of people would circulate a private photo of you doing something embarrassing, it's very likely that trying to suppress it will have the opposite effect. If there was little danger that the photo would have been circulated, an attempt at suppression might not trigger the Streisand effect. There are endless mischief-makers who would dedicate themselves to propagating information that someone wanted hidden, just for the very fact of the attempt to hide it. Mosley is a wealthy man used to publicity. Yet suing could mean a stressful, drawn-out court case, covered in detail by the media. "It's a horrible dilemma for people who are faced with horrible or untrue stories," says Afia. "That's where Max Mosley is very brave to keep fighting. Many people decide to let it go." For the likes of Mosley and Costeja Gonzalez, the principle surely supersedes the actual effect of legal action. They effectively end up fighting for the right of others to more easily safeguard their privacy. Even at the de facto cost of their own. And there's a clear difference between those fighting for a right to privacy and those, like Beyonce's representatives, who are merely trying to manage a reputation or public image. There the Streisand effect is potent. If your reaction to mockery is to try and squash it, there will be lots more mockery. Public relations expert Mark Borkowski says modern celebrities, open to Twitter trolls and online parodies, need "the skin of a rhino". "If it's really, really trivial you have to make the decision about whether you're going react to the person who's satirising you and potentially make it much worse." Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

पूर्व मोटर रेसिंग प्रमुख मैक्स मोस्ले गूगल पर उन तस्वीरों को प्रदर्शित करना जारी रखने के लिए मुकदमा कर रहे हैं जिनके बारे में उनका कहना है कि वे उनकी गोपनीयता का उल्लंघन करते हैं। लेकिन क्या जानकारी को निजी रखने या दबाने के लिए दबाव डालने से अक्सर विपरीत प्रभाव पड़ता है?


Condor sailings cancelled due to bad weather

Summary: All fast ferries sailing from the Channel Islands to Poole and France have been cancelled on Monday due to high tides.

Condor Ferries said tides were predicted to reach 4.1m (13.4ft), which is outside the firm's operating limits. The Condor Liberation from the UK and the Rapide to France will not operate. The Commodore Clipper is currently in dry dock in Falmouth. Condor apologised and said it was experiencing high-call volumes. Correction: 12 September 2017: This story originally said the Commodore Clipper was operating as scheduled at the time of writing which was not the case.

चैनल द्वीप समूह से पूल और फ्रांस जाने वाली सभी तेज नौकाओं को सोमवार को उच्च ज्वार के कारण रद्द कर दिया गया है।


'Giant Christmas bauble' in Thames sparks bomb alert

Summary: A suspected unexploded bomb on the banks of the River Thames turned out to be a "giant glittery Christmas bauble".

The ordnance-like ornament was mistaken for an explosive when it washed up near Wapping, east London. Met Police officers were called to inspect the device and "luckily" realised it was an oversized festive feature. It comes a few days after an unexploded World War Two bomb was discovered in Kingston-upon-Thames. Students from Kingston University had to be evacuated from the campus until the device was dealt with. Officers from Tower Hamlets who dealt with the bauble posted a picture of the faded decoration on Twitter. You may also like:

थेम्स नदी के तट पर एक संदिग्ध अप्रकाशित बम एक "विशाल चमकदार क्रिसमस बॉबल" निकला।


Guernsey fisherman jailed for drug dealing

Summary: A Guernsey fisherman has been sentenced to four years and three months in jail for intending to supply a Class B drug.

Clinton Downes, 32, admitted the offence when he appeared before the island's Royal Court on Monday. Border Agency officers found 144.56g of 4-methylethcathinone, otherwise known as 4-MEC, when they searched his home address in December. The drug was estimated to have a local resale value of between £7,356 and £11,770. Downes also admitted a second charge of possessing 1.10g of herbal cannabis, for which he was given a seven-day sentence to run concurrently.

ग्वेर्नसे के एक मछुआरे को बी श्रेणी की दवा की आपूर्ति करने के इरादे से चार साल और तीन महीने की जेल की सजा सुनाई गई है।


Israel election: Will you be voting in the election on March 17?

Summary: Will you be voting in Israel's general election on 17 March?

We are looking to speak to people from all religious and political backgrounds in Israel. What are the issues that concern you? What are your hopes for the future following the election? Thank you for your comments. Read some of your views here.

क्या आप 17 मार्च को इज़राइल के आम चुनाव में मतदान करेंगे?


Lorry fire on A30 in Devon causes disruption

Summary: A fire ripped through a lorry on a dual carriageway, causing its tyres to explode and burning it to a shell.

The "intense" blaze happened on the A30 in Devon at about 23:00 GMT on Monday. Repair and recovery work caused two-mile tailbacks on the commuter route into Exeter on Tuesday morning. Highways England said the road was expected to be closed until midnight while maintenance work is carried out and the vehicle is dismantled. No-one was hurt. The road between Fingle Glenn and Ide remains closed. Latest news and stories from Devon

दोहरे कैरिजवे पर एक लॉरी में आग लग गई, जिससे उसके टायर फट गए और उसमें आग लग गई।


Society and the Conservative Party

Summary: Theresa May has set out her vision for a "shared society" in which the state has a role in helping people who are struggling to get by. It marks the latest attempt by a Conservative leader to spell out what society should, or should not, be.

'No such thing'? In a 1987 interview with Woman's Own magazine, Margaret Thatcher said there was "no such thing as society", and that line went on to become one of her most famous. It has been much debated over the years, with critics seeing it as evidence of a heartless approach where needy individuals are left to fend for themselves. But Thatcher's supporters complain the quote is taken out of context, and in her memoirs the former PM said it had been "distorted beyond recognition". More recently, polling has found that while a strong majority of people disagreed with the "no such thing" line in isolation, most agreed with the longer version. Here it is: "I think we've been through a period where too many people have been given to understand that if they have a problem, it's the government's job to cope with it... They're casting their problem on society. "And, you know, there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families, and no government can do anything except through people, and people must look to themselves first. "It's our duty to look after ourselves and then, also, to look after our neighbour. People have got the entitlements too much in mind, without the obligations. There's no such thing as entitlement, unless someone has first met an obligation." 'Classless' Thatcher's successor, John Major, entered Downing Street in 1990 promising to create a "classless society", which he described as a "a tapestry of talents in which everyone from child to adult respects achievement". He was still talking about it in his party conference speech the following year: "I spoke of a classless society. I don't shrink from that phrase. "I don't mean a society in which everyone is the same, or thinks the same, or earns the same. But a tapestry of talents in which everyone from child to adult respects achievement; where every promotion, every certificate is respected; and each person's contribution is valued. And where the greatest respect is reserved for the law." 'Responsible' Next up was William Hague, who called for a "responsible society", and said Thatcher's famous line had been wilfully misinterpreted and used against the Conservatives. "A strong society rests on responsible individuals and families. They need to be able to turn to straightforward, reliable help when times are bad," the Tories' 2001 manifesto said. "But that should not become dependence on the state when times are good." 'Big' "There is such a thing as society; it's just not the same thing as the state," declared David Cameron in his 2005 victory speech after becoming Conservative leader. Five years later, the idea of a Big Society was a key strand of the Conservatives' 2010 general election manifesto. It involved allowing voluntary groups and charities to run public services, encouraging people to do more volunteering and giving local groups more power to take decisions affecting their area. After becoming PM, Cameron described building the Big Society as his "great passion", hoping "people power" would help keep pubs and museums open and mean more residents getting involved with their communities. But there were reports Conservative candidates found it a hard concept to explain on the doorstep, and the Tories' political opponents said it was simply a way of hiding cuts to local services as the new government reduced public spending. Mentions of the Big Society became less prominent over the course of the Parliament, and the theme featured little in the 2015 general election campaign. Having quit frontline politics after the 2016 EU referendum, Mr Cameron now works with the National Citizen Service, describing the organisation as "the Big Society in action". 'Shared' In what has been seen as a break from David Cameron's championing of voluntary work, Theresa May has stressed the role of the state in creating "a society that works for everyone". The so-called shared society, she says, "doesn't just value our individual rights but focuses rather more on the responsibilities we have to one another" and respects "the bonds of family, community, citizenship and strong institutions that we share as a union of people and nations". In a speech setting out her vision, she said there was "more to life than individualism and self-interest". "We form families, communities, towns, cities, counties and nations. And we embrace the responsibilities those institutions imply. "And government has a clear role to play to support this conception of society."

थेरेसा मे ने एक "साझा समाज" के लिए अपना दृष्टिकोण निर्धारित किया है जिसमें राज्य की उन लोगों की मदद करने में भूमिका है जो आगे बढ़ने के लिए संघर्ष कर रहे हैं। यह एक रूढ़िवादी नेता द्वारा यह बताने का नवीनतम प्रयास है कि समाज को क्या होना चाहिए, या क्या नहीं होना चाहिए।


Cardi B reveals she married Offset nine months ago

Summary: Cardi B has confirmed she got married in secret nine months ago.

By Mark SavageBBC Music reporter The rapper revealed she tied the knot on the same day her boyfriend Offset, from rap trio Migos, proposed to her. Writing on Twitter, the 25-year-old said: "There are so many moments that I share with the world and then there are moments that I want to keep for myself. Getting married was one of those moments!" The couple are expecting their first child this summer. Gossip site TMZ was first to report the marriage, posting a copy of the wedding certificate on Monday. The rapper seemed irritated by the revelation, writing on Twitter: "This why I name my album Invasion of Privacy, cause people will do the most to be nosey about your life". However, the post was accompanied by a long note, explaining why the couple had kept the marriage secret. "Our relationship was so new - breaking up and making up - and we had a lot of growing up to do; but we was so in love we didn't want to lose each other," she wrote. "One morning in September, we woke up and decided to get married. "We found someone to marry us, and she did, just [t]he two if us and my cousin. I said I do, with no dress no make up and no ring!" Bizarrely, one month later, Offset proposed to Cardi on stage during a concert in Philadelphia. She addressed the proposal in her message, saying: "I appreciate and love my husband so much for still wanting for m[e to] have that special moment that every girl dreams of." Secret weddings Cardi B and Offset aren't the only artists to keep their marriage secret from fans. Here are some of the others who managed to keep their vows private. Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem - Although they started dating in 2007, the actors never confirmed their relationship - "He's a friend and the best actor in the world," was Cruz's standard response to questions about Bardem. They married in a private ceremony in the Bahamas in 2010, a spokesperson later confirmed. Beyonce and Jay-Z - Rumours had circulated for years that the musicians were dating, but fans were astonished when they filed a signed marriage licence in New York in April 2008. Six months later, Beyonce confirmed the wedding to fans. Janet Jackson and Rene Elizondo - News of Jackson's second marriage only came to light when she divorced video director Rene Elizondo in 2000. The couple had, however, worked together for 15 years. Elizondo had co-writing credits on dozens of her songs - and it was his hands that covered her breasts on an infamous Rolling Stone cover. Janeane Garafalo and Rob Cohen - Incredibly, this comedy power couple were married for 20 years without knowing it. Garafalo (The West Wing, The Truth About Cats and Dogs) drunkenly tied the knot with Big Bang Theory producer Cohen at a drive-through chapel in Las Vegas in the 1990s. They only realised the ceremony was legitimate in 2012 when Cohen started making plans to marry his new fiancee and his lawyers dug out the marriage certificate. The couple immediately filed for divorce. Margot Robbie and Tom Ackerley - The couple never announced their engagement, and married in secret in Australia two years ago. Robbie eventually confirmed the union in an Instagram post showing off her wedding ring. Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Almanzar, rose to fame last year with the song Bodak Yellow while her current single, I Like It, is a contender for 2018's song of the summer. A former gang member and stripper from the Bronx, she took a modern route into music, establishing her name via reality TV and social media. She and Offset were recently photographed together for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. In the accompanying interview, Cardi said motherhood would not affect her career. "Just because I'm a mom, my street credibility's not gone, my sex appeal's not gone," she said, adding that she planned to bring her along when she tours with Bruno Mars this September. "What I envision is my tour bus has my own personal room, and I just want to be with my baby. "Only time I don't have my baby with me is when I'm getting my hair done, make-up done, performing." Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

कार्डी बी ने पुष्टि की है कि उन्होंने नौ महीने पहले गुप्त रूप से शादी की थी।


M62 shut as lorry overturns and sheds salmon load

Summary: A lorry carrying 10 tonnes of frozen salmon overturned shedding some of the fish on the M62 in East Yorkshire.

The eastbound section of the motorway was closed for more than 15 hours after the accident between junctions 34 and 35 in the early hours of Friday. Humberside Police said the 44-tonne refrigerated lorry had blocked the carriageway and some of its load had spilled on to the westbound section. The 47-year-old male lorry driver suffered head injuries. He was treated at the scene by paramedics and his injuries are not thought to be serious.

10 टन जमे हुए सैल्मन को ले जा रहा एक लॉरी पूर्वी यॉर्कशायर में एम62 पर कुछ मछलियों को फेंकते हुए पलट गई।


Jury discharged in Barclays fraud trial

Summary: The jury in the fraud trial against four former Barclays bankers - including the former chief executive, John Varley - has been discharged.

The case dated back to the financial crisis, when the bank raised billions of pounds from Middle East investors. The others charged were investment banker Roger Jenkins, head of wealth management Thomas Kalaris and Richard Boath, former head of Barclays' European Financial Institutions Group. The four denied the charges. Reporting restrictions are in place. All four were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to Barclays' June 2008 capital-raising. Mr Varley and Mr Jenkins were charged with a second count of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to Barclays' October 2008 capital-raising. The high-profile case, the first jury trial involving such senior bankers, took place at Southwark Crown Court before the jury was dismissed on Monday.

पूर्व मुख्य कार्यकारी जॉन वार्ले सहित चार पूर्व बार्कलेज बैंकरों के खिलाफ धोखाधड़ी के मुकदमे में जूरी को आरोपमुक्त कर दिया गया है।


Tragically Hip: The most Canadian band in the world

Summary: When Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid tearful tribute to Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie after his death from brain cancer, he led a nation in mourning for a unique band of home-grown heroes, writes Jordan Michael Smith.

Few rock bands are publicly mourned by the premier and other high-level politicians, comedians and actors, alongside the country's most prominent musicians. But the Hip, as they are known, are not ordinary musicians to Canadians. Rather, more than any other artist, they have reflected the sense of what it's like to love and live in a beautiful, overlooked country. To understand why the Hip resonates, it's essential to understand Canada's place in the world. From Confederation in 1867 to the end of World War II in 1945, the country lived in the shadow of Great Britain. After the United States became the dominant world power, Canada became dwarfed by America. "Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant," Mr Trudeau's father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, told Americans in 1969. "No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt." American power is overwhelming, and Canada struggles to maintain a distinct identity in the face of a colossus. No part of the world escapes American culture - its music, movies, television, and fashion is embraced by all parts of the globe. Canada has fewer resources than most countries to preserve a separate national culture, being relatively young, small in population, and isolated geographically. Laws exist mandating that broadcasters feature Canadian-created content, but most culture consumed in Canada is American nonetheless. Even worse, many of the most talented and popular artists and intellectuals migrate to the US, unable to resist its mammoth market and influence. Most of the Canadian-born entertainers and thinkers best-known to the world - from Justin Bieber to Ryan Reynolds to Frank Gehry - live in America. Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Celine Dion all moved south of the border - the Canadian border - to achieve fame. Even Alice Munro, who won the 2013 Nobel Prize for her short stories about small-town Ontario, attracted attention through the New Yorker magazine. The Hip never penetrated American consciousness, conversely. Nine of their albums have reached number one on the music charts in Canada; they have never broken even the top 100 in the US. They are even more obscure internationally. As a result, the band is like a secret handshake for Canadians, a way to establish an exclusive commonality among anyone between the ages of roughly 15 and 45. It helped that the Hip never seemed to care much about becoming worldwide superstars. They appeared once on Saturday Night Live - introduced by fellow Canadian Dan Ackroyd -and toured the US many times. But their base was always in Canada and they never left home for long periods of time. "[Interviewers] always ask us about our success or lack of success in the States, which I find absurd," Downie once complained. "While that is a story of the band, there are so many other stories." What's more, the Hip mined and reflected Canadian mythology in their lyrics. Songs frequently have references to hockey, geography, history, and culture that are recognisable to Canadians but unknown to outsiders. One of the band's best-known songs, Courage, is subtitled "For Hugh MacLennan", a mid-20th Century Canadian novelist. Another, Bobcaygeon, name-checks Toronto and is named after a picturesque, tiny town in Ontario. Downie sings in one song of Jacques Cartier, the French explorer who named Canada. He even mentions the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in another tune. The Hip treat their country the way Bob Dylan treats America: as a source of endless poetic fascination and mystery. And as with Bruce Springsteen, the band became a cherished national symbol, even if only to itself in this case. Lyrics aside, however, the Hip are fully American-derived. That reality is telling - it is difficult for even nationalist artists to avoid US impact, an inescapable closeness that breeds resentment alongside affection. The Hip play rock n' roll, after all, an art form that originated not in Montreal and Vancouver but in Memphis and Chicago. Their music is a combination of bar bands from the 1960s, stadium rock from the 1970s, and college rock of the 1980s. What's original came from Downie, who would interrupt his Canadiana-saturated lines with bizarre stories about whale tanks and double suicides. But originality is not the point. Cultural artefacts do not have to be artistically revolutionary to be meaningful. And there is no doubt about the Hip's meaning to millions of Canadians. In the cassette culture of the 1980s and 1990s, the group's shows were heavily bootlegged, with tapes of their concerts circulating among fans and records stores in the tradition of the Grateful Dead. They have sold more albums in Canada than global powerhouses like U2, and retail chains used to open stories at midnight when Hip albums were released to offer fans instant access to the new music. In 2013, Canada Post even released a stamp with a photo of the band. Asked Downie in one song: "What's a windswept face, the elusive presence of the sun, to the hard Canadian?" Canadians know the answer, even if nobody else does. Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

जब कनाडा के प्रधान मंत्री जस्टिन ट्रूडो ने मस्तिष्क के कैंसर से उनकी मृत्यु के बाद दुखद रूप से हिप फ्रंटमैन गॉर्ड डाउनी को अश्रुपूर्ण श्रद्धांजलि दी, तो उन्होंने घरेलू नायकों के एक अद्वितीय समूह के लिए शोक में एक राष्ट्र का नेतृत्व किया, जॉर्डन माइकल स्मिथ लिखते हैं।


Mrs Brown's Boys - 'We are not the Waltons'

Summary: Mrs Brown's Boys has been a surprise success - winning a Bafta for best sitcom and gathering up to eight million viewers on BBC One. It returns for a third series, starting with two Christmas specials on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. Its creator and star Brendan O'Carroll explains how it took 20 years to become an overnight success.

By Steven BrocklehurstBBC Scotland news website She is a foul-mouthed Irish mammy who is played by a 57-year-old man. To make matters more confusing, Brendan O'Carroll's real-life wife plays his TV daughter, his TV son's wife is acted by his daughter, and his big sister is his neighbour and best friend in his sitcom. There are more family connections in Mrs Brown's Boys but it all gets very complicated. There is no doubt O'Carroll is the head of the family, on stage and off. But he says: "We are not the Waltons, that's for sure." He actually added an extra word into the above quote. It begins with the letter f and is a favourite of O'Carroll, both in life and in his comedy. Despite much of the cast being related, O'Carroll says the Mrs Brown extended family is much larger than that. Rory Cowan (his TV son Rory), Pat 'Pepsi' Shields (his TV son Mark) and Dermot 'Bugsy' O'Neill (Grandad) are not "blood relations" but they have all worked with O'Carroll and the many incarnations of Mrs Brown for 20 years. "I'm the youngest of 11 kids, most of those I don't care about as much as I do about Rory," says O'Carroll. "The same would be for Pepsi and Bugsy." For anyone not familiar with Mrs Brown - a quick recap. Struggling Irish writer and performer Brendan O'Carroll created the Dublin widow for Irish radio in the early 90s. When the actress due to play Mrs Brown did not turn up, O'Carroll, who was only 35 at the time, took on the role himself. It became a huge success and opened doors for O'Carroll, including writing a 1999 film starring Anjelica Houston. But he overstretched himself financing another film project and went bust. Five plays Mrs Brown was brought back to life for the stage in order to pay his debts. It was a phenomenal success in Dublin and just over a decade ago made its way to Glasgow, where a series of five plays have annually drawn huge and loyal audiences to the city's Pavilion Theatre. Glaswegian comedy writer Ian Pattison, the creator of Rab C Nesbitt, told BBC producer Stephen McCrum there was something remarkable happening that he needed to check out. McCrum travelled up from London to see it and was instantly convinced it would be a TV success. O'Carroll says: "Afterwards he came back to the dressing room and said 'we'd like to make a sitcom of this'. "I went 'thanks very much'. "When he had gone I said I had no idea who he was but people don't just walk in and say they want to make a sitcom. "'He's probably a janitor', I said." McCrum was as good as his word and a TV phenomenon was born. The first series was received sniffily by the critics but the viewing figures were massive for a new comedy show. The second series has so far picked up five major awards, including a Bafta. Eight million people watched the last episode of the second series. O'Carroll says: "You don't really get a sense of what eight million people watching feels like. It is twice the population of Ireland, so I can't even get a concept of that." And it is not just the number of people watching that has astounded him, it is the intensity of their adoration. "We kind of know it is funny," he says. "We've been doing this on the stage so we know there are gags that are going to work. "But I'm really surprised about how much people love the show." He adds: "I've never felt that way about any programme in my life." In addition to those who write to say Mrs Brown is the highlight of their week or that it has helped to get them through depression, O'Carroll says he has now had hundreds of letters from the parents of autistic children. He says: "Letters from people saying thank you for letting us hear our child laugh for the first time ever." The comedian was so baffled by why he seemed to connect with autistic children that he has put funding into two research projects dealing with autism and learning. One is an Irish project to buy ipads for autistic children. He says the technology has revolutionised the way autistic children are taught. Despite living part of the year in Florida, touring extensively in the UK and filming his TV show in Glasgow, O'Carroll is still very much attached to the Dublin roots from which Mrs Brown springs. Panel show In September next year he will begin filming a movie of Mrs Brown, set in Moore Street market. The script, which O'Carroll says he has not yet had time to write, will involve Mrs Brown becoming an international symbol of the fight against heartless capitalism when she tries to defend her market stall against a property developer. There was also a pilot made for a Saturday night quiz show in which Mrs Brown was the host, given free licence to "destroy" a panel of celebrities. O'Carroll says a pilot for the show was made, and it was "hilarious". But the funnyman turns businessman when he considers how being a panel show star would affect the Mrs Brown brand. It a step he is reluctant to take at the moment. He says: "You have to think product-wise too, that sounds very mercenary, but we spent a lot of time and a lot of effort building this brand. "Mrs Brown has become a really strong brand and we did not want to throw it away." He adds: "I don't care how funny you think you are, people are entitled to think 'oh no, not him again'. "It might make Mrs Brown more famous but, Jesus, we can't get any more people into the gigs than we do already." The Mrs Brown stage tour no longer plays venues such as the Pavilion Theatre, having moved to 5,000 seat arenas such as the Odyssey in Belfast. Real jobs In 2014, they are booked to go to Australia, where it is the number one show. O'Carroll says the "family" sometimes just "sit down and giggle" at the incredible success but he insists nobody takes it for granted. "I think it is because we all had real jobs," he says. "Bugsy was a window washer, Pepsi was a mechanic, Rory worked in EMI for many years, I was a waiter, Jenny worked in the bank, Eilish worked for Guinness - everybody had real jobs. "You are always terrified that one day they will find out you are a waiter and they will want their money back. So I think we do appreciate it more than normal."

मिसेज ब्राउन 'ज बॉयज़ एक आश्चर्यजनक सफलता रही है-सर्वश्रेष्ठ सिटकॉम के लिए बाफ्टा जीतना और बी. बी. सी. वन पर 80 लाख तक दर्शकों को इकट्ठा करना। यह तीसरी श्रृंखला के लिए लौटती है, जिसकी शुरुआत क्रिसमस की पूर्व संध्या और बॉक्सिंग डे पर दो क्रिसमस विशेष कार्यक्रमों से होती है। इसके निर्माता और स्टार ब्रेंडन ओ' कैरोल बताते हैं कि कैसे इसे रातोंरात सफल होने में 20 साल लग गए।


Nuclear technology - China's next great export?

Summary: For China, the prize on offer in the UK is not the investment in Hinkley Point or Sizewell B but a controlling stake at Bradwell in Essex. This could be the first Chinese-designed nuclear power plant in the West, a massive breakthrough for China in promoting global exports of its nuclear technology.

Carrie GracieChina editor@BBCCarrieon Twitter So far its customers have been confined to countries like Pakistan, Romania and Argentina with the developed world opting for American, Japanese and French technology. But the Energy Secretary, Amber Rudd, has said that China will be part of building the next generation of UK nuclear power stations and that having Chinese design up and running in the UK would give other countries confidence on safety. Safety is a key question. China launched a nationwide safety inspection into all its existing nuclear facilities in the wake of the Tianjin chemical warehouse disaster last month that killed more than 160 people. Though none of its existing reactors has experienced any serious accidents, its entire nuclear construction programme was suspended in 2011 following Japan's Fukushima disaster. New approvals started again this year. China is the world's biggest builder of nuclear power plants. It currently operates 24 reactors with a further 25 under construction. Critics say the industry is expanding too fast given its brief history in China and serious shortage of experienced engineers and operators. They also complain that safety regimes have come second to profit and that China offers no protection for whistleblowers. At home the Chinese government is committed to fast expansion to reduce air pollution and cut dependence on imported oil and gas. But as with other high-value infrastructure like high speed rail, Beijing is also keen to leverage this technology for commercial advantage abroad. Given the UK's long track record on nuclear power, and internationally recognised safety standards, a contract to build a Chinese-designed plant in Essex would be a huge endorsement for China, and one which will raise eyebrows in other European capitals and in Washington where the Obama administration would certainly not invite Chinese involvement in a strategic project with sensitive security implications. But the chancellor has said there is to be "deepening collaboration in nuclear sectors in the UK and China" and all eyes will be on London next month for the signing of these important deals during President Xi Jinping's state visit to Britain.

चीन के लिए, ब्रिटेन में प्रस्तावित पुरस्कार हिंकले पॉइंट या सिज़वेल बी में निवेश नहीं है, बल्कि एसेक्स में ब्रैडवेल में एक नियंत्रित हिस्सेदारी है। यह पश्चिम में पहला चीनी-डिज़ाइन किया गया परमाणु ऊर्जा संयंत्र हो सकता है, जो चीन के लिए अपनी परमाणु प्रौद्योगिकी के वैश्विक निर्यात को बढ़ावा देने में एक बड़ी सफलता है।


Why can't this doctor work in the UK?

Summary: The NHS in North-East England is making an effort to exploit the skills of doctors who arrived in the UK as refugees. But well-trained doctors from one country, who would love to practise here, are still having to spend their days working in factories or delivering pizzas, reports the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby.

Dr Yemane does not want to do this interview. For the first 15 minutes we spend drinking Ethiopian coffee together in a little cafe not far from Middlesbrough train station, he lets his friends and colleagues do the talking, replying to my questions extremely politely but with an obvious reserve. He's concerned that someone might think he's moaning, that he's complaining about his lot. Push him about his feelings and he clears his throat, shifts uncomfortably in his chair and offers only that, "Things might occasionally be a little tough." In truth, things have been far more than "a little tough" for 35-year-old Yemane, a refugee from Eritrea. After implicitly criticising his country's health service at a public meeting in 2012, his life was threatened by the ruling military and he had to flee, eventually ending up in Birmingham where he was granted political asylum. "As much as I thank the UK for being a safe haven for me and giving me refuge, there's a feeling of incompleteness," he says quietly. "Because a refugee doesn't want to be a burden on society and I know I could offer this society a lot more." Yemane has found work in a factory, as a care assistant, and as a volunteer in a refugee charity. He picks up the large tome on the chair beside him and flicks through the pages. It's a book on pharmacology. He's soon absorbed in its pages. Because Yemane is actually a qualified doctor - he's just not allowed to practise in the UK. Yemane was among the second intake of students at the Orotta School of Medicine and Dentistry set up in 2004 in Asmara, Eritrea, with the help of Cuban academics. He studied there for eight years, covering a wide range of disciplines from neurology to surgery. Examinations were monitored externally by professors from Switzerland, the US and Sudan. Yemane has a record of every semester he spent studying there and he tells me modestly that he "doesn't want to exaggerate" but that he is confident that the level of study at Orotta School of Medicine was as rigorous and thorough as any British medical school and that he was "competent" at his studies. In fact, his report card shows he passed almost every exam at Grade A. But for the General Medical Council (GMC), the body that regulates and registers doctors in the UK, that's not enough. They need verification from the Eritrean authorities and the Orotta School of Medicine that Yemane's primary medical qualification is exactly what he claims it is. The problem is that Eritrea is an authoritarian state and will not acknowledge citizens who have fled the country. "Of course they won't respond, of course they won't release information," says Bini Araia, a fellow Eritrean who works with the Middlesbrough-based charity, Investing in People and Culture, which is helping North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust get refugee doctors back into practice. "It's one way of controlling and making refugees' lives difficult so that they can never succeed outside if they leave their country. "Eritrea is not a friend of the West. It is the North Korea of Africa, it's heavily militarised and it's a dictatorship. It's not going to co-operate with the GMC." It's a bitter irony for Yemane that he moved from Birmingham to Middlesbrough precisely because he'd read a BBC article about the pioneering scheme set up by Bini Araia in partnership with North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust. From his reading he also knew that the Teesside region has an acute shortage of medical practitioners. He was immediately accepted on the scheme and unusually, passed the very rigorous English exam at first sitting and with flying colours. The next step was sitting the two necessary medical exams known as Plab 1 and Plab 2 but as Yemane knuckled down to revision, the GMC blocked his attendance. Yemane is too polite to slate the GMC for its caution. He says only that he would hope the GMC might try to find a way around the problem. Find out more Listen to Emma Jane Kirby's report from Middlesbrough for The World at One on BBC Radio 4 Read her earlier report on refugee doctors working on Teesside "I am very grateful for their efforts," he says diplomatically. "But sometimes I think maybe they could do just a little bit more?" His supporters are a little more outspoken. "It's just so frustrating!" says Dr Margaret Hinman, a retired Teesside GP, who has been lobbying for Yemane and helping him with private study. "I totally understand that patients' safety is paramount but surely we can find a solution to get this situation righted?" She looks over at Yemane who is absorbed in the pharmacology text book she's lent him, absent-mindedly lacing a stethoscope through his fingers. "I mean, here we have a young man who has overcome so many difficulties, a ready-made doctor who wants to work and who wants to make Teesside his home - and we have so many vacancies here!" She reminds me of the success of the scheme - four refugee doctors are now working full time in the NHS, five more are about to be registered while a handful of others are sitting their medical exams. "And there's no reason to think Dr Yemane is any less qualified than anyone else," she adds. "We have information from the former dean of medicine [at the Orotta School of Medicine], we have Yemane's curriculum and what's so frustrating is that other EU countries like Austria and Sweden - whose guidelines I'm sure are just as stringent as ours - are able to accept that same paperwork and let Eritrean doctors practise." Doctors like Dr Sahle, a classmate and close friend of Yemane, who fled Eritrea about the same time. Sahle claimed asylum in Austria rather than in the UK, however, and once he got settled status, was able to present his paperwork to the Austrian authorities and start his German-language tests and rigorous medical retraining. He now works full time as a doctor in a large hospital in Graz, south-east Austria, where he's hoping to specialise in internal medicine. We have to wait a couple of weeks to set up a Skype call together because he is run off his feet. "It's not fair," he tells me. "Because I remember Dr Yemane as a caring doctor, very professional and hard-working. If they could just give him the opportunity I'm sure he'd show them just how competent he is." Sahle reflects on how much he loves his job and how, now that he can map out a career path, he feels he has really started his new life in Europe. Twice a week, he calls his friend Yemane to share news. Listening in to one of their conversations, it's painful to hear how hungry Yemane is to learn about the cases his old friend has been working on, and how careful Sahle is to answer his questions with tactful restraint. "I am working and he is not," he reminds me. "But I have the same documents he has - nothing more." Bini Araia from Investing in People and Culture says there are at least four other qualified Eritrean doctors in the UK who are desperate to work here. Instead he says they are working for delivery companies, in pizza restaurants and factories. "It bleeds my heart," he says with genuine feeling. "They have already given up so much. Why must we punish them again?" Jane Durkin, assistant director for registration at the GMC, sighs when I talk to her about the waste of human potential. She reminds me that the primary concern of the GMC is to protect patients and to make sure all the doctors the body registers have the relevant skills. She sounds as frustrated as Yemane's supporters when she recounts the efforts the GMC has made to contact the Eritrean authorities and the complete silence those efforts have been met with. When I remind her that other European countries have accepted the same paperwork that Yemane has as proof of training, she concedes that that is a reasonable point but says she cannot comment on other countries' practices. "We don't want to put up barriers," she insists. "But the law requires us to validate qualifications." But is it realistic to expect a political refugee to have fled for his life carrying all his documentation and professional paperwork in a neat folder, stamped and endorsed by the very authoritarian regime he has escaped from? Jane Durkin admits that the paperwork the GMC has been requesting will almost certainly remain unobtainable. And then quite suddenly she announces that the GMC has decided that the Eritrean doctors' case is a truly exceptional one and it is for this reason that the doctors will now be allowed to take their Plab 1 and Plab 2 examinations. I ask her to repeat herself to make sure I have understood. "Yes," she says, and there is a good-natured smile in her voice. "We are going to let them sit their exams." I check this means that Yemane, if he passes his exams as he's predicted to do, will then automatically be registered as a doctor and will be able to apply for jobs in the NHS. There's a pause on the line. "Er, no," says Jane Durkin. "If he passes the exams that will prove he has the knowledge to pass the tests, but we still need to verify his primary qualification - we have to work with the UK's legal framework." She sounds apologetic. "I know it sounds jobsworth. But he can get on with his training while we will pursue all avenues to piece together the evidence." This is still a massive leap forward for the Eritrean doctors and is enough for Yemane and his Middlesbrough supporters, Bin Araia and Margaret Hinman, to order a celebration cake. "We're buzzing!" says Yemane. "I am so happy and my colleagues are all so happy - we are moving in the right direction and it is the greatest news!" Bini Araia has to leave the gathering early to attend a meeting at North Tees hospital. He has promised Yemane that while he is studying for his medical exams, which will probably take a year to complete, his refugee charity will work tirelessly to help the GMC find the proof it needs via third parties, to satisfy the demands of UK law. Meanwhile, Yemane is already deep in his medical text books. He's been dreaming of becoming a doctor since he was six years old. Perhaps now that vision will once again be realised and by September 2020, he'll be accompanying Bini to North Tees hospital to start work and his new life. You may also be interested in: The mother of a child who developed meningitis and sepsis because of a bacterial infection called Group B Strep is calling for all pregnant women to be tested for it. Currently the test is only available privately - and some women are still not being told about the potential danger to their baby. Group B Strep: 'A common bug could have killed my baby'

उत्तर-पूर्वी इंग्लैंड में एन. एच. एस. उन डॉक्टरों के कौशल का दोहन करने का प्रयास कर रहा है जो शरणार्थियों के रूप में यू. के. आए थे। लेकिन एक देश के अच्छी तरह से प्रशिक्षित डॉक्टर, जो यहां अभ्यास करना पसंद करेंगे, उन्हें अभी भी अपने दिन कारखानों में काम करने या पिज्जा वितरित करने में बिताने पड़ रहे हैं, बीबीसी की एम्मा जेन किर्बी रिपोर्ट करती हैं।


Firefighters called to machinery blaze at Leith docks

Summary: Firefighters have been tackling a fire in a large machine at a site in Edinburgh's Leith docks.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SRFRS) said it was alerted to the blaze at Bredero House in the Imperial Docks just before 12:20. A large plume of smoke could be seen and four appliances were sent to the scene. Forth Ports said the fire had broken out in the engine bay of a piece of machinery in a storage yard. It said no-one was hurt. Police Scotland said it was aware of the incident but not involved.

अग्निशामक एडिनबर्ग के लीथ डॉक में एक स्थल पर एक बड़ी मशीन में लगी आग पर काबू पा रहे हैं।


Breck Bednar murder: How Lewis Daynes manipulated his victim

Summary: A 19-year-old man has been jailed for life for the murder of a 14-year-old boy he met online. Described by investigators as "quite unique in terms of how horrific it was", the case involved the manipulation of a schoolboy who was turned against his family and ultimately lured to his death.

By Jodie SmithBBC News The voice at the end of the phone was calm, collected, measured. "I need police and a forensic team," the man said to the 999 call handler. "My friend and I got into an altercation and I am the only one who came out alive." Just under a year later, that man - 19-year-old Lewis Daynes from Grays, Essex - has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering 14-year-old Breck Bednar. Described by police as "a cruel, manipulative person," Daynes had spent months building up online relationships with "vulnerable teenage boys". One of those boys was Breck, who lived with his mother, Lorin LaFave, and his siblings in Caterham, Surrey. A "dedicated" student at St Bede's school in Redhill, a churchgoer and member of the Air Training Corps, Breck was "kind, intelligent" and "extremely gifted". Ms LaFave's partner, Simon Goodwin, said Breck was "a good kid". "Very respectful, never heard him answer back to his mother, or shout or swear. He was almost a model son," he said. Breck had started communicating with Daynes through a gaming website, of which a couple of his friends were already members, in 2013. Together, the boys would spend time playing games and chatting over TeamSpeak, a piece of software which acts like a telephone conference call. But some of the gamers soon became concerned Breck was being controlled and turned against his family by Daynes. Ms LaFave had also begun to notice some differences in her son's behaviour. "His personality was changing, and his ideology was changing, and he was starting to refuse to attend church with us. "He was starting to refuse to do the normal family things we did. I felt like it was because of the negative influence of this person [Daynes]." She raised her concerns by contacting Surrey Police in December 2013 - but a few weeks later, her son got into a taxi, paid for by Daynes, and made his way to a flat in Grays. He was never seen alive again. Under instructions from Daynes, Breck had told his father Barry Bednar he was going to meet a friend on 16 February, and later asked permission to stay overnight. Police cannot be sure of exactly what happened inside that flat that night, between Daynes ordering a pizza at 18:40 GMT and the call he made to emergency services at 11:06 the next day. "When he rang the police, he gave an account, and it was the account he wanted us to hear," said senior investigating officer Det Insp Anne Cameron. Daynes told the call-handler Breck had arrived at his house saying his was "fed up with his home life". Daynes claimed his victim had grabbed a penknife on morning of 17 February and had tried to attack him after "losing control". He said he had stabbed Breck "in the back of the neck, near the brain stem" and the struggle had ended with Daynes cutting Breck's throat. But when police arrived, they found Breck had been tied up with duct tape, and Daynes' phones, hard drives and pen drives - which were all encrypted - had been immersed in water. He refused to give police access to passwords to any of the devices. "He wanted to be in control all the time he was in custody," said Det Insp Cameron. "As part of our investigation we went away, we searched what he was saying and compared, and clearly there were inconsistencies. But when we went back to question those inconsistencies, he exercised his right to give no comment." Staying safe online A "computer engineer" who lived alone, Daynes was a "very insular person". "The only people that could give us a lot of information about him were his gaming friends, the ones he manipulated online," Det Insp Cameron said. "A lot of those said that becoming acquainted with him, they found that he was very domineering. "He would stress his views upon other people, and demand they accepted those views." Jenny Hopkins, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the East of England, said her team had gathered evidence to show how "controlling and manipulative" Daynes was. "He provided the victim with a mobile phone, provided him with a cover story that he could give his father as to why he wasn't coming home, he paid for his taxi ride - all of it culminating in the most brutal attack," she said. "We deal with many shocking cases at the CPS, but this one stands out because it is particularly cruel and violent, and also because of the level of manipulation and planning that Daynes used leading up to the murder." Breck's family have set up a foundation in his memory to "support computer education for young people, including the responsible use of technology". "I think there's a lot of perception that it only happens to people who don't have parents looking after them," Ms LaFave told the BBC. "These predators are very good at manipulation and controlling, controlling children and trying to control me. "We have set up a foundation and the theme is 'play virtual but live real'. It's OK to know who you're speaking to," she said. Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigations into the conduct of both Essex Police and Surrey Police are ongoing. Murder Games: The Life and Death of Breck Bednar was broadcast on BBC Three on Tuesday, 26 January, 2016.

एक 19 वर्षीय व्यक्ति को एक 14 वर्षीय लड़के की हत्या के लिए आजीवन कारावास की सजा सुनाई गई है, जिससे वह ऑनलाइन मिला था। जांचकर्ताओं द्वारा "यह कितना भयानक था" के संदर्भ में काफी अनोखा बताया गया है, इस मामले में एक स्कूली लड़के के साथ हेरफेर किया गया था, जिसे उसके परिवार के खिलाफ कर दिया गया था और अंततः उसकी मौत का लालच दिया गया था।


The French connection: How Catalonia got its ballot papers

Summary: This time last year the Catalan government was busily preparing for a vote on independence, even though the parliament had yet to give its final approval. One puzzle was how to obtain ballot papers and ballot boxes - and how to prevent them being seized in advance. The BBC's Niall O'Gallagher visited France to discover how the problem was solved.

Elna is a town not found on any map. I could tell you that it lies north of the Pyrenees on the road to Perpignan. But if you consulted the chart, you'd find, nestled between the mountains and the sea, only the French town of Elne. Even armed with GPS, I fared no better at first: the address I'd been given returned no results. Only when I'd translated my destination from Catalan did the disembodied voice of the hire car's computerised navigator splutter into life. Elna lay at the end of a trail that had begun in Barcelona on 1 October last year. I had waited in the rain for voting to begin in Catalonia's disputed referendum on independence from Spain. The authorities in Madrid had taken control of the region's finances so the Catalan government couldn't buy ballot boxes or print voting papers. Somehow, despite a heavy police presence, the polls opened as planned. But how? Contacts in the Catalan capital sent me north to meet Maria - not her real name - striking at 70 with her black hair and fur coat, on a cobbled street above Elna's old walls. We followed her car to a restaurant, which she persuaded to re-open and serve us salad while we talked. Maria grew up here speaking Catalan at home, and like many others in this part of France feels a deep sense of loyalty to her fellow Catalans in Spain. So it's not that surprising that in Elna - perhaps over a meal like this, of ripe tomatoes with pungent vinegar - a plot was hatched to evade the attention of the Spanish police and supply those south of the border with what they needed to hold their independence vote. Find out more Maria would introduce us to the plotters. Her mobile rang and she exchanged a few words in Catalan with the man on the other end of the line. Jaume agreed to meet us later, on condition we would not reveal his identity. He arrived at our rendezvous carrying a ballot box exactly like the ones I'd seen in Barcelona. Maria made coffee while Jaume, a slight man with a pointed white beard, answered in terse monosyllables my small talk about the children and the weather. Eventually, once my third cup was cold, he began to talk. "I drove ballot papers from France across the border with Spain in a lorry," he told me. "There was always the danger that some information would be leaked, which would jeopardise the whole operation. "But I wasn't afraid. All I did was transport paper - and as far as I know, transporting paper from one EU state to another isn't a crime." The nonchalant humour in Jaume's voice sat uneasily with his desire for anonymity. So far two people I've interviewed while covering this story have ended up in jail. Maria then introduced us to Jordi, a local activist in his sixties but built like a boxer. He had come to Catalunya del Nord - as the French province of Roussillon is sometimes called - from Terrassa, south of the border, years earlier. Over peach brandy, a BBC colleague asked whether it was love that had brought him north. "No," he said without smiling. "I was in the resistance during the dictatorship." The ballot-paper smugglers from Elna had traced in reverse the route taken by thousands of refugees fleeing the Franco regime, who came through the mountains in the decades after the Spanish Civil War. While the voting papers were being printed in Elna, the ballot boxes had travelled all the way from a factory in China, via Marseille, before being hidden in the French-Catalan countryside. They were then taken south ahead of the referendum - a day that ended with hundreds injured at the hands of the Spanish police. "They were held up to ridicule," Jordi told me, "and that humiliation turned to vengeance on 1 October." After resetting our satnav for our onward journey, I took a call from Maria. She was keen for me to hear one more story before I left. "Twenty-four hours before the referendum," she told me, "there was a raid on a printing press in the south. Someone called me and said there weren't enough ballot papers left to go ahead. So we found a printer in Elna who opened up in the middle of the night and made more. They were driven across the border just in time." Catalans are split on independence and no-one knows how this story will end. The Spanish Prime Minister at the time, Mariano Rajoy, has now left the stage. Ousted Catalan president Carles Puigdemont waits in the wings in Belgium. But when the history of the October referendum is written it might reflect that the machinations of politicians would have come to nothing were it not for a group of pensioners in a tiny French village, who risked their liberty so their fellow Catalans could vote. They put Elna on the map - but no chart can show the people of this region their destination. French connection II Listen to John Laurenson reporting from the Spanish exclave of Llivia, in southern France, on the role it could play in the Catalonian nationalists' next move Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

पिछले साल इस बार कैटलन सरकार स्वतंत्रता पर मतदान की तैयारी में व्यस्त थी, भले ही संसद ने अभी तक अपनी अंतिम मंजूरी नहीं दी थी। एक पहेली यह थी कि मतपत्र और मतपेटियों को कैसे प्राप्त किया जाए-और उन्हें पहले से जब्त होने से कैसे रोका जाए। बीबीसी के नियाल ओ 'गलाघेर ने यह पता लगाने के लिए फ्रांस का दौरा किया कि समस्या का समाधान कैसे किया गया।


Pussycat Dolls 'still together'

Summary: Robin Antin, founder of girl group Pussycat Dolls, has issued a statement saying there "is no truth" to the rumours that the American girl group had split up.

Media speculation had suggested that the relationship between lead singer Nicole Scherzinger and the rest of group had become strained. In a statement Antin, who oversees the band, said: "The Pussycat Dolls are very much alive and there is no truth to the silent treatment statements. Nicole and the Dolls have ALWAYS been close." Antin went on to add: "Nicole is and always has been a strong creative force within this group and I cherish the way we collaborate. Finally she said: "The Pussycat Dolls have proven their success over many years and will continue to do so." Nicola Scherzinger, partner of Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, is currently working on a solo album. Pussycat Dolls' last album Dollmination came out in September 2008.

लड़कियों के समूह पुसीकैट डॉल्स के संस्थापक रॉबिन एंटिन ने एक बयान जारी कर कहा है कि अमेरिकी लड़कियों के समूह के अलग होने की अफवाहों में कोई सच्चाई नहीं है।


Tour de France Grand Depart diary

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

The first Grand Depart hosts to stage a cultural festival, the first to have an Olympic-style volunteer programme, the first to turn the team presentation into X Factor meets the World Cup draw, Yorkshire's Tour de France is all about innovation. And this weekend, Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive Gary Verity became the first bid leader to actually ride a proper stage of his/her Grand Depart. I say proper because the Tour's owners ASO think Prince Albert of Monaco cycled his first stage in 2009, but that was a 15.5km prologue. Verity, on the other hand, did 190km. Not bad for a cycling novice who had heart surgery nine months ago. He even managed to drag yours truly around behind him. Full story: ITV News If you live in the Huddersfield area and have plans tonight, change them. Slubby Billy's, "a clog-shod Morris side", are starting a four-week "Tour de Dance" to "make sure real ale and clogs welcome the Tour de France". Apparently, there are eight local breweries in Huddersfield and the Holme Valley, seven of which are within a quarter of a mile of the Tour route. Was Chris Froome made aware of this? Anyway, the morris dancers are starting their warm-up tour at Oakes' Rock Brewery at 8pm this evening, before clip-clopping to the aptly-named The Sportsman in Huddersfield for 8.45. A double bill to savour. Full story: Huddersfield Examiner The region's paper of record, The Yorkshire Post, has unveiled a cheeky advertising billboard: "The French believe they have the toughest summits. Our view: it's all downhill after Yorkshire." They have also invited online readers to answer the question: will the Tour be good for Yorkshire? Hmm, I suspect what should be a landslide "yes!" will end up being a lot closer. But then many people in east London had mixed feelings about the Olympics right up until this country's biggest party went off without a hitch, raising the area's profile around the globe and putting a smile on everybody's face for months. Full story: Yorkshire Post CYCLING ROUND-UP If only those post-Olympic good vibes were still in effect at Team Sky. The British team might be the world's most successful cycling team of the last two years (and yes, I am ignoring the UCI's rankings) but they are not always as happy about this as they should be. Take the stubborn saddle sore that is the relationship between Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome. Like Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator, this is a monster of a story that refuses to die. Here is a recap: Froome helps Wiggins to become the first Brit to win the Tour in 2012 but manages to upstage Wiggins in the mountains, only to be reminded of his place by the team's bosses, which upsets Froome without placating Wiggins. This is all happens in broad daylight, with the pair's other halves joining in on twitter. Fast forward to 2013 and Froome is now the team leader, with Wiggins looking elsewhere for challenges. He picks the Giro, or it is picked for him, and it does not go well. He is then ruled out of the Tour with a knee injury. Some observers thought this was quite convenient. Froome, now liberated of water-carrying duties, wins the Tour. Wiggins stays away, and sends no congratulations, but then rescues a dismal 2013 with a win at Tour of Britain and a silver medal at the Worlds. Froome sends no congratulations. But then we are told hatchets have been buried and peace pipes smoked at a training camp in Majorca this January. Froome remains the team's leader, but Wiggins is back on board with new goals of his own and the desire to help Froome defend his Tour title. Wiggins then confirms his form at Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of California, while Froome does his thing at the Tours of Oman and Romandie. All is swell, right? No. A Sunday Times serialisation of Froome's new autobiography digs up the hatchets of 2012 and cracks the peace pipes of 2014. He says this changes nothing, which could mean they are still fine, or they are still fighting. Watch my interview with him in Harrogate on Saturday and make up your own mind. It should also be noted that Froome and Wiggins are still being kept apart, with the former taking what looks like a Tour team to a key Tour build-up race in France, while Wiggins heads to Switzerland. Will Wiggo be on the start line in Leeds? I honestly don't know, but I do know Froome/Wiggins will be a story that week whether he is or not. TWEET OF THE DAY "Froome + 7 of probable Sky 8 for the Tour ride Dauphine. Wiggo rides Swiss - logical after return from US. Read into it what you will…" Guardian cycling correspondent William Fotheringham on Team Sky's choices for the key Tour warm-up races. A TO Z OF LE TOUR T is for… Tete de la course - Literally, the head of the race, this means what it says on the tin, but manages to sound somehow more intriguing and nuanced than "race leader". I think this is probably because of the subtleties of stage racing. Those guys up front are clearly leading the race at that given moment, but they are still very much connected to what is happening behind them, and that lead is often very artificial and temporary. Turn - Another staple term for a commentator, this refers to the "turn" a rider takes riding at the front of a group, effectively punching a hole through the air, and giving everybody behind a more aerodynamic ride. Team leaders do not take turns until they really have to. TODAY'S TOUR TRIVIA If you are wondering why there is such a fuss about having Froome and Wiggins in the same team it because cycling's history is littered with examples of teams who had tried to serve more than one master at the Tour and ended up a fractious mess. But the example most frequently cited, the 1986 Tour, is actually an exception to the rule, as the team in question, La Vie Claire, ended up with a one-two. The reason it is remembered, however, is because the civil war between the new man, Greg LeMond, and his more experienced teammate, Bernhard Hinault, was played out over a series of remarkable stages in the final week of the Tour. Having helped Hinault to victory the year before, LeMond thought the French hero would repay the favour that year (sound familiar?), only for the inscrutable Hinault to emerge as his greatest rival, hardly surprising when you consider that Hinault could scent a record-breaking sixth Tour win. LeMond did eventually triumph, becoming the first American to win the race, and he would win two more. But it took him a long time to get over his teammate's attempted treachery. Not that Hinault ever saw it that way, and he would no doubt love to see "the road decide" who should lead Team Sky this summer.

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


Q&A: Reform of EU fishing policy

Summary: The European Parliament has approved a package of major reforms to the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), designed to cut waste and stop overfishing in European waters.

Under the plan, the existing system of fishing quotas - which often leads to tonnes of perfectly good fish being dumped at sea - will be reformed. For the first time MEPs have legislative power in this policy area. They are proposing amendments to a European Commission reform plan for the CFP. But there will be more negotiations with the 27 fisheries ministers this year before the changes become EU law.

यूरोपीय संसद ने यूरोपीय संघ की सामान्य मत्स्य नीति (सी. एफ. पी.) में बड़े सुधारों के एक पैकेज को मंजूरी दी है, जिसे अपशिष्ट में कटौती करने और यूरोपीय जल में अधिक मछली पकड़ने को रोकने के लिए बनाया गया है।


Dyfed-Powys Police needs 100 more special constables

Summary: One hundred new special constables are to be recruited by Dyfed-Powys Police.

The volunteer police officers will wear a uniform and have full police powers. The new recruits will take the force's number of specials up to 200. Successful candidates will receive formal training at a police station as well as online training.

डेफेड-पॉव्स पुलिस द्वारा एक सौ नए विशेष कांस्टेबलों की भर्ती की जानी है।


Kylie Minogue: How our obsession is driving her success

Summary: Thirty-three years ago. That's when Kylie Minogue first entered my life - and that of millions of teenagers - in the Australian soap Neighbours. It's hard to believe it's that long ago.

By Simon BrowningBusiness reporter I watched her marry Scott Robinson (Jason Donovan) in 1988, alongside 20 million others. I dread to think how many times I watched it on VHS. But looking back, it was early evidence that I, alongside the British public, had already taken Kylie to my heart and that she had real marketing appeal. More than three decades later, public affection for our adopted "pop princess" shows no sign of wavering after Sunday's storming set on Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage. After appearing on stage to a blaze of Pride colours and mirrors - even Kylie seemed overwhelmed by the size of the crowd that had come to watch. "I've never seen a crowd like it. Ever. Everybody loves Kylie. You could feel it," BBC Music presenter Lauren Laverne said after Kylie came off stage. It's exactly how I felt when I met Kylie last year when I was working at BBC Breakfast. She was as nice in real life as she appears on stage: kind, accepting and smiling. But it takes more than niceness to achieve a music career that spans 30 years, an incredible feat when pop music can be transient and fleeting for many musicians. To date, there have been; How has she done it? Building a career with such longevity is about more than just pop music, it is also about being a shrewd and clever businesswoman who is able to constantly reinvent herself. Kylie's career has seen many guises from squeaky teenage soap star, to a pop hit machine with Stock Aitken and Waterman (I Should Be So Lucky, Hand on Your Heart, Better the Devil You Know), to "indie Kylie" (Confide in Me, Where The Wild Roses Grow) and into "disco Kylie" (Spinning Around, Love at First Sight, Can't Get You out of My Head). The Glastonbury appearance was just her latest reinvention. It hasn't been easy the whole time. There has been music that didn't resonate with the wider public outside her fan base and periods when Kylie was simply not cool. "She was unfashionable after Stock, Aitken and Waterman and at times it seemed like she was trying to find herself," says Jo Elvin, editor of You Magazine. "But she has real resilience. That's what people like. It took her a while to realise that being a pop princess was cool. When she accepted that, it's when her own confidence evolved and everyone said 'we love Kylie' and she became a national treasure." The Glastonbury performance was partly about Kylie making sure she stays relevant, says Amy Thomson, a music artist manager and part of the Grammy Recording Academy. "It was a triumph - but it was also about her reinvesting in her future. People are talking about her again today. Brands will be talking about her again. Businesses will want to talk to her." Unpromising beginnings But while I have always been a fan since her early days (my first seven-inch single bought from my local Asda was 'Locomotion'!) not everyone was convinced. "If you looked at the start of her career, on paper, it looked short-lived," says Eamonn Forde, a music business journalist. He says her being picked up by Parlophone, alongside Coldplay, at the end of the 90s sparked a huge change in how seriously she was taken. By the dawn of the millennium Kylie reinvented herself again, with Spinning Around and her biggest single ever - Can't Get You Out of My Head. It's a reinvention that was well received when I witnessed her play at Privilege nightclub in Ibiza wearing those legendary gold hotpants. "We loved it". But Mr Forde says these tunes were not just "throw-away pop songs" but the start of a new performance era. "It began a very clever, well thought out progression and the start of huge shows that were and still are an incredible spectacle." For a majority of artists now, these shows are the main money-spinner out of everything they do. People come to these shows and pay good money for their tickets, to see a performer - and that's what you get with Kylie. I should know, it's the reason I keep going back. I think I'm at 12 shows now. "As much art is involved in writing songs as there is in performing them. Kylie might not write them all. But a great performer can take a great song somewhere else. People buy into that. And they buy into her," adds Mr Forde. Being a pop star is also about looking good, something that Ms Elvin acknowledges Kylie has done - and continues to do very well. But Ms Elvin says it is Kylie's professional approach to work which has really made her stand out. "Kylie understands she is the pop person there to do her bit. She understands it's business. There are no big pop star dramas." There are no reliable statistics, but being a pop star has obviously brought Kylie substantial riches. Music releases and arena tours have helped her amass sizeable wealth. But her brand power is also a big part of her income. She has partnerships with opticians chain Specsavers and her own range of bedding, and has also done very lucrative private appearances for families and businesses in the Middle East. Power secret How broad the Kylie brand stretches was apparent in the crowd watching her performance at Glastonbury. It was a complete cross-section of the population. Yes, the LGBT community, which believes it has adopted her, was there in force, but so were parents, children, guys and gals singing in the sunshine. "In a music genre all about youth, she's there and taking every audience with her all at once", adds Mr Forde. "She's not afraid to talk honestly and openly and just be genuinely herself. That's her power."

तैंतीस साल पहले। यही वह समय था जब काइली मिनोग ने पहली बार मेरे जीवन में प्रवेश किया-और लाखों किशोरों के जीवन में-ऑस्ट्रेलियाई धारावाहिक नेबर्स में। यह विश्वास करना मुश्किल है कि यह बहुत पहले की बात है।


'Why can't I find an Afro-Caribbean egg donor?'

Summary: When Natasha and her husband had difficulty conceiving a child, doctors gave her two pieces of bad news. The first was that she would need to find a donor egg. The second was that Afro-Caribbean eggs are rarely donated. But she hasn't given up hope.

By Ben CarterBBC News Natasha is 38 and is struggling to have a baby. She got married in 2011, and started trying to conceive immediately. Eventually it became clear there was a problem. "I actually had four rounds of IVF treatment and obviously none of them were successful. And after the third round the doctor said, 'We doubt that your eggs are going to be any good and you probably need to consider going down the egg donation route.' And she literally got up from her seat and said, 'I'll give you some time with your husband to discuss,' and she walked out the room. And that was it." Natasha's next step was to call organisations that might help her obtain a donor egg. One was a donation bank. "They basically said, 'We're going to have to be honest with you, but we don't have many black Afro-Caribbean egg donors come forward.' They told me straight and I appreciated the honesty rather than being sent on a goose chase." Natasha then cast her net further afield. A clinic in Spain offered her an egg donated by an African. Many might think this was not a bad solution, but Natasha was not sure it would be right for her. "My heritage is Caribbean. My grandparents on both sides of the family are both from the Caribbean… it was important to me to at least have some cultural connection with the child, and I felt that if it was from a different heritage, I may not…" She also felt that her family, which she says "has a big hang-up about who looks like who", might discriminate against a child that they knew had come from a donor. In 2017, about 1,900 individual donors donated eggs in the UK. Of these only 15 were categorised as "Black Caribbean". Twenty were Black African. The vast majority - 1,608 - were White. As Black Caribbeans make up 1.1% of the population according to the 2011 census, you might expect 21 out of the 1,900 donors to have come from this group. Black Africans, meanwhile, make up 1.8%, so if 2017's donor eggs had been evenly distributed by race, there would have been 34. Dr Edmond Edi-Osagie, a reproductive medicine specialist in Cheshire says that there is "something cultural within the black community" that makes women reluctant to donate eggs. "Any time I see an Afro-Caribbean woman over the age of 35 who walks through my clinic, the first thing I think about is, 'Are they going to need donor eggs?' My heart really sinks, because I know that it's going to be a really difficult battle if they are," he says. He also finds that Afro-Caribbean women are more likely to need donor eggs, than white women of a similar age. "The reasons for that we're still not very clear about, and there are many plausible reasons, but that's what we are finding anecdotally." Edi-Osagie has been to a number of black organisations and black churches to talk about the lack of donor eggs and the message always goes down well, he says. "I get a line of people who wait to speak to me to give me their contact details and then I get my staff, over the following weeks, to try to contact all of those people - and unfortunately, almost invariably that's where the trail ends," he says. Find out more: Listen to Natasha: Trying to find a black egg donor on Monday 13 January from 20:00 Part of the series My Name Is... on BBC Radio 4 Natasha thinks that one reason so few eggs are donated could be that women don't know there is a shortage. "There's no awareness, no-one's printed any leaflets - it's not sitting in the waiting rooms of any hospitals," she says. She also thinks it's a taboo subject that is rarely discussed in the black community. If the subject is ever mentioned, it's a throwaway comment like, "Sandra up the road, she cannot have a baby," Natasha says. "It's never taken seriously about how that person must be feeling or what support they may need. It's just not a topic that's ever brought up and yes it does need to change, it really does," she says. "Especially because women, no matter what cultural background, are having children later. So I know I'm not going to be the only person that has gone through this." Natasha admits she hasn't told her own family about her fertility problems. In fact, she doesn't even think her husband is aware of the toll they are taking on her. "He is a very practical man… all on my own." She says she has to "wear a mask" so that people don't see how she is feeling when something they've said makes her emotions almost brim over. This doesn't surprise counselling psychotherapist Helen George who, in the course of her research into why older Afro-Caribbean women rarely seek therapy, has heard many say, "You don't talk your business to people." She's keen to encourage the black community to talk more about infertility, but also to encourage the health system to discuss infertility in a more inclusive way. "I feel that when we look at the whole landscape of infertility and the services out there, you know, it doesn't represent us," she says. She had noticed online an event in London called Fertility Fest, which describes itself as "the world's first arts festival dedicated to fertility, infertility, the science of making babies and modern families", and found herself thinking, "it's kind of all white people". But in 2019 it ran a session on race, religion and reproduction, and she took part. "The taboo, the stigma, not talking about it in communities, that all came out," she says. "Religion was another one… religion in terms of being angry at God, being angry at not getting what they want." But she came away with the feeling that the conversation had started. "There was a room full of people of colour all talking about it. People are finding their voice now." You may also be interested in: When Elaine Chong found out that there was a shortage of women of colour donating eggs, she decided to do something about it. Why I chose to donate my eggs Natasha is on a waiting list for an Afro-Caribbean donated egg. She doesn't know how long she will have to wait. "I need to build up my inner strength to be able to go forward with this again," she says. "I know my age is against me." She also wants to start raising awareness about this issue in her community in the hope that this will encourage more women to donate eggs - not just for her benefit but for the general good. It frustrates her that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which is aware of the shortage of certain eggs doesn't try to alert the public to this fact. The HFEA points out that it is a regulator, and that this role doesn't fall within its regulatory charter. And she thinks that more could be done to point out to women that although donating an egg is not a simple procedure - it involves numerous medical tests and you have to inject yourself with hormones twice a day - donors are compensated with a one-off payment of £750. "I feel that I need to start the ball rolling and maybe being that voice that is knocking on the door, and actually steering this conversation further and making people more aware that this is a problem - because I'm sure that most people wouldn't even consider that this problem even exists." Nadia Akingbule is on Instagram

जब नताशा और उनके पति को गर्भ धारण करने में कठिनाई हुई, तो डॉक्टरों ने उन्हें दो बुरी खबरें दीं। पहला यह कि उन्हें एक दाता अंडा खोजने की आवश्यकता होगी। दूसरा यह कि एफ्रो-कैरेबियाई अंडे शायद ही कभी दान किए जाते हैं। लेकिन उन्होंने उम्मीद नहीं छोड़ी।


Nearly 80% of women screened for cervical cancer

Summary: Nearly eight in 10 women in Wales have been screened for cervical cancer at least once in the past five years, a report has said.

The 2014-15 report from Public Health Wales showed 78% of women in the target age of 25 to 64 had been tested. Almost a quarter of the women received their results within four weeks. Women are invited for screening for abnormal cells from the age of 25. Rachel Jones, head of cervical screening Wales, said: "The positive figures suggested in the annual report are consistent across Wales, with coverage of screening exceeding 76% in each of the health boards."

एक रिपोर्ट में कहा गया है कि वेल्स में 10 में से लगभग आठ महिलाओं की पिछले पांच वर्षों में कम से कम एक बार गर्भाशय ग्रीवा के कैंसर के लिए जांच की गई है।


Hakeem banned from local polls

Summary: District Court of Colombo ruled that Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauf Hakeem and its general secretary should not sign any nomination papers for the forthcoming local polls.

The court issued this injunction order followed by a hearing of a petition filed by a member of the SLMC which said that the above two officials have no authority to sign the nomination papers as they are not recognised as party officials. The petitioner said annual convention of the party was not held for a long period of time and therefore they are no longer the officer bearers of the party. The district court also issued an order to the Election Commissioner asking not to accept the nominations papers signed by them.

कोलंबो की जिला अदालत ने फैसला सुनाया कि श्रीलंका मुस्लिम कांग्रेस (एस. एल. एम. सी.) के नेता रउफ हकीम और उनके महासचिव को आगामी स्थानीय चुनावों के लिए किसी भी नामांकन पत्र पर हस्ताक्षर नहीं करना चाहिए।