Why was shopkeeper Asad Shah murdered?

Summary: Before he was brutally murdered on 24 March of this year, Glasgow shopkeeper Asad Shah had uploaded hundreds of videos to YouTube.

By Secunder Kermani BBC Newsnight Nearly all were filmed over the counter of his newsagent shop in the Shawlands area of the city. In one he's cutting a birthday cake for a young child celebrating his sixth birthday in the store alongside his mother. It's a touching window into the life of a man who had become a much loved figure in his local community. After he was killed hundreds turned out for a vigil in his honour. 'People person' His brother - speaking on the condition of anonymity - told me Asad was "a people person. He always put everyone else ahead of himself. He was very jelled with the community." He added that Asad had known the six-year-old boy in the video since he lost his dad when he was a baby. "That family was quite down, and my brother was always there for the mother and the little baby and they always kind of picked up their morale," he said. The family had moved out of Glasgow but still returned every year to see Asad and to celebrate the child's birthday in his shop. Who would want to kill a man like that? When it initially emerged that Asad Shah's attacker was another Muslim, newspaper reports speculated that he had been killed by an extremist for posting the message "a very happy Easter to my beloved Christian nation" on Facebook just hours before his death. The real story is perhaps just as shocking. It links this murder on British streets to the murder of a Pakistani politician five years ago. Both were accused by some Muslims of having committed blasphemy. The killer of Asad Shah idolised and was in close contact with extremists in Pakistan, and was seemingly inspired by their example to kill Asad Shah - even calling them after the murder to tell them about what he had done. Considered heretical Asad's family had experience of religious extremism before. They moved to Scotland from Pakistan just under 20 years ago after being persecuted for their Ahmadiyya faith. Ahmadiyya are considered heretical by many Muslims for believing another prophet succeeded Muhammad. The majority of Muslims believe Muhammad was the last and final prophet - and anything other than that is blasphemy. In Pakistan, Asad Shah's father ran a pharmacy and a hospital for women but Asad's brother says they were targeted by zealots: "His pharmacy was set on fire by the extremists there, and his hospital was burnt down. "We had an apartment above the pharmacy where my parents were with the kids and that fire - the kind neighbours basically helped us escape from the rooftop." With the Pakistani police unable to protect them, the family decided to move to Britain. They never thought violent religious intolerance would touch them here. Asad's brother explained: "It was my dad trying to protect all the kids thinking something like this would happen in Pakistan… and it's happened here. We didn't suspect something like that would happen in the UK." But it seems it wasn't Asad Shah's Ahmadiyya faith that attracted the fatal attention of extremists in Britain - it was his YouTube videos. Violent threats Most of them were about his spiritual beliefs. He calls for peace, love and unity across the world. At times, he claims to be a prophet himself. The majority of videos only attracted a handful of views, but some attracted more - along with angry, at times violent, threats by some Muslims accusing him of blasphemy. Among those who heard about his videos was the man who would go on to kill him - 32 year old Tanveer Ahmed, a cab driver from Bradford who had also moved to Britain from Pakistan. In Bradford, Ahmed was a member of a religious group called Dawat e Islami, although they say clearly they do not condone his actions. Clad in distinctive green turbans, Dawat e Islami describe themselves as a peaceful and non political organisation. They were founded in Pakistan but are active across countries in the Muslim world - dedicated to spreading their version of Islam. Too liberal They're from a Pakistani sect known as Barelwis - normally associated with a peaceful, spiritual interpretation of Islam. Barelwis have been attacked by jihadi groups like the Taliban who see them as too liberal. But some hardline Barelwi groups and preachers have acted violently themselves - particularly when it comes to perceived insults to the Prophet Muhammad. They pride themselves on being "aashiq-e-rasool" or lovers of the Prophet - who are obliged to defend his honour. They include Mumtaz Qadri, a Pakistani police bodyguard who was also associated with Dawat e Islami in Pakistan, and who would become an inspirational figure for Tanveer Ahmed. In 2011, Qadri shot and killed a prominent, liberal Pakistani politician Salman Taseer - who had proposed reforming Pakistan's blasphemy laws. These laws are seen by many human rights activists as being a tool to target minority communities - or to settle personal feuds - with people wrongly accused of committing blasphemy. Taseer's calls for reform calls lead to angry protests in Pakistan, led by Barelwi groups who accused Taseer of wanting to allow people to insult the Prophet Muhammad. In January 2011, Mumtaz Qadri - who had been acting as one of Taseer's bodyguards - opened fire and killed him in an Islamabad market. Qadri said he had acted alone and his actions were nothing to do with Dawat e Islami or any other religious or political group. He was arrested and earlier this year was executed. But many in Pakistan saw him as a hero who wanted to defend the honour of the Prophet Muhammad. His funeral was attended by thousands of mourners. Justifiable cause Some British Muslim mosques and imams were amongst those who praised Qadri as a martyr and an Islamic warrior while at the same time condemning groups such as IS and Al Qaeda. They felt this case was different as it involved defending the Prophet Muhammad - in their view a justifiable cause. Among Qadri's British admirers was Tanveer Ahmed, the man who would go on to kill Asad Shah. Qadri's brother, Dilpazeer - who also supports the killing of Salman Taseer - told me Tanveer Ahmed used to regularly write letters of support to Mumtaz Qadri before his execution. He also told me that he used to speak to Tanveer Ahmed himself, and that on one occasion Tanveer Ahmed told him he had had a dream about Mumtaz Qadri - in which Qadri "said that I had been chosen for some work and congratulated him for being chosen…" In Islam dreams are often imbued with deep, spiritual significance and are seen as signs predicting the future. According to a purported leaked message from an associate of Mumtaz Qadri's brother this dream was what inspired Tanveer Ahmed to kill Asad Shah, emulating what Mumtaz Qadri had done to an alleged blasphemer. The same leaked message also claims that Tanveer Ahmed consulted Mumtaz Qadri's brother about his plans for the murder. Mumtaz Qadri's brother denied having any prior knowledge of the murder, or that the dream was the inspiration for the murder. Phone call But he did admit to having received a phone call from Tanveer Ahmed in prison just days after the killing. He told me about their conversation: "I said that he had done a great job to protect the name of the Prophet. Because if anyone in the world says anything bad about the Prophet than this is what will happen. Peace can only take place if the Prophet is not insulted." Supporters of both Mumtaz Qadri and Tanveer Ahmed have produced online photo montages praising both the killers and drawing links between them. The issue of blasphemy has become increasingly fraught in Pakistan, and some campaigners in Britain worry that hardline views are being imported into the UK. They include a number of Barelwi scholars and imams who have condemned Mumtaz Qadri and Tanveer Ahmed. In April, Tanveer Ahmed took the highly unusual step of releasing a statement through his lawyer, before even entering a plea, outlining his motivations for killing Asad Shah. He said: "This all happened for one reason and no other issues and no other intentions. "Asad Shah disrespected the messenger of Islam the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. Mr Shah claimed to be a Prophet." Tanveer Ahmed also appears to be free to communicate his beliefs to others even from inside prison. An audio message purportedly sent by him to supporters who uploaded it to Facebook marks the Muslim festival of Eid earlier this week. It ends with the chilling slogan in Urdu: "The penalty for those who disrespect the Prophet is cutting the head from the body." The BBC has not been able to independently verify the message is from Tanveer Ahmed. 'Enemy of humanity' I asked Asad Shah's brother what he made of Tanveer Ahmed's justification for killing Asad Shah, and whether he has any message for him? He replied: "I wouldn't call him a man. I really don't have any message for that monster - he basically took away a person who was peaceful who wanted unity in the world, who wanted the communities to unite. "Him (Tanveer Ahmed) harming someone of peace… he's an enemy of humanity." He says all his brother was doing was making videos calling for a more compassionate world. And if anyone felt that he was disrespecting the Prophet Muhammad - then violence was clearly not the answer to that. "I don't think the Prophet Muhammad would've done anything like that. I think it's very clear when you look at history - there was an elderly woman who used to throw rubbish on Muhammad. "How did he deal with that situation? One day he was going to see the prayers and there was no rubbish thrown on him, and he questioned why is that not happening today? "Someone mentioned that she's ill so what did he do? He went to her house to ask how she was. That's what Prophet Muhammad did. He didn't resort to violence." Now some in Asad Shah's family - who years ago sought sanctuary in Britain - are planning on leaving here too in fear of facing yet more persecution. As his brother says: "The family don't feel safe anymore living here in Scotland and it has split the family apart."

इस साल 24 मार्च को उसकी बेरहमी से हत्या से पहले ग्लासगो के दुकानदार असद शाह ने यूट्यूब पर सैकड़ों वीडियो अपलोड किए थे।


Dubliner legend Banjo Barney McKenna dies

Summary: Barney McKenna, banjo player with veteran folk group the Dubliners, has died.

The 72-year-old was the last remaining member of the original line-up of the group, renowned worldwide for their raucous sound. Mr McKenna, known affectionately as Banjo Barney, was among current members of the band playing two 50th anniversary homecoming concerts in Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral in January.

अनुभवी लोक समूह डबलिनर्स के साथ बैंजो खिलाड़ी बार्नी मैककेना का निधन हो गया है।


Winning by losing: The (un)American way?

Summary: On Thursday the US men's national soccer team won by losing. Despite a 1-0 defeat at the hands of a powerhouse German side, the Americans advanced to the knockout round of the World Cup thanks to Portugal's 2-1 victory over Ghana.

By Anthony ZurcherEditor, Echo Chambers The various mathematical permutations and convoluted tiebreakers had many Americans scratching their heads. And despite the fact that the US World Cup games have been posting record viewership numbers for football, those critical of the sport have been quick to throw cold water on celebrations by disparaging a system that allows losing teams to advance. "Don't really understand soccer," tweeted KP Anderson, executive producer for the entertainment show the Soup. "How many games do we have to tie or lose before we win the World Cup?" Matt Goldich, a writer for Seth Meyers's late-night talk show, tweeted: "US loses to Germany in World Cup, advances to Round of 16 anyway. Because in American soccer, you get a trophy just for participating." "Nothing says we're number one more than choking in the final minute of one game and then getting shut out in the next," said ESPN's Keith Olbermann. "I believe that we can win - even though we got here by tying and losing." "Are we this desperate as a nation for good international news that we're convincing ourselves this isn't embarrassing?" he added. Sky Kalkman posted a chart on Twitter for "how you win a baseball game" - a simple line in which you either win, lose or play more innings. And then there was "Rill Dill", who posted this this on a forum hosted by the American football site Eleven Warriors: This is the United States of America. We do not play for ties, or celebrate advancing solely because another team lost. We do not celebrate when we lose 2 out of 3 ANYTHING. We are taught this upon exiting the WOMB. This (game) will NEVER go mainstream in this country, because of this. Never mind the fact that Rill Dill can't even get the US World Cup record right (one win, one loss, one tie), he - and others who took to Twitter and their blogs to proclaim the superiority of US sports - probably should take a step back and think about what they're saying. In US sports, it's not unusual for a team to find itself in a situation where it either has to win a game or hope for help. It happens in the National Football League all the time, for instance. Just last season, the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens all entered the final game of the season with a chance to make the playoffs. Here's just a taste of some of the possible permutations, as outlined by the International Business Times: Should the Ravens, Dolphins, and Chargers all lose, then the Ravens would advance. Baltimore will also make the play-offs if they win, and the Dolphins lose. Another scenario for the Ravens to advance is if they win, the Dolphins win, and the Chargers lose. Seems like something a nice chart could help explain. In 2004 the New York Jets needed a win against the St. Louis Rams to clinch a play-off spot. They lost, but ended up advancing anyway after the Pittsburgh Steelers topped the Buffalo Bills later that day. The same can, and does, happen at the end of a baseball regular season, as fans of teams pore over the magic number of wins and opponents' losses needed to advance to the play-offs. Dedicated fans spend about as much time scoreboard watching as they do actually watching their own squad play. Sure, some might say, that's the regular season, and not a play-off. But the round-robin stage is, in effect, the World Cup's regular season - it's just not spread out over 17 weeks, as in the NFL, or baseball's 162 games. It's all a matter of perspective. "I'm not sure I'd want to be the Portugal News sportswriter assigned to break down, say, the tiebreaker system for the NFL play-offs," writes John McGrath of the Tacoma News Tribune. Once you get into the post-season tournament in professional baseball, hockey and basketball, the competition is a best of five or best of seven series. A team can lose three games in a row and still survive long enough to right their ship. Just ask the 2004 Boston Red Sox. While play-off losses aren't something to cheer about, they aren't the end of the world, either (as the Daily Mirror sharply notes in its reply to Sky Kalkman's baseball victory chart). US professional sports aren't the worst offender, however. In college football, a team can get dismantled in its conference championship game and play for the national championship (Oklahoma, 2003), or not even qualify for its conference championship and play for a title (Alabama, 2011) or not even play for its conference championship AND get blown out in its last regular season game and still advance (Nebraska, 2001). Of course, US college football fans will note that the sport's post-season tournament rules are changing this year, as the top four teams will play in a head-to-head tournament where the winner advances, the loser is knocked out and there are no ties. And how are these four teams chosen? By a conclave of college football elders who pore over stats and polls, issuing their final pronouncement after gathering behind closed doors. If we took the top four teams based on Fifa's pre-World Cup rankings, we'd have a tournament comprised solely of Spain, Germany, Brazil and Portugal. And this is better how?

गुरुवार को अमेरिकी पुरुष राष्ट्रीय फुटबॉल टीम ने हारकर जीत हासिल की। एक शक्तिशाली जर्मन पक्ष के हाथों 1-0 से हार के बावजूद, अमेरिकियों ने घाना पर पुर्तगाल की 2-1 से जीत की बदौलत विश्व कप के नॉकआउट दौर में प्रवेश किया।


What does President Obama's climate change plan do?

Summary: President Barack Obama has announced sweeping climate change regulations that he hopes will cement his legacy as a world leader who fought global warming. The revised Clean Power Plan aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions from US power stations by nearly a third within 15 years, but opponents say the policies are a "war on coal".

By Ashley GoldBBC News, Washington We have broken down what exactly the deal does, how and by when: The deal at a glance What exactly does this plan do to combat climate change in the US? The Clean Power Plan sets standards to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32% from 2005 levels by 2030, which is 9% more than the proposed rules previously set forth by the Obama administration. How does it do that? It sets carbon pollution reduction goals for power plants and requires states to implement plans to meet goals. States have until September of 2016 to submit plans, but can take more time if needed, and must comply by 2022. The original date of compliance was 2020. If states do not submit their own plans, the government will provide them. Why are some US states opposed to this plan? Some US states have robust coal power plant economies, like Wyoming, West Virginia and Kentucky. Their leaders worry that if coal plants cannot do what they have always done, state economies would suffer, people would be laid off and the government would be overreaching. Why else does the US want to reduce carbon emissions so badly? Mr Obama will travel to Paris in December to discuss a global carbon emissions reduction deal. The Obama administration believes the US plan will boost the process in Paris and encourage other countries to submit their own plans. More on the deal More details from Leigh Paterson, a Wyoming-based reporter for InsideEnergy, a publicly funded energy-specific news organisation, on the specifics of the deal: Why is the political debate around this energy deal so hot? Even before this rule was released, it was highly controversial. Several states threatened to sue before it was even finalised. Utility companies say power bills will go up and that the plan will make the US uncompetitive. But market forces are shifting toward renewable sources of energy. There is a greater interest in them and prices are going down. It comes down to [people perceiving the rule as] the federal government overstepping boundaries-when it comes to the "war on coal". There is some truth to it. So it is not just power plants contributing to coal's demise? What some folks leave out of the discussion is that the coal industry is suffering from a variety of forces - a combination of low natural gas prices, a falling demand for coal and the fact that it is getting more expensive to mine. To equate the Clean Power Plan with the "war on coal" is not telling the whole story. It will certainly decrease coal consumption, but it is not going to completely destroy it. How will individual states deal with their requirements? Each state has different emission reduction targets. The plan suggests states comply with "building blocks". Some states have said they will not comply, promising to sue. There are a lot of parallels [between the Affordable Care Act and the Clean Power Plan] in that they are both highly controversial, and the Affordable Care Act survived its legal challenges largely intact. This is the time for the final push for legacy initiatives. Is the rule too ambitious? What does it leave out? This rule is important and historic. It sounds ambitious, and it is ambitious, but what is important to remember is that coal-powered power plants are not the only emitters of carbon dioxide. It does not touch vehicle, industrial, cement or methane leaks. In estimates I have read, [power plants] account for about 30% of carbon dioxide. That's another 70% not being addressed by the Clean Power Act. It is one component of a much broader climate-change agenda, a "kitchen sink" approach.

राष्ट्रपति बराक ओबामा ने व्यापक जलवायु परिवर्तन नियमों की घोषणा की है कि उन्हें उम्मीद है कि वे एक विश्व नेता के रूप में अपनी विरासत को मजबूत करेंगे जिन्होंने ग्लोबल वार्मिंग से लड़ाई लड़ी। संशोधित स्वच्छ ऊर्जा योजना का उद्देश्य 15 वर्षों के भीतर अमेरिकी बिजली स्टेशनों से ग्रीनहाउस गैस उत्सर्जन में लगभग एक तिहाई की कटौती करना है, लेकिन विरोधियों का कहना है कि नीतियां "कोयले के खिलाफ युद्ध" हैं।


Shenstone factory rooftop protest charges dropped

Summary: The case against nine people involved in a two-day protest at a factory that produces engines for drone aircraft has been dropped, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said.

Members of the London Palestine Action group climbed on to the roof of UAV Engines Ltd in Shenstone, Staffordshire in August, forcing the plant's closure. Four men and five women men were charged with aggravated trespass. The CPS said two prosecution witnesses were no longer prepared to appear. "Without the two witnesses, whom we had anticipated being available to us at the point of charge, we deemed that there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction and were left with no option but to discontinue the case," a spokesman said. The agency also said documentation from the complainant, required by the court for potential disclosure to the defence, had not been provided. The nine people were protesting against UK arms sales to Israel. All had pleaded not guilty to the charge. UAV produces engines for unmanned aerial vehicles. Related Internet Links Crown Prosecution Service

क्राउन प्रॉसिक्यूशन सर्विस (सी. पी. एस.) ने कहा है कि ड्रोन विमानों के लिए इंजन बनाने वाली फैक्ट्री में दो दिवसीय विरोध प्रदर्शन में शामिल नौ लोगों के खिलाफ मामला हटा दिया गया है।


Why legal aid was the only option when I divorced

Summary: Changes to qualification criteria for legal aid in England and Wales mean hundreds of thousands of people will now be unable to get financial help with their divorce and custody battles. The BBC News website has spoken to two people who have been through divorces, one paid for by legal aid, the other funded from their own pocket.

Brenda Shawky, from St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, was divorced about a year and a half ago. She had been married to her Egyptian-born husband for 15 years but they were leading separate lives and arguing all the time. "Things were just getting unbearable," she recalled. "We were under a lot of financial pressure, and the cultural differences between us didn't help. I decided I had had enough." Ms Shawky, a full-time student, had heard about the planned government cuts to legal aid and was concerned about the financial implications of divorce. "When I first thought about divorce, I was really worried about whether I could afford it or not. My husband was not very good at giving me money for the household, so he was not going to pay and my relatives could not help me out. "I visited the Citizens Advice Bureau, who put me in touch with a solicitor, and they told me that legal aid was still available, but only just, so I made haste. "Legal aid was essential. I had no other way out. Everything was getting on top of me and my health was suffering. I was concerned about how all the arguing was affecting my teenage son." 'List of rules' Ms Shawky did not have to pay a penny towards her divorce, but she says she received the "bare minimum" service from the solicitors. "I think they had a maximum of about £900 to spend on my case, so they were keeping the costs down. They didn't call me much and the whole process took about a year." The couple did not own their home, so dividing the assets was not an issue. The solicitor referred them to a mediator, who helped them come up with a plan. "We had a couple of sessions, which legal aid paid for. She did not take sides and looked at all our options. As neither of us had a lot of money, we decided that my husband would continue to live in the house with us. It was also good for our son to have his father around. "The mediator helped us draw up a list of rules and it is working reasonably well." Ms Shawky acknowledges that people will think it weird that they are still living together, but she says they had no other option. "Neither of us are well-off. His job has been up and down and he cannot afford to move out. This way, he has his own room, pays half the rent and buys his own food. I hardly see him." If legal aid had not been available, she would not have been able to divorce her husband and get on with her own life, she said. "I know you can do these DIY divorces over the internet but I would not feel comfortable doing that. "Everyone should be able to have access to some legal representation." This is a fear shared by many legal professionals. Both the Law Society and the Bar Council say the changes mean access to justice is no longer being adequately funded and vulnerable people will suffer. Last month, the UK's most senior judge, Master of the Rolls Lord Neuberger, warned: "My worry is the removal of legal aid for people to get advice about law and get representation in court will start to undermine the rule of law." Trivial matters But the government says the legal-aid system is among the most expensive in the world and is costing taxpayers too much at a time when resources are limited - hence the removal of some qualification criteria. "We need to make sure taxpayers' money is not spent resolving too many disputes in court, when there are quicker, cheaper and less stressful options available," said a Ministry of Justice spokeswoman. And James Amos is someone who knows just how expensive divorces can be. Mr Amos, who lives in Salisbury and owns his own business, divorced three years ago. He was not eligible for legal aid and estimates the legal fees, court costs and settlement amounted to £650,000. "My legal fees were £50,000 and I also paid my wife's, which were £40,000. She also got £400,000 in the settlement, plus spousal and child maintenance every month. I obviously do not mind paying the child maintenance. It took about a year to sort everything out but it is still ongoing." He said sorting out the divorce was a "nightmare" at the time and it was still a "headache" today. "I do believe that the lawyers are there to make money," he said. "My ex-wife's lawyer told her not to discuss any matters of the divorce with myself, and only talk to her. I do feel this didn't help us sort matters out ourselves and only increased costs to lawyers." The 58-year-old said he would receive letters and emails, which all cost money, over the most trivial of things. A couple of letters between the solicitors about him not being allowed to clear out his ex-wife's possessions from under the bed cost £500. "The whole thing got out of hand and everything had to go through the lawyers. At first, we realised it had got to the stage where we had to get divorced, but it got complicated. "Two of our daughters wanted to stay with me, while the other was too young and had no say." He said there were three court hearings and at the last barristers were involved. Mr Amos has to go back to court to have an order amended. But this time he is thinking about representing himself to cut the expense.

इंग्लैंड और वेल्स में कानूनी सहायता के लिए योग्यता मानदंडों में बदलाव का मतलब है कि लाखों लोग अब अपने तलाक और हिरासत की लड़ाई में वित्तीय सहायता प्राप्त करने में असमर्थ होंगे। बीबीसी समाचार वेबसाइट ने दो लोगों से बात की है जो तलाक से गुजर चुके हैं, एक के लिए कानूनी सहायता द्वारा भुगतान किया गया है और दूसरे को अपनी जेब से वित्त पोषित किया गया है।


Whisky: Yours for £30,000 a bottle

Summary: One of the world's rarest and most expensive single malt whiskies has gone on sale. The Private Collection Glenlivet was matured for 70 years and just 40 decanters are going on the market for £30,000 each. The spirit went into its cask in 1943, when World War Two was at its height and whisky was scarce.

By Kenneth MacdonaldBBC Scotland Special Correspondent Shoosh. The cratur is sleeping. In row upon row of casks in a warehouse in Elgin, gallon upon gallon of single malt whisky is maturing. This is the family firm of Gordon and MacPhail. To call them whisky bottlers doesn't do them justice. They mature single malts, including some of the rarest in the world, until the time is right to set the spirit free. In the case of Cask 121, that process took 70 years. 14 January 1943 was a significant date. It was the first day of the Casablanca conference. Churchill and Roosevelt were planning their next steps in World War Two. Stalin had declined to attend. He was a busy man, not least because the Red Army was preparing to deal a fatal blow to the Third Reich at Stalingrad. So it is understandable that a small occurrence at the Glenlivet Distillery went unnoticed by history until now. Gordon and MacPhail's senior partner John Urquhart laid down a single cask of spirit. The war meant that laying down even that small quantity was a rare occurrence. John's great-grandson Stephen Rankin, a present day director of the company, said: "At the time the government controlled the raw materials. "The year before almost all distilleries in Scotland had closed but some were given special licences to carry on. "Due to the demand elsewhere for the raw materials these distilleries only made a small amount." So the spirit - not whisky because it had yet to mature - was already a scarce resource. And getting scarcer: the UK was exporting its stocks of mature Scotch in return for dollars which in turn could be exchanged for armaments and other vital supplies. When the SS Politician ran aground on the island of Eriskay two years earlier it had been carrying 28,000 cases of malt. The "informal salvage" operations that followed inspired Compton Mackenzie's novel Whisky Galore, Alexander Mackendrick's near-identically titled Ealing classic Whisky Galore!, several customs prosecutions and countless Hebridean hangovers. By 1943, Cask 121 - as it was known - still had a long way to go before it could contribute to the country's balance of payments. It had to wait to breathe and mature in the cask. It lay at the Glenlivet Distillery until 1967. Then, when some of us were still saving up for a copy of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, it was moved carefully to the Elgin warehouse and sampled. Some of that 24-year-old malt still exists in a room lined with hundreds - probably thousands, I lost count - of small sample bottles. It's a whisky library, each sample taken from a cask in the warehouse. But in 1967, Cask 121 was not considered ready for bottling. It had greater potential. Stuart Urquhart, Gordon and MacPhail's associate director of whisky supply, took over the long waiting process later. "We've routinely sampled it over its time," he says, "and made a decision to bottle it in 2013". "Over that time it evolved, gained in complexity and changed." The year 2013, when it emerged from the cask into glass, is when the clock stopped. Whisky stops maturing when it goes into the bottle. Private Collection Glenlivet 1943 will always be a 70-year-old malt. But will it taste any good after all this time? That's where the science comes in. Malt whisky has four ingredients. Barley, water and yeast are the obvious ones. The fourth is wood. The cask in which the maturation process takes place. The skill in maturation is choosing the right type of wood. One that will enhance the desired flavours and aromas of the whisky and suppress the unwanted ones. So says Matthew Pauley, associate professor of distilling at Heriot-Watt university in Edinburgh. "One of the most important characteristics is where the wood has come from - whether it's European oak or American oak. "It's all about sugars - the complex sugars in the oak. And there are different levels of different sugars in a European oak versus an American oak." Other considerations include what the cask has held before. Usually it's sherry but other techniques use casks which have held port or bourbon. Then there's the thickness of the cask's staves. They will dictate how the spirit inside interacts with the atmosphere and how much liquid evaporates How the wood has been toasted and charred will affect how the sugars are released. In 1943, John Urquhart and his son George chose a sherry cask made of European oak. Did they choose well? That's where the science stops and personal taste takes over. And a personal taste is what I got. A glass of a handsome, deep brown liquid. A dram costing about £430. Had I been paying for it, which I wasn't - and neither were you, dear licence fee payer. This was research, honest. The nose - the smell, to the rest of us - promised a lot. The taste? To my admittedly uneducated palate, remarkable. I had been told to expect burnt oranges, milk chocolate, a hint of vanilla. Perhaps it was the power of suggestion but I got all of those and more: peat and oak - neither of them to excess - sweetness, strength, complexity and subtlety. My head tried to be objective, my taste buds surrendered. And no - I didn't ask for a splash of lemonade in it. Slàinte mhath!

दुनिया की सबसे दुर्लभ और सबसे महंगी एकल माल्ट व्हिस्की में से एक बिक्री पर चली गई है। निजी संग्रह ग्लेनलाइवेट 70 वर्षों से परिपक्व था और केवल 40 डिकैंटर 30,000 पाउंड में बाजार में जा रहे हैं। स्पिरिट 1943 में अपने ताबूत में चला गया, जब द्वितीय विश्व युद्ध अपने चरम पर था और व्हिस्की दुर्लभ थी।


Kettering General Hospital cancels operations

Summary: Operations at a Northamptonshire hospital where services are under threat have been cancelled due to a "surge" in A&E cases.

Kettering General Hospital cancelled routine operations and some outpatients clinics on Friday for doctors and nurses to deal with over capacity. The hospital said it would see patients who need emergency surgery. In-patient paediatrics, obstetrics and accident and emergency services are all under threat at the hospital. A review is proposing the services are offered at two hospitals covering Kettering, Luton, Northampton, Milton Keynes and Bedford. Last month it emerged that "partnership" talks were taking place between Kettering General Hospital and Northampton General Hospital.

नॉर्थम्पटनशायर अस्पताल में संचालन जहां सेवाएं खतरे में हैं, ए एंड ई मामलों में "उछाल" के कारण रद्द कर दिया गया है।


The soldier with a secret talent - ballet

Summary: Twenty-two-year-old Alex Smith is a serving soldier in the British Army who nearly went into a very different profession - ballet. For two years he kept his talents a secret from his fellow soldiers.

By Lucy WallisBBC Stories Trooper Alex Smith of the Queen's Dragoon Guards is wearing his uniform and he's ready for duty. But today, unusually, he's in a theatre. Alex is appearing in a contemporary dance production called 5 Soldiers, a work created by choreographer Rosie Kay about all aspects of military life - the rigorous training, the friendships and the stress of going into conflict. As a trained soldier, Alex has first-hand experience of what life is really like in the British Army - and yet he is also a trained dancer, having studied ballet, tap, jazz, modern and contemporary dance. "I started dancing when I was six years old," he says. "Every week it would be dropping my sister off to dance classes and after a while you are just sitting there and you're bored and you're just like, 'Aww, let me do something.' And then I watched one of the classes and I thought, 'I could do that, it looks so easy.' So that's why I joined." Growing up in the rugby-playing town of Cwmbran, Torfaen, Alex often found himself the only boy at dance class. "Male dancers want to jump higher and spin faster and look better than each other on stage. But because my school was in south Wales, there were hardly any lads that wanted to dance. So the big aim for me was to be more flexible than the girls in class. That was one of the main things I wanted when I was younger." After a course at a performing arts school in Cornwall, Alex was awarded a place at the prestigious Northern Ballet School in 2015 - yet half way through the course, he decided to leave. "The thought of getting a job at the end was probably one of my biggest fears," he says. The life of a dancer can be an unstable one, going from one contract to the next, often with periods of joblessness. One evening Alex was walking home from dance school in Manchester when it occurred to him how to achieve greater job security. "I walked past an Army's career centre and I just looked into the window for two or three minutes and realised maybe that is the next step for me, the next window for me to go through to better myself as a person," he says. He says that, despite appearances, dancers and soldiers have quite a lot in common. Self-discipline is important in both cases, and a determination to succeed. "Dancers are very driven, motivated and they want to get the end product, they want to get that performance on stage that looks perfect. And then you've got soldiers who are dedicated, driven and they want to soldier to the highest of levels," he says. And both roles also require high levels of fitness - so Alex was well-prepared for the physical tests he and other applicants had to undergo. "I had probably the quickest run time on the day for the mile and a half," says Alex. "I think dance carried me through selection and then it carried me through basic training, because I was quite physically fit. I could carry the weight because I was used to lifting girls." At first Alex only told his girlfriend, a dancer, that he was applying for the Army. It wasn't until he was awarded a place that he told his mum he was leaving dance school and coming home. "Obviously she wasn't thrilled," says Alex. "Because all the hard work and everything that I'd put into the last 18 years of my life she said I'd thrown it away, but I don't believe in that statement because I think it's made me the person I am today and it's made me a better person." Alex says any parent who has a son or daughter in the armed services fears that they will one day be deployed to a war zone. But his mother has now accepted his new career, he says - and is delighted that he is now combining it with dance. When he joined the Army, he decided not to mention his dance training to the other soldiers, because he didn't want them to have any preconceived ideas about him. He didn't mention his audition for the role in 5 Soldiers either. All the other dancers there were professionals, so he didn't expect to get the role - and was shocked when he got a call from the choreographer on his way back to camp, telling him that he had been successful. The next morning he told his fellow soldiers all about it, revealing his hidden talent for the first time. "To be honest nothing really changed, because I'd already earned the respect of everyone, because I was fit and a good soldier and I kept my head down and I did what I had to do," he says. "So when I said, 'Oh by the way I'm going to do dance,' most of them were quite jealous." There has been no teasing, he says. "I think the army's changed since a few years ago," he says. "No-one will give you stick because you're all in it together, and obviously everyone has their own reasons for joining. "Some join to forget their past lives or some join to better themselves, like me, and so it's not like school, it's a very grown-up environment where you do what you want to do, as long as you get the task done at the end of the day. It doesn't matter what you do in your spare time or what you've done in your past life." At school it was very different, he says. There was "the odd idiot who thinks he's funny", as he puts it. "I went to a Welsh medium school and the teachers weren't much help, they just thought, 'Oh yeah, they're only having banter.'" Alex says this had an impact on his studies. "I wasn't really interested in learning. I just didn't want to be there," he says. "But since I'm older I don't care - people can say what they want. Everyone's got their own opinions, I don't have to care about it." In rehearsals for 5 Soldiers, Alex says he found himself using muscles that he hadn't used for a while. "While I'm here I'm still going for runs and we do warm-ups in the morning where we're doing press-ups, sit-ups and that sort of thing," he says. "I think I'll go back to the army a fitter soldier, to be honest." He says he's enjoying being a dancer again, but that the most nervous night of his life will be when some of his squadron come to watch him perform. "They're serving soldiers and I want them to feel as if it is real - as real as it is on camp," he says. "I don't want them to come in and go, 'Err I'm watching a ballet.' Because it's not a ballet, it's a piece of dance that's re-enacting the life of a soldier in camp and on tour. "The scene where we're patrolling around - in my head I'm feeling like, 'Yes I am on patrol and I'm working with fellow soldiers and not just working with four other dancers.'" He says the piece will also crush a few stereotypes. "It isn't just boys jumping around in tutus with pointe shoes on and makeup, it is men being men on stage." The Army has been very supportive, he says, giving him time off to take part in the rehearsals and the production. He will return to his regiment in July after the tour is over. "My ambitions at the minute are to go back and see how far I can take my soldiering career, see how far I can push myself, because I am a very ambitious person," he says. "I do work hard for what I want and if I want something I will try my best to get it, and I think the Army's instilled that in me from training." He is not sure yet, however, what the future might hold for him with dance, but is keen to find out if there are any other dancing soldiers out there. "At the moment I'm just trying to enjoy 5 soldiers and take everything on board and just live this dream, all that I've worked for for the last 18 years," he says. "I am just very appreciative that all the training that I have done, and all my teachers - which I am really thankful for - have been able to put me in this position." The Rosie Kay Dance Company's production of 5 Soldiers will be touring the UK, Denmark and the US. Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

बाईस वर्षीय एलेक्स स्मिथ ब्रिटिश सेना में एक सेवारत सैनिक है जो लगभग एक बहुत ही अलग पेशे-बैले में चला गया। दो साल तक उसने अपनी प्रतिभा को अपने साथी सैनिकों से गुप्त रखा।


US holds off on threatened tariff hike in EU Airbus fight

Summary: The US has said it will hold off an a threatened hike in tariffs on $7.5bn (£5.75bn) worth of European and UK goods that it imposed as punishment for subsidies for plane-maker Airbus.

The move comes as the two sides wrestle to put to an end their 16-year trade battle over state aid for Airbus and American rival Boeing. The US last year raised border taxes on more than 100 items, including jumpers, single-malt whiskies and cheese. It has said the EU has not done enough. "The EU and member states have not taken the actions necessary to come into compliance with WTO decisions," America's top trade official, Robert Lighthizer, said on Wednesday. "The United States, however, is committed to obtaining a long-term resolution to this dispute. The European Union cautiously welcomed the US decision not to increase the amount of goods subject to tariffs. "The commission acknowledges the decision of the US not to exacerbate the ongoing aircraft dispute by increasing tariffs on European products," an EU spokesperson said. Airbus last month said it would alter some deals responsible for the dispute, saying the changes, including increasing its interest rates on loans with France and Spain, eliminated "any justification" for the US border taxes. The move prompted EU officials to call for an end to "unjustified" tariffs. Many American businesses have also protested the duties, which raise prices for American buyers. On Wednesday Airbus spokesman Clay McConnell said in a statement the company "profoundly regrets that, despite Europe's recent actions to achieve full compliance, USTR [US Trade Representative] has decided to maintain tariffs on Airbus aircraft - especially at a time when aviation and other sectors are going through an unprecedented crisis." When did the tariffs start? The US announced tariffs on $7.5bn worth of goods last year after the World Trade Organization ruled that state aid provided to Airbus to launch its A380 and A350 jets was illegal and authorised American retaliation. In February, the US raised the rates being charged on aircraft from 10% to 15%, leaving the 25% duty on other items unchanged. This summer, American officials again threatened to raise tariff rates or make new items subject to the import tax. The items threatened with new duties included salmon fillets, gin and olives. The US is required by law to review the tariffs periodically. On Wednesday it announced minor tweaks to the list, for example, removing sweet biscuits like shortbread made in the UK and adding jams from France and Germany. Trade lawyer Jamieson Greer, former chief of staff to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, told the BBC: "The reality is that this can all be solved if Airbus took some action to provide restitution." More tariffs ahead? The European Union, which brought its own case challenging American subsidies for Boeing, has threatened to hit the US with tariffs of its own. It is waiting for the World Trade Organization to decide how big such a punishment might be. The US in May said it had eliminated the benefits in dispute. That WTO ruling is expected later this year. "In the absence of a settlement, the EU will be ready to fully avail itself of its own sanction rights," Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said last month. The issue has also complicated trade talks between the US and the UK. UK Trade Secretary Liz Truss raised the matter in talks with Mr Lighthizer this month, as the two sides held a third round of negotiations. Ms Truss said that while she welcomed the US's decision not to lift levies: "The announcement does not address tariffs that already exist on goods like single malt Scotch whisky." She said: "These tariffs damage industry and livelihoods on both sides of the Atlantic and are in nobody's interests. I am therefore stepping up talks with the US to remove them as soon as possible."

अमेरिका ने कहा है कि वह विमान निर्माता एयरबस के लिए सब्सिडी के लिए सजा के रूप में लगाए गए यूरोपीय और ब्रिटेन के सामानों के $7.5bn (£ 5.75bn) मूल्य पर शुल्क में वृद्धि की धमकी को रोक देगा।


Bus passengers hurt in Langholm lorry crash

Summary: A number of passengers have been taken to hospital following a crash between a bus and a lorry in southern Scotland.

The accident happened at about 12:00 on the A7, just north of Langholm at the High Mill Bridge. Police said the road was blocked and a number of people had been taken to either the Cumberland or Dumfries Infirmary with "cuts and bruises". It is believed there were about 12 passengers travelling on the bus when it crashed. Part of the bridge was struck in the collision. It will be examined for any structural damage when the vehicles are removed. The route reopened to traffic at about 15:15.

दक्षिणी स्कॉटलैंड में एक बस और एक लॉरी के बीच दुर्घटना के बाद कई यात्रियों को अस्पताल ले जाया गया है।


In pictures: Despair as Senegal crash out of World Cup

Summary: Senegal came so close but in the end have been eliminated from the World Cup because they had received more yellow cards than Japan.

That means all five African teams - Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Senegal and Nigeria - have been knocked out of the group stages. It's the first time since 1982 that no African team has made it through to the knockout stage. And the first time that the fair-play rule regarding yellow cards has been used in the World Cup. Here is how Senegal's 1-0 defeat to Colombia played out.

सेनेगल इतने करीब आया लेकिन अंत में विश्व कप से बाहर हो गया क्योंकि उन्हें जापान की तुलना में अधिक पीले कार्ड मिले थे।


Sandwich Pfizer site not sold after exclusive talks end

Summary: Talks between Pfizer and a property developer over the sale of the pharmaceutical company's site in Kent have ended without a deal.

In January Pfizer entered into a period of legal exclusivity with a consortium led by London & Metropolitan for the sale of the site near Sandwich. The two parties have been unable to agree commercial terms. A spokeswoman for Pfizer said the company remained focused on the sale of Discovery Park. She added the company had begun new discussions with interested parties.

केंट में दवा कंपनी की साइट की बिक्री पर फाइजर और एक संपत्ति डेवलपर के बीच बातचीत बिना किसी सौदे के समाप्त हो गई है।


Jersey politicians approve £27m for social housing projects

Summary: Jersey's government will spend an additional £27m on social housing projects after a vote in the States.

Treasury Minister, Senator Philip Ozouf said the money, from extra tax receipts, would help provide jobs as well as maintain properties. The States agreed to use the money on six projects to provide housing for people. The projects include building more than 100 homes and refurbishing existing social housing. Speaking in the States, Senator Ozouf said Jersey could use the money to help the building industry and create employment.

जर्सी की सरकार राज्यों में मतदान के बाद सामाजिक आवास परियोजनाओं पर अतिरिक्त 27 मिलियन पाउंड खर्च करेगी।


Coronavirus: 'I was desperate for a way to get on the water'

Summary: Kayaks, canoes and paddleboards have seemingly become more popular than ever during the coronavirus pandemic, with some firms reporting record sales. But what has led to the sudden surge in interest and how has it changed the places where people now go for paddlesports?

By Kate Scotter & Rachael McMenemyBBC News Jenny Evans was looking for somewhere to escape the stress of lockdown. She started a new business selling nature subscription boxes from home, while also looking after her two children. "I bought a very cheap kit for an inflatable board that fits in a backpack," she said. "I was desperate for a way to get on the water that was quick and easy." Like many others, Jenny headed to the River Stour in the heart of Constable Country, an area on the Essex/Suffolk border made famous by the paintings of John Constable. It is also within walking distance from her house in East Bergholt. "It's a great way to explore the local area and I see some amazing wildlife, especially when I go out early and the river is quiet," she said. "Paddleboarding has allowed me to have some peace and tranquillity. It has opened up a world of micro-adventuring that I can do solo and is also a great activity for the whole family." Jenny, 33, enjoys paddling on her own or with friends, often with her three-year-old son sat happily on the front of her board. About four miles (6km) further up the river, Dedham has become popular with novice and experienced paddlers alike. You might also like: Andy Large, from nearby Colchester, spent 36 years as a "corporate slave" and said paddleboarding gave him an outlet to relax when he retired three years ago. "It's literally so easy to do, you jump in the car, drive somewhere, pump it up and off you go," he said. "It's a freedom and you're out in nature, it relaxes and calms you down." British Canoeing has seen its members rise to almost 50,000, up 14,000 since May. Of those new members, 38% are female. Supermarkets have helped swell the popularity by selling inflatable kayaks from £40, while paddleboarding lessons start at about £30. Emma Jones and her partner Gary Willingham run an online inflatable paddleboard company, called SUP Inflatables, and have seen a surge in sales. They have already sold three times the amount of stock they normally would shift in the summer months. "People have had more time off than they've had before," said Ms Jones. "It seems a lot of people are using the time to do the hobbies they've wanted to try but never had time for." But there are concerns around the explosion of interest. Mr Large, 55, said: "We do worry that they do not have the right training, safety equipment or licences to use the rivers." He suggested novice paddlers should research where they are going and the type of equipment needed before setting off. As for Dedham, it has always been a popular spot for families looking to enjoy the river as well as art lovers wanting to discover the setting of Constable's famed works. But since lockdown restrictions have been lifted, there has been a rise in litter and parking problems in the village, which some people associate with the increase in river traffic. Tom West, landlord of The Marlborough pub, said: "The rise in the usage of the river is a worrying thing as the amount of litter and waste being left in the area is abhorrent." Mr West said he had noticed an increase in day-trippers to the the village, which has caused potentially "dangerous parking" situations with cars parked on village roads due to car parks being full. "The village is beautiful, but parking to unlock the potential for the village, in a safe way, needs to be built," he said. Colchester Borough Council said it had noticed the increase in visitors to the area. "We are aware that visitor numbers have been well above normal since the government relaxed lockdown restrictions, which unfortunately has led to increased littering and fly-tipping and put a huge strain on the local community and our resources," it said, in a statement. To combat the increase in litter, neighbourhood teams and the parish council have been out on patrol picking up rubbish and emptying bins more often. But debate has raged on social media about who is to blame. Whatever the case, it looks unlikely that the area will become less popular any time soon, as more people look for summer fun. People like Abi Davis, 20, from Southend, who was trying out paddleboarding for the first time on Friday. "It is really fun, a bit nerve-wracking at the start but I'm really keen, I had such a good time," she said. "It would be quite nice to make it a regular hobby." Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story idea email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk

कयाक, डोंगी और पैडलबोर्ड कोरोना वायरस महामारी के दौरान पहले से कहीं अधिक लोकप्रिय हो गए हैं, कुछ फर्मों ने रिकॉर्ड बिक्री की सूचना दी है। लेकिन किस वजह से ब्याज में अचानक वृद्धि हुई है और इसने उन स्थानों को कैसे बदल दिया है जहां लोग अब पैडलस्पोर्ट्स के लिए जाते हैं?


Do the technology giants finally face a backlash?

Summary: It is perhaps the most beguiling irony of our age that a new class of super-rich that has emerged on America's West Coast has its moral, intellectual and even spiritual origins in the anti-materialistic radicalism of 1960s counter-culture.

Amol RajanMedia editor Silicon Valley is what happened when the flower power generation sobered up. Steve Jobs was a Buddhist, though to what extent has been the subject of much debate. And the zealous mission on which Facebook is embarked - to create a more open and connected world, smashing barriers instinctively - owes a substantial debt to the baby boomers and their own particular doctrine, (John) Lennonism. When Mark Zuckerberg speaks, I always hear the lyrics to Imagine. Perhaps it is this moral component to what Silicon Valley's biggest companies do that has, for the most part, protected them from what I had long considered inevitable: a monumental backlash. Tech-lash I call this the tech-lash, and thought it would have two main components. First, anti-capitalism: the hostility toward plutocracy shown by groups such as Occupy Wall Street would, eventually, take aim at the astronomical wealth of tech billionaires - especially once it dawned on these protesters, and society at large, that compared to the industrialists of old, these companies don't actually employ many people. As a result, of the vast capital they have amassed, a disconcertingly small amount actually makes it to the labour force. That smells like trickle-down economics - without the trickle down. The second component of the tech-lash would arise from concerns about privacy, fuelled not least by the revelations from Edward Snowden. It is hard to get your head around just how much data companies such as Google and Facebook hold, and how much information they have about us - most of it voluntarily given over. If the civil liberties brigade ever needed a cause around which to rally, this could well be it. Together with disgust at how little taxes these companies pay, you have the elements of an almighty revolt. And yet, it hasn't really come: partly, I imagine, because of that sense of moral purpose; and partly because of the fact that these brilliant and uniquely innovative companies have improved our lives without asking us to pay a penny. Your appetite for being horrible toward Google is neutered when you use Gmail to rally comrades to a cause, and Google Maps to get to a protest. Changing mood This, then, was the tech-lash that wasn't. Until now. Two stories this week suggest that the mood is changing. On Tuesday, the Home Affairs Select Committee gave a ferocious grilling to senior executives from Facebook, Google and Twitter. The Daily Mail is usually a good indicator of which way the wind is blowing; its front page headline on Wednesday was "Shaming of the web giants". The next story that showed public feeling might be turning was on the front of another British newspaper - the Financial Times. And yet the story wasn't about Britain. The splash headline was: "Berlin plans €50m [£44m] fines for hate speech and fake news". This is a remarkable story: the German government is drafting legislation that will aggressively target internet companies, including social media giants, if they don't do enough to stop the spread of socially corrosive material online, particularly by giving users tools to flag such material. Germany is uniquely susceptible to the spread of fake news. Angela Merkel's hugely controversial refugees policy, the rise of the nationalist Alternative for Germany party, the constant threat from neo-Nazis, upcoming national elections, and the staid media landscape - staid compared with Britain's raucous tabloids, for instance - all make conditions ripe for exploitation. But Germany is now leading the fight-back. Germans have a very different approach to the state to that which is fashionable on America's West Coast. The new tech giants are often libertarians who believe that innovation and technology can solve social problems much more effectively than government. They are diametrically opposed to what you might, crudely, call the Teutonic faith in regulation: many Germans - and indeed all those I spoke to while reporting there - believe that a smart, enabling state can, through effective legislation, mitigate social ills. If the much heralded tech-lash is finally upon us, it is the Germans who hold the whip hand. It isn't hatred of plutocracy, or love of privacy, that finally turned the temper of a people against tech giants: it is the threat of election, and legislative power falling into the hands of nasty forces, that has prompted action. Moreover, it took the German faith in the efficacy of regulation to confront those giants with the threat of punitive action. If the German proposal becomes legislation, it will offer a template that could be rolled out elsewhere. Whether this is the beginning of a tech-lash - a concerted effort by societies and government to, ahem, take back control from tech companies - or just an incremental development in a constantly maturing new world of law and power, is unclear. I would hope, whatever the regulatory fallout of the fake news phenomenon, the likes of Facebook and Google continue to earn immense respect for being better at providing exceptional services to customers than most companies in history. Will the UK follow? Does that include the British? Yes, basically: our political class reveres Silicon Valley and hopes to replicate its success over here. But my conversations in Westminster lead me to believe that, in Theresa May, we have a leader who is not far off the pragmatic, populist patriotism of Mrs Merkel; that, like the German chancellor, our prime minister is a provincial Tory who believes in the good that government can do. Given her one-nation rhetoric, Mrs May will be conscious that fake news - which Facebook is taking very seriously - does potentially pose a threat to the social solidarity. The prime minister and her most senior lieutenants are very close observers of German affairs, and there are people close to the top of British government who are wondering what they can learn, and imitate, from this week's German proposal. In recent years, the moral fervour of those sons and daughters of the 1960s who have come to dominate Silicon Valley, and all our lives, has forged an alliance with wealth and power of a kind most of us can't imagine. What happens when it clashes with the alternative worldview of people in faraway lands who have elections to win, and hatred to silence, will determine much of this, the first truly digital chapter in history.

यह शायद हमारे युग की सबसे भ्रामक विडंबना है कि अमेरिका के पश्चिमी तट पर उभरे अति-धनी लोगों के एक नए वर्ग की नैतिक, बौद्धिक और यहां तक कि आध्यात्मिक उत्पत्ति 1960 के दशक के प्रतिसंस्कृति के भौतिक-विरोधी कट्टरपंथ में है।


Four arrested over Bradford street murder

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

Mohammed Feazan Ayaz, 20, was found in Saffron Drive in Allerton on Monday morning. Three men, aged 30, 20, 19 and a 16-year-old boy remain in custody, West Yorkshire Police said. The force said a 34-year-old man arrested in connection with the incident had been released with no further action. Officers are continuing inquires at a number of locations across the city. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.

ब्रैडफोर्ड में एक सड़क पर एक व्यक्ति के मृत पाए जाने के बाद हत्या के संदेह में चार लोगों को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


Should this cross be removed from public land?

Summary: A row in the US state of Maryland over the location of a 40ft-high cross will be resolved by the country's top court, and has sparked a vigorous debate about religious icons in public life.

By James JeffreyWashington DC You may not have heard much about the tussle over the Peace Cross, the 40-foot (12-metre) granite Latin Cross plonked incongruously in the middle of a busy intersection in Maryland. That could be because you would probably need the help of a lawyer and a theologian to fully understand the potential ramifications of the dispute over this 96-year-old World War I monument that's gone all the way to the Supreme Court. Three Maryland residents and the American Humanist Association - a non-profit organisation that advances secular humanism, a philosophy of life that seeks the greater good without theism or other supernatural beliefs - wish to see the memorial removed from public land. Their reasoning is it contravenes the separation between church and state enshrined in the first amendment to the US Constitution, the so-called Establishment Clause. It says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The Peace Cross dominates the scene as you approach the town of Bladensburg. "It looks like you are entering a highly Christian town," says Roy Speckhardt, chief executive of the American Humanist Association. "It's so massive you can see it from half a mile away. It just gives this weird impression; the base is covered in shrubs, so you have to be daring enough to cross the highway and take a closer look to realise it is a war memorial." What is the Establishment Clause? But there is more at stake than just the cross. Having heard oral arguments for the case, the Supreme Court's decision in June could affect all future judicial interpretations of the Establishment Clause. The stakes are heightened by concerns for some that President Donald Trump's administration is taking the country in a more conservative and religious direction. On May 2, America's National Day of Prayer, President Trump announced a new rule that would allow health-care workers to refuse to perform services that violate their religious beliefs—some applauded the move, others condemned it. "This is the Trump administration's most dangerous attempt yet to weaponize religious freedom," says Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. As a result, the Peace Cross finds itself not just a source of contention amid the traffic about a 30-minute drive from Washington, but also representative of increasing national tensions over the principle of religious liberty versus socially and culturally progressive secular movements increasingly at odds with traditional religion. For the last few decades, Establishment Clause jurisprudence has been dominated - many say blighted - by the so-called Lemon test, named after a previous Supreme Court case, which established the trend for judging governmental action as unconstitutional if it lacks a secular purpose and has the primary effect of endorsing religion or excessively entangles government in religion. The Lemon test doesn't have many fans, especially in the Supreme Court, where it has been described as a "shambles" as well as "incoherent," "schizoid" and "chaotic" due to proving highly subjective and unpredictable in its interpretation. "Like some ghoul in a late-night horror movie that repeatedly sits up in its grave and shuffles abroad, after being repeatedly killed and buried, Lemon stalks our Establishment Clause jurisprudence," commented the late Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Antonin Scalia. During the 27 February hearing, Justice Gorsuch called the Lemon test a "dog's breakfast". The Lemon Test Under this test, the government can only assist religions if: At least another four justices - potentially representing a crucial majority within the total nine - indicated it is time to change the current jurisprudence in a significant way, says Luke Goodrich, vice-president and senior counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a public interest law practice which is assisting in the case. The only snag is none of the justices seem to agree on what the alternative should be. "I've attended about a dozen oral arguments in these sorts of Supreme Court cases, and never seen the justices so uncertain as here," Mr Speckhardt says. It's easy to sympathise with the judges' predicament, the shifting religious landscape in the US leaving them stuck between a rock and a hard place. "Research shows that fewer people are reporting a religious affiliation and fewer are attending mass, so there is certainly a degree of secularisation going on," Mr Goodrich says. "But at the same time, there is increasing religious diversity, with more people identifying with religious minorities such as Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh, all of which makes it more complex to protect religious liberties, with more chance for conflict." You may also be interested in: Over the years, disagreements over religious liberty have often ended up in the law courts. In Tennessee, a Muslim group was denied permission to build a mosque in the Bible Belt city of Murfreesboro. The case was settled in 2014 at a federal district court in favour of the mosque. One of the most notable recent cases was the Colorado baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple based on his Christian principles (in 2017 the Supreme Court ruled in the baker's favour, though he is back in court after refusing to bake a cake for the anniversary of a person's gender transition). The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently sued the state of Michigan for partnering during the adoption process with faith-based groups that do not place children in the homes of same-sex or unmarried couples. Last week the state agreed to settle with the ACLU. "There's two dimensions to all this," Mr Goodrich says. "Socially and culturally there is increasingly hostility toward traditional beliefs, and religious freedoms are increasingly fragile. But legally, so far, the courts are tending to decide in favour of religious liberties." He noted that his firm has had a 90% win-rate in the Supreme Court over the last seven years. "We expect to keep winning, but there are certainly aspects of the social and cultural aspect that make these victories more fragile." Such victories are not seen that way by the American Humanist Association and many others, a frustration compounded by concerns about the Trump administration's agenda. "Things seemed to be going along nicely in terms of the separation of church and state being better respected, and then suddenly, all in a flash [with the result of the 2016 election] we found ourselves in the current situation," says Fred Edwords, one of the plaintiffs in the Peace Cross case. "One of the reasons evangelicals voted for Trump, despite the controversies in his personal life, was because they hoped he would back conservative justices. So they held their noses and voted." This was not as duplicitous as it seems, says Rod Dreher, author of the best-selling book The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation. "They know that in the years to come, as the country swiftly becomes less Christian, sympathetic judges will offer countercultural religious believers the only protection available," Mr Dreher says. Tensions over the Establishment Clause go all the way back to America's birth, when the Pilgrims and Puritans came seeking religious freedom from persecution in England, which has informed the narrative ever since. "In England you have an established church which tolerates all the others," says Douglas Laycock, the Robert E Scott Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia Law School. "That is one approach to church-state relations, and not obviously wrong. But it was rejected at the American founding." Nevertheless, he adds, "there have always been Americans who wanted something more like the English system, with government support for Christianity, or more to the point, evangelical Christianity, and mere toleration for all the others." The problem is, he says, that "as predicted at the founding, some of these people don't really want toleration for all the others." In the 19th and 20th Centuries this manifested in rationalisations for why Catholics should be legally restricted, and now can be seen in rationalisations for why Muslims should be restricted too. "American governments did so much of this kind of thing before the Supreme Court began to seriously enforce the Establishment Clause that it cannot all be undone," Mr Laycock says. He cites how the country is not going to start replacing all the religious place names, like Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) in Texas, let alone San Francisco and all the other saint names. "And we will not take 'In God We Trust' off the currency," he adds. This illustrates the need, he argues, for an exception for things that are too minor to justify judicial action, while others rooted in history can be grandfathered in - meaning protected just by their age. Though he does not think the Peace Cross qualifies. "Just because no one complained sooner doesn't mean that the cross was doing no harm. Most people are fine with it, [but] a minority have always been deeply troubled by it," he says. "They suffer in silence, in part because litigation is an expensive aggravation, and in part because those who complain can get death threats and worse from their good Christian neighbours." But at the same time, Mr Dreher argues, many Christians are beginning to feel like an oppressed minority. "The battle lines are not only between the churches and the state," Mr Dreher says. "Because the news media are completely illiterate on religious matters, it will frame all these conflicts as nothing more than the enlightened majority versus a bigoted, hidebound minority." Both sides in the Peace Cross case appear to have come away from hearing the oral arguments with a positive feeling. But it would appear to require nothing short of a miracle to fashion a decision on the cross that satisfies the opposing sides. And it may prove just as big a stretch to resolve the larger Establishment Clause dilemma that, ultimately, underpins each opposing side's concern about the government getting unduly involved in religious matters. "When it comes to the question of big government versus small government, history indicates that the more government regulates and reaches into the public realm, the more chance there is of conflict over religious practises," says Mr Goodrich.

अमेरिकी राज्य मैरीलैंड में 40 फीट ऊंचे क्रॉस के स्थान को लेकर एक विवाद को देश की शीर्ष अदालत द्वारा हल किया जाएगा, और सार्वजनिक जीवन में धार्मिक प्रतीकों के बारे में एक जोरदार बहस छिड़ गई है।


Sir Peter Blake's 28-year Under Milk Wood labour of love

Summary: It has taken 28 years to complete but renowned artist Sir Peter Blake's secret passion, a piece of work based on his obsession with Dylan Thomas's play for voices Under Milk Wood, has finally been revealed.

By Clare GabrielBBC News His illustrations using pencil, watercolour and collage - which detail every aspect of Thomas's fictional seaside village Llareggub - are going on show at National Museum Cardiff. It is a new body of work for Blake, who is often described as the godfather of Pop art, and one which he maintains is every bit as important as the others. And it is lucky he says that he has finished it in time to launch the Dylan Thomas 100 Festival, a celebration to mark 100 years since Wales' best-known poet's birth in Swansea. "It could have gone on for ever," admitted Blake. "But the festival was as good a place as any to stop. I am thrilled that it ties in with Dylan Thomas 100. It's perfect really." But it could have all been so different. Llareggub could have taken just a year of Blake's life, albeit in a different format. Blake said the original plan back in 1985 had been to create a series of wood engravings to illustrate Under Milk Wood in a limited edition book. Ironically, Blake decided that was taking too long and abandoned it. But a lifetime obsession had begun which meant Blake listening to the play or reading it at least twice a week. Blake first became aware of Thomas half a century ago when the artist was a student at the Royal College of Art, and fellow Welsh students there picked up on the play immediately. "I never met him no, but I started at the Royal College in October in October 1953 and he would have been in Soho. We may well have been in the same pubs," he said. Thomas died in New York in November 1953. The poet was, in fact, one of the crowd - at John Lennon's suggestion - on Blake's famous design for the cover of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band from 1967. But their paths never crossed and Blake reckons that if they had met back in the 50s, Thomas would not have had the time of day for him. Blake beavered away on visualising Llareggub for all these years largely at home in the evening when his day job was over. "It was like there were two mes," he explained. "Peter Blake the painter and Peter Blake the illustrator. They're both as important to me as each other. This is not a hobby." There are 170 illustrations in the Cardiff exhibition - some collage, others watercolours - and 60 pages of pencil portraits of the characters who fill Thomas's famous play. Included in the exhibition, there is even Blake's train ticket from a 1986 exploratory visit to Laugharne in Carmarthenshire (where Thomas penned Under Milk Wood) when he chanced upon Thomas's wife Caitlin visiting for the first time in 30 years. If you look closely you may recognise some familiar faces within those drawings of Nogood Boyo, Captain Cat and Rosie Probert and the rest of the play's rich cast list. All the portraits are both imaginary and real because Blake believes that a face cannot be invented so he borrows from images he finds. Among the faces he has borrowed are Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, racing driver Tommy Sopwith, actress Billie Piper, and even broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan whose familiar features have been used in a portrait of a woman. Eventually, Blake said he would like the exhibition to find a permanent home in Wales. For now it will run from 23 November to 16 March in Cardiff before moving onto Oriel y Parc in St David's, Pembrokeshire, next May. Trips abroad could follow in the wake of the Dylan Thomas centenary celebrations which Blake expects to play a full role in. "If we met now, I think we would have something to talk about, a common interest in Under Milk Wood," said Blake. "But," he added with a laugh, "If we did meet now, he would be out of here in the bars, getting drunk." A BBC Wales programme Under Milk Wood in Pictures showing Sir Peter Blake at work on Llareggub will be screened on BBC One Wales on Monday, 25 November at 23:35 GMT

इसे पूरा होने में 28 साल लग गए हैं लेकिन प्रसिद्ध कलाकार सर पीटर ब्लेक का गुप्त जुनून, डायलन थॉमस के अंडर मिल्क वुड के लिए नाटक के प्रति उनके जुनून पर आधारित एक काम, आखिरकार सामने आ गया है।


Record postal vote applications for Guernsey election

Summary: A record number of people have applied for postal votes in Guernsey's forthcoming general election.

The deadline for applying to vote by post passed at 12:00 BST and the total number taking up the option was 1,685. This is a 9.6% increase on 2008 and represents almost 6% of the total number of eligible voters. Postal ballots must be completed by the applicant and returned to the Royal Court House, St Peter Port, by 12:00 BST on 18 April.

ग्वेर्नसे के आगामी आम चुनाव में डाक मतों के लिए रिकॉर्ड संख्या में लोगों ने आवेदन किया है।


Attempted murder arrest after man attacked in Cobridge

Summary: A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following an attack by men using weapons, police say.

The male victim is in a serious condition in hospital, after being attacked in the Church Terrace area of Cobridge, Stoke-on-Trent, at about 23:00 BST on Sunday. Staffordshire Police said a 35-year-old man from the city had been arrested and remained in custody. The force said it had increased patrols in Cobridge on Monday morning. Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk Related Internet Links Staffordshire Police

पुलिस ने कहा कि हथियारों का उपयोग करने वाले लोगों द्वारा हमले के बाद हत्या के प्रयास के संदेह में एक व्यक्ति को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


Fishing boat seized in Guernsey waters

Summary: A Brixham registered beam trawler, suspected of fishing illegally, has been impounded by Guernsey's sea fisheries vessel, the Leopardess.

A spokeswoman for the Commerce and Employment Department confirmed that a vessel had been intercepted within a newly created 12-mile fishing limit. The 42m (138ft) Becky Lou was escorted into St Peter Port harbour arriving just before 17:00 GMT. The spokeswoman said a court appearance was likely to follow on Tuesday. It is the first time a vessel has been impounded since the 12-mile limit, within which vessels need to be licensed in order to fish, was introduced at the start of February.

एक ब्रिक्शम पंजीकृत बीम ट्रॉलर, जिस पर अवैध रूप से मछली पकड़ने का संदेह था, को ग्वेर्नसे के समुद्री मत्स्य पालन पोत, तेंदुए द्वारा जब्त कर लिया गया है।


Can coding give Kenya's women prisoners a second chance?

Summary: "When I came to prison I didn't know computers."

By Tamasin Ford and Suzanne VanhooymissenNairobi, Kenya Dorcus, 44, is beaming as she pulls apart the central processing unit of one of the prison's desktop computers, explaining to the newer classmates what each electrical component is for. "Now I can do anything. I can even create you a computer," she adds. Dorcus is one of more than 500 prisoners at Langata maximum-security prison, the only women's prison in Nairobi, Kenya's capital. Some inmates are serving sentences of up to two years for hawking; selling things like peanuts or fruit on the side of the road. Others are serving life sentences for much more serious offences, like murder or violent robbery. Whatever their crime, Kenya Prisons statistics from 2014 show between 60-80% of all inmates in the country will reoffend and land back in jail. Aggrey Mokaya, 31, stands at the front of the prison classroom; inmates dressed in blue and white striped smocks with bright, burnt orange jumpers, huddle over computers, typing complicated code onto black computer screens. He is both the founder of Change Hub, a technology focused rehabilitation programme, and a tutorial fellow at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture. "It's all about giving people a second chance," he says. "It's all about giving them a chance to tap into the economy they were not a part of before." Change Hub teaches the women everything from coding and web design to computer repair. Aggrey believes it's this access to technology that will slash Kenya's high reoffending rates. "An ex-convict and a person who has never committed a crime, in the eyes of the law they are the same," he says. "So I think they should also be the same in the eyes of the economy, in the eyes of entrepreneurship or opportunities. "If they are denied opportunities and chances to actually get into a space where they can make something of themselves we are basically setting them up to fail." After serving half of her three-year sentence for forgery, Dorcus is being released in October 2018. "I have five children and I'm a widow, so going back to those children is the most important thing to me," she says. She has already built a website for her new dress-making business that she plans to launch when she gets out. "I won't be moving around having dust on my feet as I don't have a car," she explains. "It will change my life. I will be saving time and money." Kenya's justice system is heavily focused on punishment, rather than rehabilitation, and it's this that needs to change, according to High Court Lawyer Achieng Orero. "I don't think there is concerted effort, a conscious effort that is being done to rehabilitate prisoners," she says. "It's so important to include rehabilitation or to move away from the punishment based mentality, because at the end of the day the individual gets to come out of prison, that's the best way to equip them to be more useful in society." On the other side of Nairobi, in a small, hot kitchen, 35-year-old Rahab Nyawira carefully spreads sweet, white icing over a large two-tiered cake. She was released from Langata prison this year after serving six years for violent robbery. "There's nothing you can compare with prison," she says. "Prison is the worst place to be but for me it was my turning point." Rahab now runs her own baking business and has plans to bring her daughter and two sons into the company. "My website, I can say, it is my superpower in my business," she explains smiling. "It helps me meet new clients online everywhere in Kenya." She built her website while she was in prison. "I learnt so many things through Change Hub. I was introduced to HTML, CSS and Javascript. For my website I coded everything myself." "When my daughter sees me now, I feel so proud." The BBC's Innovators series reveals innovative solutions to major challenges across South Asia and Africa Learn more about BBC Innovators. Aggrey believes it's this access to technology that could radically change female prisoners' lives once they're released. "There's a gender bias when it comes to technology," he says, explaining why he focuses on women inmates. "If I'm able to impact the life of one woman it means you know there is a knock-on affect. It's even a chance for her kids to get exposed to that programming early on." Sustainability Aggrey is looking for funding to expand Change Hub to reach the estimated 8,000 female prisoners in Kenya. So far 21 prisoners at Langata have gone through his programme. He has plans to make his project sustainable by working with companies who will pay the prisoners to code and build things using 3D printers. After that, his dream is to take Change Hub to every prison in the country. "When you talk about wanting to do a technology project everyone says why don't you go to the men's prison, or the juvenile prison? "I look at that and say yes it's important, but it's secondary. We will get there once we get it right at the women's prison." This BBC series was produced with funding from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

"जब मैं जेल आया तो मुझे कंप्यूटर नहीं पता था।"


Hampshire rail manager avoids 60mph train by 'a second'

Summary: A railway manager narrowly avoided being struck by a train after a mix-up over signalling before he ventured on to the line, investigators have said.

The Network Rail employee was retrieving a bag from the line at Rowlands Castle, Hampshire, on 19 December. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said he had requested the wrong signalling centre to stop trains. He managed to get back on to the platform and was unhurt. The RAIB said the mobile operations manager had contacted Petersfield signal box to check for approaching trains shortly after 19:00 GMT on 19 December, instead of the controller at the Havant signalling centre which had control of the line. He went on to the tracks and subsequently saw the non-stop passenger train approaching at 60mph (97kmph). The RAIB said he managed to get clear with "one second" to spare. The driver of the train was said to be "distressed" by the near miss. It said a full investigation would determine the sequence of events that led to the incident and publish any recommendations. Related Internet Links Rail Accident Investigation Branch

जांचकर्ताओं ने कहा है कि एक रेलवे प्रबंधक लाइन पर जाने से पहले सिग्नलिंग में गड़बड़ी के बाद ट्रेन की चपेट में आने से बच गया।


Bitcoin swings as civil war looms

Summary: The value of the virtual currency Bitcoin has always been volatile.

By Leo KelionTechnology desk editor Even so, there has been particular turbulence in recent days as fears of a "civil war" among its adherents first grew and then subsided, although they have not gone away altogether. On Sunday, the value of one bitcoin dropped to about $1,863 (£1,430) before bouncing back to $2,402 on Wednesday, according to data from the news site CoinDesk - still some way off a June high of $3,019. What's at stake? Bitcoin risks becoming a victim of its success. The popularity of the financial technology has caused transactions to be processed slower, with some users complaining of having to wait three days or more for confirmation of trades when the backlog was at its worst, in May. Moreover, fees have also risen, hitting a high of $5 per transaction at the start of June. That makes it too costly to justify its use for some purchases, such as buying a pint of lager in a Bitcoin-accepting pub. There are ways around the problem, but the cryptocurrency's community has been split over which solution to adopt. The risk is that Bitcoin could effectively split in two, with one type becoming incompatible with another, ultimately undermining confidence in the project altogether. In simple terms, why does this problem exist? The issue is that Bitcoin's underlying technology has an in-built constraint: the ledger of past transactions, known as the blockchain, can have only 1MB of data added to it every 10 minutes. To understand why, it's helpful to first understand how Bitcoin works. To authenticate Bitcoin transactions, a procedure called "mining" takes place, which involves volunteers' computers racing to solve difficult mathematical problems. For each problem solved, one block of bitcoins is processed. As a reward, the successful miners are given newly generated bitcoins. An updated copy of the blockchain database is then copied to all the computers involved in the validation process, which are referred to as "nodes". Bitcoin originally did not have the 1MB/10min blockchain limit, but the feature was added to help defend the technology against denial of service (DoS) attacks, which might overwhelm the blockchain by flooding it with tiny transactions. Mining, by the way, has become a big business in its own right, with some companies investing in huge "farms" of computers dedicated to the activity. Several of the biggest are based in China. So, why not just raise the limit? Many of the miners have, in fact, favoured the so-called Bitcoin Unlimited solution. They said that allowing them to increase the 1MB block size would speed up transactions and reduce transactions fees. But this could also make mining more expensive, and impractical for small "mom and pop" operations, leaving it under the control of a handful of large corporations. That is because more processing power would be needed to verify transactions. Furthermore, additional data bandwidth and storage space would be needed to transmit and store the blockchain, since it would become much bigger. Critics also say the move would make Bitcoin more vulnerable to hackers. Moreover, some people are concerned that giving the miners power to vary the block size might undermine the principle of Bitcoin being decentralised, with no equivalent to a central bank running the show. What is the rival plan? Some software developers have favoured reorganising the format of Bitcoin transactions to make the blockchain more efficient. Specifically, they propose relocating " transaction signatures" - which unlock bitcoins so they can be spent - from within the blockchain to a separate file transmitted alongside it. Doing so should make it possible to process transactions at double the current rate. And as an added benefit, "node" computers could save on storage space by opting not to keep records of the oldest signatures. This scheme is known as Segregated Witness, or Segwit. However, critics say it would deliver only a temporary respite while adding an extra level of complexity. Is compromise possible? It appears so. A middle-ground solution - called Segwit2x - aims to start sending signature data separately from the blockchain later this week and then to double the block size limit to 2MB in three months' time. An initiative called Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 91 (BIP 91) states that if 80% of the mining effort adopts the new blockchain software involved and uses it consistently between 21 July and 31 July, then the wider community should accept this as the solution. The good news for those who like the idea is that close to 90% of miners appear to back the effort, according to Coin Dance, a Bitcoin-related statistics site. Other plans exist to try again after August if the target is missed. But a risk remains that if use of Segwit2x software never reaches the required threshold or that hardcore opponents refuse to buckle, then it could result in two different versions of the blockchain, and in effect two types of Bitcoin. Such as schism could help rival cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, prosper and ultimately doom Bitcoin altogether. One expert, however, said he believed that was an unlikely outcome. "The vast majority of people in the Bitcoin community are opposed to splitting Bitcoin into two competing cryptocurrencies," said Dr Garrick Hileman, research fellow at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. "Such a move would weaken Bitcoin's network effect advantage and sow confusion. "It is much more likely that people who are dissatisfied with Bitcoin's direction will simply move on to something else, which is what we've seen in the past." "More and more small to medium sized companies who are 'mining' at the moment will be taken out of the game if they won't adapt and grow," said Martin Sims, CEO of Coin Geek. "It's a very competitive industry and everyone needs to update and evolve as the popularity of bitcoin increases and the game changes."

आभासी मुद्रा बिटक्वाइन का मूल्य हमेशा अस्थिर रहा है।


Bradford warehouse fire started 'accidentally'

Summary: A blaze which caused a power cut and led to some people having to leave their homes is believed to have been accidental, the fire service has said.

At its height, 18 crews tackled the fire at the three-storey warehouse on Legrams Lane, Bradford, on 19 May. Dozens of people were evacuated from flats and power was lost to more than 100 homes and businesses. At the time, it was treated as a major incident, with large flames and plumes of smoke being seen for miles around. Up to 30 people were evacuated from flats and other nearby residents were told to keep windows and doors shut. The fire service said the blaze was in a warehouse storing furniture and food. Related Internet Links West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service

अग्निशमन सेवा ने कहा है कि ऐसा माना जा रहा है कि आग लगने से बिजली गुल हो गई और कुछ लोगों को अपना घर छोड़ना पड़ा।


In pictures: 100 years of RAF Wittering

Summary: An airfield established during World War One as a Royal Flying Corps base for anti-Zeppelin fighters has marked 100 years of active service.

RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire was initially named after the nearby town of Stamford. Spitfires, Hurricanes, the V-Bomber Force and Harriers have been based at the airfield. It is now home to the RAF's A4 Force and trainee pilots. A centennial memorial has been unveiled at All Saints' Church in Wittering.

जेपेलिन विरोधी लड़ाकों के लिए रॉयल फ्लाइंग कॉर्प्स बेस के रूप में प्रथम विश्व युद्ध के दौरान स्थापित एक हवाई क्षेत्र ने 100 साल की सक्रिय सेवा को चिह्नित किया है।


HRW chief 'denied entry to Hong Kong' ahead of critical China report

Summary: The head of US-based group Human Rights Watch (HRW) says he has been denied entry to Hong Kong, where he had been planning to launch a report focusing on China's "assault" on human rights.

HRW said the move to block Kenneth Roth highlighted "vanishing freedoms" as a result of pressure from Beijing. Hong Kong has been gripped by months of anti-government protests. China had threatened sanctions on HRW and other American NGOs, which it said supported "anti-China" forces. In a video filmed at Hong Kong International Airport and shared on Twitter, Mr Roth - a US citizen - said officials told him he was barred for "immigration reasons", even though he had visited the city before. The BBC has contacted Hong Kong's immigration department for comment. This year's HRW annual World Report, Mr Roth said, focused on "how the Chinese government is trying to deliberately undermine the international human rights system, not simply to suppress the rights of people at home but also undermine the ability of anybody else to try to hold China to human rights standards". "I had hoped to spotlight Beijing's deepening assault on international efforts to uphold human rights," Mr Roth said in a statement. "The refusal to let me enter Hong Kong vividly illustrates the problem." Hong Kong has seen major protests since last June. The demonstrations originally focused on a now withdrawn bill that would have allowed the extradition of suspects to mainland China, but later evolved into a broader movement demanding democratic reform and investigations into police brutality. Openly critical academics and activists are among those who have been denied entry in recent years. Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997, after which it was returned to China under the "one country, two systems" arrangement. Under the agreement, Hong Kong is expected to have a high degree of autonomy from mainland China, and residents enjoy more freedoms than those on the mainland.

अमेरिका स्थित समूह ह्यूमन राइट्स वॉच (एचआरडब्ल्यू) के प्रमुख का कहना है कि उन्हें हांगकांग में प्रवेश से वंचित कर दिया गया है, जहां वह मानवाधिकारों पर चीन के "हमले" पर केंद्रित एक रिपोर्ट जारी करने की योजना बना रहे थे।


Q&A on Welsh government's draft budget for 2012-13

Summary: As the Welsh government prepares to outline spending plans worth more than £14bn in its draft budget, BBC Wales political reporter Toby Mason explains the process and looks at the political challenges facing ministers.

Q What's happening and when? The Welsh government will publish its draft budget for 2012-13 about 15:00 BST on Tuesday. The announcement will be made by Finance Minister Jane Hutt in the assembly chamber. Q What's different this time? For the first time in several years, there is a Welsh government without a majority in Cardiff. It means that with 30 out of 60 seats, First Minster Carwyn Jones does not have the votes he needs to pass the budget. He will need to make compromises by the time the final budget is voted on in mid December to secure the backing of at least one opposition AM. The three opposition parties will be looking forward to negotiations to see how much of their spending proposals they can get into the budget. Q How much is it all worth? In cash terms (not adjusted for inflation) the total Welsh government budget, revenue and capital, will fall from £14.537bn this year to £14.528bn for 2012-13. In real terms the drop is more severe. We already have indicative plans for next year and the year after, but they were hammered out between Labour and Plaid Cymru in the last year of their coalition. The draft budget published on Tuesday will be the first purely Labour budget since the one published in 2006. Q Who wants what? Briefly, the Conservatives have said they want more spending on health. Under the current plans, the NHS budget will stand still for two years. Tories say this amounts to a £1bn real terms cut for the health service. But because of the sheer size of the health budget - about 40% of total spending - then any significant increase would have very serious consequences elsewhere. The Tories have also called for a council tax freeze. The Liberal Democrats want more money for education. They say per-pupil spending in Wales must catch up with England as a matter of priority. The Welsh government argues that it is increasing spending on schools already by ensuring more money reaches the front line. Plaid Cymru want to see the economic development budget increased. It is suffering one of the worst reductions across the portfolios, largely because it has so much capital spending within it. Plaid says the economic outlook is grimmer now than when the original plans were drawn up and that more money would protect jobs and prevent further damage to the economy. Q How will the Welsh government cut its cloth? Finance Minister Jane Hutt has suggested she may make some structural changes to the budget to make it easier to monitor which departments are likely to under spend during the year.

जैसे ही वेल्श सरकार अपने मसौदा बजट में 14 बिलियन पाउंड से अधिक की खर्च योजनाओं की रूपरेखा तैयार करने की तैयारी कर रही है, बीबीसी वेल्स के राजनीतिक रिपोर्टर टोबी मेसन इस प्रक्रिया की व्याख्या करते हैं और मंत्रियों के सामने आने वाली राजनीतिक चुनौतियों को देखते हैं।