What a skull in an English pub says about India's 1857 mutiny

Summary: In 2014, while sitting in an office in London's Mile End, historian Kim Wagner received an email from a couple who said they owned a skull.

By Soutik BiswasIndia correspondent Dr Wagner, who teaches imperial history at Queen Mary University of London, says the couple told him they did not feel comfortable with the "thing" in their house, and did not know what to do with it. The lower jaw of the skull was missing, the few remaining teeth were loose, and it had the "sepia hue of old age". But what was remarkable was a detailed handwritten note in a neatly folded slip of paper inserted in an eye socket. The note told the brief story of the skull: Skull of Havildar "Alum Bheg," 46th Regt. Bengal N. Infantry who was blown away from a gun, amongst several others of his Regt. He was a principal leader in the mutiny of 1857 & of a most ruffianly disposition. He took possession (at the head of a small party) of the road leading to the fort, to which place all the Europeans were hurrying for safety. His party surprised and killed Dr. Graham shooting him in his buggy by the side of his daughter. His next victim was the Rev. Mr. Hunter, a missionary, who was flying with his wife and daughters in the same direction. He murdered Mr Hunter, and his wife and daughters after being brutally treated were butchered by the road side. Alum Bheg was about 32 years of age; 5 feet 7 ½ inches high and by no means an ill looking native. The skull was brought home by Captain (AR) Costello (late Capt. 7th Drag. Guards), who was on duty when Alum Bheg was executed. What was clear from the note was that the skull was of a rebel Indian soldier called Alum Bheg, who belonged to the Bengal Regiment and who was executed in 1858 by being blown from the mouth of a cannon in Sialkot (a town in Punjab province located in present-day Pakistan); and that a man who witnessed the execution brought the skull to England. The note is silent on why Bheg committed the alleged murders. Native Hindu and Muslim soldiers, also known as sepoys, rebelled against the British East India Company in 1857 over fears that gun cartridges were greased with animal fat forbidden by their religions. The British ruled India for 200 years until the country's independence in 1947. The couple in Essex had trawled the internet and failed to find anything about Bheg. They contacted Dr Wagner after they found his name as a historian who had authored a book on the Indian uprising, often referred to as the first war of independence. 'Grisly trophy' On a wet November day, which was also his birthday, Dr Wagner met the couple. They told him that they had inherited the skull after one of their relatives took over a pub in Kent called The Lord Clyde in 1963, and found the skull stored under some old crates and boxes in a small room in the back of the building. Nobody quite knows how the skull ended up in the pub. The local media had excitedly reported on the "nerve-shattering discovery" in 1963 and carried pictures of the new pub owners "proudly posing with the grisly trophy" before it was put up on display at the pub. When the owners died, it was finally passed on to their relatives who simply hid it away. "And so it was I found myself standing in a small train station in Essex with a human skull in my bag. Not just any other skull but one directly related to a part of history that I write about and that I teach my students every year," says Dr Wagner. What was very clear, he says, is that it was a "trophy skull, irrevocably linked to a narrative of violence". But first Dr Wagner had to confirm that the skull matched the history outlined in the note, written by an unknown person. At London's Natural History Museum, an expert examined it and suggested that it dated back to the mid-19th Century; and that it definitely belonged to a male of Asian ancestry, who was possibly in his mid-30s. There was no sign of violence, said the expert, which is not unusual in the case of execution by cannon, where the torso takes the full impact of the blast. The skull also bore cut marks from a tool, suggesting that the head was defleshed by being boiled or being left exposed to insects. Dr Wagner says he did not believe immediately that it would be possible to find out very much more about Bheg. Individual soldiers rarely left any traces in the colonial archives, with the possible exception of someone like Mangal Pandey, who fired the first shot at a British officer on 29 March 1857 on the outskirts of Kolkata and stirred up a wave of rebellion in India against the colonial power. Bheg's name was not mentioned in any of the documents, reports, letters, memoirs and trial records from the period in the archives and libraries in India and UK. There were also no descendants demanding the return of the skull. But there were a few helpful discoveries. Dr Wagner found the letters of Bheg's alleged victims to their families. What proved crucial, he says, in piecing the story together were the letters and memoirs of an American missionary, Andrew Gordon, who lived in Sialkot during and after the uprising. He knew both Dr Graham and the Hunters - Bheg's victims - personally and he had attended the soldier's execution. There was also a revealing report in the illustrated newspaper, The Sphere, in 1911 on a grisly exhibit in a museum in Whitehall: The ghastly memento of the Indian Mutiny has, we are informed, just been placed in the museum of the Royal United Service Institution at Whitehall. It is a skull of a sepoy of the 49th Regiment of Bengal Infantry who was blown from the guns in 1858 with eighteen others. The skull has been converted into a cigar box as we see. The newspaper said that "while we may be able to understand all the savagery of the terrible time - the cruelty of the natives and the cruel retribution that followed - is it not an outrage that a memento of our retribution, which in these days would not be tolerated for a moment, should be placed on exhibition in a great public institution?" Battling a famine of evidence, Dr Wagner began researching Bheg. He worked in the archives in London and Delhi, and travelled to Sialkot to locate the forgotten battlefield of the four-day Trimmu Ghat clash in July 1857 - during which the Sialkot rebels, including Bheg, were intercepted and defeated by General John Nicholson. The general was mortally wounded two months later leading the assault to recapture Delhi from the mutineers. He relied on letters, petitions, proclamations and statements by rebels after the outbreak of the uprising, went through 19th Century newspaper databases and scanned books. "It was only after I spent some time researching the story, in the UK and in India, that I managed to piece a historical narrative together and realised that there was a bigger story to tell," he told me. 'Detective novel' The result is Wagner's new book, The Skull of Alum Bheg, a vivid page-turner on life and death in British India during the largest anti-colonial revolt of the 19th Century. Yasmin Khan, associate professor of history at the University of Oxford, says the book "reads like a detective novel and yet is also an important contribution to understanding British rule and the extent of colonial violence". Dr Wagner writes that his book sets out to "restore some of the humanity and dignity that has been denied to Alum Bheg by telling the story of his life and death during one of the most dramatic episodes in the history of British India". "I hope I have prepared the ground for Alum Bheg to finally find some peace, some 160 years late." In Dr Wagner's telling, Alum Bheg - properly transliterated as Alim Beg - was a Sunni Muslim from northern India. The Bengal Regiment was raised in Cawnpore (now Kanpur) in today's Uttar Pradesh state, and it is likely that Bheg hailed from the region. Muslims made up around 20% of the largely Hindu regiments. Bheg was responsible for a small detachment of soldiers, and had a gruelling routine, guarding the camp, carrying letters and working as a peon for higher officials of the regiment. After the revolt in July 1857, he appeared to have evaded the British troops until his capture and execution nearly a year later. Resting place Captain Costello, who was described as being present at the execution in the note, was established as Robert George Costello. Dr Wagner believes he is the man who brought the skull back to Britain. He was born in Ireland and sent to India in 1857, and retired from his commission 10 months later, boarded a steamer from India in October 1858, and reached Southampton a little more than a month later. "The final aim of my research is to prepare for Bheg to be repatriated to India, if at all possible," Dr Wagner says. You might also like: He says there have been no claims to the skull, but he's in touch with Indian institutions and the British High Commission in India is also involved in the initial discussions. "I am very keen for Alum Bheg's repatriation not to be politicised, and for the skull not to end up in a glass-case in a museum or simply be forgotten in a box somewhere," says Dr Wagner. "My hope is for Alum Bheg to be repatriated and buried in a respectful manner in the near future." A fitting place to bury Bheg, he believes, would be on the island on the Ravi river, where the sepoy and his fellow soldiers had taken refuge after surviving the first day of the battle and which today marks the border between India and Pakistan. "Ultimately, that is not for me to decide, but whatever happens, the final chapter of Alum Bheg's story has yet to be written." Photographs courtesy Kim Wagner

2014 में, लंदन के माइल एंड में एक कार्यालय में बैठे हुए, इतिहासकार किम वैगनर को एक जोड़े से एक ईमेल मिला, जिसमें कहा गया था कि उनके पास एक खोपड़ी है।


Newspaper headlines: NHS 'kindness army' and Charles test 'queue jump'

Summary: "At last some good news," is the headline on the front of the Daily Mail as the paper is one of many to praise the more than 500,000 people who have signed up to become NHS volunteers. It adds that the recruitment rate equates to five people per second.

By BBC NewsStaff The Daily Express describes the volunteers as the "people's army of kindness" and a group who have shown an "incredible display of public spirit". The Daily Mirror adds that the volunteers are "selfless" and carries a quote from NHS England calling the response "absolutely astonishing". The Times reports that many doctors and nurses are being forced to turn to DIY safety gear, because of a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). Despite assurances from Health Secretary Matt Hancock that millions of pieces of PPE have been sent out in recent days, one doctor reported to the British Medical Association that she was forced to use a pair of safety goggles from her nine-year-old daughter's science party bag. The Guardian adds that the NHS is "on the brink" with paramedics only getting access to four masks per shift, GPs going on the internet to buy scrubs, and midwives having to make do with goggles from a DIY store. Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning "Mass testing kits a gamechanger," is the headline accompanying the main story on the front of the Daily Telegraph. It reports that a pin prick test - which can tell if someone is immune to the virus - could be available via Amazon or Boots within weeks. Officials want priority for the kits to be given to doctors and nurses so they can return to work as soon as possible, amid fears the peak of the pandemic could be coming at Easter. The Guardian says the tests can produce results within 10 to 15 minutes - but also carries quotes from Boots urging customers not to turn up yet in the hope of getting a test. The Sun urges the government to roll out the antibody tests "as quickly as possible". Highlighting the cases of South Korea and Germany, it says that it is "crystal clear" that the only way out of the coronavirus "mess" is to "test, test and test some more". The Daily Mirror asks why Boris Johnson has been "slow to act" expanding Britain's testing capabilities. And the Daily Star questions why Prince Charles was afforded a test despite displaying mild symptoms and there being a reported shortage for NHS staff. Stephen Glover uses his column in the Mail to question the price the young will have to pay once the UK is through the pandemic. He says the government's wage assurances will mean "years of austerity" that will make the last decade look like a "minor irritant". He asks: "Is it right that in order to save the lives of mostly elderly people the future lives of millions should be devastated?" The Guardian's Martin Kettle suggests that the crisis has forced the right to accept that the state is a "guarantor" in a period of emergency - and that it has an "irreducible responsibility" to the vulnerable. The idea that a national government is "dangerous" is examined by Robert Saunders in the online edition of the New Statesman. He says that at times of crisis, there is a "romantic allure" of politicians "sinking their petty differences and standing shoulder-to-shoulder". He goes on to say that bringing opposition parties into government reduces the chance to probe and contest No 10's decisions. Under the headline "Ground Siro," the Sun has what it calls an exclusive about how a football match is likely to have triggered the spread of the virus across Europe. An immunologist, Professor Francesco Le Foche, tells the paper that the match between Atalanta and Valencia at San Siro stadium in Milan last month could have been one of the "major triggers" for the virus. He says that thousands of people who were all in close proximity "shouting and hugging" could have "favoured viral reciprocation". In its editorial column, the Times considers what it calls a "hair-raising" question: how will the nation's locks be affected by the lockdown? The paper says it will be fascinating to see whether men opt for the taking-care-of-business buzz cut or for the post-apocalypse, Game of Thrones shaggy look. Finally, it asks, while many wives will administer a competent trim to their husband - how many will risk reversing the roles?

"आखिरकार कुछ अच्छी खबर", डेली मेल के सामने की हेडलाइन है क्योंकि अखबार उन 500,000 से अधिक लोगों की प्रशंसा करने वालों में से एक है जिन्होंने एन. एच. एस. स्वयंसेवक बनने के लिए साइन अप किया है। इसमें कहा गया है कि भर्ती दर प्रति सेकंड पांच लोगों के बराबर है।


Kim Jong-un and the brutal North Korea rumour mill

Summary: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has appeared at a fertiliser factory, looking remarkably cheerful for a man killed off by rumour and some of the world's media last week. These will be carefully staged and timed photos, but what can we learn about the North Korea rumour mill from this and past episodes?

By Michael MaddenNorth Korea leadership expert, Stimson Centre TMZ - among others - had him for dead; Chinese social media whispered that his doctors were too scared to operate and so he died before a Chinese medical team arrived - an apparent cautionary tale of being a casualty of your own fearsome power. This is not the first time the North Korean leader has disappeared from public view. In February, he was absent for almost three weeks without wild speculation. In 2014, he was absent for 40 days - then the rumours went that he had been ousted in a political coup. He turned up with a walking stick. It was not a coup, but perhaps gout. South Korean intelligence later reported that he had undergone surgery on his ankle. Obviously none of this was confirmed by the North. They just kept pumping out the jocular photo opportunities from inspections and other public events seemingly untouched by rampant rumours - just as they have done today. So what was it about this absence that allowed him to die in speculation? There were three phases to the escalation. First, he missed a key anniversary on 15 April, the day of the sun, and incredibly important commemoration of the birthday of his grandfather, North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong-un is known to model himself on his grandfather's image, so missing this was reasonably seen as a sign that something was amiss. Then a well-regarded defector website, Daily NK, which is funded by a US think tank, but which clearly also provides credible reports through its network, published a single-sourced story that he had undergone some sort of heart procedure and was recovering. Stage three was when the world's media pounced on that report and ferreted out their own unnamed sources in intelligence communities and elsewhere - and a combination of these ended up with formulations of Kim being "gravely ill" or even dead. Even as South Korea said they had not seen any unusual activity and even denied reports of this death, the rumours kept growing and the echo chamber grew louder. Chinese social media began playing its role with rumours circulating there too. In none of this was there any actual evidence: there were some very insightful analyses of train movements and activity around the resort of Wonsan that seemed to weigh on the side that he might not have expired - yet. So where do these sources who fuel speculation that spirals in the media actually come from? Surely there must be a North Korean origin somewhere? And are we seeing more than we used to? Rumours have always happened and there is historical record going back 30 years on this. There are a couple of places from within North Korea they can originate. In the past, what is known as the foreign trade sector in North Korea has been thought to be the source of some leadership rumours. The secretive Office 39 - the department that funnels cash and luxuries back to the leadership - is staffed by overseas operatives to travel back and forth from the DPRK. There is some level of communication to the inner sanctum and its coffers, and it has long been thought that some rumours originate from some of the extensive network of operatives we know exist- as testified by defectors who have worked there. Some then make their way into Japanese and South Korean media. But that doesn't change much about the nature of the information - it's gossip. If somebody works in the central party complex, there will be water cooler conversation. There is intense interest in the lives of the Kims - we know from accounts of people who have left. The equivalent of a water cooler chat based on one-third of a story can make its way out of North Korea more easily than people might assume. Rumour and gossip are very prevalent in totalitarian systems like this. One example is recounted in the memoir entitled Wisteria House by Song Hee-rong, the maternal aunt of Kim Jong-nam - Kim Jong-un's estranged half-brother who was murdered in 2017. She talks about coming back to the Kim family compound and how one member of staff gave her information that Kim Jong-un's family was the branch currently in favour. Notably, she makes a point of saying her source was "reliable." Again, in an information black hole you take what you can get and that is how it works with North Korea. In the fog of war there are not that many options. So the legitimacy conferred onto North Korean gossip is disproportionate. Intelligence agencies around the world will also look at open-source information and use their methods to try to test hypotheses. South Korea has its ways of monitoring the North - sometimes these involve satellites - and the Unification Ministry last week said they were actively monitoring the situation and had not seen anything unusual. It's an open secret that the US sends surveillance planes - this time it was reported in the world's media. They were checking things out. So if some of this just comes from rumour - and remember it is very easy to call South Korea from the North (not vice versa) why doesn't the regime crack down on the rumours? In 2008 conversations about Kim would happen in a closed room. Nowadays, the game changer is mobile technology. North Koreans who gossip about their leader will certainly be being tracked, but may not be cracked down on until a further opportunity arises. Kim is unlikely to be able to control this information flow - but if rumours are connected to people close to him or tied to him - one can expect consequences. It's important to remember that most ordinary North Koreans know nothing. In his testimony to the US Congress in 2017 high profile defector Thae Yong-ho said most North Koreans would not even know their leader was educated in Switzerland. He advocated using satellites and smuggling chips the other way across the border to give ordinary North Koreans access to information. In reality the people with access to accurate information about Kim's health are likely to be just a handful. That doesn't mean rumours can't slip out - but it does mean they may not be correct. It's always been that way. In 1986 Kim Il-song was rumoured to have had a heart attack - it was fake even though it was reported at the time. In 1990- 1992 Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il were shot to death on a train platform by the military - so said the rumour - that was clearly not the case. There are three different accounts of a coup in North Hangyong province - of the sixth army corps - a company that has since been disbanded. We believe something happened, but the details are not clear. Then there is the rumour that Kim Jong-il died in 2003 and the country was being led by a body double. Like everywhere else in the world, gossip still happens and rumours still circulate. Unlike everywhere else, we are left to the whim of the North Korean state to confirm or deny whatever they so wish.

उत्तर कोरिया के नेता किम जोंग-उन एक उर्वरक कारखाने में दिखाई दिए हैं, जो पिछले सप्ताह अफवाहों और दुनिया के कुछ मीडिया द्वारा मारे गए एक व्यक्ति के लिए उल्लेखनीय रूप से खुश दिख रहे हैं। ये सावधानीपूर्वक मंचन और समयबद्ध तस्वीरें होंगी, लेकिन हम इस और पिछले प्रकरणों से उत्तर कोरिया की अफवाह के बारे में क्या सीख सकते हैं?


Why China seeks better relations with India

Summary: On Sunday, India and China began pulling back troops from disputed territory near their ill-defined border in the Ladakh region of the Himalayas after a stand-off lasting nearly a month. Senior Indian journalist Subir Bhaumik, who was travelling in China last week, reports on the mood in the country.

China has much more to do with India than fight over a de facto border where, as former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had said, "not a blade of grass grows". "We have a problem with the border, no denying it. But we want it solved. That may take a while, but we do not want our relations to suffer," says Kong Can, chief of the Development Research Centre in China's south-western Yunnan province and a senior Communist party official. Kong Can wants border trade with India to flourish, the way it has with some of China's other neighbours. China is already one of India's top trading partners: the two sides have agreed a new $100bn (£65bn) bilateral trade target for 2015, up from over $66bn in 2012. "The volume of trade will go up further if we can develop border trade," said Kong Can. 'Huge trading bloc' With more than a third of the world's population living in India and China, the two countries can be "one huge trading bloc", says Li Zhu of the Yunnan University of Finance and Economics. Yunnan is China's gateway province, crucial to its strategy to forge close trade and cultural ties with neighbouring countries in south-east and South Asia. "From Yunnan we are developing a whole network of highways, rail links and waterways to Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Burma," said Kong Can's colleague, Yang Ye. He said China was also keen on reopening the old Stillwell Road, through which the allies used to send supplies to China during WWII. The road begins in India's tea-producing state of Assam. It passes through the dense forests of the neighbouring state of Arunachal Pradesh and Upper Burma's Kachin state before reaching Yunnan. But India has security reservations about reopening the road. China, Mr Yang says, is keen to develop transport links from Yunnan to eastern India and Bangladesh. Also, Kong Can says, China seeks "Indian investments in Yunnan, mainly in [the] pharmaceutical and information technology [industries]". He would be also happy to see an Indian consulate in the city of Kunming. Beside boosting trade and business ties, China seeks closer relations with India for other reasons. 'More nuanced' If Sino-Indian ties worsen, India could well be firmly drawn towards the US, a possibility that worries Beijing considerably, say analysts. "If we have bad relations, there are many to take advantage," says Zhou Yunxiang, who leads a Yunnan research group in sub-regional studies. China-watcher Binoda Mishra of the Calcutta-based Centre for Studies in International Relations and Development says that Chinese policy towards India "appears to be more nuanced than many imagine in India". "Military commanders may push hard on the border to seek some tactical advantage but the top leaders in Beijing are aware of India's importance as a growing market and a balancing factor in Asia," he says. The tension points will remain: the disputed border, Tibet and much else. China has a domestic nationalist constituency to address, but, unlike in India, the 1962 month-long border war is hardly in the public memory. "We have a huge problem with Japan for historical reasons but not with India. We like you people," Yunnan university student Li Hsun told me.

रविवार को, भारत और चीन ने लगभग एक महीने तक चले गतिरोध के बाद हिमालय के लद्दाख क्षेत्र में अपनी गलत तरीके से परिभाषित सीमा के पास विवादित क्षेत्र से सैनिकों को पीछे हटाना शुरू कर दिया। वरिष्ठ भारतीय पत्रकार सुबीर भौमिक, जो पिछले सप्ताह चीन की यात्रा कर रहे थे, देश में मूड पर रिपोर्ट करते हैं।


Duxford aircraft museum closed until further notice

Summary: High winds have damaged the roof of an aircraft museum forcing it to close until further notice.

The Imperial War Museum at Duxford was closed for safety reasons after the hangar roof was affected during the Christmas holiday shutdown. Continuing adverse weather conditions and the holiday period have hampered plans for repairs but temporary cover has been installed. The museum said: "We apologise for any inconvenience caused." It is not yet clear when repairs will be carried and the museum can resume normal operations, a spokesman said.

तेज हवाओं ने एक विमान संग्रहालय की छत को क्षतिग्रस्त कर दिया है, जिससे इसे अगली सूचना तक बंद करने के लिए मजबूर होना पड़ा है।


Climate change: Critical year for climate change starts in Madrid

Summary: A critical 12 months in the battle against rising temperatures begins in Madrid this week, as UN delegates gather for key talks.

By Matt McGrathEnvironment correspondent The 25th Conference of the Parties, or COP, will see negotiators from almost 200 countries in attendance. Ahead of the meeting the UN secretary general has warned that the world is at the point of no return. António Guterres said the global response to date has been "utterly inadequate". The conference takes place amid a welter of bad news on climate change in recent days. The World Meteorological Organisation announced that greenhouse gas concentrations reached their highest recorded level in 2018. The UN Environment Programme showed that there's a huge gap between the plans that governments currently have on the table to cut emissions and what's needed to keep under 1.5C. Keeping to that guardrail will need a five-fold increase in the carbon cutting ambitions of countries. The UN Secretary General warned delegates ahead of the meeting "the point of no return was no longer over the horizon". "We simply have to stop digging and drilling and take advantage of the vast possibilities offered by renewable energy and nature-based solutions," Mr Guterres said. As well as demanding that the negotiators increase their level of carbon cutting ambition at this meeting, Mr Guterres announced that the Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney will take on the role of UN Special Envoy on climate action and climate finance. Wasn't this meeting supposed to be in Chile? Yes, this annual event, the Conference of the Parties or COP was due to take place in the Chilean capital Santiago this year. It was cancelled by President Sebastián Piñera due to ongoing civil unrest in the country. After a brief flurry of diplomatic activity, Spain said they would step into the void and host the conference, with Chile still leading the diplomatic negotiations. The Spanish argue that it is critical to support a UN process that depends on global co-operation in the face of rising nationalism around the world. "COP25 will reaffirm that multilateralism is the best tool to solve global challenges such as climate change," said Spain's minister for the ecological transition Teresa Ribera. "Neither the UN nor the international community have let the climate agenda fall, despite the challenges to organise this event, because this is a vital moment to drive implementation and action. Spain immediately offered to organise the summit in record time. There is no turning back." What will this gathering achieve? The hope is that this meeting will concentrate the minds of international diplomats on the huge scale of the challenge. Governments have promised to update their climate pledges by 2020, when the COP will be held in Glasgow. But so far, despite the urgings of scientists, major improvements in pledges have been slow to materialise. Many nations have aspirations to carbon neutrality in the long term, but they have been slow to put specific short-term commitments on the table. "Some 70 countries have pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050, this must be carried on at Madrid COP," said Sonam Wangdi, the Chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group in UN climate change negotiations. "There must be an agreement among us all to do our fair share. If it doesn't happen in Madrid it could be too late for 2020 pledges." The hope for Madrid is that the meeting can avoid major bust ups and keep edging forward. It also has to overcome two possible banana skins - loss and damage, and carbon markets. What is loss and damage, and why is it important? This issue has dogged the negotiations for several years now, but the likelihood is that it will come to a head in Madrid. Loss and damage are the impacts that can't be prevented or adapted to by countries. Some experts consider "loss" to apply to the complete destruction of something such as human lives, habitats and species. "Damage" refers to something that can be repaired, such as roads or buildings. So the examples that are given are rising sea levels which can't be prevented, or storms that are connected to rising temperatures. Back in 2013, under pressure from developing countries, the climate talks set up a special forum to discuss loss and damage. In Madrid the delegates must decide how to progress. Poorer nations want the loss and damage to have teeth within the UN setup, and more importantly, funding. "Everybody has to recognise that there is a need and then there must be a funding window," said Sonam Wangdi from the LDCs. "Once you have that, where the funding comes from is secondary, right now there is no fund." Rich countries fear that the whole question is a way of tying them into paying out for sea level rise and storms for centuries ahead, because the bulk of the carbon in the atmosphere comes from fossil fuels used by the developed world. As the conference starts, 150 environmental groups including climate activists Naomi Klein and Lidy Nacpil have written to ministers calling for adequate funding for loss and damage. They say the combination of climate disasters and debt can prove toxic for developing nations. "The climate crisis has been causing death, despair and displacement in the global south," said Harjeet Singh from Action Aid. "This bullying of the countries hardest hit by climate change, by those that got rich from extracting and consuming fossil fuels, must end now." What about carbon markets - a load of hot air? Hot air is in fact one of the big concerns with the question of carbon markets. In the past richer countries have often paid for carbon reduction projects in poorer nations. The wealthy have then been able to count the carbon saved from these projects against their own emissions. These schemes were discredited amid accusations of fraud and "double counting" where both the poor and the rich countries counted the same emissions reduction as part of their plans. Article six of the Paris agreement set out to reform these carbon markets, recognising that if they were transparent and effective they could really help to raise ambitions. Discussions on how the new arrangements would work were due to be completed in Katowice at the COP last year but they ran into real problems. Brazil resisted all attempts to curtail double counting. Other countries wanted to carry forward carbon credits from older schemes. Some also want to be able to sell or carry forward credits if they overachieve on their existing carbon cutting plans, which observers feel would encourage countries to set a low bar in terms of commitments. Experts often call these types of credits "hot air" as they are more an accounting exercise than a real reduction in carbon dioxide. The amount of "hot air" is huge, running into billions of tonnes of carbon. Experts fear that these could undermine the integrity of the Paris pact if they are allowed to continue. "We believe that these markets will have an impact but they must result in real reductions on the ground," said Sonam Wangdi from the LDCs. "The option is needed and the carbon market is one of the tools - but there needs to be environmental integrity and they need to be transparent and there needs to be real reductions there." Why does Madrid matter if the real deadline is 2020? Trying to get unanimous agreement between almost 200 countries on how to tackle climate change is a really big ask. The agreement that was struck in Paris in 2015 only came about after six long years of snail pace negotiations. It was the deal that diplomats had hoped to strike in the failed Copenhagen COP in 2009. So if the goal is that countries have new promises in place by the end of 2020, Madrid is an important snapshot of what can realistically be achieved. Countries often tend to hold back on their pledges until they see what others are likely to do. Madrid will give a sense of whether there is a willingness from some of the larger countries, like India, China and the EU, to show leadership. "After 30 years of advocacy and optimism, we see COP 25 as the last opportunity to take decisive action," said Ambassador Janine Felson from Belize, the deputy chair of the Alliance of Small Island States. "Anything short of a vastly greater commitment to emission reduction through new national plans that are consistent with our fight for a 1.5 degree world, greater momentum towards honouring outstanding 2020 climate finance commitments, a new climate finance goal suitable for achieving a 1.5 degree world and tangible support for disaster risk reduction and reconstruction in small island and developing states will signal a willingness to accept catastrophe." What about the US - will they play a role? This could be the last year in which a US team will play a part in the negotiations. On 4 November President Trump sent a formal letter to the UN, which has triggered the 12-month countdown to the US pullout. The Americans are due to leave on 4 November 2020, one day after the next US presidential election and five days ahead of the critical COP26 in Glasgow. The US has been playing a more truculent role in recent negotiations, joining with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Russia to prevent the conference welcoming a key IPCC report on how the world can keep temperatures under 1.5C this century. Over the past couple of years the US has also supported side events promoting coal and will likely continue to do so in the future. Even if they do withdraw completely next year, that will only be from the Paris agreement part of the negotiations. The US will still be party to the UN climate convention. It is unlikely they will stop sending teams to the conferences. What about Greta Thunberg - will she make it in time? Just a year ago, Greta Thunberg attended the Katowice COP as a relatively unknown Swedish student who was taking direct action in striking from school for the climate. A year later and she has become a global icon who can get a standing ovation from diplomats by calling out their hypocrisy on rising temperatures. Greta's dedication to the cause has been enhanced by her decision to cross the Atlantic in a yacht to attend the Santiago meeting. Now she is on another boat on her way back to Madrid. She is due to arrive a few days after the start. Her participation and her speech will likely make headlines around the world. Will the meeting give a voice to climate strikers and young people? Conferences like the COP are rooted in a traditional UN diplomatic that requires a unanimous agreement on steps forward. While environmental campaigners and others can observe, there is limited input from young people, school strikers and other voices. Nordic countries are attempting to do something different this year with ministers from Sweden, Finland and Iceland inviting five young people from different countries to take part in discussions with politicians and report back from COP25. Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc

बढ़ते तापमान के खिलाफ लड़ाई में एक महत्वपूर्ण 12 महीने इस सप्ताह मैड्रिड में शुरू हो रहे हैं, क्योंकि संयुक्त राष्ट्र के प्रतिनिधि प्रमुख वार्ताओं के लिए इकट्ठा होते हैं।


Book about WW2 resistance fighter nominated for Costa prize

Summary: An author from Wales has been shortlisted for the 2019 Costa Book Awards.

Jack Fairweather, 40, from Abermule, near Newtown in Powys, is among 20 authors nominated for the prize. The Volunteer profiles Polish resistance fighter Witold Pilecki who infiltrated the Nazi death camp Auschwitz to smuggle out information. "I stumbled across this historical figure and wanted to know more," said Mr Fairweather, a former war reporter. "When he arrived at the camp in 1940, it was a brutal place for political prisoners and he witnessed the steps of the Nazis arriving at the final solution. "He smuggled messages out to London, and this book covers why we did nothing." Mr Fairweather began his writing career as a war correspondent with the Daily Telegraph. He surviving an attempted kidnapping and car bomb in Iraq while embedded with American troops in 2006, then went on to cover the war in Afghanistan for the Washington Post. He has previously written A War of Choice about the Iraq conflict, and The Good War: Why We Couldn't Win the War or the Peace in Afghanistan. Mr Fairweather, who splits his time between Wales and the United States, is the fifth author from Wales to be shortlisted for the Costa prize. Open to authors from the UK and Ireland, it aims to reward the most enjoyable books from the previous year across five categories - first novel, novel, biography, poetry and children's book. Mr Fairweather added: "January 2020 will be the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and likely the last major commemoration with living witnesses. "We need new ways to engage with this history and this story really is timely." Judges will announce the category winners, who each receive £5,000, on 6 January 2020. The overall winner of the 2019 Costa Book of the Year will receive £30,000 and will be announced on 28 January 2020.

वेल्स के एक लेखक को 2019 कोस्टा बुक अवार्ड्स के लिए चुना गया है।


Summary: McDonald's in Japan is running out of chips.

The fast food company says it can't get hold of enough potatoes because of industrial action in America. As a result they're having to ration French fries for customers. "Unfortunately without this sales restriction step, we would run the danger of running out of fries at some of our stores around the end of the year," said McDonald's Japan spokeswoman Kokoro Toyama. There are more than 3,100 McDonald's outlets in Japan. For now they will only serve small portions of fries, though they won't restrict how many portions customers can order. More than 1,000 tonnes of potatoes have already been flown in to try to boost supplies. They started arriving this week. A further 1,600 tonnes will be imported by sea but they won't arrive until January. The industrial dispute in America is between 20,000 dockworkers and terminal operators and shipping lines at 29 ports on the west coast of the United States. This isn't the first time that Japan's been hit by a food shortage in recent weeks. For most of this month supplies of butter have been so low that supermarkets have had to limit customers to one pack each. Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

जापान में मैकडॉनल्ड्स के चिप्स खत्म हो रहे हैं।


Man 'laughed after reporting fake Birmingham shooting'

Summary: A man who told police his friend had been shot dead "laughed" after officers arrived to find no signs of disorder.

Police received a 999 call at about 00:30 BST alleging a shooting had taken place at shared accommodation on Frances Road in Erdington, Birmingham, in which a man had been killed. Armed officers were "swiftly dispatched", West Midlands Police said, but found no evidence of a shooting. A 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of wasting police time. The force said after the man was called back, the handler heard a man "laughing" before he denied calling emergency services. The 26-year-old from Erdington remains in police custody.

एक आदमी जिसने पुलिस को बताया कि उसके दोस्त को गोली मार दी गई थी, जब अधिकारी अव्यवस्था के कोई संकेत नहीं मिलने पर पहुंचे तो वह "हँसे"।


Surrey University and hospital link up to develop research

Summary: Medical students at the University of Surrey are to benefit from closer working links with the Royal Surrey County Hospital.

The two organisations have announced a new partnership that will see them working more closely with the aim of developing pioneering research. They have formed the Clinical Academic Collaboration to "strengthen and build upon existing relationships". More scientists and NHS staff will work on joint research funding, they said.

सरे विश्वविद्यालय के चिकित्सा छात्रों को रॉयल सरे काउंटी अस्पताल के साथ घनिष्ठ कार्य संबंधों से लाभ होगा।


Car cruisers reject 'boy racer' image

Summary: Car cruising has long been associated with "boy racers", loudly revved engines and the smell of burning tyre rubber. When 17 people were injured at a recent "meet" in Stevenage its reputation was further dented. But is the scene's negative image fair?

By Laurence CawleyBBC News A young mother is fighting with the latch of a collapsible pushchair when the first roar and cackle of a modified car fills the car park. She looks up and follows the car's slow meander to the far end before it comes to a stop. It then reverses, across two parking spaces at a 45 degree angle. Then another car enters. Then another. Then another until some 70 are parked up across the retail estate. This is the monthly Beds Modified car meet in Dunstable, where four-wheel enthusiasts from across the region bring their pride and joy. There's an unnerving disconnect between the decibels emanating from the engines and the gingerly careful manner in which they are being driven into the car park. You're told the reason they are parked at 45 degree angles is two-fold - that they look better that way and it allows people more room to move around and admire them. But you wonder whether it is also simply to avoid any paint damage should two owners open their doors at the same time. Car cruising is a hobby under threat, though. While not in itself illegal, some participants have been known to commit offences such as speeding or anti-social behaviour. Static events on public car parks - such as this one in Dunstable - are often tolerated by the authorities but those on public roads or where offences are committed are not. Police have recently shut down events in Birmingham, Derbyshire and Cambridgeshire while there are also injunctions against cruising in Southend and parts of the West Midlands. The accident in Stevenage has also attracted negative headlines around the world. Here in Dunstable, however, there is no sign of any anti-social behaviour. The enthusiasts here blame a small minority of "idiots" for their image problem and say cruising is a family-friendly hobby like any other. Six years ago Kirsty Elliott, 27, met her future husband Luke at a car meet in Milton Keynes. Their daughter Phoebe, wearing pink ear defenders, has joined them for the meet. "We are all here for the same thing," she says. "We all love cars. And it is like a big family. We get to know each other's lives, we are there for each other and it is just a big friendship group." The meet is marshalled by a team of yellow-vested volunteers who are poised to oust anybody misbehaving. This includes anyone revving their engine for too long, driving too fast or performing a doughnut - a manoeuvre in which a circular skid mark is left on the road. Organisers warn they will take the car registrations of offenders and ban them from future meets. The aim, they say, is to ensure they remain a safe place for car enthusiasts of all ages. "The car scene has been hit hard," adds Kirsty. "The stigma with it is getting bad. I get why the police have shut some meets down because sometimes they are dangerous and I'm all for that. "But we don't want this to go, we want it to carry on for future generations. "I just want people to know that we are just normal people - I know police officers who come off duty, army officers, solicitors, people you would not imagine would be into this. "In the summer we get our deckchairs out, we buy our food from wherever we are and we just sit there and chat. We love what we love and it is no different to people liking their hobbies, or trains, or planes. "I know people who spend all their wages on their cars, people who put £20,000 to £30,000 into each of their cars. We are not boy racers." One of the most admired vehicles at the Dunstable meet is Roger Giugno's purple 700bhp Vauxhall Astra van. The alloy wheels alone set him back £4,000. "It is my pride and joy," he says. "I put all my time into this, it is my hobby. The people here appreciate the work that's been done and it is a big community really. It's just fun, you know?" Darren Bacon, 50, has been modifying cars since he was a boy and currently drives a modified Ford Focus. His stepson and stepdaughter are also at the meet, in their own cars. "I come for the atmosphere," he says. "It gets you out and it is just like a nice gathering. And it's a family outing. "It is a passion. It is about letting people see what you've done and appreciating what other people have done with their cars. It is brilliant." Not all modifications have cost owners a small fortune. Bryden Poole's Skoda Felicia features a remote-control multi-coloured light show which is beamed down on to the bitumen. He made it himself using a lighting strip purchased on a well known internet auction site and "a bit of soldering". "Everyone is each to their own," he says. "You come to the meet and speak to people about their cars. I build my car for myself and drive around and enjoy it." He describes people who drive their cars like 'boy racers' as "idiots". "Racing around with people at the side of the road? No, that doesn't appeal to me at all, it really doesn't. I'd much rather come here, park up, walk around and chat to people." Some might wonder why such car enthusiasts don't just exhibit their beloved wheels at major organised car shows. According to Nick Rance, organiser of the Dunstable meet, many do. But, he says, many of the cars would not be accepted at such shows because their condition is either not "good enough" or the vehicle not rare enough to win a place. A person of means could buy a rare or exotic vehicle and take it straight from the showroom it was bought from and on to a show ground. But that misses the point of car meets like this one. These are all about the owners' involvement with the car, the changes they have made to their vehicles and the blood, sweat and oil spilled over them. Owen Dawkins, 30, is a case in point. He bought his Ford Escort XR3i - a model long associated with "boy racers" since the 1980s - for just £200 12 years ago. He had spotted the car on the street and made the owner an offer. Owen hopes to keep the car for as long as possible and has no interest in exchanging it for anything else. "Don't judge a book by its cover," he says. "This car is a classic and it only comes out on Sundays. If it looks like its going to rain, it doesn't go out. "It looks fast, it looks aggressive, it looks like I'm a boy racer. "But that's not me, I'm just enjoying my car." .

कार परिभ्रमण लंबे समय से "बॉय रेसर्स", जोर से चलने वाले इंजनों और जलते हुए टायर रबर की गंध से जुड़ा हुआ है। जब स्टीवेनेज में हाल ही में "मीट" में 17 लोग घायल हो गए थे तो इसकी प्रतिष्ठा को और नुकसान पहुंचा था। लेकिन क्या दृश्य की नकारात्मक छवि उचित है?


Coronapas: The passport helping Denmark open up after Covid

Summary: Football fans will be allowed into stadiums from Wednesday and bars, restaurants and museums are reopening as Denmark takes a big foot forward in lifting its coronavirus restrictions. The big condition for Danes to take advantage of these new freedoms is that they must prove they are infection-free, by showing a coronapas or corona passport.

By Adrienne MurrayCopenhagen It's a digital app on your phone which shows whether you have had a negative test result within the last 72 hours, a certificate of vaccination or proof of a previous infection two to 12 weeks earlier. It can also be in paper form if necessary. Digital certificates are seen as Europe's route out of lockdown, and the EU wants to have its scheme in place across all 27 member states by the end of June. Privacy concerns have made the passes controversial in some countries, but Denmark is among the first to embrace the idea fully. Why Denmark is fast out of the blocks Unlike much of Europe, this Scandinavian country succeeded in avoiding a third wave and has started easing a lockdown that began last December. Denmark's infection and death rates are now among the lowest in Europe and authorities here believe coronavirus is under control. "We can open more now in Denmark, and that is the opposite of what many others are experiencing," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said when the reopening plans were revealed last month. Many of the steps rely on the corona passport. It already applies to hairdressers and tattoo parlours, but not shops, and will be required for cinemas, theatres and gyms. Those who don't comply risk being fined. How it works 'It makes you feel safer' Zoos and theme parks were the first to handle Denmark's corona passports. Copenhagen Zoo is already bustling with families, and you could almost forget there is still a pandemic. I watched as a long queue formed outside and entrance staff checked the phones of visitors. "We had to establish these new checkpoints," says spokesman Jacob Munkholm Hoeck. "We've put a lot of resources into this. That's the downside. But it is running smoothly." "It makes you feel more safe," one parent in the queue told me. "I think it's part of how life is right now," said another parent called Portia. "We have to accept it to keep the infection rate low." But a third parent called Christian told the BBC he was sceptical: "I don't think we really need it." Gitte Alsing was able to reopen her New Hair Shop on 6 April and hopes the coronapas will put a stop to any future closures. In the first days, she said, there was a lot of waiting around because the high volume of users meant delays in using the app. But using the coronapas has since been smooth and her customers don't seem to mind. "They're just happy to have a haircut," says Mrs Alsing. "I'm vaccinated. I just have to find my pass on my phone and show it," said Mette Bache. "We need to start again. I think it's OK." Another customer, Klavs Gregersen, shrugged off the requirement for a negative test. "Our family, we take a test every week. I think a lot of people do that. You're going to do it anyway." Testing the population Dozens of new drop-in facilities have sprung up and Danes are being encouraged to go once or twice a week to have the free tests. Denmark has a higher rate of testing per capita than any other country worldwide. "There are 5.8 million of us here in Denmark," says Kirstine Vestergaard-Nielsen, deputy head of Emergency Medical Services Copenhagen. "We can test more than half a million each day." Around one million Danes, or almost a fifth of the population, have received their first vaccine dose. However. as in other European countries, supply difficulties have delayed the rollout, and last week Danish health authorities halted the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine entirely. Denmark now intends to vaccinate all adults by early August, so a strong testing regime is crucial for the passports to be effective. 'Policing' the corona passport Wednesday is an important moment for Denmark's reopening, with customers inside as well as out in restaurants, bars and cafes. Museums, libraries and art galleries can open their doors too. Football fans with a coronapas can attend matches, seated in separate 500-person blocks. "I just don't think it should be up to the operators to do it," complains David Biffani, as he prepares to open his restaurant Mother Pizza in Copenhagen's hip meat-packing district. For him, screening customers is an unfair burden on businesses. The industry as a whole welcomes reopening but has reservations. Among the worries are potential technical glitches, unease about "policing" customers, and fears that more spontaneous guests may stay away. How do Danes feel about the pass? There has, however, been strong political support. Nine of the 10 parties backed the reopening plan and business group, the Confederation of Danish Industry, has also supported the rollout of corona passports. "It's an extraordinary tool, in an extraordinary situation," says Chief Executive Lars Sandahl Soerensen. "The alternative at the moment is not opening up. It is a way to come through this crisis in an efficient manner. And it's temporary." Over the past year the Danish public have largely supported the coronavirus measures. But some think the latest move is a step too far. A petition to block vaccine passports received more than 40,000 signatures. Its creator argued such tools were unethical and divisive for society. Recently hundreds attended a protest held by an anti-lockdown protest group. However the introduction of corona passports has been less of a thorny issue in Denmark than, for example, in the UK. A recent survey suggested that 67% of Danes thought the passport was a good idea, while only 16% opposed it. 'Everybody can get the passport' The discourse has been less about ethics and more about practicalities. The widespread availability of tests, a trust in authority and a culture of samsfundssind (community spirit) may all explain why there has been little opposition to it. "Danes are not that worried about the misuse of information," says Michael Bang Petersen, professor of political science at Aarhus University. "Everybody can get the passport. It is seen as a way in which we can protect each other and return to a more normal way of life." A handful of countries are exploring their own versions of vaccine passports. There's no end date yet for Denmark's coronapas, and within a few weeks parliamentarians are set to debate its future. As the EU prepares its digital "green" certificate in time for summer holidays, a number of other models are being developed across Europe. Many will have their eyes on how the Danish pass works out.

फुटबॉल प्रशंसकों को बुधवार से स्टेडियमों में प्रवेश की अनुमति दी जाएगी और बार, रेस्तरां और संग्रहालय फिर से खुल रहे हैं क्योंकि डेनमार्क अपने कोरोनावायरस प्रतिबंधों को हटाने के लिए एक बड़ा कदम उठा रहा है। इन नई स्वतंत्रताओं का लाभ उठाने के लिए डेनमार्क के लोगों के लिए बड़ी शर्त यह है कि उन्हें कोरोनापा या कोरोना पासपोर्ट दिखाकर यह साबित करना होगा कि वे संक्रमण मुक्त हैं।


Covid: The baby bank helping families living in poverty

Summary: The boot of the red car lifts up to reveal a sea of plastic bags. Inside each one are the essentials for bringing up young children: nappies, wipes, baby food and shampoo, as well as sanitary items for their mums - all free to those in need.

By Katie RazzallUK editor, BBC Newsnight Within a minute or two, the first customer arrives. Soon followed by another, and another. Since the first lockdown, on every Thursday Emilie de Bruijn runs this "baby bank" out of the back of her car in Hartlepool. Covid has put paid to the indoor space she used in normal times. It's also increased demand amongst families now suffering real and deepening hardship. Her parking spot is beside a church which doubles up as a food bank. On the freezing Thursday we visited, almost 100 people queued in the cold for several hours for the food parcels on offer there. Among them were parents with pushchairs and young children, who stepped out of the queue to collect some baby basics before rejoining it as it crept towards the church door. "It's just getting harder and harder," Emilie told me. "We are increasingly finding people who have been furloughed or laid off work coming to us and saying, 'I'm so sorry. I never thought I'd see myself in this position. Can you help me?'" Emilie recalls how one mother got in touch to ask for help after being put on furlough since the end of her maternity leave. "She cried on her doorstep because I gave her nappies, wipes and winter clothes for her child. I went away with a lump in my throat." A report from London-based baby bank charity Little Village and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, seen first by BBC Newsnight, outlines the scale, depth and persistence of poverty in families with children aged under five across the UK. It finds one-third (34%) of these children live below the poverty line - meaning their family lives on less than 60% of the median household income in the UK. That equates to 1.3 million under-fives, according to the analysis. Two in five of these families have seen a reduction in their earnings as a result of the ongoing Covid crisis. London has the worst rates of poverty in the UK for children in this age group. The North East of England runs the capital a close second, which doesn't surprise Kay - one of Emilie's regulars. Kay moved to Hartlepool from London in search of cheaper rents and a better life for her young children. She's worked in supermarkets but is now a single parent with four children, aged between seven months and seven years old. Struggling on benefits, and after housing costs, Kay's left with around £600 for the month. "That's got to pay your gas, your electric, your water, your council tax and any other bills that may pop up," she says. "And your food. So within a week my money's gone. "I've gone without meals, without clothes. I have one meal a day providing my children have three. It's basic chicken nuggets and chips, fish fingers and chips. The diets are really poor because the money's not there to buy fresh food, to cook fresh meals." Little Village founder Sophia Parker, who wrote the report, says Covid had made things "much worse" for families who were already struggling. "People have used up savings. People have gone to their families and friends and borrowed what they can," she says. "As a result, we're seeing families who are falling into rent arrears. We're seeing families who are having to rely on high-cost loans. "We're just very worried about where this is going to land for families that are already in a difficult situation." Rachel, not her real name, is a trained nursery practitioner who spent six months in a refuge after fleeing an abusive relationship. She now lives in cramped temporary accommodation with her three-year-old son and nine-month-old daughter. She is employed for a few hours a week by Little Village, but relies for now on universal credit. "When we came out of the refuge, I looked for full-time work but I couldn't make it pay because of childcare costs," she tells me. "My rent is so high, after bills I'm left with £10 a month for us to live on. I don't drink, smoke or buy clothes. "If my son is invited to a child's birthday party, I die, as I know I have to say no. I can't afford a present. It's very embarrassing to keep asking for help. Little Village did our Christmas. Otherwise there would have been nothing under the tree. "The pandemic has made things more expensive. We're always home, so electric and gas costs more. Food shopping online costs more too. My children are my reason for everything. But I can't see a way out. I am stuck in a trap." The government said it was committed to "making sure every child gets the best start in life, and this is central to our steadfast determination to level up opportunity across the country". A spokesman said it had targeted its support to families most in need by raising the living wage and spending hundreds of billions to safeguard jobs. "Additionally, we have boosted welfare support by billions, introduced the £170m Covid Winter Grant Scheme to help children and families during the coldest months, and in April we will be increasing the value of our Healthy Start vouchers by over a third to help those in need with young children."

लाल कार का बूट प्लास्टिक के थैलों के समुद्र को प्रकट करता है। प्रत्येक के अंदर छोटे बच्चों की परवरिश के लिए आवश्यक चीजें हैंः नैपी, वाइप्स, शिशु भोजन और शैम्पू, साथ ही उनकी माताओं के लिए स्वच्छता के सामान-सभी जरूरतमंद लोगों के लिए मुफ्त हैं।


Get set for local council elections

Summary: You have got to feel sorry for councillors.

Nick ServiniPolitical editor, Wales There they are constantly in the shadow of national politics, and when they finally get their moment in the sun in the local government elections, what does Theresa May go and do but call a snap election. What about turnout? One view is that it will be greater than the 39% turnout in the 2012 council elections as more people are switched on to politics. The other is the Brenda from Bristol "not another one" theory which is that too much is a huge turn-off. Barometer A number of party activists are telling me on the doorstep it is proving more difficult to get voters to focus on local issues. In other words it could become a proxy or warm-up national vote, and so will be considered a barometer for the big event a month later. When that has happened in the past there have been some significant casualties, most recently the Liberal Democrats in 2012 when they were punished at the ballot box for entering a coalition with the Conservatives. Could the same thing happen to Labour? There has already been plenty of expectation management from senior figures, partly because so many people were surprised by how well they did five years ago. Labour now controls 12 out of the 22 local authorities across Wales. Renewal In the past five years they will have been forced to make unpopular decisions related to cutbacks which they will inevitably get the blame for, despite protestations of passing on Tory cuts dished out by Westminster. The response from Welsh Labour is to point to renewal in town halls and the fact that a generation of the party's council leaders are in the process of retiring. The Conservatives are throwing numbers at the contest with more than 600 candidates, including 75 in Cardiff, 71 in Swansea and 50 in Newport. Look no further than the Vale of Glamorgan as a starting point where it will be considered a bad night for the party if it does not regain control. Plaid Cymru will look to firm up its leadership in existing counties like Carmarthenshire, and take a big scalp in the valleys like Caerphilly. Disconnect It is unclear if Plaid will be in a position to take advantage if it becomes a local election where UK-wide factors play a part. And the same argument goes for the Liberal Democrats who are hoping the remain argument can once and for all provide the disconnect in the minds of the voters with the coalition with the Tories. But having said all of that these are local elections, and so there will be, above all, 22 individual battles being fought around the country, each with their own dynamics.

आपको पार्षदों के लिए खेद महसूस करना होगा।


Q&A: The CQC

Summary: The Care Quality Commission, regulator of health and care services in England, has come under intense scrutiny this week after allegations that former managers were involved in "covering up" a report into the deaths of babies at a hospital in Cumbria.

The organisation was set up in 2009. So what was it charged to do, and how has it fared? What is the CQC? The commission took over the work of three previous regulators: the Healthcare Commission, which inspected the NHS as well as private and voluntary healthcare providers; the Commission for Social Care Inspection; and the Mental Health Act Commission. That means it has responsibility for ensuring hospitals, care homes, dentists, GPs and care homes are safe and that they offer high-quality compassionate care. Health and social care providers also have to register with the organisation to operate. It has an annual budget of around £160m. It employs around 2,100 staff, around half of whom are front-line inspectors and assessors. What does it do? It can go in unannounced to carry out an investigation, or after concerns are raised about poor care. However, much of its system relies on self-assessment by trusts - a political decision. The CQC carried out 15,408 inspections in 2009-10 and 7,271 in 2010-11. There were 18,858 inspections in 2011-12, a figure the regulator is set to significantly exceed this year. Inspection teams are made up of people from these different backgrounds: some from the health and social care service, others from the police or fire service who have experience of carrying out inspections. How has it fared? There have been difficulties. At the outset, the CQC had to introduce new monitoring systems and it also found it hard to recruit enough staff. A series of reports from the Commons Select Health Committee and the National Audit Office in 2010 and 2011 highlighted problems including too much focus on registering providers rather than inspecting them. A new management team, led by the current chief executive David Behan, came in last summer. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said he has confidence in the current team. What happened at Furness General Hospital? Concerns first came to light in 2008 after the deaths of a number of babies and mothers in the hospital's maternity unit. But it was given a clean bill of health by the CQC at its next inspection in 2010. The following year, police began an inquiry into a number of deaths. Also in 2011, the CQC commissioned an internal review of its investigation of the hospital. What are the allegations against the CQC? A whistle-blower raised concerns with senior CQC managers in March last year about the organisation's regulation of the Cumbrian trust. Mr Behan ordered external consultants Grant Thornton to investigate. It found the 2011 internal CQC report was not made public because it was decided it was too critical. Grant Thompson highlighted a meeting of senior managers in March last year at which that decision is said to have taken place. Its report said this "might well have constituted a deliberate cover-up", though the allegations have been denied. The CQC initially refused to name those at the meeting because of data protection concerns. However, it came under pressure to put the names in the public domain, and finally did so on Thursday. The CQC revealed that the people present were Cynthia Bower, then CQC chief executive, her deputy Jill Finney, Anna Jefferson, head of press, and Louise Dineley, CQC head of regulatory risk and quality, who had written the report. Ms Bower and Ms Jefferson have denied being involved in a cover-up. Ms Finney has had her employment terminated at her new job, chief commercial officer at Nominet, which controls the .co.uk web domain. She has not commented. The current bosses of the CQC are set to be questioned by MPs on the Commons health committee. Are things going to change? Mr Hunt has said he has faith in the new team at the head of the CQC, He has also announced there will be chief inspectors of hospitals, GPs and social care. Mr Hunt has also said he wants NHS inspection to be more like Ofsted, which investigates schools. There have similar budgets, while the CQC has more staff. Health think-tank the Nuffield Trust recently said Ofsted-style inspections were a good idea. But hospitals are typically much bigger and more complex organisations which carry out a wider array of tasks than schools. The Nuffield Trust said to make such a system work the CQC would need extra resources, political support and time to develop it.

इंग्लैंड में स्वास्थ्य और देखभाल सेवाओं के नियामक, देखभाल गुणवत्ता आयोग, इस सप्ताह इन आरोपों के बाद गहन जांच के दायरे में आ गया है कि पूर्व प्रबंधक कुम्ब्रिया के एक अस्पताल में शिशुओं की मौत की रिपोर्ट को "छिपाने" में शामिल थे।


A history of social housing

Summary: From Lloyd George's promise of "homes fit for heroes" to Margaret Thatcher's dream of a property-owning democracy, housing has been at the centre of British politics for more than a century. Key pledges ahead of the 2015 general election show it's rarely mattered more. Here is why.

By Brian WheelerPolitical reporter, BBC News Labour voters lived in council houses. Tories owned their own homes. That's the way it had always been. Yet for a young Labour MP, out canvassing in his constituency in the early 1980s, it still came as a shock to be told, by an old party stalwart, that there was no point knocking on doors on a private housing estate, as they all voted Tory. To Tony Blair, it was a sign of just how out of touch his party had become with ordinary working people. Millions of people owned their own homes (or aspired to). Did Labour have nothing to say to them? Blair's supporters in his North-East of England constituency, battling crippling levels of unemployment in a former mining area, needed the guarantee of a decent home for their families at a reasonable rent that council housing provided. But, Blair reasoned in articles at the time, Labour would never again be in a position to help them as a party of government unless it learned to connect with owner-occupiers, particularly in the South of England. Blair's epiphany came at the height of Margaret Thatcher's "right-to-buy" revolution. Giving council tenants the opportunity to buy the homes they were living in - at a generous discount - was one of the defining policies of the Thatcher era. More than two million council tenants - many of them traditional Labour voters - took advantage of it. At the time, it seemed like the fulfilment of a longstanding Conservative dream, first spoken about in the 1930s, of creating a "property-owning democracy". Ordinary working families now had assets that they could pass on to their children, Tory MPs boasted, and the opportunity to escape the modest circumstances they were born into. The policy had been pioneered by Lady Thatcher's predecessor as Tory leader, Ted Heath, in the early 1970s, although local councils have had the right to sell off their council housing stock, with ministerial approval, since 1936. Local authorities had been required by law to provide council housing since 1919 and Lloyd George's "Homes fit for Heroes" campaign sparked by concerns over the poor physical condition of army recruits. But it was not until after World War II that the age of the council house truly arrived. Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government built more than a million homes, 80% of which were council houses, largely to replace those destroyed by Hitler. The house-building boom continued when the Conservatives returned to power in 1951, but the emphasis shifted at the end of the decade towards slum clearance, as millions were uprooted from cramped, rundown inner-city terraces and re-housed in purpose-built new towns or high-rise blocks. A generation was introduced to the joys of indoor toilets, front and rear gardens, and landscaped housing estates where, as the town planners boasted, a tree could be seen from every window. But the post-war dream of urban renewal quickly turned sour. By the early 1970s, the concrete walkways and "streets in the sky" that had once seemed so pristine and futuristic, were becoming grim havens of decay and lawlessness. And there was a powerful smell of corruption emanating from some town halls as the cosy relationship between local politicians and their friends in building and architecture was laid bare, along with the shoddy standard of many of the "system-built" homes they had created. It was against this backdrop that "right to buy" began to take off, with the number of council houses sold in England going up from 7,000 in 1970 to nearly 46,000 in 1972. It was not, initially, opposed by Labour. In 1977, Labour housing minister Peter Shore published a green paper endorsing home ownership as a "strong and natural desire" which "should be met". He backed shared equity schemes, aimed at getting council tenants on the property ladder, and the growth of the housing association movement, although he still envisaged that the bulk of the nation's affordable housing needs would continue to be met by local authorities. But the world Shore was describing was about to be swept away by the 1980 Housing Act and the explosion of "right-to-buy". The Labour Party, which had lurched to the left under Michael Foot, bitterly opposed the "right-to-buy" arguing that it would lead to a dangerous depletion in council housing stock. They also feared it would spell the end of Labour's vision of a "cradle to grave" welfare state, as working class people embraced a more materialistic, Thatcherite way of life. By the time Tony Blair came to power, in 1997, such rose-tinted notions were a thing of the past. New Labour was an enthusiastic champion of the right to buy and home ownership in general, seeing it as its mission not to ensure affordable rents for working people but to help them get a foot on the property ladder. Mr Blair and his chancellor, Gordon Brown, presided over an unprecedented boom in house prices, fuelled by cheap credit and a shortage of affordable rented accommodation. The "right-to-buy" phenomenon had led, as some on the left had predicted, to a massive depletion in council housing stock - made worse by the refusal of successive governments to allow local authorities to spend the windfall they received from council house sales on building new ones. The housing bubble was also fuelled by the "buy-to-let" phenomenon, as speculators bought up rundown former local authority housing as a source of income. Council housing estates were fast becoming the accommodation of last resort for those left behind by society, as families on middle incomes sold up and moved out. People living on estates increasingly tended to be on benefits or in low-paid work, or had drug and alcohol problems. The growth in asylum seekers and economic migrants, towards the end of Labour's time in power, added further to the pressure on the system. Efforts to build more social housing in the dying days of Gordon Brown's premiership were, most observers agreed, too little and too late. And the near collapse of the banking system ended the hopes of many on average incomes of ever owning their own homes. With the amount demanded by banks as a mortgage deposit, a growing number of working people found themselves trapped in costly private rented accommodation until early middle age. Since 2010, a decade-long decline in council house sales has been reversed thanks to the government's decision to increase the maximum discount available to tenants to £75,000 - £100,000 in London - and reduce the qualifying period to three years of residence in a property. In the early years of the coalition, it acknowledged the housing crisis to be one of the biggest problems it faced. Its first housing minister, Conservative Grant Shapps pledged to kick-start building, which had fallen to its lowest level in decades, by releasing more public land and easing planning restrictions. But by 2012-13, with the country still recovering from the effects of the financial crisis, the total of new homes built hit a post-war low of 135,500. While that figure recovered slightly the following year, construction output again dipped at the end of 2014. Policy guide: Where the parties stand The Home Builders Federation has complained that - despite improvements - the planning system is "still far too slow, bureaucratic and expensive". However, highlighting that the number of planning permissions for new homes had reached 240,000 in the year to September 2014, housing minister Brandon Lewis said the government's planning reforms were working. That number is still 10,000 fewer than the Barker Review of Housing Supply said was required a decade ago. As the 2015 election looms, each of the major parties has a pitch to voters on housing. The Conservatives made the extension of the right to buy to housing association properties their major manifesto announcement, saying each house sold would be replaced. They say they'd set up a fund to build 400,000 new homes - with 200,000 for first-time buyers aged under 40, offered at a 20% discount. Labour is promising to get 200,000 homes built a year by 2020. The Lib Dems say they'll increase housebuilding to 300,000 a year and build 10 new garden cities, while the Greens promise 500,000 social rented homes by 2020 and UKIP says it would establish a brownfield agency to provide housing grants and loans. But whoever wins power, it seems there is no chance of a return to the days when government ministers proudly cut the ribbon on giant new council estates on the edge of town. Time and the aspirations of voters - in a country where the national obsession is property prices - have moved on.

लॉयड जॉर्ज के "नायकों के लिए उपयुक्त घर" के वादे से लेकर मार्गरेट थैचर के संपत्ति-स्वामित्व वाले लोकतंत्र के सपने तक, आवास एक सदी से अधिक समय से ब्रिटिश राजनीति के केंद्र में रहा है। 2015 के आम चुनाव से पहले की प्रमुख प्रतिज्ञाओं से पता चलता है कि यह शायद ही कभी अधिक मायने रखता है। यहाँ क्यों है।


Police appeal over mobility scooter crash in Dumfries

Summary: Police have appealed for witnesses to a road accident in Dumfries involving a mobility scooter.

A 60-year-old woman was knocked off the scooter and received minor injuries in the crash. The scooter was also damaged in the collision with a red Honda Civic at a pedestrian crossing in St Michael Street at 07:30 on Thursday. The 61-year-old woman who driving the car was not hurt.

पुलिस ने डमफ्रीज में एक मोबिलिटी स्कूटर से जुड़ी सड़क दुर्घटना के गवाहों से अपील की है।


Man arrested after 24-hour siege in Wolverhampton

Summary: A man has been arrested after a 24-hour stand-off with armed police at a house in Wolverhampton.

Firearms officers were called to Laurel Grove shortly after 09:00 GMT on Friday when a 38-year-old man threatened police who had gone to make an arrest. Nobody else was in the property at the time, but negotiators were brought in and the street was sealed off. The man surrendered just after 09:15 on Saturday and has been arrested for making threats to kill. West Midlands Police said the road had now reopened. Related Internet Links West Midlands Police

वोल्वरहैम्प्टन में एक घर पर सशस्त्र पुलिस के साथ 24 घंटे के गतिरोध के बाद एक व्यक्ति को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


A76 being rerouted to avoid 'unstable' embankment

Summary: A major route through southern Scotland is being closed completely as part of a project to take the road away from an unstable river embankment.

The scheme on the A76 between Thornhill and Sanquhar will bring to an end to five years of temporary traffic lights. After repeated calls for action, work to take the road away from the river bank got started in June. The road will be shut from 19:00 on Friday until 06:00 on Monday with the main diversion about 50 miles long. Overall the project is expected to take about 30 weeks to complete. The work will see the new carriageway connected to the existing section of the road. Once finished it will divert the road away from an area that is "prone to landslips". Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said that when the work started it would provide "more reliable journey times" on the route.

दक्षिणी स्कॉटलैंड के माध्यम से एक प्रमुख मार्ग को एक अस्थिर नदी तटबंध से सड़क को दूर ले जाने की परियोजना के हिस्से के रूप में पूरी तरह से बंद किया जा रहा है।


Isles of Scilly's secondary school head teacher suspended

Summary: The head teacher of the only secondary school on the Isles of Scilly has been suspended, it has been confirmed.

Bryce Wilby was suspended from Five Islands School on Friday following a decision by school governors. The school's governing body and the Council of the Isles of Scilly said an issue was being "looked into". The Church of England school is controlled by the island's council, which will conduct an investigation, it said. A joint statement from the school's governing body and the council said: "An issue of concern has been raised at the Five Islands School which is being looked into."

आइल्स ऑफ स्किली के एकमात्र माध्यमिक विद्यालय के प्रधान शिक्षक को निलंबित कर दिया गया है, इसकी पुष्टि की गई है।


Robyn Mercer murder: Arrested pair released on bail

Summary: Two men arrested in connection with the murder of a woman who was bludgeoned to death outside her home in Surrey have been released on bail.

The body of 50-year-old antiques specialist Robyn Mercer was found in Walton Road, West Molesey, on Monday. A post-mortem examination revealed she died from multiple blows to the head. Surrey Police said two men arrested on suspicion of murder, a 52-year-old on Monday and a man aged 25 on Thursday, had both been bailed until 20 May. On Thursday, relatives of the mother-of-two said they were "utterly devastated to have lost Robyn" who worked at JH Bourdon-Smith in Mayfair, west London. Fellow art and antique specialists described her as an "extremely kind-hearted lady". Related Internet Links Surrey Police

सरे में एक महिला की हत्या के मामले में गिरफ्तार दो लोगों को जमानत पर रिहा कर दिया गया है, जिन्हें उसके घर के बाहर पीट-पीटकर मार दिया गया था।


Exeter University student on London riots theft charges

Summary: A wealthy undergraduate from the University of Exeter has been accused of stealing from shops during the riots in London.

Laura Johnson, 19, has appeared before magistrates in Bexley on five counts of burglary. Miss Johnson, who is reading English and Italian, is reported to be the daughter of a millionaire businessman from Orpington, south-east London. She was released on bail, to return to court on 21 September. A statement released by the University of Exeter said: "We can confirm that Laura Johnson is an undergraduate student at the University of Exeter. "The university will await the outcome of the court case before deciding on whether to take any action."

एक्सेटर विश्वविद्यालय के एक धनी स्नातक पर लंदन में दंगों के दौरान दुकानों से चोरी करने का आरोप लगाया गया है।


Greggs confirms plans to open up to 50 stores in Northern Ireland

Summary: The baked goods chain Greggs has confirmed it is planning to open as many as 50 branches across Northern Ireland.

By John CampbellBBC News NI Economics & Business Editor The details are contained in a planning application for what the firm describes as a 'flagship' store on Donegall Square in Belfast city centre. The company plans to take a unit which is currently occupied by a home furnishing store. The application states the firm has a "vision" to roll out up to 50 stores. It currently has one branch in Northern Ireland in a service station on the M2. The Belfast Telegraph first reported the firm's intention to open up to 50 stores last year.

बेक्ड गुड्स चेन ग्रेग्स ने पुष्टि की है कि वह पूरे उत्तरी आयरलैंड में 50 शाखाएं खोलने की योजना बना रहा है।


Hidden heroines: Could Elizabeth Andrews win statue vote?

Summary: Cardiff's first statue of a named woman forgotten to history is to be decided by a public vote. Five women have been shortlisted for the artwork which will be placed outside BBC Wales' new headquarters at Central Square. The women, none of whom are still living, are Cranogwen, Lady Rhondda, Elizabeth Andrews, Elaine Morgan and Betty Campbell. BBC Wales is profiling the lives of each of these women and the public can vote online until 21:30 GMT on Wednesday. Here we look at the life of Elizabeth Andrews.

By Carolyn HittJournalist & broadcaster Elizabeth Andrews was an internationalist, a suffragist and a socialist. She was one of the most influential Welsh female political activists of the early 20th Century. One of 11 children born into a poor mining family in Hirwaun, in the Cynon Valley in 1882, she dreamed of being a teacher but was forced to leave school at 13 to help her parents make ends meet. This Welsh-speaking dressmaker brought the needs of working-class women into the political arena because she shared their lives and voiced their hopes and fears. Moving to the Rhondda at the age of 26 proved the catalyst for her political awakening, as Mrs Andrews saw the social problems suffered by her community. As the first Labour Party Women's Organiser for Wales, she set up women's sections, describing them as "working women's universities". One of her earliest tasks was translating leaflets from English to Welsh to urge women to use their newly-won vote. She also became one of Britain's first female magistrates. She put the needs of women and children at the heart of her campaigns. Giving evidence in the House of Lords to a Royal Commission on the mining industry in 1919, she spoke powerfully about the impact of the pits on family life. As a miner's wife she knew how dangerous the industry was for the men but she stressed that women's lives were at risk too as they coped with overcrowded houses, poor sanitation and the high death rates among their children. She became a leading figure in the campaign for pithead baths, arguing they could help transform women's lives by removing the relentless dirt brought in by the colliers and the significant danger of lugging heavy tin baths of boiling water from the home. The strain of such heavy lifting had a serious impact on women's health -particularly during their frequent pregnancies - while many children were scalded by the boiling water. Drying clothes in cramped kitchens also played havoc with children's health. Mrs Andrews spoke alongside two English miners' wives in the House of Lords. The sight of working class women in these rarefied surroundings caught the attention of the media, as she recalled in her memoir A Women's Work is Never Done: "When we arrived in London we were besieged by the press at the hotel and during the time we were giving evidence we were photographed and a minute description given of our dresses. "Many of the personal remarks amused us greatly. They expected us to be overawed at being in the King's Robing Room in the House of Lords where the commission was held. "They also expressed surprise at our calmness when giving evidence. But why would they think we would be daunted? "We had something very important and serious to tell them about women suffering and dying and how the baths would take away the arduous toil they were engaged in." And her campaign made an impact. Pithead baths were made compulsory in 1924. She was at the heart of relief efforts during the miners' lock-out following the General Strike in 1926 and the hungry years of the Depression in the 1930s. And in these pre-NHS times she also turned her attention to improving maternity and childcare, establishing a service of clinics, midwives, home helps and one of the earliest nursery schools in Wales. Raising such "domestic" issues in the male-dominated world of Welsh local government at the time was often unpopular but Mrs Andrews never wavered in her commitment to the politics of the home front. Her motto was "Educate, Agitate, Organise". And to the generations of women she helped and inspired she was simply known as Our Elizabeth.

इतिहास में भुलाई गई एक नामित महिला की कार्डिफ की पहली प्रतिमा का फैसला एक सार्वजनिक वोट द्वारा किया जाना है। कलाकृति के लिए पांच महिलाओं को चुना गया है जो सेंट्रल स्क्वायर में बीबीसी वेल्स के नए मुख्यालय के बाहर रखी जाएगी। महिलाएं, जिनमें से कोई भी अभी भी जीवित नहीं है, क्रैनोगवेन, लेडी रोंडा, एलिजाबेथ एंड्रयूज, एलेन मॉर्गन और बेट्टी कैंपबेल हैं। बीबीसी वेल्स इनमें से प्रत्येक महिला के जीवन की रूपरेखा बना रहा है और जनता बुधवार को 21:30 GMT तक ऑनलाइन मतदान कर सकती है। यहाँ हम एलिजाबेथ एंड्रयूज के जीवन पर नज़र डालते हैं।


Why India is in dire need of electoral reform

Summary: India's democracy is facing serious challenges.

Soutik BiswasDelhi correspondent Nearly a third of MPs - 158 of 543, to be precise - in the parliament face criminal charges. Seventy-four of them face serious charges such as murder and abduction. There are more than 500 criminal cases against these lawmakers. These MPs hail from across the political spectrum. Twelve of the 205 MPs or 5% of the lawmakers in the ruling Congress Party face criminal charges. The main opposition BJP fares worse with 19 of 116 - or more than 16% - of its MPs facing charges. More than 60% of the MPs belonging to two key regional parties, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party - who profess to serve the poor and the untouchables - face criminal charges. Then there are allegations of rampant vote-buying by parties, especially in southern India. The Election Commission seized more than 600 million rupees ($13.3m; £8.3m) in cash in Tamil Nadu in the run-up to the state elections in April. It believes that the money was kept to buy votes. In an US embassy cable leaked by WikiLeaks in March, an American official was quoted as saying that one Tamil Nadu party inserted cash and a voting slip instructing which party to vote for in the morning newspapers - more innovative than handing out money directly to voters. The party concerned denies the charge. Independent election watchdogs believe that candidates routinely under-report or hide campaign expenses. During the 2009 general elections, nearly all of the 6753 candidates officially declared that they had spent between 45 to 55% of their expenses limit. After the recent state elections - in three states and one union territory - elected legislators declared that that the average amount of money spent in their campaigns to be only between 39% and 59% of their limits in their official declarations. A total of 76 legislators declared that they did not spend any money on public meetings and processions. There is something seriously amiss in the state of democracy in India. That is why, most believe, the country urgently needs electoral reforms. India's most respected election watchdog Association For Democratic Reforms (ADR) has rolled out a pointed wish-list to clean up India's politics and target corruption. I am sharing some of them: The desire for electoral reform is not new. Since 1990, there have been at least seven hefty comprehensive government-commissioned reports for such reforms. The Election Commission of India has been saying since 1998 that candidates with pending criminal cases against them should not be allowed to contest. If there is an overwhelming consensus about these reforms, why have governments sat on it for more than two decades? Ask the politicians.

भारत का लोकतंत्र गंभीर चुनौतियों का सामना कर रहा है।


Margo MacDonald: 'Scotland is the poorer for her passing'

Summary: To drop into Margo Macdonald's Holyrood office, as I frequently did, was an experience. You might become engaged in a hugely intellectual debate about independence - or some other issue that had grabbed Margo's attention.

Brian TaylorPolitical editor, Scotland Alternatively, you might be assailed with the latest gossip or the future of the Hibees or, indeed, brought up to speed with her latest purchase on a shopping channel. Deeply serious, occasionally coquettish. A political partisan who chafed within party constraints. But, above all, charismatic, hugely popular. Few politicians achieve genuine personal popularity - beyond that loaned to them by the party machine. Fewer still are recognised solely by their first name. Margo was. But, as is common with such politicians, she was frequently to be found out of step with the party leadership. 'Wise advice' Feisty and energetic, she was the SNP's deputy leader during the Nationalist honeymoon of the 1970s. But political divorce followed. She quit the party in the internal conflict which followed defeat in 1979. If I may be allowed a personal reminiscence - and nobody is going to stop me - I well remember interviewing her at the Dundee conference of the party as the '79 Group was getting into its stride, advocating a shift to the Left for the SNP. At the time, she was a huge figure in the party and in the wider independence movement. I was a tyro reporter on the P&J. Despite that gap in standing, she put off time for me: time that she undoubtedly did not have, given the competition for her attention. Her political passion was gigantic. It was a passion, though, which never veered remotely into rancour or intolerance. Intelligent, driven, witty, passionate. Just Margo. Her humour was notably droll. However, she was less than amused in 2003 when she was ranked down the SNP list for the Scottish Parliamentary election. Was it instigated by the leadership? Was it local politics as usual, driven by its customary blend of spite and petty envy? Either way, she quit the SNP, again, opting to stand as an independent. As a party of one, perhaps the only party which could hold her - entering her campaign launch event to the strains of "Only the Lonely". No party machine. No party support. Few resources. Only her loyal supporters and her own integrity. The outcome? She won by the length of a Scots Mile, repeating this remarkable success at subsequent elections. Every issue she adopted - and there were quite a few of them - she pursued with vigour. Only last week, she was visited by the first minister and apparently offered "wise advice" on the conduct of the referendum campaign. My sympathy to her family and close friends. Scotland is tonight the poorer for her passing.

मार्गो मैकडोनाल्ड के होलीरूड कार्यालय में आना, जैसा कि मैं अक्सर करता था, एक अनुभव था। आप स्वतंत्रता के बारे में भारी बौद्धिक बहस में लगे हो सकते हैं-या कोई अन्य मुद्दा जिसने मार्गो का ध्यान आकर्षित किया था।