Been below 4 percent for much of the past year and it fell to 3.8 percent in February and March On average the economy created 180000 jobs each month this year despite some signs of a slowdown globally most economists see little recent evidence so far that the u.s. Is being affected much and the jobs report is expected to show continued gain in employment this week Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed's outlook was positive for the rest of the year Powell also said there's no sign inflation is growing gyms are n.p.r. News New York and Boston a federal jury has convicted 5 executives of insists the reputed of bribing doctors to overprescribe the company's prescription painkiller lawyers for the Arizona company's founder John Kapoor say the client will keep fighting to clear his name 76 year old Kapoor and his co-defendants could receive up to 20 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy Facebook says it's banned a group of extremist figures from its main platform and from Instagram as N.P.R.'s David Folkenflik reports the move comes as Facebook seeks to tamp down on hate speech most of the exiled figures are from the far right take conspiracy theorist Alex Jones the founder of Info Wars which is also being barred or the white nationalist figure Paul Nealon or Lyle you not bliss who stirred up a racist social media campaign against an actor and once posted the desire for Trump critics to be bombed Facebook is also bouncing Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan who has a record of propagating anti-Semitic and anti-white rhetoric the social media platform says it quote has always been and individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate regardless of ideology yet Facebook has struggled to figure out how to address hate on its pages veering between free speech principles and rules that prove difficult to enforce David Folkenflik n.p.r. News recent. Heavy rains have pushed the Mississippi River to levels not seen in parts of the nation's midsection in 26 years Peyton shoemaker lives in Buffalo Iowa he tells w.q. a Deed that sandbags were stacked along his city's waterfront but floodwaters poured over them I've never seen it like this before and. If it's terrifying parts of downtown Davenport remain on in inundated as flood waters threaten temporary levees the city has no permanent levee or flood wall system Meanwhile the National Weather Service is warning that severe thunderstorms may call splash flooding in areas stretching from Texas to the Ohio Valley into this weekend you're listening to n.p.r. News. Katherine Pugh has resigned as the mayor of Baltimore her attorney announced a move by reading a statement on her behalf Emily Solomin of member station KNAU be why p.r. Has details of this scandal that led to political demise began in big March when the Baltimore Sun reported that he was sold half a $1000000.00 worth of self published children's books to the University of Maryland Medical System while she served on its governing board resigned from that board and said that she did not sell books to any other businesses but health care insurers and a prominent businessman among others came forward they gave the 1st term Democrat hefty checks for books and were later awarded lucrative contracts with the city amid outcry p. Went on indefinite paid leave on April 1st citing a case of pneumonia the f.b.i. And i.r.s. Raided her home and city hall office weeks later for n.p.r. News I'm Emily Sullivan in Baltimore we can expound or Julian Assange says he will not agree to extradition to the United States where he is facing charges of conspiring to hack into Pentagon computers a songe appeared at a hearing in London on Thursday he's due back in court there later this month with a 4 hearing on the u.s. Extradition request planned for early June Venezuela's top court has ordered the arrest of opposition activists Leopoldo Lopez the pro-government courses Lopez violated his house arrest by joining senior military officials who staged a brief uprising in Caracas this week Lopez was detained in 2014 for leading protests against the Nicholas majority government he's an ally of opposition leader one wydow who's urging Venezuelans to rise up I'm sure Stevens n.p.r. News in Washington support for n.p.r. Comes from n.p.r. Stations other contributors include the foundation committed to improving lives through invention in the u.s. And in developing countries and working to inspire and the Mable the next generation of inventors more information is available at levels than dot org. Hello welcome is new day for the b.b.c. World Service great to have your company claim Adonal with you from London this morning and James Copnall is live for us in hard to miss. Yeah in the Sudanese capital talking to people about their hopes and expectations of the country moves through a major political and social change can also update you on what's going on in India what level of destruction. Descended upon the north east of the country and it's made landfall 200 kilometer an hour winds 850 shelters set up to hold some 1000000 people to get in touch with us we'd love to hear your views your opinions you can text us on anything you hear on the program the number is plus 447-786-2050 extension 85. James is live for us all morning in hard tumor where there's been huge demonstrations over the last few days haven't there James against over here against him and then moving on to a new democracy there's been many many sticking points haven't. Yes absolutely so the civilians the protesters are pushing for a civilian led government it seems that the idea of a civilian government a technocrat government has been accepted by the military the key sticking point now. Is the composition of the Supreme Council that would sit above the civilian government. The Halleck one of the members of the Military Council one of the 7 members said he would accept equal representation perhaps 7 soldiers and 7 civilians on that council but that's very much a question of debate right now as we speak we've seen people drink passed away from the protest site straight consider these flags. Hooting revolutionary chants the protestors at the military headquarters as they have been for the last few weeks because that is their way of putting pressure on the military that's what brought down here and that's their hope of getting a civilian government and they are there just a few 100 yards from where we are now 300 meters day and night so I went to the protests area to meet a protest as they called the night shift. For the whole of the government civil government. Why stay overnight Why not just go home come back in the morning. And. old regime flourish in all its ways again. 22 now used to hate Sudan a few few months ago when really you stated like no one wanted to stay here you're going to stay going to the past few months to protest and stuff like I could actually see a future surround I could actually stay here much my kids could grow here or you see your kids growing up and if it. Comes your bicycle to work show about a 1000 tourists painting for very long strips of canvas about 20 meters from each. One of the painters the soldier in uniform painting designs of the revolution and then leaving space for the revolutionaries sign their names. My name since I'm that I have sent. Architects or graduate I used to work as a teacher assistant and then I got fired because like. I can't go into the broad they're like oh no this is a word with you you were fired because of this precious Yes because I kept skipping and I kept telling the students that this isn't go to school this it's give and go for the test and he said I'm pretty happy about it you're going with Well yes. We did something good finally eventually so many of the nights yes any concerns about being here why are you here I started painting and I can't go home with this and also because we need to be here even if my dad. And even he. Does now know. I didn't even know that he's things I'm home but it's better that we. Created this is an exhilarating time for so many but it's serious to protest is not if they leave this camp day or night the revolution is. Still with a couple of tests here safe and for one thing people might find it difficult to understand there was a soldier doing paintings alongside the protesters. He was the top level military guys to go but actually what are your daily interactions like with some of the other soldiers were actually we were when we went on the 6th on the 6th of this month the 1st really big protest yes in April when when we all when there at the start there were bits that the smaller soldiers the small ranks banked soldiers there were a bit there were not very friendly. But then later on when they did that but it blended well with that with us and they're now very very friendly and we talk to them and they now feel that our case is actually to their cases Well is it fair to say that the army is split of the lower ranking officers the soldiers have sided with you a head of their bosses of course our. Ranking soldiers they're struggling like us they're there at salaries very weak and they're $40.00 per month so they're supporting them they're supporting their revolution is that in fact some of them. Some of them they came out on the street and they say they did not. There are higher commands orders and this popularly there were life on Facebook and they protected you yes they protected us and they have been sent to prison because of their action. On the 9th on the 9th of April. When the security intelligence wanted to remove the sit in some of the soldiers. To the security intelligence and they protected us so they're definitely with us only the higher ranking generals the deal with their previous regime and yet people listening to this in different parts of Sudan around the world who say that these soldiers are Ok with you but there may be responsible for abuses in places like Darfur South Kordofan South Sudan in the past. Do you trust the soldiers. Well actually we we trust the law the law ranks the low rank soldiers we do we do trust them I believe most of the. Problem comes from the upper upper generals and you're still of course struggling hard to get those upper generals or the senior military figures to leave power in just a few seconds I'm sure you're optimistic that you will see a civilian government how soon do you think so it. Is very difficult to say but very optimistic and excited that this week off and we should we should see if a good good positive results from the from the negotiations table right safety thank you very much for your company the views of protesters as this revolution continues in Sudan this incredible period in history where one long term military ruler share has been overthrown protesters hoping very much they're going to get rid of the military completely from Sudanese political life. Thank you James more from James here on News stay shortly quarter past the hour we're going to take you to India now where almost a 1000000 people have been a vacuum. It'd Cyclon Forney heads towards the Bay of Bengal it's been described as the biggest storm to hit the region in more than 2 decades at least $10000.00 people were killed when a similar storm struck the Indian state of in 1909 Well the B.B.C.'s Russell Tynan is in that area on the right who I believe since the last time we spoke he does a little over an hour ago you've had to move from your previous location. Really where I think the intensity of this storm is actually pretty thing it's been 4 hours in that if you've been a weather they capital of I read the one of them obviously the anything in their member whether the economic is something I have this over the winter around me being there at 14100 m. This big development there so imagine what the situation is like for those 1000000 people who were evacuated from the low lying areas over the last 24 hours when we were actually broadcasting from before that has actually come down I think what that prize even talking to people here in the state capital he's the longest lasting and how much the property of the wind is increasing when I started speaking to you on news there few hours ago most of the 3 were still found they just about all of them have come down there's a couple that I can see in front for me that are below and aware that the practical for any minute then be that very very long the thing be lasting for quite some time and I appreciate the way you were before which was where you were broadcasting the t.v. Pages from as well there was some kind of collapse that was in there. Yes there is and I think one of the real concern I will be of the the ferocity of the song here and we're going to make this a capital because this is the most populated a populated area of a rich and wearing a pretty good that there has been a lack of want some of that how did the condition of those over you like want this dog gone be communicating with them has gone down but occasionally the Internet them back on with their already people who think people are the thing the damage that has been done to that housing and to school this well reports all the time again that something is going on with the whole already being. So difficult to try and confirm anything at the moment because it is almost impossible to get in touch with anybody how long this ball is going to last we don't know once it eventually Don And we have a directive and we will then I think get a realigned or standing up a lot of devastation that is leaving behind what is barely 4 or 5 hours in the way it's built picking up the bill picking up when many people thought by now we could be beginning things I have at least in this area and with him during that understandably there were 200 trains cancelled all inbound flights to or the show have been cancelled as well when you think we were just mentioning that in the same area back in 1000 997000 people were killed this is this storm has a worse for us if he doesn't it than that the wind back in 1900 people must be very concerned for the safety of millions of. People are. People who are very good at a cloud the when the you know when you say something is 200 kilometers an hour I think difficult to imagine it and then you see it in front of you you see everything in it being blown out of it way but the authority in 999 has built a temporary thing fact to evacuate and 1000000 people with an incredible bomb in a country with a population of the size of India so they have taken all the precautions but the question many people are asking is the severity of the Cyclons that anything in India and getting bigger and everything goes. For have to try and rebuild their lives and it's getting hotter and hotter for them. Thank you for coming out behind me yes getting stronger and stronger but what they like they're going to be like a 1000000 people that didn't say well we'll leave you Roland that you'd get somewhere to safer territory B.B.C.'s rattle turned in their reporting for us from the north eastern district of India. Where cycling funny has made landfall 20 almost 20 minutes past the hour let's get all the sports news now has Matthew and Arsenal and Chelsea with the advantage after the 1st leg of the semifinals of the Europa League last night going to coach you know Emery was tonight and with his team's 31 win over Valencia was Chelsea's away goal in a one all draw with on track Frankfurt probably gives them the edge Carli Lloyd the Golden Boot winner from the 2015 Women's World Cup will be leading the line once again for the defending champions the USA at this year's tournament in France she's been named in the American squad for her 4th global showpiece and Caster Semenya is on the start list for the women's 800 meters at the Diamond League athletics event in Doha tonight possibly the last time she'll be able to compete at the distance before either complying with the I w s testosterone regulations for her event or making a change she hinted on social media yesterday that she's prepared to step away from the sport but she could also change up to the 5000 meters which isn't covered by those rules remember her team are also looking at grounds for an appeal on the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling this week focus on Africa and sport today will bring you news of how she gets on. Matthew thank you Nash airs of the vague and burger maker of beyond meat sauce on their Wall Street debut as investors bet on the growing popularity of plant based foods that is on the business desk top 163 percent on the 1st day of trading valuing the California company at nearly $3800000000.00 u.s. Dollars from a gloss News chief operating officer of frood food Strategy Associates consultancy but he was formerly the chief executive officer of Quorn corps was 1st developed in the 1960 s. By I. Cie to feed the world it was popularized in the late 1980 s. I asked him the given that story in a way one might hope protein substitutes have been available for decades why now why have companies like beyond burgers and rivals like impossible foods generating so much interest what's new is that there's American interest in the market and American money going into the market to invest and American money is following the consumer trend the consumer trends towards meat free have been there for some time they're around health they're around environment they're around animal welfare the health and environment concerns are only growing so we're seeing a real pick up in demand on driven by those factors but you're seeing a supply side fact is which are better products coming to market driven by investment in new technology you worked on a product called Quorn which is a meat free product that's been around in the market for a couple of decades that's obviously been successful you can find it in most supermarkets especially in the United Kingdom is there a market for more competitors because Or is it just going to be slicing up the vegetarian a bigger market further so on a global basis corn is market leader and it's present in many many countries but in other countries you see many more products available typically soy based products what we're seeing now is new technologies which often involve new ingredients and so with be on Meet the king greeting to is a peep protein but you also see week proteins you see milk proteins you see sometimes genetically modified products so you're seeing different use of a product technologies to try and develop textures and tastes which more closely replicate meet the surge in new products is really driven by recognition of the long term consumer trends here and what we expect to happen is that the market is. Being growing fast and that growth has been accelerating none of the underlying factors are going to disappear soon they're all in many ways accelerating and if you look at say the climate change report that was published yesterday that talked about getting to 0 emissions in the u.k. In part by moving to a reduction in meat consumption Robert Lawson. Thank you very much indeed the World Service reminder our main headlines this morning mourn the 1000000 people in northeast India have taken refuge in storm shelters to escape one of the most powerful cyclamens ever to hit the region scientists say men with HIV who are on affective drug treatment cannot pass on the virus for sex and there's been a new warning that Madagascar is unique wildlife could be on the verge of being wiped out James thank you will be crossing back live to Jayne's in just a few moments time but the actor who played one of the most iconic characters in movie history has died here's a clue to him are talking about. Can understand that thank. You to Thor watcher. Of course Chewbacca from the Star Wars films he was played by piece Mayhew in a statement on Twitter his family said the 74 year old died at his home in Texas on Tuesday at 2.2 meters tall he towered above his fellow actors as Han Solo's furry companion and he recently reprise the role of the 200 year old Wilkie in the force awakens in a statement has some forward who played Han Solo said he loved him he invested his soul in the character brought great pleasure to the Star Wars audience Mark Hamill he played Luke Skywalker in the films told reporters Mayhew was a special person what was so remarkable about him was his spirit and his his kindness and his gentleness was close to what a Walkie years he just radiated happiness and warmth he was always up for a laugh and you know we just really we get it off immediately and stayed friends for over 40 years he's one with the force as they say and I'm just lucky that I got to know him so well and as I say that's echo in the statement from Harrison Ford as well said he was a friend for over 30 years my thoughts were. Still wife Angie and his children rest easy my dear friends the words of Harrison Ford on the passing of the actor who played Peter McKee. Finishes day where we started this morning. And James you are there you've been there all week for us in fact you're a former Sudan correspondent what is struck you as the most different aspect of what's going on there. Because you were there not long ago but a massive change since the last time. A colossal change yes I mean the obvious one the replacement of my old Bashir You could argue that's still a work in progress in the sense that the military are still in power but I think what was most struck me 2 things really one the fact the protesters now feel able to talk not just protest people feel able to discuss politics to talk freely and secondly the sense of organization and determination that the main protest site outside the military headquarters just a few 100 meters from where we are now these are people who are determined to stay there until they get what they want which is a civilian government so with a couple of the protesters of course safe for for do you get the sense that you the protesters have many friends outside of Sudan much support Well no I don't think we have friends abroad because since the start of the revolution and I've seen a lot of oppression and they're the outer community and our neighboring countries they're actually silent about what's going on in Sudan and even was really frustrated that their media there was very little media coverage on our protests and this was something that really frustrated me. And after all what we've been through and the victory that we've now achieved to reaching the 3rd turn after all the live Billiton and. Tear gas and all that. Still there are some countries that are supporting and backing up their feed a transitional military council and they're offering funds in order to. Give it more in order to giving it more providing it with funds to stay in power I was even more frustrated by the African Union decision to give the t.m.c. . 2 month to month period time. In order to deliver power to a civilian government which I think does not make any sense but if you wanted a much shorter Yes of course we want to shore the deadline because already the forces of freedom and freedom and change as well as the Sudanese professional association all already have the plan in place and they have their candidates and. Why the why why given all this time the question briefly safe just to conclude yes there are challenges lack of international support perhaps do you think though that this revolution could be emulated elsewhere in Africa. Yes it could be could be related to. This if this is a peaceful revolution is that we has changed very extreme government so. People they could use the same thing that we have we have been going for the last 4 months peacefully we have not killed. Anybody from the from the. National security but we have lost a 100 people who through their through the form of a great change has come you've been listening to news straight from Clare and James . Distribution of the b.b.c. World Service in the us is supported by a company's internal training and communications videos don't belong on public video sites on optos video platform is the secure way for businesses to manage and share video content dot com and most online test prep for the a c t s a t g r e n g match that's designed to improve scores students can get video lessons practice questions an expert support online at Makushi dot com. The b.b.c. World Service keeping Atlanta informed the night $90.00. Attorney General Bill Barr was a no show at a House Judiciary hearing what can we expect next in the fight between House Democrats and the attorney general and I asked Dr Ruth about Dr Ruth at 90 gloating her time as an Israeli sniper I can still. I just don't do it anymore that story and more Saturday and Weekend Edition from n.p.r. News Saturday mornings from 8 to 10 am here on 90 point one. B.b.c. News with Debbie Ross more than a 1000000 people along India's northeast coast sheltering in relief center as the area is battered by the worst summer cycling there for more than 40 years trees have been up rooted and electricity poles felt psycho and Forney 1st hit the stage of a recess near poori winds reached speeds of more than 200 kilometers an hour. New research in Europe has confirmed that people with HIV who are undergoing effective drug treatment cannot pass on the virus to their sexual partners there's such a study of nearly a 1000 male couples for 8 years and found no cases of HIV transmission. An international team of scientists has warned that Madagascar is unique wildlife could be on the verge of being lost forever they verge the country's new government to stop the destruction of forests by promoting sustainable farming methods Manaus Army has admitted shooting dead 6 men who'd been detained along with nearly 300 others in the state of Rakhine they were all being held in a village school for questioning to see if they had links to the rebel I reckon. The 2 main political parties in Britain Conservatives and Labor have acknowledged that they suffered heavy losses in local elections because of frustration over the handling of breaks it the early results indicate gains for the smaller opposition parties the Liberal Democrats and the Greens as well as independent candidates present Trampas called on Republicans and Democrats to come together for the good of the American people he said both main parties have been trying their best to make the other look as bad as possible he tweeted they should now get back to business and the prime minister of New Zealand just into our den has become engaged to her partner. The couple had their 1st child last year Mr Gay fit is well known in New Zealand for hosting television programmes about fishing and that's the latest Well news from the b.b.c. . I'm Emily Thomas and this is the 2nd of 2 James Beard Award winning episodes of the food chain which explores faint and grief this week which I had. I was stuck with the vegetables. The whole onion. Big calls. Charles made and. I'm not usually. Measured gold. Because it has she said that just that. Since remembering her. I switched to spot at our kitchen table and. For some reason psychologically it was a little easier for me to look across at my own empty. Than to look across at his. She stops with us she stops eating all the things that are prohibited and her. And appearance seem to shrink. The what. To drink. Test. Whether we do or how skilled has. Globally there are at least 285000000 widows and nearly one in 10 lives in extreme poverty. In many countries which I had seen as a source of shame and the un calls the abuse widows face one of the most serious violations of human rights. Can be part of the picture. In some cultures widows are excluded from male times. And even forced to take part in degrading and dangerous widowhood rituals. And even in some of the world's most developed economies countries where we don't head to elicit sympathy not suspicion the bereaved is still more likely to suffer nutritional deprivation who is still married. No matter where we are in the world when we're grieving we need to nourishment comfort food can provide more than ever but losing the person we eat with most can make mail times hard to face and that can devastate our physical and mental wellbeing. Michael is in his early eighty's during his 52 year marriage to Sarra. And she did all the cooking. Did you have to help. I later table when Sarah died 6 years ago male times became difficult. I really did literally eat very little of that time. But I became a great expert in making scrambled egg and the experience of eating bio self. Presumably that was falling as enjoyable Oh no no joy not at all lost a lot of weight which I know struck me but back on again. Eventually Michael's children persuaded him to take cooking lessons. And said nuff you know you can do better than that and I thought I can be better but I wanted to. Question experience whether any surprises even learning to cook you've never really got involved before didn't challenge your perceptions of what cooking was yes it is more hard work and I thought it was going to be. More disciplined I thought it was going to be and made me more hospitable and I had been because I began to feel guilty about being invited to people for dinner parties to me it was rather boring a book or something I had to return it. During his last innings Michael increased his repertoire from just tags to salmon steaks and stuff fries and apple tart and his family passed on their favorite recipes take I would have very very strong relationship with children grandchildren and I with my older daughter I'm 4 she died 2 years after my aunt my wife died so that was pretty horrible to her she gave me some recipes and I found out that make you soup. As she gave me. Sarek at the commercial. Shame of recipes for soups I never heard of you know. Beatrice It was nice with horseradish with the recipes that your daughter gave you for the soup do you still use them now yes they are comfort Oh yeah well they are as much as I talk about their. Their origins that way. B.s. I mentioned. Same. Again. Same i. I mean I see my daughter's home writing and I splattered with facts. Figures memories of really powerful. Folk people who recently 3 ft What would you advise them to do when it comes to food especially if they can't cook and that just living on tiësto scrambled eggs or what haven't you think it's important to learn to cook I think is a wonderful thing. It changed my life in many ways really it really did it made me maybe feel a sense of anger and that's very important I have friends who have allowed themselves to be content with just sitting in a chair doing nothing. And I'm sure not cooking for themselves. I knew that wasn't going to be me I was given a list I was trying not to pay you said that one of your main motivations to learn to cook was to repay the favor Absolutely but was that also partly about your identity not wanting to be the person that people were inviting row gets you to the rigid yes yes yes yes. There was a couple who invited me twice and so nice I'd love the flat and the usual thank you drastic me sort of thing as I did after one so we're not tried to do something and that was horrible I don't want that it made me feel like a charity case and learning to cook I'm being able to invite people back it says it changes your status in a way I'm totally nobody expected it. What do you think sorrow would make of all your cooking she'd be amazed. And every time I lay the table I think of her but the 1st time we have had a couple of friends down very close married a couple of. Her late for. Did you take the did you take the place the way. You have it. That was the 1st indication. Michael told me he has a new woman in his life. Many with. The same challenges Michael told me about when it comes to fate studies carried out in China Europe and the us have found amongst older people which I had to say with poor diets quality and variety and weight loss has and is a professor and applied. Within my own family I have my 2 grandmothers are on opposite sides of the spectrum so after her husband died with an almost you know 2 here's to the day she passed away of no real illnesses as my grandfather became more and more and he his appetite significantly she also reduced her consumption with him to match his and then she continued to eat less after he died she fractured her hip and that was it and I have another grandmother who. She is caring for herself and so I was really interested in that have these different experiences 7 Lisbeth carried out an in-depth study into the diets of days in the seventy's and there is a mortality effect that's well known that both widowers and widow there's a higher risk of death in the 1st 2 years I've always believed that food might be part of that certainly the research shows that diet changes. We see poor diet quality. Older adults compared to their married peers we also see greater. Unintentional weight loss or appetite less enjoyment of meal times increased eating alone and less enjoyment of cooking Elizabeth upset that it was the women who enjoyed cooking before they were widowed who seem to find it hard to put words they struggled with seeing their own preferences as valid and worth the effort of cooking or the resources that it required the money or even the energy One woman talked about not wanting to turn on the oven for a small batch of Auburn fries However women that didn't feel suited to their responsibility of feeding their families had an easier time transitioning to just focusing on themselves and do we see in the research that the experience is any different for men who date when it comes to fate they are worse off in terms of the health of their diets and it's believed because of their skill set I think women have greater capacity to adapt the sense of confidence simply manner of being a woman that that she would be able to cook for herself if someone listening to. What should they days to help them do you think. Not to assume that because Mom has always cooked that she'll continue to cook for herself it can be useful to simply ask her question Mom what did you have for dinner last night are you cooking anything new that's interesting but I'd like to see certainly in this country better choices for convenience and prepared foods that are more nutritional so that they can be good options. To maintain a healthier diet without necessarily needing to go through the obstacle of finding you know fresh foods that are just enough for them and preparing them. With me. Talking about. Widow heard how vulnerable people become to malnourishment when they lose the person they eat with most so far we've heard from Europe and the us where although widows might not always be given the support they need when it comes to preparing and sharing food the loss of a spouse tends to elicit sympathy from those around them. But in parts of the world where it evokes suspicion food may be used in humiliating rituals. Gone are in West Africa has attempted to eliminate degrading and harmful widows mourning rights with legislation but. Director of the widows and orphans movement and charity based in the north of the country says widows tell her they're still often deprived of nutritious food most of the foods that they are not allowed to change to be day we put acts and then again they tend to be most of the Pruett senors fruits you know come on one are on if chicken and why is it was so the beliefs behind that these fruits tend to be very niche issues and sometimes difficult to come by and so in an attempt to share this food which she wouldn't be sufficient for everybody they tend to find it excluded some people so it's basic only probably we can say selfishness that courses some of these traditions and in some cultures about rituals where when I was made to drink a sip which contains parts of their husband's body we have some places where they cut their finger nails of these East and the hair too to add on to the auctions that prepaid even in some cultures as show you saw than gunna zigzagged the body is Bafta and then the what it's used as a option for the woman to drink which gives them a lot of health problems what are the beliefs behind some of those concoctions you've described the fingernail and pass a prick sample is a way off test. Whether we do or how skilled has it or even a widow is responsible for. Has. She would die after that she would have. Health problems the 2nd reason is so related to the issue of disfiguring the. Most of these has one doesn't come hunt. Some way days can buy their way out of these degrading rituals but most defend poverty and because property usually passes back to a man's family after he dies many women lose their access to farmland unless they marry one of their husband's relatives. In Ghana then it's often the poorest way days he suffer most but in other parts of the world the stigma attached to which I heard has been seen in the wealthiest parts of society. She treats her band is a Bengali food historian and novelist she describes how in Hindi communities in West Bank up until just a few decades ago which I was in the highest castes were expected to repent for their husband's death. They were forbidden to eat any fish meat eggs lentils garlic even some kinds of green that is what they had been brought up on and then suddenly it's totally taken away from them the whole point is that you are withdrawing nourishment from this person and one of the reasons could be that the widow was perceived as someone at Fort somebody who is laden with guilt and has to do penance for the rest of her life and what better way to do penance then to take away her food it's something Chetry to witnessed as a child when her grandmother was with date I saw her suddenly change from this you know who break bordered saris and lots of jewelry on her arms. And suddenly she stripped of all of that and wears these in white shroud like salary and also she stops eating with us she stops eating all the things that are prohibited and. Cruel and appearance seemed to shrink and I had a very hard time accepting that but then when she cooked I would see you know that some of the things she made were delicious and she would share them often just with me she and I would sit in a corner together and we would eat and looking bad I can now see how flavors were exchanged and you know she would make a potato dish where you could not add onions but you could add spice. Which gave it a wonderful warm and the Unlike kind of flavor once it was cooked and you know she would add a little bit of roasted humen and chili powder and a bit of turmeric belief and at the end she would add a touch of tamarind to make it tart and I used to think that was the best thing in the world to eat and the creativity of what I was like to treat as Grandmother improvised with limited ingredients recreating the flavors of prohibited foods is widely believed to be responsible for. Terry increasing You have these being on the recipes in a delicious stir fry is made out of the peel some vegetables in the potatoes and Lord sent pumpkin and plant all appealed is taken and it would have been normally turn away but they make it into a delicious dish which they can eat it doesn't cost money nobody wants to spend money on not issuing a window but they also came up with really interesting ways to cook other vegetables and for instance you know what are these the stems of Waterloo these would be dug out and then peeled and cooked and they were absolutely delicious but somebody who is always eating you know fish and meat and you know. Vegetables that are more acceptable like cauliflower or eggplant you would not necessarily think of eating the stems awarded in these I have to mention. He was in 1930 food writer and he is supposed to have said that you really never can taste the beauty of Bengali vegetarian cooking and this your own wife is a widow to tree to tell me that whilst widows in Hindi communities in Bengal today are unlikely to adopt restrictive diets the stigma of which I had to stand exists in living memory as she realized when her mother was. I could see that her joy in food her joy in cooking had been diminished significantly but what I realized was that down below somewhere she had the same feeling that society had imposed on widows that somehow it was her fault that he died and I have wondered how many more women who seem to be very modern have somewhere deep down that kind of a feeling that this is Saturday that it was their fault the husband died but as widows it's the proper thing to do to not really have so much physical enjoyment in life. In this tape parts exploration of faith and grief we've spoken to people all over the world who've lost someone they loved most of their experiences have been quiet in person oh never mind changing the Corzine of a country just finding a way to enjoy fate again can be an achievement. We'll end with Lisa Culpo explain how we can help people who've been widowed She's a writer and former pastry chef living in Washington d.c. . She married Eric 6 years ago. While. Eating skinny as a rail but constantly eating loved. Something shared and always tried to have dinner together and breakfast together before work 19 months into their marriage Eric died in a mountaineering accident they were both just $34.00. I would try to cook and this is for a while and things that were simple just turned out wrong or burnt were wrong I was just failing and I just felt too stupid to cook and it was just easier to grab something like takeout or poor a bowl of cereal I was just kind of thinking well who cares anymore anyway. With a spouse often you are eating together going to a dinner party to gather cooking together and when you lose that it is. Such a form of loneliness and staring across an empty kitchen table is hard food shopping. With half the food is hard going out to a dinner party and being the only one who isn't married again is hard and it's a huge adjustment in all respects for a long time I switched to Eric's spot at our kitchen table and it for some reason psychologically it was a little easier for me to look across at my own empty seat than to look across at his. What's your relationship with fate like now. I think that is forever changed in some ways and in some ways it's better I definitely have my full appetite back I enjoy eating and there are ways that I think it will never be the same again there are a couple recipes that I have not been able to bring myself to make I just wonder if. The sadness of seeing that is going to be a trigger that I just don't want to have to face and that maybe I have to learn to just live with not making what are those recipes and there's a couple recipes that were Eric's specialty is there's a braised short rib that is absolutely phenomenal and I I just I won't touch that cookbook that it's in and I know he has notes written in it and. Sometimes I want to look but I it's hard to sometimes let myself go to that place do you think you will make it one day I don't know but I keep you posted if I had to say no if you did. It would mean. Having another 1st and sometimes I'm just so. Exhausted from having firsts there are so many firsts in grief when you lose a spouse there's the 1st time you go to the doctor and have to check. The widow box and there's the 1st time you have to empty out the closet there's the so many and I think that sometimes it's very hard to go back fit was an incredibly difficult thing for you off to every diet but it helped as well didn't it's not something you write about can you tell us if it's about that. Yes when I met my now husband Brody and his daughter Margo they were also kind of going through the same thing Brody's wife had died after being sick and I found that being able to. Help of them gave me some confidence and greater purpose to go back to cooking. Thank you so much for sharing and thank you for doing this topic I think it is such a. Important Part of the grieving process but one that sometimes gets a little short shrift it so thank you yes I might my mum was waiting to she took Sabbats Oh. Yeah and I think too sometimes people don't invite you because they're a little afraid of you or they don't want to make you upset because they know that you'll be the only non-callable person there but I think it's worse to just leave them at home. While bringing food over isn't important I think having someone over for food might be even better and I think a lot of people might think well why would someone want to just come over we're just having stir fry out of a bag but it's not stir fry out of the bag to the widowed person it's an opportunity to be among people to feel that they are cared for. Many of our guests over the past 2 weeks told me the same thing if you don't know what to say to someone he's grieving and feel powerless to help the simple acts of cooking for them all inviting them to share e-mail time might be the most powerful jest you can make the most meaningful thing you can say. Let us know what you think about this week's episode using the hash tag b.b.c. Faith. For me Emily Thomas and produces Sarah star lots and frenzy Thanks for listening and join us again for the feature next week. Listening to 90 point one. Elaina's choice for n.p.r. . If spring cleaning includes getting rid of your old. One the next we continue conversations with soon to be college graduates hear from a student who is finishing up a degree she began pursuing in the 1940 s. Also a small mid-sized business across state and you have a innovative idea but you need a little help getting launched We'll go inside one of the Georgia centers of innovation I'm Scott look today at 1 point one. Coming up after the news on the b.b.c. World Service it's hard to talk with me Stephen Sackur This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Chinese government suppression of the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square since then China has undergone a remarkable economic transformation but what's happened to the ideological outlook and strategic vision of the country's communist party elite is well my guest is Victor Gao who once worked as an interpreter for done shopping and is now a well connected think tank analyst in Beijing the rule by the Communist Party of China is indeed a reality people in China need to a diff with that reality and people in the rest of the world would also need to leave with that Greyhound teapot that doesn't mean that the reform political reform in particular is not moving full would I think we are talking about a changing China almost on a daily basis about Victor Gao talk after the news. Live from n.p.r. News in Washington Stevens some House Democrats are considering a contempt citation against Attorney General William Barr they are upset that Barr skipped the Judiciary Committee hearing on his handling of the special counsel's report and missed a deadline for handing over and on redacted version Meanwhile the White House is hitting back at the special counsel's report in a letter to William Barr the executive branch takes issue with Robert Muller's decision to lay out numerous instances of possible obstruction.