Britain’s generous gesture a £500K payout for injured victims
November 30, 2008
The aftermath of last week’s atrocities, during which a British businessman was killed, resulted in advent of a new funding system so as to match the maximum £500, 000 payout to UK citizens injured in a terror attack.
According to the Guardian report,
“The London law firm Lovels said it was entering advanced stages of talks between the government and 10 big travel insurers to evolve a compensation system for Britons caught up in terrorist atrocities abroad.”
Last month, Tessa Jowell, the minister for humanitarian assistance, agreed the situation was unsatisfactory. She said: “We must find a solution and not be prompted by the next atrocity alone.”
It was two years ago, when the government offered assurance that it was seeking to extend the amount given to UK victims abroad. Trevor Lakin’s, son Jez died in the 2005 Shram el-Sheikh bombings along with his girlfriend Annalie Vickers. Trevor opined “the government should stop offering ‘excuses’ for the delay.
Apparently, there seems to be some difficulty in determining what constitutes a violent crime abroad and a terrorist incident, but the fact remains that a system where a terrorist victim’ on a British soil receives a certain amount and a victim abroad gets nothing needs to be rectifed.”
The race for the ‘fastest slimmer’ title is on the way
November 30, 2008
It will be a 100-day contest where one fat cat and seven heavy hounds will compete for the UK’s “fastest slimmer” title for the pets. The 13-year-old feline, who lives in Gillingham in southeast England, weighs around 9.8 kilograms which makes him almost 95 percent overweight.
The feline is also one of Britain’s most obese pets, eight of which are to undertake a 100-day diet and fitness regime in a kind of animal version of the TV show The Biggest Loser. Globe and Mail reported the winner will be crowned this year’s feline or canine weight-loss champion.
The veterinary charity PDSA, which is running the slimming contest, picked “Tinks” and
Seven dogs, who incidentally are severely overweight and together, weigh a total of 191 kg,
The animals, to reach their ideal weights, need to lose a total of 74 kg- equivalent to the weight of soccer star David Beckham. The fete is to be achieved over the next three months. During this period, they will under go a specially tailored diet and exercise programmes.
The winner will be the pet who achieves the biggest percentage of weight loss and will be judged the best contestant and then crowned champion thereby winning its owner a pet friendly holiday.
Deryck Wilson, spokesperson of PDSA, in a telephone interview told Globe and Mail:
“The competition does have a serious veterinary basis. As well as providing free treatment for those that come through the doors of our pet hospitals, we also have a mission to improve pet health in more general terms.”
Saying that the competition is in its fourth year, he added,
“More and more people are becoming aware that by feeding scraps to their pets and giving them chocolates, although they’re doing it as an expression of their affection towards their pet, in reality they’re killing with kindness.”
Gordon Brown feels it is too early to confirm UK links with the Mumbai attacks
November 30, 2008
According to the British Prime Minister Gordon, there was no evidence to confirm reports that Britons of Pakistani origin were involved in the world’s probably worst terrorists attack.
On the evening of 26th November, Mumbai was subjected to one of the world’s horrifying and large scale terrorist attack witnessed so far.
After Indian government sources revealed that some of the gunmen were British, London’s Evening Standard newspaper, carried a report on the matter.
A British security source told Reuters that the reports may be speculative but at the same time might contain “elements of truth”.
“We are keeping an open mind. It is likely to take a little bit longer before we can say categorically one way or the other.”
Brown said
”He had talked to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the attacks, in which more than 140 people were killed and hundreds of others injured. At no point has the prime minister of India suggested to me that there is evidence at this stage of any terrorist of British origins. But obviously there are huge investigations that are being done and I think it would be premature to draw any conclusions at all.”
England cricket team leaves Indian Shores.
November 29, 2008
As an aftermath of terrorists attack on Mumbai on the 26th of November, touring England team decided to end the tour half way. KP and company flew back to London boarding home borne flight from Bangalore.
The valuable kit on which the players depend on for their lively hood has been left at the Taj. Skipper Kevin Petersen said they may have to play the test series in blue.
He said “If we’re looking what’s going on at the moment, all our cricket stuff is in storage at the Taj hotel so we’ll be the first team to play a Test match in blues (one-day kit) that’s for sure. So I don’t know. If we do come back, we’ll have to get all the logistic stuff sorted out first.”
Kevin added,
“the decision to go back to London will buy us some time and if we need to fly back on Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday next week then so be it.”
However it is believed that suspense will end soon. An emergency meeting is on the cards involving England team management comprising players, representatives of the professional cricketers association, security experts and every concerned party.
Former captains Bob Willis and David Gower backed Ian Botham and Mike Atherton in urging the English cricket team to reconsider their decision and return to India. They expressed fears that other teams may boycott England if KP & Co doesn’t return.
Female monkeys chat more than their male counter parts.
November 29, 2008
According to Nathalie Greno researcher at Rohentpon University,
“the result suggests that females rely on vocal communication more than males due to their need to maintain larger social networks.”
Women are considered and stereotyped as the talkative sex. Yet according to the researchers they are not the only ones, as at least female-centric monkey groups too fall in the same category.
The research team at Roehampton University in London observed a female-centric group of macaques, and noticed that the gossipy nature of the monkeys perhaps support the theory that human language evolved to forge social bonds.
Researchers Nathalie Greeno and Stuart Semple depending on the belief of large number of scientist’s belief that the language replaced grooming as a less time-consuming way of preserving close bonds in ever- growing societies, hypothesized that in species of animals with large social networks, such as macaques, vocal exchanges should be just as important as grooming.
The scientists listened and studied a group of 16 female and eight male macaques – the most primitive species apart from humans – living on Cayo Santiago Island off Puerto Rico for three months. The grunts, coos and girneys – friendly chit-chat between two individuals- were counted by the scientists while calls specifically used when in the presence of food or predator were not taken into account.
It was found that female macaques made 13 times as many friendly noises as males. They were also more likely to chat to other females than to their male counter parts.
To prevent heart attack, avoid bad boss
November 28, 2008
It is found that working under an incompetent and inconsiderate boss not only leads to bad working days but it may result in health complications.
Thee study published in Occupational and Environment Medicine revealed that researchers found definite connection between heart disease- heart attacks- and working under a poor leader ship.
BBC reported:
“The study was conducted by researchers from the Karonilska Institute and Stockholm University tracking the heart health of the male employees. They found 74 cases of cases of fatal and non fatal heart attack or acute angina, or death from chaemic heart disease”
According to the researchers, feeling of under valuation normally leads to frustration and stress. This in turn results in unhealthy behaviours and even smoking and drinking which are known factors which cumulate into heart disease.
Tracking the heart attacks among the 3000 employed men in the age group 19 to 70, working in the Stockholm area over a period of nearly a decade, the risk went up the longer employee worked in the same company.
Hence if you are unfortunate enough to work under a incompetent boss, then go for another alternate job as early as you can to avoid heart disease risk.
IT illiteracy is hampering the economy
November 27, 2008
UK is losing a lot of precious work hours owing to a lack of basic IT literacy. As per a recent study, a deficit of basic IT skills is greatly overbearing on the economy. General IT issues, it found out, are solved by people having basic knowledge, but they are not capable of fixing specific problems. Almost 5.3 million workers, as a result, lose around 2.5 hours almost every week, while dealing with the IT problems of their IT-illiterate colleagues.
Most companies tend to depend on staff that do not have any orientation towards IT. And small companies are the biggest sufferers on this count. In fact, some of them do not retain specialised IT staff to save cost.
The study also found that call centers have a comparatively higher level of IT training with almost 56 percent of their employees having the capacity to take care of their own IT problems. It also concluded that 43 percent of workers in the age group of 19 and 21 failed in resolving a problem on time owing to their lack of IT skills. In fact, some of them even chose to ignore it, hoping that the same will be solved by someone else, resulting in a waste of time and productivity.
UK children shop behind parent’s back
November 27, 2008
Reports claim that one in five under-16-year-olds are making their parents pay without their knowledge in order to shop online. This has resulted in, approximately, a shopping bill of £191m per year. According to a survey done with 500 adults and 500 children by insurance services company CPP, the children in the age group of fifteen are the worst offenders. Most of them spend £25 per unlawful purchase. Around five per cent of children who were surveyed claim that they have spent between £75 and £150 at a go.
Almost seventy per cent of the children interrogated claimed that they know where their parents shop. Around 20 per cent claim that they know their passwords and usernames used at those sites. However, parents are clueless about this.
Only one out of six parents believes that their children have access to their credit cards. A mere 2 percent believe that their children have the audacity to make purchase without the permission of their parents. The survey found that three-quarters of children under16 say that they have absolute freedom to make purchases on the web. Children staying in Cardiff are more prone to spend money without the permission of their parents.
Hannah Foster murder case trial
November 27, 2008
Trevor and Hilary Foster have fought a five-and-a-half year long battle to get justice for their eldest child. This was after the accused, Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, managed to flee to India. As they spoke of their relief after he was finally behind bars in Britain, the parents protested against a life sentence that could see him getting released in 22 years.
Mr Foster stated: “We simply cannot accept how a stranger can abduct, rape and murder your teenage daughter – still a child in the eyes of the law – and yet not end his days in prison.”
Kohli was convicted at Winchester Crown Court unanimously. Mrs Foster and her other daughter Sarah – both broke down and sobbed uncontrollably in the court. In a statement that was read out by her sister, Mrs Foster told how her daughter had been left feeling ‘terrified and alone with an evil stranger.’
It read: “She would have been frozen with fear, unable to run or fight – the proverbial lamb to the slaughter.”
Mrs Foster also coped with breast cancer even as she fought for justice, stated her bright daughter would have become a doctor this year had she been alive. In March 2003, Kohli raped her, strangled her and then dumped her on the outskirts of Southampton
Flaws spotted in palliative care spending
November 26, 2008
People nearing death are subject to a postcode lottery, according to the National Audit Office (NAO), in the quality of NHS care that they receive. The NAO also found that some primary care trusts just spend £154 on giving out specialist palliative care for a person who dies, whereas others spend as much as £1,684.
The low spenders might be making false savings by way of treating terminally ill patients expensively in hospital even when 74% of people state they would wish to spend their last few moments in a hospice or at home.
The NAO was not able to get full data on the end-of-life care costs. But it concluded that 27% die from cancer and that the cost of looking after them during their last year of survival is £1.8bn.
“The majority of people who approach the end of their life want to be cared for outside of hospital,” the NAO noted, “so cutting down the amount of time that they spend there unnecessarily could easily make resources available so as to support these people in their preferred place of care more effectively.”
The director of health studies, NAO, Karen Taylor stated:
“Services are not meeting people’s needs, generally.”
