The institution of ‘marriage’ seems to be losing its charm
March 26, 2009
Marriage, perhaps the most precious of all social institutions, has seemingly lost its charm in the UK. If the current trend of live-in relationships and cohabitation continues, in no time, marriage will be considered as an outdated concept
The fears expressed by pro-family groups are not unwarranted. If one goes by the statistics, the number of scared nuptial knots tied has fallen further in 2008, also because of recession.
The two main reasons for couples opting for live-in relationships are the cost of living for the married couples and hefty sum of almost over ₤21,000 needed to be met for weddings. The Iona Institute of Dublin reported that the number of people who live as husband and wife in England and Wales could fall to less than half of the population.
Lord Bikhu Parekh said:
“If we include those who are living-in and in cohabitation than the number of couples has not fallen. They are now entitled to over 75 per cent of the rights of married couples and the children from such relationships are considered legitimate.”
All said and done, it clearly seems that the institution of ‘marriage’ is fast losing its sheen, especially among the younger population.
Believe it or not, Cricket is a ` foreign import to England`
March 25, 2009
Today, cricket is among the most widely played sports in the world and considered the quintessential English pastime. However according to researchers, the ‘gentleman’s game’ is actually a foreign import to Britain. They have stumbled upon new evidence that cricket was imported to the country by northern Europe immigrants who settled in the country sometime in the 14th century. It faced resistance from the local population.
The Daily Telegraph reported: “This claim by the researches from England’s traditional cricketing rival Australia clearly challenges the traditional theory that cricket evolved from children’s games played in Britain since Anglo-Saxon times.”
The researchers’ findings were based on an analysis of a 1553 poem. There’s reference to the sport made in a 1553 poem attributed to Johan Skelton who links it to immigrants from Flanders, in modern day Belgium, France and Holland. Skeleton writes:
“O lorde of Ipocrites/ Nowe shut vpp your wickets/ And clape to your clickettes!/ A! Farewell. King’s of crekettes…”
Paul Campbell of Australian National University added:
“The discovery of this poem is very intriguing. It could be the earliest known reference to the game we know as cricket.”
Studies revealed weavers from Flanders first settled in rural areas around Kent and Surrey and it was here that English game of cricket we know today originated.
Pakistan may be subjected to deeper US strikes in future
March 24, 2009
At present America is carrying on covert war in Pakistan in the unruly tribal areas. President Barrack Obama and his national security advisors are considering expanding the American covert war in Pakistan to the areas considered as Taliban power centre of Baluchistan, where top rebel leaders are presumed orchestrating attacks into southern Afghanistan.
According to the New York Times, in separate reports, groups led by both general David H Petraeus, commander of US forces in the region, and lieutenant general Douglas E Lute, a top White House official on Afghanistan, have recommended expanding US operations to reach the major sanctuary of the Taliban and other insurgent groups in and around the city f Quetta.
At present, the missile strikes being carried out by CIA-operated drones have been limited to the tribal areas, and never been extended into Baluchistan, a sprawling province under the authority of the central government. However, the US government fears that extending the raids would probably worsen tensions with Pakistan complaining that the strikes violate its sovereignty.
One senior administration official said:
“It is fair to say that there is wide agreement to sustain and continue these covert programs. One of the foundations on which the recommendations to the president will be based is that we have got to sustain the disruption of the safe havens.”
Just 5 minutes of physical activity needed for kids to beat obesity
March 24, 2009
A new study says, to help prevent children of being victims of childhood obesity, just engaging them in five minutes of sustained physical activities is needed. According to researchers from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, a small burst of physical exercise lasting 5 minutes or more may be better option than intermittent physical activity session lasting four minutes or even less.
Ian Janssen, lead author of the study, said:
“If two children accumulated 60 minutes of daily physical activity, the child who accumulated more activity in bouts is less likely to be obese than the one who accumulated more of their activity in a sporadic manner.”
According to the researchers’ findings, among those who moved the most throughout the day, 34 percent of the sporadically active were over weight or obese, compared with 25 per cent of the `bout` children.
Child psychologist Jocelyn Miller said:
“The benefits of daily activity increase the longer the activity is sustained. Since video games first arrived on the scene, many children don’t know how to play with toys, do pretend play or build things. If parents, teachers and policy makers believe kids are getting 60 minutes of continuous physical activity in a one-hour physical education class or activities like baseball practice, they are way off base. Children are often inactive during these periods.”
UK budget deficit reaches record level
March 20, 2009
The UK’s deficit widened to a whopping £8.99bn in February. This is a record level for the month, according to official data.
The data shows that tax receipts have fallen 10%. This made the UK government to borrow more. Unemployment has risen; firms have witnessed falling profits. This has hit the government revenue from taxes.
This fiscal year’s cumulative deficit is £75.2bn. This has increased the chance of government borrowing exceeding its own £77bn forecast for the year. The total debt is already equivalent to nearly 49% of gross domestic product (GDP). An economist at Investec, Philip Shaw, stated the deficit was ‘slightly wider than earlier expectations’.
He added:
“The escalation of public borrowing in the medium term is of great concern. There is going to be a significant pressure on capital markets over the next couple of years.”
According to him, public borrowing next year could well be in the region of £150bn. In longer term it would be “unsustainable”.
The finances have been hit as the UK government is being forced to spend money for the bailout of ailing banks. The Office for National Statistics stated last month that the debts of Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) would be added to the public finances as the government took stakes in the firms.
Regulator orders sale of BAA-owned airports
March 19, 2009
The Competition Commission has just confirmed the break-up of BAA. It has ordered the Gatwick and Stansted sale. The commission has looked into dominance of BAA over airports in the south-east of England and Scotland; BAA owns a total of seven.
In the final report submitted after two-year long investigation, the Competition Commission also told BAA that the airports operator must also sell either Glasgow or Edinburgh airport. BAA responded by stating the commission’s findings and analysis conclusions were flawed.
In its provisional decision, the Competition Commission stated the lack of competition between BAA airports owned was detrimental to passengers. It ordered that these airports be sold within a couple of years.
The airports are to be sold in sequence, beginning with Gatwick, followed by Stansted, and finally either Glasgow or Edinburgh as part of an orderly sale process. The Gatwick sale process is already under way. Possible buyers are now being vetted.
The regulator said it was the
“only way to comprehensively address the detriment to passengers and airlines from the total absence of competition between BAA’s south-east airports and between Edinburgh and Glasgow”
.
It added:
“The sale will kick-start a process of competitive rivalry from a standing start where right now there is no competition at all.”
British actress Natasha Richardson dies in a skiing mishap
March 19, 2009
British actress Natasha Richardson died from head injuries in a skiing accident that took place in Canada.
Richardson, 45, Vanessa Redgrave’s daughter, accidentally fell on a beginners’ slope. She was skiing in Quebec’s Mont Tremblant resort. She was taking a skiing lesson at the resort. Richardson died in a NY hospital. The family members were devastated by her death.
She first showed no sign of any grave injury but an hour later was taken to a nearby hospital. It was confirmed her injuries were serious. Irish actor Neeson accompanied her as she was flown Lenox Hill Hospital from Canada. The two married in 1994
Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave, her mother, and two sons, Michael and Daniel were there at her bedside. Neeson’s publicist Alan Nierob stated: “Liam Neeson, his sons, and the whole family are shocked. They are devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha, and are profoundly grateful for the love, support, prayers of everyone. They ask for privacy during this very difficult time.”
Richardson starred in TV and films but won most acclaim for her theatre work. Film-maker Ken Russell had directed Richardson in Gothic, her debut movie, stated she was ‘poised, focused, prepared, and very, very bright.
Britons love dicount coupons and online voucher codes
March 11, 2009
According to information released by shopping website, BView.co.uk, more people than ever are making good use of discount coupons and voucher codes offered on websites.
According to BView, shoppers are expected to save a total of £600million by the end of the current year, this works out as an average of ten pounds per person in the whole of the UK. This is despite the fact we are only taking advantage of 2% of the savings we could be making, meaning everyone could be saving up to £500 every year.
If everyone were to make full use of the potential savings available with voucher codes online and discount coupons in store, the total amount saved could be up to £30billion pounds.
This suggests more and more people are disregarding the “cheapskate” stigma that used to envelop using discount vouchers, instead replacing it with a wiser, more sensible persona.
Head of BView, Brad Liebmann, states:
“Moneyoff vouchers have suddenly become very popular among families who are watching the pennies but still want an occasional treat.
“There may’ve been some stigma towards using discount coupons in the past but that seems to have disappeared.”
So, it seems the recession is teaching us all new lessons to help cut the costs.
Think twice before you think of stealing this LAPTOP.
March 10, 2009
Scientists have developed a laptop which can shout `stop thief! when stolen. It seems to be the latest remarkable technological fete. A team of scientists working at a leading soft ware company, Front Door Software Corporation, has designed a soft ware programme, called Retriever, that can make the laptop speak out when it has been reported missing. Read more
Workers putting in record hours of ‘unpaid overtime’
March 10, 2009
The economic downturn is making workers to put in record hours of ‘unpaid overtime’, according to the TUC. It estimated that nearly 5.24 million workers put in additional work worth almost £26.9bn in 2008. Read more
