Fresh legal action could be taken against the Government after it sought to delay publishing plans to tackle air pollution until after the General Election on 8 June.
The Government was given until 4pm on Monday by the courts to set out its plans to reduce illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution which is largely caused by diesel emissions.
It followed a ruling last year that existing measures put forward by ministers did to meet legal requirements.
However, on Friday the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) lodged a new application with the High Court to hold up publication until after the 8 June poll.
Defra argued the move was necessary in order to comply with election "purdah" rules on government announcements during the election period.
The environmental law firm which brought the original case against the Government, ClientEarth, said it was considering whether to challenge the application.
Chief executive James Thornton said: "The unacceptable last minute nature of the Government's application late on Friday night, after the court had closed, has meant that we have spent the weekend considering our response.
"We are still examining our next steps. This is a question of public health and not of politics and for that reason we believe that the plans should be put in place without delay.
"Whichever party ends up in power after the June 8 will need this air quality plan to begin finally to tackle our illegal levels of pollution and prevent further illness and early deaths from poisonous toxins in the air we breathe.
"The Government has had five months to draft this plan and it should be published."
The deadline for publication passes at 4pm but it is thought that it may be a couple of days before the court decides whether to grant the application.
Shadow environment secretary Sue Hayman said: "With nearly 40 million people in the UK living in areas with illegal levels of air pollution, it is simply not acceptable for ministers to hide behind the general election to delay publishing plans to improve air quality.
"Purdah rules exist to stop one party using the machinery of government for their electoral advantage, not to be used as an excuse to delay acting on vital public health matters. We trust that the court will recognise this."
Sunday, April 23, 2017
Egg freezing offered as perk to female employees
British companies are in talks with IVF clinics about offering egg freezing as a perk for female employees.
The UK's largest private chain of clinics, CARE Fertility, said businesses are exploring the possibilities.
The benefit would allow women in their 20s or 30s to focus on their careers, wait until they meet the right partner, or are financially stable.
Apple and Facebook have been offering subsidised egg freezing up to a cost of £16,000 for staff for the last two years.
They have said it empowers women and offers them other choices.
Clinical director of CARE London, Rob Smith, said companies are interested in giving career-driven millennials new options.
He also said it is not just about careers, or for those who have not met the right partner, it is also for couples conceiving later in life.
"They will be able to conceive the first baby most likely with quite a high degree of success," he told Sky News.
"However, after that child gets to two or three they will want to try again and they will find themselves getting towards 40.
"Successful pregnancy at that age is very low indeed so by freezing eggs earlier on they will just have that guarantee at the back of their mind.
"If there are any problems later on they have this option to turn back to."
Those criticising the idea have said it encourages women to delay having children during their natural childbearing years which they believe is not the answer.
Josephine Quintavalle from Comment of Reproductive Ethics said the answer lies in a more equal society rather than offering discounted egg freezing.
"If you think you're emancipated by doing this I'd say to women 'wake up'.
"This is not what female emancipation is about.
"I think a lot of people have been taken in by IVF and think it's an easy option but when it's been done purely to protect their job I think it's extraordinary that women think this is liberating."
Sarah Bagg, 40, froze her eggs when she was 39 years old after coming out of a long-term relationship.
"I guess I went into panic mode about the fact that I was 38 at the time and I've always wanted children," she said.
"I wanted to take some action because obviously I'm very aware of my age and so egg freezing seemed like a sensible choice at the time.
"I think options are always a good idea and it's down to the individual whether it's right for them given their personal circumstances.
"Whether they want children, how passionately they feel about that, and whether it's something they're prepared to risk leaving it to science rather than to nature to take its course."
The UK's largest private chain of clinics, CARE Fertility, said businesses are exploring the possibilities.
The benefit would allow women in their 20s or 30s to focus on their careers, wait until they meet the right partner, or are financially stable.
Apple and Facebook have been offering subsidised egg freezing up to a cost of £16,000 for staff for the last two years.
They have said it empowers women and offers them other choices.
Clinical director of CARE London, Rob Smith, said companies are interested in giving career-driven millennials new options.
He also said it is not just about careers, or for those who have not met the right partner, it is also for couples conceiving later in life.
"They will be able to conceive the first baby most likely with quite a high degree of success," he told Sky News.
"However, after that child gets to two or three they will want to try again and they will find themselves getting towards 40.
"Successful pregnancy at that age is very low indeed so by freezing eggs earlier on they will just have that guarantee at the back of their mind.
"If there are any problems later on they have this option to turn back to."
Those criticising the idea have said it encourages women to delay having children during their natural childbearing years which they believe is not the answer.
Josephine Quintavalle from Comment of Reproductive Ethics said the answer lies in a more equal society rather than offering discounted egg freezing.
"If you think you're emancipated by doing this I'd say to women 'wake up'.
"This is not what female emancipation is about.
"I think a lot of people have been taken in by IVF and think it's an easy option but when it's been done purely to protect their job I think it's extraordinary that women think this is liberating."
Sarah Bagg, 40, froze her eggs when she was 39 years old after coming out of a long-term relationship.
"I guess I went into panic mode about the fact that I was 38 at the time and I've always wanted children," she said.
"I wanted to take some action because obviously I'm very aware of my age and so egg freezing seemed like a sensible choice at the time.
"I think options are always a good idea and it's down to the individual whether it's right for them given their personal circumstances.
"Whether they want children, how passionately they feel about that, and whether it's something they're prepared to risk leaving it to science rather than to nature to take its course."
French election: Emmanuel Macron beats Marine Le Pen
Emmanuel Macron has won the first round of the French presidential election, Interior Ministry figures showed.
The independent centrist and far-right Front National leader Marine Le Pen were the top two candidates in the contest.
They will now go head-to-head in a run off on 7 May. Polls have consistently shown Mr Macron well ahead.
Emmanuel Macron, 39, started his own movement En Marche! just over a year ago.
:: Who is Emmanuel Macron?
At a rally in Paris he told supporters: "In your name, I will be... the voice of hope for our country and for Europe."
"I want to be the president of the patriots against the threat of nationalists," he said.
Projections shows Ms Le Pen finished in second, closely behind Mr Macron.
At a rally in the northern town of Henin-Beaumont she urged supporters to fight on against an "arrogant elite".
The independent centrist and far-right Front National leader Marine Le Pen were the top two candidates in the contest.
They will now go head-to-head in a run off on 7 May. Polls have consistently shown Mr Macron well ahead.
Emmanuel Macron, 39, started his own movement En Marche! just over a year ago.
:: Who is Emmanuel Macron?
At a rally in Paris he told supporters: "In your name, I will be... the voice of hope for our country and for Europe."
"I want to be the president of the patriots against the threat of nationalists," he said.
Projections shows Ms Le Pen finished in second, closely behind Mr Macron.
At a rally in the northern town of Henin-Beaumont she urged supporters to fight on against an "arrogant elite".
Three Mobile apologises for network glitch that stopped calls and texts
Three Mobile has apologised after customers were not able to send texts or make phone calls.
The company said it experienced a "temporary works issue" which affected its service during Saturday afternoon and evening.
It said that although calls have been restored they are working to restore a full service.
In a statement, Three said: "We have experienced a temporary network issue which has affected calls and texts during Saturday afternoon and evening.
"Calls have been restored and we are working to restore full service. We are currently investigating the cause of the service disruption. We apologise sincerely for any inconvenience caused."
Some customers reported that they had received misdirected texts or texts from unknown numbers.
The statement added: "We are investigating these incidences but if any customer is concerned about this they should contact Three customer services."
Customers are advised to "ignore all text messages that you deem incorrect".
The company was hit by a data breach in 2016 which saw personal details, including names and addresses, accessed unlawfully.
The company said it experienced a "temporary works issue" which affected its service during Saturday afternoon and evening.
It said that although calls have been restored they are working to restore a full service.
In a statement, Three said: "We have experienced a temporary network issue which has affected calls and texts during Saturday afternoon and evening.
"Calls have been restored and we are working to restore full service. We are currently investigating the cause of the service disruption. We apologise sincerely for any inconvenience caused."
Some customers reported that they had received misdirected texts or texts from unknown numbers.
The statement added: "We are investigating these incidences but if any customer is concerned about this they should contact Three customer services."
Customers are advised to "ignore all text messages that you deem incorrect".
The company was hit by a data breach in 2016 which saw personal details, including names and addresses, accessed unlawfully.
Hidden Facebook Tricks You Need to Know
More than 1 billion people regularly use Facebook, but that doesn't mean they know all the hidden tricks for using the social media platform. Both Facebook and its messaging companion app are constantly being refreshed with new features and redesigns, which can make it hard to keep up.
Trying to ignore someone? Then you're probably not a fan of read receipts — that note that says "Seen" followed by the time or date you opened the message.
There's no way to disable read receipts within Facebook, so you'll have to turn to third-party applications. For Chrome and Android users, there's the Facebook Unseen App.
Attempt any of these methods at your own risk, as Facebook's Terms of Service state, "You will not do anything that could disable, overburden, or impair the proper working or appearance of Facebook." Plus, the Android app has received unflattering reviews from users, according to its Google Play Store listing.
Maximize photo privacy
What can people see on your Facebook profile? To find out, go to your profile, and select View As... from the menu button on the bottom right corner of your cover photo. Now you'll be able to see what your profile looks like to the public as well as to specific friends.
You might've noticed if you type "Photos of John Doe" into Facebook, you'll still see photos of your friend John Doe — even if he's set his tagged photos on his profile to private. That's because the friends who uploaded tagged photos of John have set the photos' settings to Public, Friends or Friends of Friends, and you fall under one of those categories.
If offending photos of you uploaded by somebody else are set to Public or Friends of Friends, then it's possible that people who aren't even your Facebook friends can see those photos. So how do you know which embarrassing photos might be visible to non-friends or friends? Go to your Activity Log (it's under the triangle-shaped button in the top-right corner). On the left-hand column, click on Photos, then select Photos of You. On the top banner, choose Public, Friends of Friends or Friends after Shared with: to see which photos of you are out there for which groups of people.
If a friend uploaded an embarrassing photo of you that's set to Public or Friends of Friends, your only options are to ask him or her to change the setting to Friends. (You could also ask him or her to set it to Only Me if it's that bad, or delete it altogether.) Or, you can untag yourself. It's a slow process to manually check your photos, but a thorough inspection should do the trick.
Facebook also added a new page that breaks down various privacy-related FAQs earlier this year. On this website, called Privacy Basics, you'll find answers to questions about who can see your photos and more.
Prioritize posts from friends in your News Feed
Many factors contribute to what shows up in your News Feed, such as the people you interact with most and the number of likes and comments a particular post receives. But you can make sure you don't miss new posts from your closest friends or family members by clicking the down arrow in the top right and choosing "News Feed Preferences." In the app, tap the menu button and then the "Settings" option to find this section. You'll then be able to individually select friends whose stories you'd like to see at the top of your News Feed.
Check hidden Inbox messages
Messages you receive from people who aren't your Facebook friends don't show up in your Inbox. They're in a different folder that most people think is reserved for annoying Event messages. So go to Messages and click on New Message Requests and you may find messages from friends or acquaintances that you haven't connected with on Facebook yet.
Here are eight tricks to make sure you're on top of your Facebook game:
Read old Facebook messages without scrolling forever
Get ready for a trip down memory lane (and for a great #tbt) without endlessly scrolling through conversations. The easiest (but slowest) way to see the first Facebook messages you sent to a friend is to download all your Facebook data, which you can do by going to General Settings and following the bottommost link. This can take hours or days because the function compiles every single message you've ever sent, among other data.
Here's a faster way: On Facebook for desktop, go to https://m.facebook.com/messages/. (This is the mobile site, and its URLs displays differently, which you'll use to your advantage.) Now click on a friend's chat. Right click on the button See Older Messages... and open the link in a new tab or window. In this new page, you'll see a long URL with a lot of numbers. Look for the part that says &start=7.
The "7" refers to the indexed messages that appear. Your messages are indexed from 1, 2, 3 ... from most recent to least recent. You're going to want to set that number as close to the total number of Facebook messages you've ever sent to your friend and refresh the page — this will get you straight to the oldest messages.
Of course, you may not be able to track down the exact number of messages you've exchanged with a friend. But if you're trying to view older messages in a thread that's carried on for years, setting that number to a high value in the hundreds will likely bring you back months, or even years, depending on how often you interact with that person.
Save posts for later viewing
If you don't have time to read all of the news stories that pop up in your feed, try saving them for later. Just tap or click the arrow that appears in the upper right corner of a post and select "Save post."
You can do this for any type of post, whether it be a link to a news story, a video, or some other type of media. After you save a post, tap the menu icon in the lower right corner of the Facebook app and press the "Saved" option. On desktop, just look under the Explore tab along the right side of the screen and click "saved.”
Read more: How much time have you wasted on Facebook?
Approve posts you're tagged in before they appear on your Timeline
You can't always control which photos and videos of you end up on Facebook. But you can prevent unwanted tagged posts from showing up on your Timeline. When Timeline Review is turned on, you'll be able to view photos, videos, and other posts you're tagged in and manually choose whether they appear on your Timeline.
Read old Facebook messages without scrolling forever
Get ready for a trip down memory lane (and for a great #tbt) without endlessly scrolling through conversations. The easiest (but slowest) way to see the first Facebook messages you sent to a friend is to download all your Facebook data, which you can do by going to General Settings and following the bottommost link. This can take hours or days because the function compiles every single message you've ever sent, among other data.
Here's a faster way: On Facebook for desktop, go to https://m.facebook.com/messages/. (This is the mobile site, and its URLs displays differently, which you'll use to your advantage.) Now click on a friend's chat. Right click on the button See Older Messages... and open the link in a new tab or window. In this new page, you'll see a long URL with a lot of numbers. Look for the part that says &start=7.
The "7" refers to the indexed messages that appear. Your messages are indexed from 1, 2, 3 ... from most recent to least recent. You're going to want to set that number as close to the total number of Facebook messages you've ever sent to your friend and refresh the page — this will get you straight to the oldest messages.
Of course, you may not be able to track down the exact number of messages you've exchanged with a friend. But if you're trying to view older messages in a thread that's carried on for years, setting that number to a high value in the hundreds will likely bring you back months, or even years, depending on how often you interact with that person.
Save posts for later viewing
If you don't have time to read all of the news stories that pop up in your feed, try saving them for later. Just tap or click the arrow that appears in the upper right corner of a post and select "Save post."
You can do this for any type of post, whether it be a link to a news story, a video, or some other type of media. After you save a post, tap the menu icon in the lower right corner of the Facebook app and press the "Saved" option. On desktop, just look under the Explore tab along the right side of the screen and click "saved.”
Read more: How much time have you wasted on Facebook?
Approve posts you're tagged in before they appear on your Timeline
You can't always control which photos and videos of you end up on Facebook. But you can prevent unwanted tagged posts from showing up on your Timeline. When Timeline Review is turned on, you'll be able to view photos, videos, and other posts you're tagged in and manually choose whether they appear on your Timeline.
Click the down arrow located in the top right corner of the screen on the desktop, and choose "Activity Log." Then choose "Timeline Review," and press the settings icon. A dialogue box explaining how Timeline Review works will appear on screen, from which you can enable the feature.
To do this through the Facebook app, just press the menu button, choose "Privacy Shortcuts," and then "More Settings." Tap the "Timeline and Tagging" button. Look for the option that says "Review posts friends tag you in before they appear on your Timeline?" and make sure it's turned on.
It's worth noting that just because a post doesn't appear on your Timeline doesn't mean it won't show up in other places. It may still appear in search results, in the Newsfeed, or on the Timeline of another friend who's tagged in the same post.
It's worth noting that just because a post doesn't appear on your Timeline doesn't mean it won't show up in other places. It may still appear in search results, in the Newsfeed, or on the Timeline of another friend who's tagged in the same post.
Disable read receipts
Trying to ignore someone? Then you're probably not a fan of read receipts — that note that says "Seen" followed by the time or date you opened the message.
There's no way to disable read receipts within Facebook, so you'll have to turn to third-party applications. For Chrome and Android users, there's the Facebook Unseen App.
Attempt any of these methods at your own risk, as Facebook's Terms of Service state, "You will not do anything that could disable, overburden, or impair the proper working or appearance of Facebook." Plus, the Android app has received unflattering reviews from users, according to its Google Play Store listing.
Maximize photo privacy
What can people see on your Facebook profile? To find out, go to your profile, and select View As... from the menu button on the bottom right corner of your cover photo. Now you'll be able to see what your profile looks like to the public as well as to specific friends.
You might've noticed if you type "Photos of John Doe" into Facebook, you'll still see photos of your friend John Doe — even if he's set his tagged photos on his profile to private. That's because the friends who uploaded tagged photos of John have set the photos' settings to Public, Friends or Friends of Friends, and you fall under one of those categories.
If offending photos of you uploaded by somebody else are set to Public or Friends of Friends, then it's possible that people who aren't even your Facebook friends can see those photos. So how do you know which embarrassing photos might be visible to non-friends or friends? Go to your Activity Log (it's under the triangle-shaped button in the top-right corner). On the left-hand column, click on Photos, then select Photos of You. On the top banner, choose Public, Friends of Friends or Friends after Shared with: to see which photos of you are out there for which groups of people.
If a friend uploaded an embarrassing photo of you that's set to Public or Friends of Friends, your only options are to ask him or her to change the setting to Friends. (You could also ask him or her to set it to Only Me if it's that bad, or delete it altogether.) Or, you can untag yourself. It's a slow process to manually check your photos, but a thorough inspection should do the trick.
Facebook also added a new page that breaks down various privacy-related FAQs earlier this year. On this website, called Privacy Basics, you'll find answers to questions about who can see your photos and more.
Prioritize posts from friends in your News Feed
Many factors contribute to what shows up in your News Feed, such as the people you interact with most and the number of likes and comments a particular post receives. But you can make sure you don't miss new posts from your closest friends or family members by clicking the down arrow in the top right and choosing "News Feed Preferences." In the app, tap the menu button and then the "Settings" option to find this section. You'll then be able to individually select friends whose stories you'd like to see at the top of your News Feed.
Check hidden Inbox messages
Messages you receive from people who aren't your Facebook friends don't show up in your Inbox. They're in a different folder that most people think is reserved for annoying Event messages. So go to Messages and click on New Message Requests and you may find messages from friends or acquaintances that you haven't connected with on Facebook yet.
EU Brexit negotiator says PM's snap election 'will not strengthen hand' in talks
The European Parliament's Brexit co-ordinator has dismissed the Prime Minister's claim that a snap election will strengthen her position in EU exit negotiations.
Guy Verhofstadt said Theresa May's decision to call a poll on 8 June - having previously said she would not go to the country before the end of the parliament in 2020 - appeared to have been driven by "political opportunism".
The former Belgian prime minister also said there was no guarantee the election of additional Conservative MPs at Westminster would give Mrs May more room for manoeuvre in the talks, as some observers suggest.
His comments are likely to irritate Mrs May, who has argued that an increased Commons majority would strengthen her hand in the Brexit talks, making it more difficult for the opposition parties at home to obstruct her plans.
Writing in The Observer, Mr Verhofstadt said: "The theory espoused by some, that Theresa May is calling a General Election on Brexit in order to secure a better deal with the EU, is nonsensical.
"Will the election of more Tory MPs give Theresa May a greater chance of securing a better Brexit deal? For those sitting around the table in Brussels, this is an irrelevance."
He added: "Many in Brussels remain concerned that the chances of a deal are being eroded by the British Prime Minister's tough negotiating red lines and her lack of political room for manoeuvre domestically, yet there is no guarantee that a sprinkling of additional Conservative MPs on the backbenches of the House of Commons will provide this.
"Indeed, it appears this election is being driven by the political opportunism of the party in government, rather than by the people they represent."
Guy Verhofstadt said Theresa May's decision to call a poll on 8 June - having previously said she would not go to the country before the end of the parliament in 2020 - appeared to have been driven by "political opportunism".
The former Belgian prime minister also said there was no guarantee the election of additional Conservative MPs at Westminster would give Mrs May more room for manoeuvre in the talks, as some observers suggest.
His comments are likely to irritate Mrs May, who has argued that an increased Commons majority would strengthen her hand in the Brexit talks, making it more difficult for the opposition parties at home to obstruct her plans.
Writing in The Observer, Mr Verhofstadt said: "The theory espoused by some, that Theresa May is calling a General Election on Brexit in order to secure a better deal with the EU, is nonsensical.
"Will the election of more Tory MPs give Theresa May a greater chance of securing a better Brexit deal? For those sitting around the table in Brussels, this is an irrelevance."
He added: "Many in Brussels remain concerned that the chances of a deal are being eroded by the British Prime Minister's tough negotiating red lines and her lack of political room for manoeuvre domestically, yet there is no guarantee that a sprinkling of additional Conservative MPs on the backbenches of the House of Commons will provide this.
"Indeed, it appears this election is being driven by the political opportunism of the party in government, rather than by the people they represent."
North Korea 'ready to sink' US aircraft carrier
North Korea has warned it is prepared to sink an American aircraft carrier, as Japanese navy vessels joined a US "armada" for exercises in the western Pacific.
The USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group was ordered to head towards the Korean Peninsula as tensions rose over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile ambitions.
US vice-president Mike Pence has said it should arrive "within days" after it carried out a short training exercise with Australian forces.
:: 'Armada' was heading wrong way
"Our revolutionary forces are combat-ready to sink a US nuclear powered aircraft carrier with a single strike," the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party, said in a commentary.
It added that the strike would be "an actual example to show our military's force" and called the aircraft carrier a "gross animal".
The remarks on page three of the paper came after a two-page feature about leader Kim Jong-Un's visit to a pig farm.
Two Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers left Sasebo port in southern Japan on Friday to join the USS Carl Vinson strike group, which also includes a guided-missile cruiser and a guided-missile destroyer.
The joint exercises, which have been described as "routine" by Tokyo, were expected to last several days.
North Korea further raised tensions with the arrest of a Korean-American at Pyongyang airport as he attempted to leave the country.
Tony Kim had been teaching accounting at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology for a month.
Pyongyang has warned it will respond to any US aggression and has threatened to lay waste to South Korea and Japan.
North Korea has also threatened a nuclear strike on Canberra after urging Australia to think twice before "blindly and zealously toeing the US line".
"If Australia persists in following the US' moves to isolate and stifle North Korea... this will be a suicidal act," a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said after Mr Pence's visit to Australia.
Australia's foreign minister, Julie Bishop, responded by saying the North Korean government "should invest in the welfare of its long-suffering citizens, rather than weapons of mass destruction".
China's foreign minister appealed for calm during a visit to Greece.
"We need to issue peaceful and rational sounds," Wang Yi said.
The USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group was ordered to head towards the Korean Peninsula as tensions rose over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile ambitions.
US vice-president Mike Pence has said it should arrive "within days" after it carried out a short training exercise with Australian forces.
:: 'Armada' was heading wrong way
"Our revolutionary forces are combat-ready to sink a US nuclear powered aircraft carrier with a single strike," the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party, said in a commentary.
It added that the strike would be "an actual example to show our military's force" and called the aircraft carrier a "gross animal".
The remarks on page three of the paper came after a two-page feature about leader Kim Jong-Un's visit to a pig farm.
Two Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers left Sasebo port in southern Japan on Friday to join the USS Carl Vinson strike group, which also includes a guided-missile cruiser and a guided-missile destroyer.
The joint exercises, which have been described as "routine" by Tokyo, were expected to last several days.
North Korea further raised tensions with the arrest of a Korean-American at Pyongyang airport as he attempted to leave the country.
Tony Kim had been teaching accounting at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology for a month.
Pyongyang has warned it will respond to any US aggression and has threatened to lay waste to South Korea and Japan.
North Korea has also threatened a nuclear strike on Canberra after urging Australia to think twice before "blindly and zealously toeing the US line".
"If Australia persists in following the US' moves to isolate and stifle North Korea... this will be a suicidal act," a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said after Mr Pence's visit to Australia.
Australia's foreign minister, Julie Bishop, responded by saying the North Korean government "should invest in the welfare of its long-suffering citizens, rather than weapons of mass destruction".
China's foreign minister appealed for calm during a visit to Greece.
"We need to issue peaceful and rational sounds," Wang Yi said.
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