Thursday, February 13

Day: May 7, 2017

This is the city where a monthly travel card will set you back the most
ENGLISH, London

This is the city where a monthly travel card will set you back the most

    Public transport in London is the priciest in the world, according to a report published by Deutche Bank. A monthly Oyster travel card in London costs £135, a whopping £33 more than the equivalent available in Dublin, which came in as the world's second most expensive city. A monthly ticket costs £95 in Auckland, which came in third, followed by New York City where it costs £91. Tokyo was ranked the fifth most expensive city, at £86. Transport for London (TfL) has commented saying that the findings "did not show the true cost of transport in other countries". The report also investigated the evolution of the cost of monthly travel over the years. It has emerged that the cost of transport in England's metropolis is less expensive now than in 2014, when commuters paid £165 a...
This is why the Royals don’t use a last name
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

This is why the Royals don’t use a last name

    The Royal family are a bit of an enigma, for many reasons – one being the fact that you never really hear their last name. Just like Cher, Madonna and Prince, the Royals’ surname is an afterthought. This is because, up until the early 20th century, they had no last name at all. Kings and princes were instead known by the names of the county they ruled, according to the royal family’s official website. It states: The names of dynasties tended to change when the line of succession was taken by a rival faction within the family (for example, Henry IV and the Lancastrians, Edward IV and the Yorkists, Henry VII and the Tudors), or when succession passed to a different family branch through females (for example, Henry II and the Angevins, James I and the Stuarts, George I and th...
Macron, Le Pen face off as France elects president
ENGLISH, Europe

Macron, Le Pen face off as France elects president

    The French people casts their ballot at a polling station in France, on May 7, 2017, during the second round of the French presidential election. French voters went to the polls on Sunday to pick a new president, choosing between young centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a watershed election for the country and Europe. Polling day follows an unprecedented campaign marked by scandal, repeated surprises and a last-minute hacking attack on Macron, a 39-year-old who has never held elected office. The run-off vote pits the pro-Europe, pro-business Macron against anti-immigration and anti-EU Le Pen, two radically different visions that underline a split in Western democracies. Le Pen, 48, has portrayed the ballot as a contest between the ‘globalists’ r...
Saudi order to ease control on women
Arab world, ENGLISH

Saudi order to ease control on women

    Saudi women no longer need a man’s consent to carry out certain activities, local media reported on Friday, but activists said the royal order does not go far enough. Saudi Arabia has some of the world’s tightest restrictions on women, and is the only country where they are not allowed to drive. Under the guardianship system a male family member, normally the father, husband or brother, must grant permission for a woman’s study, travel and other activities. But the Arab News said a royal decree issued by King Salman ordered that women are no longer required to obtain a guardian’s consent for official services ‘unless there is a legal basis for this request’ under Islamic law. Government agencies were advised of this directive, the report said. Other Saudi media including t...
Theresa May maintains strong election lead in weekend opinion polls
ENGLISH, London

Theresa May maintains strong election lead in weekend opinion polls

    Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks outside 10 Downing Street after traveling to Buckingham Palace to visit Queen Elizabeth after Parliament was dissolved ahead of the general election, in London Prime Minister Theresa May maintained her strong lead in opinion polls ahead of next month's national election, with one analyst saying she was on course for the kind of huge success Margaret Thatcher enjoyed over 30 years ago. May is asking voters to strengthen her hand as she seeks a mandate for her plan to implement the result of last year's Brexit referendum by quitting the European Union's single market. Her Conservative Party made big gains in local elections last Thursday at the expense of the main opposition Labour party and polls published at the weekend, conducte...