Drivers of diesel cars face penalties and restrictions to combat the growing threat posed by air pollution in cities, The Times has learnt.
Almost all diesel vehicle drivers will have to pay an extra £10 to drive into central London under plans being drawn up by Boris Johnson, the mayor of London. Other cities across the country are looking urgently at ways to cut diesel fumes in order to comply with clean air rules from Europe.
Mr Johnson will also lobby the government to raise road tax on diesel cars to encourage motorists to switch to cleaner vehicles.
Air pollution causes about 29,000 premature deaths a year in Britain and the problem has been worsened by the rapid shift to diesel prompted by government tax incentives designed to lower carbon emissions.
Labour is planning a national network of low emission zones that would force older diesel vehicles out of many cities. Sheffield, Leicester, Bradford, Birmingham, Bristol and 15 other cities with poor air quality are considering introducing low emission zones. Oxford introduced one for buses this year and may extend it to other vehicles.
The £10 charge in the capital would be on top of the congestion charge and would come into play in 2020, meaning that diesel drivers would pay at least £20 to drive into the central London “ultra low emission zone”.
Only those diesels that meet the Euro 6 emissions standard will be exempt. Petrol cars registered before 2006 will also have to pay.
The initiatives are being driven by the threat of heavy fines from the European Commission for breaching air pollution limits. The commission launched legal proceedings against Britain in February.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs admitted that London, Birmingham and Leeds would be exposed to dangerous air pollution from vehicle exhausts until the 2030s unless tougher action were taken. Diesel vehicles produce nitrogen dioxide, which can inflame the lung lining and lead to respiratory disease.
Mr Johnson will launch an “air quality manifesto” today that he claims will take London two thirds of the way to compliance with EU limits. He will say that the government and the commission must deliver the other third.
The government should reverse the incentives for diesel by increasing vehicle excise duty rates and the commission should establish a fund to help cities to switch to electric cars.
Matthew Pencharz, the mayor’s environment adviser, said: “We want to see an unwinding of incentives that have driven people to diesel. Euro engine standards on emissions have not delivered the savings expected, meaning we now have a legacy of a generation of dirty diesels.”
He said the ultra low emission zone, which will have the same boundaries as the congestion charge zone, would encourage drivers of diesel cars to switch back to petrol engines or buy the latest diesel models complying with the new Euro 6 standard. Mr Pencharz dismissed calls by environment groups and some scientists for a ban on most diesel cars in London and said that a £10 charge from 2020 would be fairer.
“It would not be reasonable to say, ‘I’m sorry, you have just bought that car but it’s now banned.’ People bought them in good faith and it’s not fair to clobber them,” he said. “We think a five-year notice gives enough warning. People who drive in once a month might not buy a newer car whereas somebody who drives in every day probably would do.”
Simon Birkett, director of the campaign group Clean Air in London, said that Mr Johnson had previously encouraged dirty diesel cars by exempting smaller ones from the congestion charge.
Tuesday, 29 July 2014
Russia sanctions will cost City millions
Europe and the US will announce co-ordinated sanctions today to hurt the Russian economy and target allies of Vladimir Putin in a major escalation of pressure on Moscow.
Britain will also send more than 1,300 troops armed with tanks to join a training exercise at Nato’s eastern border in Poland. The move is designed to reassure allies in Eastern Europe, but the stark return to Cold War tactics will further inflame tensions in the region.
As the crisis over Russia continued to grow yesterday, David Cameron took part in a rare five-way video conference call with President Obama, the German chancellor Angela Merkel, France’s president François Hollande and Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister. The group vowed further tough action after agreeing Russia is failing to take the necessary steps to de-escalate the situation in eastern Ukraine.
Intelligence officials say that Moscow is continuing to support Russian separatists, who are blamed for downing Malaysian Flight MH17 nearly two weeks ago, and has not stopped the flow of weapons across the border since the crash.
“Despite numerous calls made to President Putin, [the five leaders] regretted that Russia did not effectively pressure the separatists into negotiating or take concrete measures . . . to ensure control of the Russian-Ukraine border,” a statement posted on the French Presidential website said last night.
The EU will confirm today that it is moving to “level three” sanctions, which target entire sectors of the Russian economy, a significant step which Mrs Merkel rejected as unnecessary the day after MH17 came down.
The announcement will see a ban on EU funding for Russian banks, forcing Moscow to step in at great cost, a bar on the export of technology to support the energy industry and a new embargo on future arms sales and goods which could be used by the Russian military.
The curbs to the Russian financial sector are likely to cost the City of London hundreds of millions of pounds, although EU leaders have been at pains to stress the burden is being shared equally across Europe.
Germany’s high-tech energy exports to Russia are five times those of the UK while France’s arms exports are worth almost ten times those of Britain.
EU ambassadors are also finalising the list of “Kremlin cronies” who will face restrictions, on top of the 87 people and 20 organisations already subject to EU sanctions. Discussions have dragged on longer than expected and the list is expected to be “tiny”.
No 10 said last night that the co-ordinated move, an unusual EU-US show of solidarity, was a significant step forward and had taken considerable negotiation over the previous ten days. Germany’s change of attitude on the issue has been regarded as vital.
Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, hinted at a possible further expansion of Nato activity along its eastern flank, with Nato members due to meet in the coming weeks at a two-day summit to be hosted by Mr Cameron in Newport, southeast Wales.
The Ministry of Defence said that it would send a full battle group of 1,350 military personnel, equipped with more than 350 armoured and other vehicles to take part in Exercise Black Eagle in October. It is understood that about 20 tanks will be included in the deployment.
The move marks Britain’s largest commitment to the region since 2008.
Typhoon jets are already taking part in a Nato air policy mission, protecting the skies over the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. A company of British troops also took part in a military exercise in Estonia in May.
Britain will also send more than 1,300 troops armed with tanks to join a training exercise at Nato’s eastern border in Poland. The move is designed to reassure allies in Eastern Europe, but the stark return to Cold War tactics will further inflame tensions in the region.
As the crisis over Russia continued to grow yesterday, David Cameron took part in a rare five-way video conference call with President Obama, the German chancellor Angela Merkel, France’s president François Hollande and Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister. The group vowed further tough action after agreeing Russia is failing to take the necessary steps to de-escalate the situation in eastern Ukraine.
Intelligence officials say that Moscow is continuing to support Russian separatists, who are blamed for downing Malaysian Flight MH17 nearly two weeks ago, and has not stopped the flow of weapons across the border since the crash.
“Despite numerous calls made to President Putin, [the five leaders] regretted that Russia did not effectively pressure the separatists into negotiating or take concrete measures . . . to ensure control of the Russian-Ukraine border,” a statement posted on the French Presidential website said last night.
The EU will confirm today that it is moving to “level three” sanctions, which target entire sectors of the Russian economy, a significant step which Mrs Merkel rejected as unnecessary the day after MH17 came down.
The announcement will see a ban on EU funding for Russian banks, forcing Moscow to step in at great cost, a bar on the export of technology to support the energy industry and a new embargo on future arms sales and goods which could be used by the Russian military.
The curbs to the Russian financial sector are likely to cost the City of London hundreds of millions of pounds, although EU leaders have been at pains to stress the burden is being shared equally across Europe.
Germany’s high-tech energy exports to Russia are five times those of the UK while France’s arms exports are worth almost ten times those of Britain.
EU ambassadors are also finalising the list of “Kremlin cronies” who will face restrictions, on top of the 87 people and 20 organisations already subject to EU sanctions. Discussions have dragged on longer than expected and the list is expected to be “tiny”.
No 10 said last night that the co-ordinated move, an unusual EU-US show of solidarity, was a significant step forward and had taken considerable negotiation over the previous ten days. Germany’s change of attitude on the issue has been regarded as vital.
Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, hinted at a possible further expansion of Nato activity along its eastern flank, with Nato members due to meet in the coming weeks at a two-day summit to be hosted by Mr Cameron in Newport, southeast Wales.
The Ministry of Defence said that it would send a full battle group of 1,350 military personnel, equipped with more than 350 armoured and other vehicles to take part in Exercise Black Eagle in October. It is understood that about 20 tanks will be included in the deployment.
The move marks Britain’s largest commitment to the region since 2008.
Typhoon jets are already taking part in a Nato air policy mission, protecting the skies over the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. A company of British troops also took part in a military exercise in Estonia in May.
David Cameron announces immigration crackdown
David Cameron is to announce tough action on immigration that will halve the amount of time foreigners can claim benefits in the UK.
The Coalition will introduce laws to ensure that European Union migrants can only claim out-of-work benefits for three months, Mr Cameron says in an article for The Telegraph.
The Prime Minister also pledges to stop more than 500,000 British jobs being advertised across the EU and announces tough new curbs on colleges offering visas to "bogus" students.
The Government will make changes to the immigration system that put "Britain first" and ensure that the UK is "a country that is not a soft touch", Mr Cameron says. "We changed the rules so that no one can come to this country and expect to get out-of-work benefits immediately; they must wait at least three months," Mr Cameron adds.
"And we are announcing today that we are cutting the time people can claim these benefits for. It used to be that European jobseekers could claim Job Seeker's Allowance or child benefit for a maximum of six months before their benefits would be cut off, unless they had very clear job prospects.
"I can tell Telegraph readers today that we will be reducing that cut-off point to three months, saying very clearly: you cannot expect to come to Britain and get something for nothing."
Mr Cameron's latest intervention on immigration will be seen as an attempt to woo back Conservative voters who have defected to Ukip in recent months.
Under measures announced last year, European immigrants have to wait three months before they can claim out-of-work benefits. They can then claim the benefits for a maximum of six months.
Mr Cameron's announcement came as the International Monetary Fund warned that "restrictive immigration policies" in the UK "could have a negative impact on productivity growth". In a report on Britain's finances the IMF, which last week upgraded its forecast for UK growth to 3.2 per cent this year and 2.7 per cent in 2015, said: "Relaxing immigration requirements in areas with labour shortages, such as manufacturing, could provide a boost to productivity and facilitate the rebalancing of the UK economy." There was anger last year after it emerged that under an EU scheme partly funded by British taxpayers, all positions advertised in UK job centres also have to be offered to workers in European member states. UK firms are given as much as £1,000 as a bonus for taking on the foreign workers.
The EURES scheme offers foreigners hundreds of pounds of funding to pay for interviews in the UK, relocation costs and even English lessons.
Of the 2.4million jobs posted on the EURES site, 1,138,847 are posts in the UK. Jobs at UK firms including Tesco and Sainsbury's are advertised on the site.
Downing Street said that in future, jobs will only be uploaded to the website if an employer specifically requests that the position is offered across the EU. "Some recruitment agencies have even been recruiting directly from elsewhere in the EU without British workers ever getting a chance to apply for jobs," Mr Cameron writes. "So we are banning overseas-only recruitment - legally requiring these agencies to advertise in English in the UK. And today we are announcing a further measure. In the past, all vacancies advertised in Jobcentre Plus were automatically advertised on an EU-wide job portal.
"This meant advertising over a million job vacancies across the EU. So we are going to massively restrict this, aiming to cut back the vacancies on this portal by over 500,000 jobs."
There have also been growing concerns that colleges are abusing immigration rules offering visas for money so that people can come to the UK to work by pretending that they are here to study.
"Some of the most egregious examples were those claiming to be students, enrolling at bogus colleges," Mr Cameron says. "We have taken radical action - shutting down more than 750 of these colleges. Today we are announcing a further step to make sure colleges do proper checks on students: if 10 per cent of the students they recruit are refused visas, they will lose their licence." In his article, the Prime Minister also highlights a series of measures that have come into force in recent days, including new restrictions on abuses of European human rights laws, which immigrants have used to avoid deportation.
The Coalition will introduce laws to ensure that European Union migrants can only claim out-of-work benefits for three months, Mr Cameron says in an article for The Telegraph.
The Prime Minister also pledges to stop more than 500,000 British jobs being advertised across the EU and announces tough new curbs on colleges offering visas to "bogus" students.
The Government will make changes to the immigration system that put "Britain first" and ensure that the UK is "a country that is not a soft touch", Mr Cameron says. "We changed the rules so that no one can come to this country and expect to get out-of-work benefits immediately; they must wait at least three months," Mr Cameron adds.
"And we are announcing today that we are cutting the time people can claim these benefits for. It used to be that European jobseekers could claim Job Seeker's Allowance or child benefit for a maximum of six months before their benefits would be cut off, unless they had very clear job prospects.
"I can tell Telegraph readers today that we will be reducing that cut-off point to three months, saying very clearly: you cannot expect to come to Britain and get something for nothing."
Mr Cameron's latest intervention on immigration will be seen as an attempt to woo back Conservative voters who have defected to Ukip in recent months.
Under measures announced last year, European immigrants have to wait three months before they can claim out-of-work benefits. They can then claim the benefits for a maximum of six months.
Mr Cameron's announcement came as the International Monetary Fund warned that "restrictive immigration policies" in the UK "could have a negative impact on productivity growth". In a report on Britain's finances the IMF, which last week upgraded its forecast for UK growth to 3.2 per cent this year and 2.7 per cent in 2015, said: "Relaxing immigration requirements in areas with labour shortages, such as manufacturing, could provide a boost to productivity and facilitate the rebalancing of the UK economy." There was anger last year after it emerged that under an EU scheme partly funded by British taxpayers, all positions advertised in UK job centres also have to be offered to workers in European member states. UK firms are given as much as £1,000 as a bonus for taking on the foreign workers.
The EURES scheme offers foreigners hundreds of pounds of funding to pay for interviews in the UK, relocation costs and even English lessons.
Of the 2.4million jobs posted on the EURES site, 1,138,847 are posts in the UK. Jobs at UK firms including Tesco and Sainsbury's are advertised on the site.
Downing Street said that in future, jobs will only be uploaded to the website if an employer specifically requests that the position is offered across the EU. "Some recruitment agencies have even been recruiting directly from elsewhere in the EU without British workers ever getting a chance to apply for jobs," Mr Cameron writes. "So we are banning overseas-only recruitment - legally requiring these agencies to advertise in English in the UK. And today we are announcing a further measure. In the past, all vacancies advertised in Jobcentre Plus were automatically advertised on an EU-wide job portal.
"This meant advertising over a million job vacancies across the EU. So we are going to massively restrict this, aiming to cut back the vacancies on this portal by over 500,000 jobs."
There have also been growing concerns that colleges are abusing immigration rules offering visas for money so that people can come to the UK to work by pretending that they are here to study.
"Some of the most egregious examples were those claiming to be students, enrolling at bogus colleges," Mr Cameron says. "We have taken radical action - shutting down more than 750 of these colleges. Today we are announcing a further step to make sure colleges do proper checks on students: if 10 per cent of the students they recruit are refused visas, they will lose their licence." In his article, the Prime Minister also highlights a series of measures that have come into force in recent days, including new restrictions on abuses of European human rights laws, which immigrants have used to avoid deportation.
Hamas Leader's House 'Hit By Israeli Missile'
The home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has been hit by an Israeli missile, according to the Gaza Interior Ministry.
An Israeli aircraft fired a missile at the house early on Tuesday causing damage but no casualties, the ministry said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman had no information on the report but was checking for details.
Mr Haniyeh's son confirmed the strike on his Facebook page and added that the house of the former Hamas Gaza prime minister was empty.
Hamas said that its TV station Al-Aqsa TV was also targeted but the station continued to broadcast.
As night fell over Gaza, army flares illuminated the sky and the sound of intense shelling could be heard.
The military warned thousands of Palestinians to flee their homes in areas around Gaza City - usually the prelude to major army strikes. A number of rockets fired from Gaza were launched toward various regions in southern and central Israel, including the Tel Aviv area.
At least one of the rockets was intercepted by the Iron Dome system.
Earlier, Israel accused Hamas of misfiring two rockets - one of which struck Gaza's main hospital and the other a refugee camp, killing nine children.
A Palestinian official said at least 10 people in total were killed in the strike on the camp, and a further 46 injured.
However, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) denied responsibility for the attacks and said it had not been operating in the area.
Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, an Israeli army spokesman, rubbished the claims as "ridiculous" and told Sky News: "The Israeli Defence Forces did not carry out any strikes in that area. Shifa Hospital was not a target, nor was the Shati Beach camp.
"Both of those locations were struck by terrorist rockets that were launched towards Israel and fell short."
The IDF also tweeted: "Since the beginning of the operation #IDF has documented approximately 200 rockets & mortars that landed short within #Gaza."
Sky's David Bowden, who visited the hospital in Gaza City, said: "I've seen injured children, some very badly injured and not so badly injured, and in the morgue I have seen dead children.
"There were screaming children, some walking wounded, but they were all dazed, wondering what was going on, and were surrounded by screaming relatives.
"The blame game has started. Clearly, the people there believe it was the Israelis. But the Israelis were quick off the mark to say it was nothing to do with them.
"Whatever happened, there are children dead and injured, and those pictures are winging their way around the world, and the pressure from the international community on both sides to stop this, and stop it now, will become immeasurable."
Israeli media, meanwhile, reported nine soldiers had been killed - four in mortar strikes on Eshkol in southern Israel, and another five in combat in Gaza.
Monday, 28 July 2014
UPSC may postpone Civil Services exam date as CSAT protests continue
Amid continued protests by students, government sources on Monday indicated that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) might postpone the date for Civil Services preliminary test, slated to be held on August 24.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said the final decision on exam date was expected only after a three-member committee submits its report on the issue.
Earlier in the day, Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over the issue.
A group of protesting students had also called on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, seeking the party's support on the issue.
Rajnath Singh had on Sunday convened a high-level meeting to resolve the issue. Jaitley and Jitendra Singh were among the Ministers who were present in the meeting, attended by various top government and UPSC officials.
After the meeting, Rajnath Singh had briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the situation in the wake of students' protests against UPSC syllabus and the steps being taken by the Centre on the issue.
Civil Services aspirants have been protesting in the national capital and demanding change in the pattern of civil services preliminary examination. The issue has been raised repeatedly in Parliament too.
A three-member government-appointed committee is looking into the demands of civil services aspirants to change the pattern of the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) to give level-playing field to those coming from rural areas.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said the final decision on exam date was expected only after a three-member committee submits its report on the issue.
Earlier in the day, Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over the issue.
A group of protesting students had also called on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, seeking the party's support on the issue.
Rajnath Singh had on Sunday convened a high-level meeting to resolve the issue. Jaitley and Jitendra Singh were among the Ministers who were present in the meeting, attended by various top government and UPSC officials.
After the meeting, Rajnath Singh had briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the situation in the wake of students' protests against UPSC syllabus and the steps being taken by the Centre on the issue.
Civil Services aspirants have been protesting in the national capital and demanding change in the pattern of civil services preliminary examination. The issue has been raised repeatedly in Parliament too.
A three-member government-appointed committee is looking into the demands of civil services aspirants to change the pattern of the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) to give level-playing field to those coming from rural areas.
Thousands mourn death of Indian-origin Israeli soldier
Thousands of people took part in the funeral of a 27-year-old Indian-origin Israeli soldier killed after being hit by a mortar shell near the Gaza Strip border while Israel was holding fire under a UN-brokered humanitarian truce.
Barak Refael Degorker, killed on Saturday night, was laid to rest on Sunday in a military cemetery in his hometown of Gan Yavne.
The bereaved family, parents Ora and Moshe and two younger brothers, while inconsolable at their loss spoke about "kind hearted" Degorker whose death has left a "permanent void" in their lives.
The two brothers, also doing reserve duty at the Gaza border, were the first ones to receive the news of Degorker's death.
"My brother would volunteer in all situations and he would do whatever was required of him," one of the brothers said at the funeral breaking down in tears.
His sister said it was "hard to wake up to a world in which you are not here. It's hard to describe the pain. You are everyone's hero and my personal hero. I love you my brother, guard us from above."
Degorker was in a reserve unit of the Engineers Corps and was stationed close to the Strip with other units when he was injured by the mortar fire.
One of his relatives said that Degorker recently finished law school with distinction and had begun an internship.
"He had so many plans for the future. All of us would always say he would go far in life. We had so much expectations...he died so that we all could live," the relative said.
A young soldier from Degorker's unit said he "was a leader who would go to any extent for his friends".
"He was a man that everybody followed. He always had sound advice for people around him who appreciated his intelligence. Barak would always do the maximum possible and would go out of the way to help his close ones," the soldier said.
Degorker belongs to the Bene-Israel community, which has its origin in the Mumbai region, and is the largest community of Indian Jews in Israel. There are about 80,000 Indian Jews living in Israel. Many other youngsters from the community are also fighting for the Israel Defence Forces in Gaza.
The deadly 20-day conflict between Hamas and Israel has killed over 1,000 Palestinians and 46 Israelis.
Barak Refael Degorker, killed on Saturday night, was laid to rest on Sunday in a military cemetery in his hometown of Gan Yavne.
The bereaved family, parents Ora and Moshe and two younger brothers, while inconsolable at their loss spoke about "kind hearted" Degorker whose death has left a "permanent void" in their lives.
The two brothers, also doing reserve duty at the Gaza border, were the first ones to receive the news of Degorker's death.
"My brother would volunteer in all situations and he would do whatever was required of him," one of the brothers said at the funeral breaking down in tears.
His sister said it was "hard to wake up to a world in which you are not here. It's hard to describe the pain. You are everyone's hero and my personal hero. I love you my brother, guard us from above."
Degorker was in a reserve unit of the Engineers Corps and was stationed close to the Strip with other units when he was injured by the mortar fire.
One of his relatives said that Degorker recently finished law school with distinction and had begun an internship.
"He had so many plans for the future. All of us would always say he would go far in life. We had so much expectations...he died so that we all could live," the relative said.
A young soldier from Degorker's unit said he "was a leader who would go to any extent for his friends".
"He was a man that everybody followed. He always had sound advice for people around him who appreciated his intelligence. Barak would always do the maximum possible and would go out of the way to help his close ones," the soldier said.
Degorker belongs to the Bene-Israel community, which has its origin in the Mumbai region, and is the largest community of Indian Jews in Israel. There are about 80,000 Indian Jews living in Israel. Many other youngsters from the community are also fighting for the Israel Defence Forces in Gaza.
The deadly 20-day conflict between Hamas and Israel has killed over 1,000 Palestinians and 46 Israelis.
Debutant Dickwella fined, reprimanded
Debutant Dickwella fined, reprimanded
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s debutant wicket-keeper Niroshan Dickwella has been fined and reprimanded for claiming an unfair catch in the ongoing second cricket Test against South Africa, International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Sunday.
The ICC said in a statement that the 21-year-old was fined 10 percent of his match fee and given an official reprimand after he pleaded guilty to the offence.
The incident occurred during the third day’s play on Saturday when South African batsman A.B. de Villiers gloved a ball that Dickwella collected on the bounce and immediately claimed it to be a catch.
The batsman was ruled not out after television replays.
“While claiming an unfair catch is a serious offence, we noted that this is Niroshan’s first Test and in excitement he claimed the catch,” the statement quoted match referee Jeff Crowe as saying.
“We are sure that in future when a catch of this nature is in doubt he will indicate such,” he said.
Dickwella was included in the team for the second Test against South Africa in place of Dinesh Chandimal and scored a half-century in his first Test innings.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)