Six Pack Abs Uncovered

Just 23% of final-salary pension schemes in the private sector are still open to
new joiners, says the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF).
A year ago the figure stood at 28% but since then more schemes have closed, both
to new members and existing ones.
The NAPF’s survey also found that despite the recession employers had not cut
their contributions to their defined contribution (DC) schemes.
Joint staff and employer contribution rates were still 11.5% of salaries.
The drop in the number of schemes that were still open was greater than in the
previous two years.
The NAPF warned that there was considerably more change on the horizon for many
schemes and their members.
Its annual survey found that 62% of schemes that were still open to new members
expected to let their current members continue to build up more pension over the
next five years.
But 18% expected to move both their new and existing members into DC schemes.
Even more change is in store for schemes already shut to new joiners.
Final-salary scheme - guaranteed pension based on earnings at end of career and
length of service
Defined contribution scheme - investment fund, determined by contributions and
investment returns, used to buy an annual pension. Also called a money purchase
scheme
Of these, 31% expect they will switch all their active members to a DC scheme for
the future accrual of pension.
Last month an annual survey of pension schemes conducted by the Office for
National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the drop in the number of people paying
into private sector final-salary pension schemes had slowed down in the past year.
The active membership of these schemes fell slightly to 2.6 million in 2008, down
from 2.7 million in 2007 and from three million in 2006.
However the ONS survey did not attempt to measure how many schemes remained open,
either to new members or to just current employees.

Swiss authorities say they will not appeal against a ruling granting bail to film
director Roman Polanski.
The 76-year-old was held over a US child sex case in September after travelling to
Switzerland from France.
Polanski will remain under house arrest at his chalet in the Swiss Alps and be
monitored by an electronic tag.
He has been wanted in the US since fleeing the country in 1978 after pleading
guilty to having unlawful sex a year earlier with an underage girl.
“Polanski will be released from custody as soon as bail has been transferred, ID
and travel documents have been lodged, and the electronic monitoring system has
been installed and tested,” the Swiss justice department said.
The decision comes a day after the Swiss Federal Criminal Court granted the Oscar
-winning director $4.5m (￡2.7m) bail, pending proceedings for his possible
extradition to the US.
He must surrender his passport and be fitted with an electronic bracelet that will
activate if he attempts to abscond from his chalet in the ski resort of Gstaad.
The director of films such as Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown and The Pianist was
arrested after travelling to Zurich on 26 September to pick up a lifetime
achievement award.
The justice ministry said earlier Polanski was not expected to be released on
Thursday and the move would be handled discreetly.
“We don’t want to show him off like an exotic animal,” said ministry spokesman
Folco Galli, reported AP news agency.
Polanski was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl after plying her with champagne
and a sedative during a modelling shoot in 1977.
He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs,
child molesting and sodomy, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful
sexual intercourse.
Polanski fled the US in February 1978 on the day he was to be sentenced, and has
lived in France since.

The move to sell antibiotic eye drops over the counter has led to a large rise in
usage, prompting fears about drug resistance, a study says.
Oxford University found that two years after the change, 3.4m doses of
chloramphenicol, a conjunctivitis drug, were being sold annually - a 50% rise.
Researchers said the trend was “concerning” as the problem often cleared up
without the need for drugs.
But doctors said the move had improved patient access and freed up GP time.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency reclassified the eye drops
in 2005, allowing pharmacists to hand them out without the need for a
prescription.
While the following two years saw a slight drop in GPs handing them out, 1.5
million started accessing the drops from pharmacists, according to IMS Health, a
company which monitors drug supplies.
The researchers said the findings, published in the British Journal of General
Practice, had important implications for bacteria-acquiring antibiotic resistance.
They said there was already some signs of resistance in these drugs and warned
this may be the “thin end of the wedge” for over-the-counter drugs.
Since the decision on eye drops, treatments for chlamydia and urinary tract
infections have been made or look likely to be made available without the need for
a prescription.
Dr Peter Rose, the lead researcher and a practising GP, said: “At a time when we
are encouraging less reliance on antibiotics, the rise we found is concerning.
“We need to see the NHS and patients take more care with the use of drugs.”
But Dr Jim Kennedy, the prescribing spokesman for the Royal College of GPs, said:
“I would be more worried if the rise was much higher, perhaps two or three times.
“Patients now have better access to drugs and it has freed up doctors a bit. It is
something we should keep monitoring, however.”

The public can expect a “smaller BBC” after the analogue TV signal is switched off
in 2012, director general Mark Thompson has said.
Speaking at a Voice of the Listener and Viewer conference in London, Mr Thompson
was outlining plans for the BBC’s strategic review next year.
He said there would be “reductions in some kinds of programmes and content”,
including web services.
However, he promised more money would be spent on original British content.
“Expect to see a further shift of emphasis in favour of key priority areas: The
best journalism in the world, high quality programmes and services for children,
content of every kind that builds knowledge and shares music and culture and a
long-range commitment to outstanding British drama and comedy,” Mr Thompson said.
When asked about the future of the BBC’s digital radio and television services, Mr
Thompson said it would be “slightly counter-intuitive” to close BBC Three and Four
while encouraging people to go digital.
But he suggested that services could be “reduced” in a “post-switchover world when
people can use services like iPlayer to get content in other ways.”
“For example, we’ve slightly reduced the services on the red button because so
many people are able to get interactive services on the web,” he said.
Speaking about the BBC website, Mr Thompson said the review would look at “the
many millions of pages” and “whether everything needs to be there, is updated and
is relevant”
The BBC is responding to criticisms from politicians and commercial competitors
that it’s too big and too well-funded at a time when the rest of the industry is
suffering economically.
It’s looking at how it can focus more on quality and provide that on the internet
as well as on TV sets, or whether it can cut back on some services in due course,
after the digital switchover in 2012.
“It’s about making sure there is a clear strategy for it and focussing on the
public purposes of the BBC,” he added.

A British man died in a helicopter crash in Israel on Tuesday, the Foreign Office has confirmed.
Roberto Arvanitakis was killed when the helicopter crashed in the Mediterranean Sea near the coastal city of Netanya, a spokeswoman said.
All four people on board died, including three Israelis.
Israeli police said Mr Arvanitakis was not living in the UK. The Jewish Chronicle, a British newspaper, said he was a businessman based in Cyprus.
It also said he worked in the aviation industry.
A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: “We can confirm the death of a British national in a a helicopter crash off the coast of Israel on November 24.
“Consular assistance is being provided to his family.”
The other three victims were named by the Jewish Chronicle as Ran Lapid, 49, who was flying the aircraft, Hadar Shavit, 39, who also worked as a pilot, and Yoav Tamir, 35, co-owner of Tamir Airways which owned the helicopter.
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.

After nearly a century at the heart of Britain’s high street, Woolworths finally admitted it was bust and called in the administrators a year ago.
For many it was a defining event of the credit crisis and a clear sign of the impact the recession was having on the real economy.
“Woolworths’ demise sent some real shockwaves through the retail industry,” says Greg Hodge, a retail analyst at Planet Retail.
“First, the nostalgia that the general public have towards Woolworths is huge, and secondly, if were honest, there were a lot of worse retailers out there that were still in business.”
But a year on, the lasting impact of Woolworths’ demise is more difficult to determine.
There is no doubt it has been a tough year for retailers. Woolworths might be the best know high-street casualty of the recession, but since January more than 10% of retailers have gone bust.
Names such as Zavvi and MFI are among those that have ceased trading in recent months.
For the former competitors of Woolworths, however, the demise of the country’s former eighth-biggest retailer has proved to be good news.
Despite racking up debts of ￡385m last year, Woolies also cleared annual sales worth ￡2bn, which other retailers are now scrapping over.
HMV in particular has seen its fortunes improve significantly, registering an 18% rise in profits earlier this year.
They have been working hard to target former Woolworths customers with cheaper and more family-oriented products, and have even set up temporary “pop-up shops” in former Woolworth stores in order to shift more stock in the run-up to Christmas.
In the toys market, where Woolies held 14% of the market share, competitors are also feeling the benefit.
“Losing Woolworths was the single biggest change the toy industry had ever experienced,” says Gary Grant, chairman of the Toy Retailers Association, and managing director of The Entertainer chain of toy shops.
“Within five weeks there was no Woolworths.
“The toy market as a whole might be down 10%, but those who are left in business are doing better. My business for example is up 25%.”

The Duke of Edinburgh has been presented with a pair of Bermuda shorts during a visit to the island the item of clothing takes its name from.
The shorts came with blue socks and a tie. Philip said he would not be putting the shorts on straight away.
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are on a three-day tour of Bermuda.
Earlier, they attended a thanksgiving service in Bermuda to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the island’s settlement by the British.
During the service, the island’s troubled involvement with the slave trade was highlighted.
The Bishop of Bermuda, Dr Patrick White, lamented how the church did not challenge the practice and described the period as a “dark time” for Anglicans.
The bishop also highlighted present issues facing the island like tackling the problem of rising violence among young people and interracial tensions.
He described how the settlement of Bermuda was a commercial venture and how slaves were brought to the island.
Later, Philip was presented with the gift of shorts by David Hamshere.
The shorts are traditionally worn with knee length socks, and teamed with a jacket and tie - a combination known as a “Bermuda rig”.
Mr Hamshere, 70, managing director of a clothing store, made the presentation when the Queen and Philip visited Bermuda’s former naval dockyard.
He told the duke: “You’ll definitely look very elegant in them.”
Mr Hamshere, who was born in Bournemouth but emigrated to Bermuda as a young man, later attempted to explain the history behind the style of shorts.

Inspectors have criticised child protection services in Scotland after finding a quarter of councils had failings that put children at risk.
The HMIE report claimed in some areas, staff had put children at greater risk by failing to act quickly enough.
And it warned that “significant improvements” were needed across the country in order to keep children safe.
The Scottish government said the country had the “most robust” inspection regime in the UK.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) published the report, How Well Do We Protect Scotland’s Children?, after inspecting child protection services across Scotland.
The report said planning for meeting the needs of vulnerable children was “weak” or “unsatisfactory”, in 10 local authority areas.
While 13 councils received similar ratings for their assessment of the risks and needs of at-risk children.
Almost a quarter of the inspections found “serious weaknesses in aspects of child protection which would increase the risk of harm to children”.
However, the report added that in these areas the inspection had acted as “a significant catalyst for change” with prompt action taken afterwards.
Graham Donaldson, HM senior chief inspector, said: “Across Scotland significant improvements are needed in the quality and rigour of assessments of risks and needs.
“Similar improvements are required in planning to keep individual children safe. Along with information-sharing, deficiencies in these areas carry a high degree of risk of failure to protect children.
“As we know, the consequences of such deficiencies can be life-threatening.”
The report stressed the importance of all those involved in child protection to share information, which it said had been a contributory factor in cases where children had been seriously injured or died as result of abuse or neglect.
It found that in “a few areas staff did not act quickly enough and children were left in high-risk situations for too long”.

Investment of about ￡30bn is needed to develop Scotland’s offshore wind power potential, it is to be claimed
The first Scottish Renewables Offshore Wind Conference is being held in Aberdeen’s Marriott Hotel on Thursday.
More than 200 representatives of the rewnewables and offshore oil and gas sectors are expected to attend.
The chief executive of Scottish Renewables, Niall Stuart, said that the economic opportunities for Scotland would be “huge”.
New offshore windfarms are planned for Scotland, with many off the east coast.
Mr Stuart said: “Over the next few years the sector will see massive investment.
“We need to do everything we can to make sure that the north east and the rest of Scotland captures as much of that opportunity as possible.
“Just as Aberdeen and the north east has become a worldwide centre of expertise for oil and gas, Scotland can be a hub for offshore wind, particularly given our expertise in deep water in a harsh climate.”

Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker and her actor husband Matthew Broderick are expecting twin daughters through a surrogate.
The couple, who already have a son aged six, are “overjoyed”, said a statement from their publicists.
The babies are due to arrive “later this summer”, while no further details of the surrogate mother or her pregnancy have been revealed.
Parker, 44, and 47-year-old Broderick have been married for almost 12 years.
The pair are “happily anticipating the birth of their twin daughters later this summer with the generous help of a surrogate,” said the statement.
Parker is best known as Carrie Bradshaw, the chief character in the long-running TV comedy drama and its big screen spin-off, which was released last year.
A sequel to the movie is expected to come out in May 2010, according to makers Warner Bros, and will reunite its four main female actresses.
The first film made $415m (￡281m) at the box office around the world.
Broderick’s main credits are the Broadway and film productions of The Producers, and the comic movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.