Checkout my new restructured news blog

I briefly touched on this in my post and have somewhat revised my opinion. Whether its simply because I've had time to change my mind, or because other posts have influenced me I'm not sure, but I've come to the conclusion that it is now time to separate news blog and personal, in a blogging environment at least.

Severe weather warnings as heavy snow forecast

Warnings of sub-zero temperatures came as the big chill brought parts of the country to a standstill after the earliest widespread snow for 17 years.

London and the South East, the South West, East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber and the north east of England have all alerted to widespread icy roads until 11am on Saturday by the Met Office.

The North East, Yorkshire and Humber, East Midlands and the South West are also braced for heavy snow.

Wales and Northern Ireland were warned to expect icy roads while Scotland was also forecast heavy snow and drifting snow as more flurries were on the way.

Even low-lying parts of the UK saw freezing temperatures on Friday, the Met Office said.

Dozens of schools were closed and many roads were impassable, and a plane from Lanzarote with 196 passengers on board overshot its landing at Newcastle airport.

Though Scotland and the north east of England once again bore the brunt of the bad weather - with dumps of up to 30cm recorded in the Highlands and North Yorkshire - snow was also drifting across Wales and the South West.

Forecasters say the cold snap was set to tighten its grip, blanketing swathes of the country in white by the middle of next week.

Consultation on Tier 4 Student Visa in UK

The announced consultation on Tier 4 visas will be addressing ways of reducing the number of students coming to the UK whilst also continuing to attract the “top students to the top universities”. These include:

• for adult students, focusing Tier 4 on higher level courses and those offered by Highly Trusted Sponsors
• introducing tougher entry criteria such as English language competence
• requiring evidence of academic progression for students extending their studies
• limiting students’ entitlements to work and to sponsor dependants
• improving the accreditation and inspection process for education providers

The Home Secretary draws attention to the issue that perhaps “people imagine students to be those who come here for a few years to study at university and then go home - that is not always the case”. Whilst the student immigration route remains high on the Home Office’s agenda it is questionable how much effect new restrictions will have.

Research published by the Home Office in September 2010 - The Migrant Journey - shows that, despite the high number of people entering the UK on Tier 4 visas, 79% of them had left the country within 5 years. Of the remaining 21%, 6% were still studying and 7% were in work. Less than 5% had been granted settlement.

The indication here is that whilst student visas may account for high numbers of people coming into the country they also account for many of the people leaving the country. The proposed measures under review in the consultation will no doubt be effective in reducing net migration, but will not address the question of migrants achieving settlement. The question of whether reducing the number of people settling in the UK seems to remain unasked for the time being. It will certainly be interesting to see how the the migrant journey looks in five years’ time.

Facebook banned for hours in Saudi Arabia

Users of the widely-popular Facebook were only able to access the website around sundown.

According to a source at the Telecommunications Agency in Saudi Arabia, the site was restricted most of the day because it did not conform with social values.

Facebook, which has over 200 million active users, was temporarily restricted in Pakistan and Bangladesh earlier this year due to a group on the website that was planning an "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day", which led to massive demonstrations by people in both Muslim-majority nations.

The best countries to retire to

With the weather turning icy, thoughts begin to turn to sunnier climes, not just for the Christmas period but for life generally.

The number of Brits trying life abroad has grown significantly over the past few decades — there are more than a million Brits living abroad, according to the Institute for Public Policy research.

And it's not just students taking a year out to 'discover' themselves making pots in a shack in Peru, but older Brits too. According to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, an extraordinary 38% of over-55s are planning to relocate in the next few years.

So if you fancy retiring somewhere abroad, which countries should top your wishlist?

Quality of life

HSBC Bank International has recently published parts of its Expat Explorer Survey, encompassing the views of more than 3,000 expats across more than 100 countries to find which nation performs best in various different areas.

And it found a clear correlation between those countries that offer a great quality of life to all expats, and that nation's popularity among silver expats — those looking for a new country for their twilight years.

But what does quality of life actually mean? The survey took into account a range of features, including the following:

• accommodation,
• food/diet,
• entertainment,
• healthcare,
• work life balance,
• social life,
• commute to work,
• opportunities for sports
• opportunities for travel,
• the ease of organising schools for their children,
• the ease of learning the language,
• how easy to make friends,
• healthcare and utilities,
• weather,
• how easy to fit into the new culture/lifestyle.

The top nations

With that in mind, below are the top 15 ranking nations for overall quality of life according to the Expat Explorer Survey.

Rank	Nation
1	Thailand
2	Bahrain
3	South Africa
4	Canada
5	Bermuda
6	Spain
7	France
8	Switzerland
9	Australia
10	Malaysia
11	Philippines
12	Germany
13	Belgium
14	Singapore
15	Hong Kong

Some of the top-performing nations boast extraordinarily large numbers of retirees among their expats — in Spain, just shy of 40% of all expats are retirees, while France (33%), South Africa (24%), Thailand (24%) and Canada (17%) also boast a large proportion of retired expats.

Perhaps a touch worryingly, the UK finished 23^rd in the survey, behind nations like Qatar and Mexico, but just ahead of Russia and India. And you can't blame that entirely on the weather.

If you can't make your mind up on which nation you'd like to retire to, why not have a read of Ditch Britain for somewhere better!

Prince and Kate set wedding date

St James's Palace has also said the wedding - including the costs of the church service, music, flowers, decorations reception and honeymoon - will be paid for by the Royal family and the Middleton family.

The public will pay for associated costs like security. Downing Street announced that the wedding day would be a public holiday.

Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, private secretary to Prince William, said the couple chose Westminster Abbey for its "staggering beauty", 1,000-year Royal history and intimacy despite its size.

By coincidence April 29 is the feast of St Catherine of Siena.

Mr Lowther-Pinkerton said those planning the nuptials were very conscious of Britain's precarious finances.

"All parties involved in the wedding, not least Prince William and Miss Middleton, want to ensure that a balance is struck between an enjoyable day and the current economic situation," he said.

"To that end the Royal family and the Middleton family will pay for the wedding."

He said this move drew directly from the precedent set by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh's wedding in 1947 and Charles and Diana's nuptials in 1981.

Mr Lowther-Pinkerton said William and Miss Middleton were "completely over the moon" about their engagement.

"I've never seen two happier people, which is absolutely fabulous to work in that sort of environment," he said.

"They're on Cloud Nine, like any other newly-engaged couple. They're now getting stuck into organising their wedding. They are very much in charge of the arrangements for the big day."

The couple announced their engagement last week, nine years after meeting as students at St Andrew's University, sparking fevered speculation about where and when they would tie the knot.

UK to cut immigration

David Cameron has insisted it is "perfectly possible" to cut immigration to the tens of thousands a year.

MPs have cast doubt on whether a limit on numbers from outside the European Union can significantly reduce net migration from its current level of almost 200,000 a year.

But, in an interview with Sky News, the Prime Minister indicated he remained committed to more than halving immigration and insisted that it was achievable.

"If you stand back and look at the big picture, actually immigration between Britain and the rest of the EU is pretty much in balance," he said.

"It's between Britain and the rest of the world where it's got out of balance and we have this large level of net migration into the UK.

"That is partly economic migration. It's also about large numbers of people coming to settle in the UK. It's also about a lot of people abusing the student regime.

"So I think if you tackle all of those things it's perfectly possible - it's my ambition - to get to net migration from the rest of the world coming down to the tens of thousands rather than the hundreds of thousands."

The Home Affairs Select Committee warned recently that the cap would make little difference to overall immigration and could damage the economy.

The issue has caused friction within the coalition, with Business Secretary Vince Cable expressing concern about the ability of firms to bring highly-skilled employees to the UK.

Mr Cameron told the Commons this month that the cap should not affect intra-company transfers and that he wanted "much better immigration control without disadvantaging business".

London bus will be phased out from 2012

London Mayor Boris Johnson has unveiled an all-new London bus. It uses an efficient hybrid drivetrain that makes it the most fuel efficient bus ever to hit the capital.

Built by Wrightbus, the as-yet-nameless double-decker also sees the return of the traditional open rear platform, allowing passengers to jump on and off quickly.

It features two staircases to make embarking and disembarking quicker and the open back can be closed off if necessary.

Passenger comfort has been prioritised, too. The bus has a torque limiter in first gear to allow it to pull away smoothly - so falling over in the aisles should be a thing of the past.

It is packed with modern technology, including an aluminium spaceframe chassis similar in principle to that of the Audi R8 supercar.

The diesel-electric hybrid drivetrain uses a battery-powered motor at the rear to boost power. It also improves economy by making less work for the diesel engine. Noise will be lower than ever.

The battery is charged by a generator linked to the 4.5-litre diesel engine. Hybrid buses are already on the streets of London, but Wrightbus claims that this is the most efficient by some way.

Testing will begin in early 2011 at a closed track, before the bus hits the city's streets later that year. The current London bus will be gradually phased out from 2012 and this version will eventually make up the entire 8,000-strong fleet.

Feast of Sacrifice, a national holiday

Very nice Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has declared August 30, 2011 a National holiday, in celebration of the Eid’l-Adha or the the Feast of Sacrifice.

In proclamation number 234, Aquino cited Republic Act 9849 which provides that Eid’l Adha, one of the two greatest feasts of Islam, shall be celebrated as a holiday.

Celebrated by Muslims worldwide, Eid’l Adha is an important religious holiday that commemorates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael for Allah.

The Islamic event is usually celebrated for at least three days in Arab and Muslim countries.