Britons Say ‘Yes’ to Child-Free Zones on Planes

July 9th, 2009 LONDON - Travel company DialAFlight have announced plans to offer Free Child places to Dubai this summer. The offer, in conjunction with Emirates, includes flights, hotels and food.

July 9th, 2009 RUSHDEN, England - - Employees with Benefit Miss 70% Fewer Work Days Due to Child Care Issues A comprehensive study released today by The Consulting Practice at Bright Horizons Family Solutions confirms the importance of employer-supported child care for working families in the UK and Ireland. Among several compelling findings, the study reports that over a quarter of survey respondents said that they could not work without their workplace nursery and that employees with a child care benefit miss 70% fewer work days due to child care issues The Practice undertook a survey to measure the impact of employer-sponsored child care on employees and heard from parents who use a nursery supported by their employer at 33 organisations in the public and private sectors throughout the UK and Ireland.

June 11th, 2009 LONDON - Dorel (UK) Ltd, the world's biggest manufacturer of nursery and children's products and makers of Maxi-Cosi seats, has responded to today's report - published in the British Medical Journal - which suggests that children should stay in a rear-facing child car seat until the age of four: "There are some pure safety arguments for the benefit of travelling backwards in the event of an accident. This also applies to adults travelling by rail, for example.

June 9th, 2009 BRUSSELS - Every year at this time, members of Education International (EI) join with other trade unions and concerned citizens around the globe to mark the World Day Against Child Labour, 12 June. "Ten years ago, the international community adopted the landmark ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour.

May 27th, 2009 LONDON - As the credit crunch continues to constrict budgets and businesses look for ways to cut spending, companies may need to reconsider any plans to scale back employee work-life benefits. Britons continue to be Europe's hardest working employees, logging the most hours on the job, yet only 33 percent of workers say their employer has any family-friendly practices or personal support services, such as child care, wellness services or financial consulting, in place.

May 19th, 2009 LONDON - Budding artists aged three to 12 have the chance to ride in style, in a child car seat customised by themselves. Halfords, the UK leading retailer of travel solutions, has united with the award-winning child car seat manufacturer, Maxi-Cosi, to offer children the chance to design their own car seat cover, and have it made at the company's factory in Holland.

April 21st, 2009 LONDON - David White, Chief Executive, The Children's Mutual (www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk) welcomed today's Budget announcement, "Children who receive disability living allowance in a tax year will qualify for additional annual payments of GBP100 or GBP200 into their Child Trust Funds. This means that next year approximately 100,000 children will benefit from the additional annual payments of which an estimated 40,000 will qualify for the higher GBP200 allowance.

March 31st, 2009 LONDON - One Third of Children Under 18 Now Have a Child Trust Fund Leading Child Trust Fund (CTF) provider, The Children's Mutual (www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk/) welcomes the latest official figures showing parents are still investing for their children's financial futures. Quarterly Child Trust Fund figures released today from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) show that, even with the current economic turmoil, nearly three quarters of parents are actively opening Child Trust Funds for their children rather than letting the Government choose where the CTF is invested.

March 22nd, 2009 LONDON - Responding to the announcement by the BBC, that many university chancellors would like to see increases in tuition fees by between GBP5,000 and GBP20,000 a year, leading Child Trust Fund (CTF) Provider, The Children's Mutual (www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk/) has calculated that families may have to find GBP49,900 if youngsters decide to go to university in 18 years time. David White, Chief Executive of The Children's Mutual comments: "What is clear from the research is that the cost of university is only going to increase, it's just a case of by how much.

March 16th, 2009 LONDON - Increased University Fees Could Stretch Parents Purse Strings to the Limit - Child Trust Fund Offers Ray of Hope in Meeting Rising Costs The average student debt could be on the verge of smashing the GBP50,000 barrier in 18 years time if tuition fees are allowed to rise to GBP7,000 a year according to leading Child Trust Fund (CTF) Provider, The Children's Mutual (www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk/). Responding to today's announcement, by the BBC, that many university chancellors would like to see increases in tuition fees by between GBP5,000 and GBP20,000 a year, The Children's Mutual has calculated that families may have to find GBP49,900 if youngsters decide to go to university in 18 years time.

September 11th, 2009 LONDON - Eight out of 10 Britons use current climatic conditions as the opening line when meeting a stranger, a new survey has found. Queueing is their another favourite habit, with 70 percent of Brits favouring to wait in line compared to some of their European neighbours who favour pushing and shoving.

June 18th, 2009 Tips for sending kids as unaccompanied minorsNEW YORK — The incidents involving two girls traveling as unaccompanied minors who ended up on the wrong planes may have parents worried about safe trips for kids traveling alone. The U.S. Department of Transportation has an online guide called "When Kids Fly Alone" at airconsumer.dot.gov/publications/KidsAlone.pdf.

September 14th, 2009 LONDON - Britons keep almost 90 million unused phone handsets at home after they upgrade to new models, according to a countrywide survey. The research revealed that 52 per cent keep unused phones at home in case a current handset is stolen, lost or broken.

May 15th, 2009 LONDON - A new poll has revealed that Britons are the angriest people in Europe. The poll conducted for comedy channel G.O.L.D also revealed that most of the UK people lose their temper, on average, four times a day.

September 18th, 2009 LONDON - Britons waste one month of their lives searching for the television remote control, a new study has found. After studying 4,000 individuals, the researchers found that the average viewer loses it an average of 3.2 times a week and spends more than four minutes looking for it each time, reports The Scotsman.

October 1st, 2009 LONDON - A large number of Britons turned up at clothes chain Joy, wearing only their underwear, to take advantage of the shop's free outfit offer. Joy, which has 21 branches nationwide, offered free outfits to the first 25 customers who turn up at their new branch at Upper Street in Islington, north London, dressed only in their underwear.

June 5th, 2009 A look at the United Airlines fleetUnited has said it is asking Airbus and Boeing for proposals to replace its largest planes. Here's a look at its current fleet, seat count, and average age: Airbus A319, 55 planes, 120 seats, 9 years Airbus A320, 97 planes, 148 seats, 11 years Boeing 737, 34 planes, 108 to 123 seats, 17 to 20 years Boeing 747, 24 planes, 350 seats, 13 years Boeing 757, 97 planes, 172 seats, 17 years Boeing 767, 35 planes, 212 seats, 14 years Boeing 777, 52 planes, 267 seats, 10 years Source: United Airlines

April 10th, 2009 LONDON - Britons are so distressed by the economic slowdown that they are ready to pose nude for just œ6,500 pounds, according to a poll. The poll by global research company www.OnePoll.com revealed that three out of four adults would happily strip off to pay their credit card or utility bills.

September 1st, 2009 LONDON - Britons struggling to cope with the ongoing recession are munching on a new delicacy - cat food. Pollack, once popular as a food for cats, has stormed up the "seafood charts".

June 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Formal approvals were Tuesday granted to eight more special economic zones in the country, including those from infrastructure majors Emaar MGF and Larsen and Toubro, both in IT-related sectors. While Emaar MGF plans to set up its special economic zone for IT, electronics and hardware in Karnataka, Larsen and Toubro has planned its project in software and outsourcing in Maharashtra, an official statement said.