Author: Natasha Taylor

UK ATM Faults: Is It Wise To Keep The Money?

Natasha Taylor / / UK

It has been reported that a cash machine in Manchester has been giving away “free money” due to a technical fault.

The news quickly spread on social media sites that the cash machine was giving out double the amount requested, and as a result, many people headed to the supermarket cash point in Fallowfield to take advantage.

It is thought that the error occurred due to a member of staff loading £20 notes into the £10 slots, meaning that the machine would give people £20 every time they requested £10.

Free money

But is there really such a thing as free money or is it classed as stealing? And what should you do if a cash machine gives you more money than requested?

Well, there isn’t a clear cut answer to this.

According to ITV, the Theft Act says that a person is guilty of theft if they take property belonging to another “with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it.” Therefore, if the person taking the money was unaware of the malfunction and assumes that it is their money, there was no crime.

In theory, those who returned to the cash point repeatedly or went to the ATM when tipped off by another, may not be as innocent as they think as they’ve visited the cash point with the intention of taking money that isn’t actually theirs.

However, even though there would be evidence enough that the cash was taken, there is no specific law dealing with taking money from a faulty ATM.

Despite this, it isn’t the first time a case like this has been investigated. Earlier this year, the Crown Prosecution Service said that the only way an investigation could be launched is if the bank concerned with the faults made an official complain. In this particular case the bank let their customers keep any extra money that they had received.

However, morally  it is expected that someone should return any extra money that the cash machine has dispensed as there is no specific law dealing with taking money from a faulty ATM.

Speaking to ITV News, Brian Mairs, for the British Bankers’ Association, said: “If an ATM dispenses money to you in error, you should take it into the branch as soon as possible. Taking money that is not yours is a punishable crime.

“Banks have invested heavily in recent years in ensuring the security of customers’ money and the integrity of ATMs. There have been instances where an ATM has malfunctioned and the bank has written off the loss, but it would be wrong to assume that they will do so every time.”

 

Photo by redspotted.

Beijing Pollution Red Alerts

Natasha Taylor / / Asia, Uncategorized

The authorities in Beijing, China have issued their second red alert warning following heavy smog covering the city.

The city issued it’s first-ever such warning earlier in December and have just issued their second warning for this weekend, and it is expected that the pollution index will probably exceed 500.  At levels higher than 300, residents are encouraged to remain indoors, according to government guidelines.

The red alerts are usually issued after three days of extremely high levels of air pollution. When these alerts are issued vehicles are forced off the roads, factories and construction sites shut down and schools and nurseries advised to close.

But how serious actually is the air pollution in China, and what does it mean for it’s residents?

Recent research has shown that the pollution is the cause of over 1.6 millions deaths in China every year. This equates to around 4,400 people every single day.

According to Time, Researchers from Berkeley Earth, a non-profit climate research organization, published an online study Thursday that finds that pollution causes about 17% of deaths in China. Researchers came to their conclusions after analyzing four months of data taken at 1,500 locations across China, South Korea, and Taiwan.

The study found that the most deadly pollutant, comes in the form of tiny particles derived from places like electric power plants and fossil fuels used in homes and factories for heating. These particles can enter the lungs and bloodstream and cause illnesses ranging from asthma to heart disease.

However, a top economic planner has said that the way to get around this problem, China needs 10 more megacities. The planner has said that all of these new cities must include top schools, hospitals, and corporate headquarters to ease the strain on Beijing.

However, it seems that some businesses are making the most of the red alerts in China. Vanity Air, a Canadian company that sells bottled air, have found a lucrative market and are selling and shipping cans in high quantities over to China to help citizens with the high levels of pollution that they’re facing.

 

Photo by: Getty Images via The Independent 

Explained: China And Media Censorship

Natasha Taylor / / Asia

5547607176_bd3c82dc94_bThe BBC have reported that China are making further moves to curb their internet use after calls for more regulation of the internet.

The president, Xi Jinping, has said that he wants a global system to help fight online crime and terrorism, but campaigners for free speech complain it would end in more censorship and surveillance.

But why does China already have so much censorship over internet and the media in the country?

The media censorship that is in place in China is seen as a way of the Communist Party of China keeping their reign in the county. One way of doing this has been to censor all media and internet usage so that they can prevent any unapproved reformist ideas or ideologies that could potentially make people want to change the way the country is run.

The censorship also prevents Chinese citizens from discovering or learning more about the past and/or current failures of the Communist Party that could potentially create or inflame any anti-government sentiment.

China has also blocked any access to foreign governments’ websites. It is though that this has been done in order to prevent citizens from discovering and learning about other systems of governance that are in place around the world, which they may demand for themselves.

There are two ways in which China have implemented media censorship. The first way is known as ‘The Great FireWall’ which is the government simply blocking citizen’s access to foreign websites.  The second way is known as the ‘Golden Shield’ and is a system for domestic surveillance which was set up in 1998 by the Ministry of Public Security

Because the Chinese government are so keen to keep out Western media and have banned popular social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube. and have replaced them with their own sites YouKu and WeChat.

However, in recent years the Chinese government have introduced technology that doesn’t block a whole website, but instead restricts access to specific pages in addition to certain searches on sites such as Google.

According to The Economist, The “Freedom on the Net 2012” report, issued by Freedom House, an American organisation that tracks global trends in political freedom, ranked China as the third most restrictive country in the world when it comes to internet access and that overall, there are thought to be around 100,000 people, employed both by the state and by private companies, policing China’s internet around the clock.

Photo by: MinimalMo

What Is Fracking And Why Are People Opposing It?

Natasha Taylor / / Uncategorized

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BBC news have reported that “controversial proposals to allow fracking under national parks will be voted on by MPs next week and it follows a suggestion from the industry-funded Shale Gas Task Force which stated the UK should start fracking “as soon as possible” to find out the economic impact of shale gas.”

However there has been a rise in opposition parties and campaigners coming forward, and they have criticised the lack of a Commons debate. They have also accused ministers of a U-turn as they previously pledged an outright ban on fracking in national parks.

But what is fracking and why is there so much opposition to it?

Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth and injecting liquid at high pressures to open up rocks in order to release the gas or oil inside, and the name for the process come from the action of the rock being fractured apart from theses high pressures.

The process, which can be carried out either vertically or horizontally, not only only creates new pathways such gas and oils to be released, but also allows existing channels to be extended.

The extensive use of fracking has prompted environmental concerns after its mass use in the US.

Fracking uses huge amounts of water, which must be transported to the fracking site, at it is said that this comes at an enormous cost to the environment.

The BBC have said that “Environmentalists say potentially carcinogenic chemicals used may escape and contaminate groundwater around the fracking site. The industry suggests pollution incidents are the results of bad practice, rather than an inherently risky technique.”

The carcinogenic chemicals that environmentalists are worried about are a form of radiation that is linked to cancer. They don’t directly affect DNA, however,  it could cause human cells to divide at a quicker rate than normal, and it is thought that this could increase the likelihood of changes in DNA.

Campaigners are also worried that the fracking process in the UK could potentially cause small earth tremors.

They’ve said that fracking is simply distracting energy firms and governments from investing in renewable sources of energy, and encouraging continued reliance on fossil fuels.

However, industry experts have said that UK needs to start fracking to establish the economic impact of shale gas that fracking produces. And the government believes that these shale gas have the potential to provide the UK with greater energy security, growth and jobs.

 

Photos by: BBC / Video courtesy of: YouTube

All About The Volkwagen Scandal

Natasha Taylor / / Europe, North America, UK

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Volkswagen recently hit global headlines as it was uncovered that they had been cheating in emission tests by making its cars appear far less polluting than they are.

The Guardian reported that the US Environmental Protection Agency discovered that 482,000 VW diesel cars on American roads were emitting up to 40 times more toxic fumes than permitted – and VW has since admitted the cheat affects 11m cars worldwide.

Volkswagen’s “defeat device” wasn’t a physical device, but instead a programme in the engine software that effectively sensed when the car was being tested and as a result activated equipment that reduced emissions. However, this was not the case in regular driving as the software turned off and increased emissions far above legal limits – up to 40 times of what is legal in the US.

It has also meant that far more harmful NOx emissions, including nitrogen dioxide, have been pumped into the air than was thought – on one analysis, between 250,000 to 1m extra tonnes every year. The hidden damage from these VW vehicles could equate to all of the UK’s NOx emissions from all power stations, vehicles, industry and agriculture, says the Guardian.

It is not yet known exactly which systems Volkswagen modified, but experts are said to be focusing on parts of the exhaust system that are designed to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide, a pollutant that can cause emphysema, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases.

The Environmental Protection Agency said in September that it would order Volkswagen to recall seven of its American car models with affected engines, which amount to total of about 500,000 vehicles.

Volkswagen will be getting in touch with anyone who has a car that has been affected as they now face $18bn (£12bn) in penalties under the US Clean Air Act, which allows fines of up to $37,500 per car.

In addition, the European Parliament has now also voted to set up a committee to investigate the scandal in more depth.