British clocks set back by an hour

By OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

London

Oct. 26: Summer time ended in Britain on Sunday at 1 am GMT and the clocks were set back by an hour, giving an extra hour to Britons.

The UK, which uses British Standard Time during summers, reverts back to GMT during winters. In the European Union, the dates for summer time have been harmonised for an indefinite period, summer time begins and ends on the last Sundays in March and October respectively at 1 am GMT in each member state. The government has made it clear that the UK is not planning to move to Central European Time. Jersey, which is a British Crown dependency off the coast of Normandy in France, held a referendum this month to allow its citizens to vote on whether to abandon Greenwich Mean Time. However, 72 per cent of voters voted against replacing GMT and aligning time to Central European Time, which is an hour ahead of the GMT. The met office has warned that the first taste of winter will be felt in the UK as colder weather will affect many areas next week.

***

Iran President falls ill due to exhaustion

Tehran, Oct. 26: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has fallen ill due to exhaustion brought on by his heavy workload, a close associate has told the Iranian state news agency. The announcement comes as doubts have surfaced over whether Mr Ahmadinejad, who faces strong criticism from opponents, will seek re-election in 2009. Parliament member Mohammad Ismail Kowsari, an ally of the President, said late on Saturday that Mr Ahmadinejad was feeling under the weather because of the strain of his position, according to the news agency, IRNA.

"The President will eventually get well and continue his job," said Mr Kowsari, who accompanied Mr Ahmadinejad in September to the UN General Assembly. "Every human being can face exhaustion under workload." —AP