UK spring sunshine prompts warnings over unsafe fake designer sunglasses
While many will be enjoying the spring sunshine, experts have cautioned against wearing fake designer sunglasses, warning they could do more harm than good,As the College of Optometrists notes, sunglasses not only protect the eyes against glare on sunny days, but can also shield them from harmful ultraviolet (UV) light,That’s important because UV rays have been linked to a number of eye conditions,In the short term, for example, they can cause a temporary but painful condition called photokeratitis – essentially a “sunburn” on the cornea, which sits at the front of the eye,In the longer term, UV exposure is associated with the development of early-onset cataracts, non-cancerous growths on the cornea known as pterygia, some types of eyelid cancer, and potentially even age-related macular degeneration, which can lead to sight loss.
However, experts have warned wearing fake designer sunglasses could be worse for your eyes than going without as they often lack crucial UV filters,Alex Day, a consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields eye hospital, said: “When you buy fake sunglasses, you are gambling with your sight,Counterfeit eyewear is uniquely dangerous because it usually features dark-tinted lenses with absolutely zero UV protection,From a medical perspective, wearing them is actually significantly worse than wearing no sunglasses at all,”The problem, Day noted, is dark sunglasses cause the pupils to dilate – similar to when you step into a dark room.
But without UV filters this means a large dose of harmful UV radiation can enter the eye,James Wolffsohn, a professor of optometry at Aston University, also stressed the importance of sunglasses having UV filters,“If you get bright light in your eyes and you’re not wearing sunglasses, you’ll naturally not only cut down your pupil size, but you’ll squint,You might tip your head a little bit so the brows are blocking the light – we have lots of natural protection to UV,” he said,“But, obviously, if you’ve got sunglasses on, you’re not going to feel those effects, and your pupils will be bigger as well.
”According to a recent report from the Intellectual Property Office, sunglasses are a popular type of counterfeit accessory in the UK,Those purporting to be from designers including Chanel, Ray-Ban and Prada were among a £38,000 haul seized at the Appleby horse fair last June, while counterfeit sunglasses were also found among a £6m stash of fake goods seized in Rochdale in May,Opticians say poor-quality packaging, flimsy hinges, errors in the logo, spelling or font, cases made of cheap materials and a lack of branded high-quality cleaning cloth are other elements that point to fake designer sunglasses – as well as a cheap price,Experts added the best way to ensure sunglasses have appropriate UV protection was to look for a CE, UV400 or UKCA mark, and to take care not to confuse “polarised lenses”, which help to reduce glare, with UV protection,Dr Paramdeep Bilkhu, a clinical adviser at the College of Optometrists, said it was a myth that the darker the tint, the better the protection offered by sunglasses.
“It’s not about the depth of the tint, it’s whether or not [a pair of sunglasses] carries that mark,” he said.Bilkhu advised people to buy sunglasses, particularly prescription ones, from a local optometrist practice, noting that, as well as being reputable sellers, they can ensure sunglasses fit properly and offer advice on style.Alternatively, he suggested sunglasses could be bought from outlets such as well-known department stores, which offer sunglasses with appropriate safety marks.Bilkhu recommended people keep an eye on the UV index – often shown on weather apps – to know when to wear their sunglasses, adding they are not just for summer but can be important in the winter too, when the sun bounces off snow and ice.“If the UV index is 3 and above, that is the time to wear sun UV protection, and that is the time to wear your sunglasses,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter if the conditions are overcast – make sure you’re still wearing them,”
Singing activists disrupt NatWest meeting over ‘climate backtracking’
The chair of NatWest was forced to defend the bank against accusations of “climate backtracking” at a chaotic annual shareholder meeting, which was temporarily suspended owing to singing protesters.Not long after the meeting began in Edinburgh, it was adjourned for about half an hour after a protester interrupted Rick Haythornthwaite’s opening speech.Protesters in the audience, wearing black T-shirts emblazoned with “No more big oil” and “No bombs”, then sang a song to the tune of Frère Jacques, with a chorus of “No more bombs, no more oil”. They appear to represent the campaign group Extinction Rebellion’s XR Money Rebellion, which has targeted NatWest and other banks for financing fossil fuel projects.When the meeting resumed, it was dominated by questions from shareholders about NatWest’s climate policies, as well as staff wages compared with bumper executive pay packets
UAE quits Opec in ‘pivotal moment’ for oil producing group – as it happened
Newsflash: The United Arab Emirates has announced it is quitting the Opec group of oil producers.In an unexpected move, the UAE is leaving Opec and Opec+ (which includes allies such as Russia) from 1 May, a move which could allow it – in theory – to produce more oil and gas.The UAE’s energy ministry says in a statement that the decision “reflects the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile”, and follows a “comprehensive review” of its production policy, and its current and future capacity.Opec, created back in 1960, agrees and sets production quotes for members in an attempt to control the oil price. The UAE is a long-standing member, having joined in 1967
Europe’s smaller airports ‘under threat’ if fuel shortages cause many cancellations
Europe’s smaller airports may not survive if jet fuel shortages triggered by the Middle East crisis lead to widespread route cancellations, the industry’s trade body has warned.Although airlines insist there are currently no supply problems within the normal four- to six-week horizon, the US-Israel war on Iran and the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz have doubled the price of jet fuel, prompting some carriers to cancel flights.The Airports Council of Europe said regional airports were the most exposed and faced an “existential threat” if airlines cut capacity and raised fares, as demand on their routes was generally more price-sensitive – demonstrated when Lufthansa axed 20,000 summer flights operated by its regional subsidiary, CityLine.Olivier Jankovec, the director general of ACI Europe, said that smaller regional airports had still not recovered since the Covid pandemic, with traffic still 30% below 2019 levels, while larger ones had bounced back to growth.He said: “The current levels of jet fuel prices and the prospect of a new cost of living crisis mean that many regional airports across our continent are likely to face both a supply and demand shock
Barclays cuts back risky lending after £228m hit from UK mortgage firm MFS
Barclays is pulling back from lending to risky borrowers, as its chief executive warned of increasing numbers of fraud cases and the bank took a £228m hit from the failure of a mortgage lender.The mortgage lender Market Financial Solutions (MFS) collapsed in February amid allegations of fraud, and the UK’s financial regulator has since launched an investigation into the scandal.Barclays provided banking services to MFS and said the £228m hit had pushed total credit impairment charges to £823m in the first three months of 2026, up from £643m a year earlier.Last year the British bank reported a £110m loss over the US sub-prime auto lender Tricolor, which collapsed amid fraud allegations.The chief executive, CS Venkatakrishnan, said: “This [alleged] fraud, as with the one in Tricolor, indicates to us the importance of strong financial controls at borrowers and the difficulty ex-ante of identifying fraud
BP profits more than double as oil prices soar in Iran war
BP has provoked outrage by revealing its profits more than doubled in the first quarter of this year after its oil traders reaped the benefit of the war in Iran.The energy company capitalised on a surge in global oil market prices to report better than expected profits of $3.2bn (£2.4bn) for the first quarter, more than double the $1.38bn it made in the same period last year
Deloitte and Zoom’s trims to parental-leave benefits may hurt them in long run, experts say
Recent moves by US companies Deloitte and Zoom to reduce how much paid parental leave they offer employees could signal a larger reduction in benefits in corporate America, according to labor market experts.American workers are already seen as having less benefits and labor protections than many of their counterparts across the world, especially in Europe.Leadership at the huge accounting and communication technology companies probably made the decisions because the labor market has stagnated, meaning that people looking for jobs do not have the same leverage when considering a job opening, the experts say.But while cutting the benefit might help companies save money in the short term, some consultants argue that the moves will ultimately hurt companies because it will make workers less productive, among other negative consequences.“It feels like someone is just looking at a spreadsheet saying, ‘How can I get more hours?’” said Bobbi Thomason, a professor of applied behavioral science at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School
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