Detroit : "A hard day"

DETROIT — The city of Detroit officially became the largest municipality in U.S. history Tuesday to enter Chapter 9 bankruptcy after a judge declared it met the specific legal criteria required to receive protection from its creditors.

Hand In My Pocket - Alanis Morissette

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ8D5Ihe4hg

I'm broke but I'm happy
I'm poor but I'm kind
I'm short but I'm healthy, yeah
I'm high but I'm grounded
I'm sane but I'm overwhelmed
I'm lost but I'm hopeful baby

What il all comes down to
Is that everything's gonna be fine, fine, fine
'Cause I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is giving a high five

I feel drunk but I'm sober
I'm young and I'm underpaid
I'm tired but I'm workin', yeah
I care but I'm restless
I'm here but I'm really gone
I'm wrong and I'm sorry baby

What it all comes down to
Is that everything's gonna be quite alright
'Cause I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is flicking a cigarette


What it all comes down to
Is that I haven't got it all figured out just yet
'Cause I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is giving the peace sign

I'm free but I'm focused
I'm green but I'm wise
I'm hard but I'm friendly baby
I'm sad but I'm laughing
I'm brave but I'm chicken shit
I'm sick but I'm pretty baby

What it all boils down to
Is that no one's really got it figured out just yet
I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is playing the piano

What it all comes down to my friends, yeah
Is that everything's just fine, fine, fine
'Cause I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is hailing a taxi cab. 

UK city of culture 2017: Hull's 'coming out of the shadows' bid chosen

Hull's bid, which promises £15m programme of cultural events, is chosen ahead of Dundee, Swansea Bay and Leicester.

Link to video: Hull city council video celebrating city's strengths in city of culture bid

Hull has been chosen to be the UK's city of culture in 2017, beating three other shortlisted cities for the title.

The announcement was made in Westminster by the culture secretary, Maria Miller. "This is brilliant news for Hull and everyone involved in the bid there," she said.

She added: "This year's UK city of culture, Derry-Londonderry, demonstrates the huge benefits that the title brings. These include encouraging economic growth, inspiring social change and bringing communities together.

"It can produce a wonderful mix of inward investment, and civic pride and I hope Hull's plans will make the most of all that being UK city of culture can bring."

The leader of Hull city council, Stephen Brady, told the BBC: "What I'm saying is thank you to the panel for changing Hull. Never again will Hull have the reputation that some people have put on it in the past.

"The people here, the wonderful people of Hull, appreciate what's been done, the decision that's been taken and we are on the move".

Hull was picked ahead of Dundee, Swansea Bay, and Leicester. Former Hull East MP John Prescott welcomed the announcement by tweeting:"It's happy hour again", a reference to the best known song of the Hull pop group The Housemartins.

The poetry of Philip Larkin, Hull university's notoriously grumpy librarian, formed a key part of the city's bid. The bid also included the voices of immigrants, among them a Polish-born supermarket worker and an Albanian-born filling station attendant.

The TV writer Phil Redmond, chair of the independent expert advisory panel, said: "It was the unanimous verdict of the panel that Hull put forward the most compelling case based on its theme as 'a city coming out of the shadows'.

"We were particularly impressed with Hull's evidence of community and creative engagement, their links to the private sector and their focus on legacy, including a commitment to enhance funding beyond 2017 and I'd like to congratulate all involved."

Hull's bid was delivered on two artist-designed bicycles, and promised a £15m programme with a cultural event every day of the year. This included an outdoor aerial spectacular honouring Larkin, built around his line "what will survive of us is love".

Larkin was born in Coventry, though he published most of his most famous work while living in Hull. Hull was the birthplace of the anti-slavery campaigning MP William Wilberforce, who also figures in the plans.

Wednesday's announcement comes after months of claims and counterclaims from the rival cities and last-minute final pitches to the judges in Derry, which currently holds the city of culture crown. The government first decided to create a UK city of culture every four years after Liverpool's tenure as the somewhat starrier European city of culture, brought the city an extra £753.8m.

Although Derry's year in the spotlight has been a critical success, and has brought crowds on to the streets for popular spectaculars such as the street theatre piece, The Return of Columcille, arguments have already started as to whether it was worth the money and the effort.

Sponsorship and income from ticket sales has been disappointing for many events; and what, if anything, the lasting legacy will be is debatable.

source: http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/nov/20/hull-chosen-city-of-culture-2017

The story of Ellis Island

    The small island in New York Harbor which, for millions of would-be immigrants, was their first experience of the Promised Land.

    The year is 1906, the date November 16th. Franz and Ulrike Schumacher and their three children have just disembarked from the Hamburg-Amerika line steamship that has carried them across the stormy North Atlantic Ocean from Germany.

    Like the thousands of other people milling around them, they are totally bewildered, caught up in a mixture of hope and apprehension, as they crowd into a vast waiting room. The room sounds like the Tower of Babel, for few of those in it speak a word of English. They speak German, Polish, Dutch, Hungarian, or Russian maybe, yet they have come, seeking a new life in a new world; and now they are on American soil for the first time. This is America! America! Or at least it is Ellis Island.

    After interminable hours of waiting, the Schumacher family are finally called to a desk; immigration officials study their papers, and ask them where they intend to go. They don't ask how long they're planning to stay, however, since they know the answer already. All those who pass through Ellis Island -- and that could mean over 11,000 people per day -- are would-be immigrants. They are looking to start a new life in a new world.

    For many, passing through Ellis Island was not so much a matter of stepping into a new world, it was stepping into a new life, a new character. And so it was that the man who finally led his family through the door and onto the ferry packed with a jostling crowd of new Americans was not Franz Schumacher any more, but Frank Shoemaker, even if he still didn't understand more than a couple of words of English.

* * *

    Ever since the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the United States has been a nation of immigrants. While today the pattern of immigration is not what it used to be  (most immigrants coming from Latin America or Asia)  and immigration policies are now designed to restrict entrance to the USA, things were very different in the early part of the twentieth century.
    Ellis Island, almost in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty at the entrance to New York Harbor, was the first stop on American soil for some twelve million immigrants between the years 1892 and 1954. For most, it was "a portal of hope and freedom"; for just a few, it was the "Island of Tears", when they were turned away for failing to meet the various immigration laws and requirements.
    During its years of operation, Ellis Island was the principal port of immigration into the United States, processing approximately 75% of all the immigrants into America over the period.
    The original three acre island got its name from a previous owner, Samuel Ellis. At the end of the eighteenth century, the State of New York secured the island in order to build fortifications as part of its harbor defense system.

    It was in 1890 that that Congress set aside funds to begin improvements on the island, so that a federal immigration station could be built to replace the existing facilities at Castle Garden, in lower Manhattan.

    The original island was expanded to several times its size, and the new immigration station opened on January 1st, 1892. Five years later, it was destroyed by fire; but it was soon rebuilt, with an impressive French Renaissance style brick building, which opened for business on December 17th 1900 and processed 2,251 immigrants that very same day. The part of the building whose image remained most clearly marked in the memories of those who passed through, was the vast registry room occupying the whole central section of the second floor; it was here that most of the processing of would-be immigrants took place.

    During the next half century, the small island grew to its present size, as it was joined by landfill to three adjacent islands. The main building was supplemented with a power house, kitchens, a hospital and contagious diseases wards, a dormitory building, a bakery and several other structures.
    In the early 1920's, though, immigration declined sharply, as restrictive immigration laws were passed. These put an annual ceiling on immigration, and established quotas for each foreign nation. They also made it compulsory for would-be immigrants to fill in papers at the US consulate in their country of origin, rather than on arrival. Thereafter, only those whose papers were not in order, or who needed medical treatment, were sent to Ellis Island.

    The facilities were increasingly used for the assembly and deportation of aliens who had entered the USA illegally, or of immigrants who had violated the terms of their admittance. And finally, on November 12th 1954, the Ellis Island immigration station ceased operation.

    Now it is open again, but as a museum, to tell the story of a fundamental stage in the making of modern America. The story needs to be told; what better place to tell it than on Ellis Island ?

King's Speech "I have a dream"

US marks 50 years since Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech

US President Barack Obama has addressed celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of civil rights leader Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech.

 The "Let Freedom Ring and Call to Action" commemoration took place on the steps of Washington's Lincoln Memorial, the site of King's address on 28 August, 1963.

Mr Obama said King's speech inspired millions of Americans to fight for a more just society and rights that people now take for granted.
"To dismiss the magnitude of this progress, to suggest, as some sometimes do, that little has changed, that dishonours the courage, the sacrifice of those who paid the price to march in those years," Obama said. "But we would dishonour those heroes as well to suggest that the work of this nation is somehow complete," he said, calling economic justice the "unfinished business" of the civil rights battle.
Other speakers included former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. The ceremony followed an interfaith service at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington.
The speech by Mr Obama, the first black US president, came as almost half of Americans say much more needs to be done before the colour-blind society that King envisioned is realised.
The Lincoln Memorial ceremony included bell-ringing at 3pm , 50 years to the minute after King ended his call for racial and economic justice with the words "let freedom ring".
About 50 communities or organizations around the US also said they would ring bells. The Swiss city of Lutry and Tokyo also took part. Other organizers included the National Action Network of civil rights leader and talk show host Al Sharpton, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the National Council of Churches.
A "Jobs and Justice" march took place before the event. Mr Obama's address wrapped up more than a week of Washington events marking the 50th anniversary of King's address. They included seminars, conferences and a march on Saturday that drew tens of thousands of people urging action on jobs, voting rights and gun violence. "What we must do is we must give our young people dreams again," Mr Sharpton told marchers. King, a black clergyman and advocate of non-violence, was among six organizers of the 1963 "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom," where he made his address. That address is credited with helping spur passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act the following year. A white prison escapee, James Earl Ray, assassinated the Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1968.

Nelson Mandela's Condition Becomes Critical

Nelson Mandela remains in a critical condition in hospital, South Africa's President Jacob Zuma said.

Mr Zuma and ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa visited Mr Mandela in hospital on Sunday evening after the former president's health deteriorated.

They were briefed by Mr Mandela's medical team and told the 94-year-old's condition had become critical over the past 24 hours".

Mr Zuma said in a statement: "The doctors are doing everything possible to get his condition to improve and are ensuring that Madiba is well-looked after and is comfortable. He is in good hands."

The pair also met Mr Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, who has been by her husband's bedside since he was taken ill.

On Monday, Mr Zuma told a news conference in Johannesburg that he had no further updates on Mr Mandela's condition.

Mr Mandela has suffered repeated bouts of illness in recent months and has been admitted to hospital four times since December.

The anti-apartheid leader has been in intensive care since he was last admitted to hospital on June 8 for a recurring lung infection.

Mr Zuma appealed to South Africans and to the world to pray for Mr Mandela, his family and the medical team attending him.

In Sunday's statement, Mr Zuma also discussed the government's acknowledgement a day earlier that an ambulance carrying Mr Mandela to the hospital two weeks ago had broken down.

"There were seven doctors in the convoy who were in full control of the situation throughout the period. He had expert medical care," Mr Zuma said.

"The fully equipped military ICU ambulance had a full complement of specialist medical staff including intensive care specialists and ICU nurses.

"The doctors also dismissed the media reports that Madiba suffered cardiac arrest. There is no truth at all in that report."

Mr Mandela is seen by many around the world as a symbol of reconciliation.

He played a leading role in steering South Africa from the apartheid era to democracy, becoming the country's first black president in all-race elections in 1994.

Court says human genes cannot be patented

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that companies cannot patent parts of naturally-occurring human genes, a decision with the potential to profoundly affect the emerging and lucrative medical and biotechnology industries.

The high court's unanimous judgment reverses three decades of patent awards by government officials. It throws out patents held by Salt Lake City-based Myriad Genetics Inc. on an increasingly popular breast cancer test brought into the public eye recently by actress Angelina Jolie's revelation that she had a double mastectomy because of one of the genes involved in this case.

Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote the court's decision, said that Myriad's assertion — that the DNA it isolated from the body for its proprietary breast and ovarian cancer tests were patentable — had to be dismissed because it violates patent rules. The court has said that laws of nature, natural phenomena and abstract ideas are not patentable.

"We hold that a naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated," Thomas said.

However, the court gave Myriad a partial victory, ruling that while naturally-occurring DNA was not patentable, synthetically-created DNA could be patented. The court said that synthetically created DNA, known as cDNA, can be patented "because it is not naturally occurring," Thomas said.

Patents are the legal protection that gives inventors the right to prevent others from making, using or selling a novel device, process or application. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been awarding patents on human genes for almost 30 years, but opponents of Myriad Genetics Inc.'s patents on the two genes linked to increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer say such protection should not be given to something that can be found inside the human body.

The company has used its patent to come up with its BRACAnalysis test, which looks for mutations on the breast cancer predisposition gene, or BRCA. Those mutations are associated with much greater risks of breast and ovarian cancer. Women with a faulty gene have a three to seven times greater risk of developing breast cancer and also have a higher risk of ovarian cancer.

Jolie revealed last month that her mother died of ovarian cancer and that her maternal grandmother also had the disease. She said she carries a defective BRCA1 gene that puts her at high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers, and her doctor said that the test that turned up the faulty gene link led Jolie to have both of her healthy breasts removed to try to avoid the same fate.

The court's ruling on synthetic DNA leaves the door open for future genetic patent work for companies like Myriad, lawyers said.

Thomas noted there are still ways for Myriad to make money off its discovery. "Had Myriad created an innovative method of manipulating genes while searching for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, it could possibly have sought a method patent," he said. And he noted that the case before the court did not include patents on the application of knowledge about the two genes.

Most biotech companies have already moved on from trying to patent isolated DNA, instead looking at synthetic options and other ways of protecting their multimillion-dollar investments, said Matthew McFarlane of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P.

"On a day-in and day-out basis, I don't see this changing that part of the industry," McFarlane said. "Isolated DNA itself is not something that companies seek to protect anymore."

Myriad's stock price jumped 10 percent after the ruling and was above $36 a share in early afternoon trading.

For its part, Myriad focused on what the ruling left intact.

"We believe the court appropriately upheld our claims on cDNA and underscored the patent eligibility of our method claims, ensuring strong intellectual property protection for our BRACAnalysis test moving forward," said Peter D. Meldrum, Myriad's president and CEO. "More than 250,000 patients rely upon our BRACAnalysis test annually, and we remain focused on saving and improving peoples' lives and lowering overall healthcare costs."

Myriad sells the only BRCA gene test. Opponents of its patents say the company can use the patents to keep other researchers from working with the BRCA gene to develop other tests.

"Today, the court struck down a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation," said Sandra Park, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union Women's Rights Project. "Myriad did not invent the BRCA genes and should not control them. Because of this ruling, patients will have greater access to genetic testing and scientists can engage in research on these genes without fear of being sued."

Companies have billions of dollars of investment and years of research on the line in this case. Their advocates argue that without the ability to recoup their investment through the profits that patents bring, breakthrough scientific discoveries to combat all kinds of medical maladies wouldn't happen.

But "genes and the information they encode area not patent eligible ... simply because they have been isolated from the surrounding genetic material," Thomas said.

In a concurring opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia said "the portion of the DNA isolated from its natural state sought to be patented is identical to that portion of the DNA in its natural state."

The case is 12-398, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.

How to pronounce "-ed"

New diet craze offers five days of feasting for two days of famine

LONDON (Reuters) - Forget abandoning carbohydrates or detoxing. The new dieting craze sweepingBritain and taking off in the United States lets people eat whatever they like - but only five days a week.

"The Fast Diet", also known as the 5:2 diet, is the brainchild of TV medical journalist Michael Mosleyand journalist Mimi Spencer and allows people to eat what they want for five days but only eat 600 calories a day on the other two.

Their book, "The Fast Diet", has topped bestselling book lists in Britain and the United States this year and been reprinted more than a dozen times.

Mosley said the diet is based on work by British and U.S. scientists who found intermittent fastinghelped people lose more fat, increase insulin sensitivity and cut cholesterol which should mean reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes.

He tried this eating regime for a BBC television science program called "Eat, Fast, Live Longer" last August after finding out his cholesterol level was too high and his blood sugar in the diabetic range. He was stunned by the results.

"I started doing intermittent fasting a year ago, lost 8 kgs (18 pounds) of fat over 3 months and my blood results went back to normal," Mosley told Reuters.

Mosley said he had been amazed at the way the diet had taken off with a list of websites set up by followers of the 5:2 diet or variations of the eating regime to share their experiences.

Following the success of "The Fast Diet", Spencer joined forces with dietitian Sarah Schenker to bring out "The Fast Diet Recipe Book" in April which has topped amazon.co.uk's food and drink list with 150 recipes containing under 300 calories.

Eating a 600 calorie daily diet - about a quarter of a normal healthy adult's intake - could consist of two eggs for breakfast, grilled chicken and lettuce for lunch, and fish with rice noodles for dinner with nothing to drink but water, black coffee or tea.

ONE DAY AT A TIME

Mosley put the diet's success down to the fact it is psychologically attractive and leads to steady drop in weight with an average weekly loss of 1 pound (0.46kg) for women and slightly more for men.

"The problem with standard diets is that you feel like you are constantly having to exercise restraint and that means you are thinking about food all the time, which becomes self-defeating," said Mosley.

"On this regime you are only really on a diet two days a week. It is also extremely flexible and simple."

Britain's National Health Service (NHS) initially expressed doubts about the diet and its longterm effects, saying side effects could include sleeping difficulties, bad breath, irritability, anxiety, and daytime sleepiness.

But as the popularity of the 5:2 diet has grown and become one of the most searched diets on the Internet, the NHS has started to look again at the diet and its effects.

On its website last month the NHS said the British Dietetic Association (BDA) reviewed a 2011 study by researchers at the UK's University Hospital of South Manchester that suggested intermittent fasting could help lower the risk of certain obesity-related cancers such as breast cancer.

"The increasing popularity of the 5:2 diet should lead to further research of this kind," the BDA said in a statement.

Schenker, a sports and media dietitian who works with football clubs and food companies, said it was a shame that the NHS had criticized the eating regime that had proved such a success with so many people.

"We are in the midst of an obesity crisis and you need to balance up which is worse - intermittent fasting of staying obese?" Schenker told Reuters.

Despite concerns raised by the NHS, the 5:2 diet has been widely praised by those who follow it.

Deb Thomas, 50, a management coach from London, said she has followed the diet for six months and dropped a couple of dress sizes. This has also inspired her husband to join her in fasting two days a week.

"It is such an easy diet to follow that fits into my way of life," Thomas said. "You have a tough day of not eating but you know the next day you can eat normally again, and that keeps you going."

Top Tips if you're travelling to New York this summer

Yellow Cabs vs Regular taxis

Sometimes yellow cabs are cheaper. They tend to charge a standard rate. However, make sure you look at the meter because once I went into a cab where the person was racist and tried to add $5 extra dollars to the fare. When I told him that I know how to read he started to say that is why he does not like Black people. Mind you the guy who was of another race was darker than us.

Non-yellow cabs don't always use a meter. They charge you based on how you dress and where you are going. If you look like you have money they will charge you alot. If you are going to an expensive neighborhood in Manhattan they may charge you more than those who are going to the Bronx which may be further out. 

Your best bet is to take public transportation during non rush hours 10:30am - 2:00pm, 4pm-4:30pm and 7pm-5am. If coming from airport take the shared van service, or one of the local buses or trains

 

Check your hotel's location

Our package's program said "Two nights in New York". We slept two nights not far from New York (in American scale, very far in Portuguese scale), but as a matter of fact, in New Jersey State. And, sleeping in New Jersey can be a good or bad solution, depending on your program. As you may see in my Newark page, I had a very good experience with that kind of solution, when I was coming from inland, needing to take a plane in Newark Airport and with a very short time to be in New York. 

However, this time, I was coming from Europe, expecting to have some free time in New York, and we didn’t. We followed the straight program of the package, and were moved more than 25km outside NY, to Saddle Brook, far from everything. Next time I’ll check it more carefully.

 

Beware with the Naked Cowboy!

A funy character in Times square!
You can take a pic with him for a tip. You have to leave the tip in one of his cowbow boots, the "pack" includes a picture with his "front" and a pic of his 'back" hahah.
He also has a legend, you can read it in his website, I just get to a conclusion: JUST IN NEW YORK......

Pickpockets and fake tickets

Always keep an eye on your money, and camera in the subway, pickpockets are good at taking your stuff without you noticing it in time.

and never buy tickets from a stranger on the street, and so you do not buy fake tickets, and never go fake cab

can be good also to read a bit about New York before traveling here.

World's oldest ever man dies aged 116

The world's oldest person and the oldest man ever to have lived has died of natural causes aged 116, officials in Japan said on Wednesday.

Jiroemon Kimura, who was born in 1897, died in hospital early Wednesday morning "from old age", an official in Kyoto's Kyotango city said in a statement.

Kimura, who was from Kyotango, was hospitalised in early May suffering from pneumonia. A few days ago doctors noted that his condition was worsening,

Kimura was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest living person in December 2012, after a woman from the United States died at the age of 115.

That month he also broke another record when he was verified as the oldest man ever to have lived, after reaching the age of 115 years and 253 days.

However, he was well off the all-time record set by French woman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122, making her the longest living person in history.

Kimura, who was born the same year as American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, celebrated his 116th birthday in April, receiving a pre-recorded video greeting from Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The centenarian had seven children, 14 grandchildren, 25 great-grand children and 15 great-great grandchildren, and worked at a post office for about 40 years. After retiring he took up farming which he continued to do until the age of 90.

He did not smoke and only ate until he was 80 percent full, the local official told AFP.

Kimura's motto in life was "to eat light and live long," the official added.

No fee AND no interest balance transfer card launched by Tesco

Tesco has stormed into the balance transfer market today with a market-leading 12-month 0% credit card with no fees.

The Tesco Clubcard with No Balance Transfer Fee has a 12-month 0% purchase period and whenever you use the card you’ll be able to earn Clubcard points.

This means you can transfer a debt over to the card and pay no fees or interest for a year.

No other balance transfer card offers the combination of no fee and a 0% period lasting as long as 12 months. The card is truly exceptional because it also has a 12-month 0% purchase period, which means you can buy items on the card during the year and not be charged interest.

There is also the added bonus for Tesco shoppers of collecting Clubcard points when using it. When shopping in Tesco or on Tesco petrol you’ll receive five points for every £4 you spend, and you'll get one point for every £4 spent elsewhere.

How does it compare?

When looking at the fees alone this is one of the best credit cards on the market.

The average fee for 0% balance transfer cards is around 2.5% so this is a much cheaper option. It’s also attractive thanks to the extended 0% purchase period and Clubcard points.  

If you want a longer interest-free period than 12 months, you can also upgrade to a card which offers 16-months 0% interest and nine months 0% purchases for a fee of 2.9%. At this rate you would pay £58 on a debt of £2,000, but for a smaller fee there are several cards available with longer balance transfer and purchase periods.

Our comparison tables show all the cards on the market but here are the top five with low fees.

Balance transfer card	Balance transfer fee	0% period on balance transfers	0% period on new purchases	Fee paid on £2,000 balance transfer
Halifax All In One Online MasterCard	1.00%	15 months	15 months	£20.00
Lloyds TSB Online Platinum	1.00%	15 months	3 months	£20.00
NatWest Platinum Low Balance Transfer Fee Credit Card	1.00%	13 months	6 months	£20.00
Royal Bank of Scotland Platinum Low Balance Transfer Fee Credit Card	1.00%	13 months	6 months	£20.00
Barclaycard Platinum Low Fee Balance Transfer Credit Card	1.28% (for June)	16 months	3 months	£25.60

 Cards with a low fee typically have a much lower 0% period and are therefore suitable for those who don’t want to be stuck with a hefty fee for moving a debt over.

But if you need longer than 12 months to clear a debt, there are better options around. The market-leader, for example, from Barclaycard has a 27-month 0% period, but a fee of 2.98%.

Our comparison tables show the full picture but here I’ve listed the top five cards with the longest 0% periods.

Card	0% period	Balance transfer fee	Fee paid on £2,000 transfer	Representative APR after 0% period ends
Barclaycard 27-Month Platinum Visa	27 months	2.98% (for June)	£59.60	18.9%
NatWest Platinum MasterCard	26 months	2.65%	£53	18.9%
RBS Platinum MasterCard	26 months	2.65%	£53	18.9%
Virgin Money MasterCard	26 months	2.99%	£59.80	17.9%
Barclaycard 25-Month Platinum Visa	25 months	2.04% (for June)	£40.80	18.9%

How to use a balance transfer card

When you take out one of these cards, the main aim should be to clear the debt in the 0% period. If you don't then you'll have to start paying interest when the 0% period ends. At this point it may be possible to transfer the debt onto a new card but there is no guarantee you’ll be accepted.

These cards have a higher standard interest rate than most credit cards and therefore interest payments can negate any savings you’ve made in the 0% period.

Missing a payment is also dangerous as it can cut the 0% period short, result in a fine or even leave a permanent mark on your credit score.