Spending his savings on renting an advertising hoarding has proved a winning gamble for an unemployed Irishman “Jobless Paddy”, the unemployed Irishman who spent his life savings on an advertising hoarding pleading with bosses to save him from emigration , has been rescued by another Paddy. Irish betting giant Paddy Power has given a job to Féilim Mac An Iomaire, who has shot to fame in the past few weeks after using €2,000 (£1,770) to rent a billboard site asking for help. The Galway man displayed the ad on Dublin’s busy Merrion Road stating that he did not want to emigrate to look for work. The response was unprecedented, resulting in 20 interviews and several job offers. The 26-year-old said: “Working with Paddy and his team is something I could only have dreamt of before, but now I’m actually here, it’s real. The last month has been the most chaotic of my life, so now I’m really just looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting stuck into my new job.” Ken Robertson of the bookmaker chain said: “Feilim is a true rock star. I’m so happy he decided to come and work for Paddy Power. I have no doubt his energy, creativity and never-say-die attitude will be a massive plus to the brand.” Mac An Iomaire’s plight struck a chord in a nation that expects to lose 50,000 people to emigration this year, many of them young. His unusual personal sales pitch gained him fame around the world, with foreign news organisations reporting on his billboard site. Meanwhile, unemployment remains at more than 450,000, with thousands choosing to get out of the Republic in search of work, mainly in Britain, North American and Australia. Unemployment and employment statistics Financial crisis Unemployment Ireland European debt crisis Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
After driest spring for a century, Wales, the south-west and Midlands escape drought status, although restrictions remain in some areas The wettest week since winter has washed away the drought in some parts of the country, but restrictions remain in force, with Anglia still suffering. More rain fell in England and Wales in the last week than at any time since the start of February, alleviating the drought that has affected areas across the middle of the country. Most of the rainfall came in south Wales and the south-west of England, two of the areas worst hit by the dry spell. But central and eastern England have still had less than half their average rainfall for the time of year, and Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, parts of Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire and western Norfolk remain in official drought status. Trevor Bishop, head of water resources at the Environment Agency, said: “While the rainfall this week will not reverse the effects of the dry spring, it has provided welcome water for crops, gardens and rivers across areas affected by or at risk of drought.” Last week, the Environment Agency was ready to advocate raising Wales, the south-west and the Midlands to drought status. However, heavy rains came just ahead of the expected announcement last Friday, and have continued, which means these regions are now unlikely to be in imminent danger of drought. Experts warned the next few weeks would be crucial, however. Farmers have already been hit by the drought conditions, with the National Farmers’ Union suggesting that the average English wheat yield in 2011 could be down by 14% on 2010 to around 6.5 tonnes per hectare, which would rank among the lowest since the late 1980s. Ian Backhouse, combinable crops chairman at the NFU, said: “I believe this year’s forecast yield decrease was largely due to poor growing conditions since winter. Farmers are clearly concerned about the impact on the ground of this abnormally dry spring [and even] with the recent rainfall we fear the damage has already been done.” He said the barley crop would also be hit, particularly in terms of quality. A poor wheat harvest is likely to raise food prices, and poor barley could increase the price of beer, brewers have warned. Meat prices may also rise as livestock farmers struggle with feedstock. Farmers and some other businesses are still banned from taking water from rivers or underground sources in many areas of the country, though higher river flows have meant some have had restrictions lifted. Rivers whose flow is below average for the time of year include the Dove and Derwent in central England, Tone and Frome in the south west and the Coln in the Thames Valley. Across much of the country, the soils are “exceptionally dry” after England’s driest spring in a century, according to the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. This means it will take much longer than usual for the land to recover, even if strong rainfall continues. Scotland, meanwhile, had its wettest spring on record. Bishop warned that the situation could yet turn worse. “Without further sustained rainfall, river flows will drop again, which could harm wildlife and increase the impact of pollution incidents. Our teams remain on alert to respond to the environmental impacts of the drought,” he said. Drought Water Weather Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
For years America's media have been enthralled by anything that supports the theory that carbon dioxide is warming the planet leading to an imminent cataclysm if governments don't regulate this partially man-made gas. By contrast, reports that might undermine CO2's importance in global warming, like the following released Tuesday by the AAS Solar Physics Division in Las Cruces, New Mexico, predicting a sharp decrease in solar activity in coming years, typically get either little attention or are downplayed: A missing jet stream, fading spots, and slower activity near the poles say that our Sun is heading for a rest period even as it is acting up for the first time in years, according to scientists at the National Solar Observatory (NSO) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). As the current sunspot cycle, Cycle 24, begins to ramp up toward maximum, independent studies of the solar interior, visible surface, and the corona indicate that the next 11-year solar sunspot cycle, Cycle 25, will be greatly reduced or may not happen at all. The results were announced at the annual meeting of the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society, which is being held this week at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces: http://astronomy.nmsu.edu/SPD2011/ “This is highly unusual and unexpected,” Dr. Frank Hill, associate director of the NSO’s Solar Synoptic Network, said of the results. “But the fact that three completely different views of the Sun point in the same direction is a powerful indicator that the sunspot cycle may be going into hibernation.” Sounds pretty serious, right? Not according to America's global warming-loving media as LexisNexis identified that with the exception of the Fox News Channel and the Fox Business Network, only CBS News bothered reporting this, albeit during its “Morning News” program broadcast at 4AM Wednesday when most of the country was fast asleep: BETTY NGUYEN: Now a bit farther away, ninety-three million miles farther exactly, the scientists say giant flares like this one will be a lot less common in coming years. They say the sun is headed into an extended hibernation period with fewer flares and sun spots. And that, as they say, was that. Apart from FNC and FBN, a total of two sentences were given to this solar activity report on American television. LexisNexis identified nothing from ABC, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, or PBS. Nada, zilch, zippo! By contrast, FBN offered the following for its viewers Thursday with detailed commentary by Weatherbell.com's Joe Bastardi: Nice report. You can understand why the global warming-loving television media wouldn't want their viewers to see that. Neither did most major newspapers, as I could identify nothing concerning this matter in the print editions of the New York Times, USA Today, or the Washington Post. Meanwhile, the Associated Press's Al Gore-loving Seth Borenstein did report the news, but downplayed its significance: The sun is heading into an unusual and extended hibernation, scientists predict. Around 2020, sunspots may disappear for years, maybe decades. But scientists say it is nothing to worry about. Solar storm activity has little to do with life-giving light and warmth from the sun. The effects from a calmer sun are mostly good. There'd be fewer disruptions of satellites and power systems. And it might mean a little less increase in global warming. The effects from a calmer sun are mostly good? Yeah, he really said that. Quite a departure from Bastardi's view that we could be heading back to the cool temperatures we saw in the '70s when press outlets like Time magazine were fretting about a new ice age: If this were to reoccur, Americans would be spending far more on energy to heat their homes, which at today's rates would have a substantially more deleterious impact on the economy than rising temperatures. As Bastardi noted, it's easier to grow vegetables and grains when it's warm. With food costs on the rise, a cooling planet could further exacerbate the problem. But don't worry. Most of the media think this is either unimportant or nothing to get excited about. Nothing to see here. Move along.
Continue reading …
• Nearly two-thirds of applicants were unsuccessful • Next sales window opens at 6am on 24 June Nearly two thirds of the 1.9m people who applied for London 2012 Olympics tickets missed out in the first round of sales. Figures show that a total of 1.2m people ended up with nothing, with only 700,000 – 36% – being successful. Those who missed out will be given the first opportunity to buy those tickets still available when the next sales window opens at 6am on 24 June. Some 3m tickets were bought in the first round, and a further 2.3m will go on sale, though 1.7m of these are for Olympic football matches and 600,000 for other sports. The London 2012 chairman, Sebastian Coe, told reporters: “We recognise that a lot of people who have as yet been unsuccessful in that application are clearly disappointed. That’s why we are absolutely determined to do everything we possibly can to get tickets to those people who missed out in the first application. “Our commitment is to get two thirds of that 1.9m people to buy a ticket for the 2012 Games if they want to – and we know they want to be there, they were involved in the application process and are mad sports fans.” All applicants will find out by email today whether they have been successful or not. Those told they have been successful will not be able to find out exactly which tickets they have until 24 June when they will be able to do so via their baskets in the online ticket system. The emails to the 1.2m unsuccessful applicants say: “We would like to invite you to take advantage of an exclusive opportunity to purchase some of the remaining tickets, in advance of those customers who were allocated tickets in the initial application phase. “From 6am on 24 June until 6pm on 3 July 2011 you will be able to request some of the remaining tickets on the London 2012 ticketing website.” Olympic Games 2012 guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Locals ban Adán Sarabia’s Los Gringos No Comen Llajua (Foreigners Don’t Eat Spicy Sauce) because it portrays them as narco-villains For a film-maker, getting lost in the jungle can be a source of amusing sketches, which can turn even more humorous if it’s a German tourist stumbling upon a makeshift cocaine lab run by fictional drug-traffickers. But coca growers in the Yungas region of Bolivia do not see the funny side. They have banned the screening of Adán Sarabia’s Los Gringos No Comen Llajua (Foreigners Don’t Eat Spicy Sauce) because it portrays them as narco-villains. In the movie, the German tourist is kidnapped by drug traffickers who believe he is worth a lot of money. It’s all fiction, says the Bolivian filmmaker, but the coca growers are not convinced. They have even intimidated those who try to show the film. “The house of one of the people who helped us was burnt down,” said Sarabia. “They’ve threatened the actors who live in the Yungas that they’ll throw them out of their community, and they’ve called them persona non grata.” The young director protests that his comedy, while filmed in the Yungas, could be set in any jungle area of Latin America. “I was surprised that one of the leaders of the coca growers wanted to know who gave us permission to film a cocaine lab,” said Sarabia. A scene in the movie shows mean-looking men stumping their feet on coca leaves, the traditional maceration process in the production of illegal cocaine. “This person believes that what he’s seen in the movie is true but, in reality, that cocaine lab was our artistic recreation.” For the director, this is not just laughable but also an implicit confirmation that some of the coca legally grown in the Yungas for traditional and medicinal uses goes to drug traffickers. “This comment implicates the coca growers, that they do have maceration pits,” said Savadria. “He put his foot in his mouth.” The director, however, is pleased about the controversy because it has given the film very good publicity. “We now plan to launch it again. People now want to see it.” Bolivia Comedy Drugs trade guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Locals ban Adán Sarabia’s Los Gringos No Comen Llajua (Foreigners Don’t Eat Spicy Sauce) because it portrays them as narco-villains For a film-maker, getting lost in the jungle can be a source of amusing sketches, which can turn even more humorous if it’s a German tourist stumbling upon a makeshift cocaine lab run by fictional drug-traffickers. But coca growers in the Yungas region of Bolivia do not see the funny side. They have banned the screening of Adán Sarabia’s Los Gringos No Comen Llajua (Foreigners Don’t Eat Spicy Sauce) because it portrays them as narco-villains. In the movie, the German tourist is kidnapped by drug traffickers who believe he is worth a lot of money. It’s all fiction, says the Bolivian filmmaker, but the coca growers are not convinced. They have even intimidated those who try to show the film. “The house of one of the people who helped us was burnt down,” said Sarabia. “They’ve threatened the actors who live in the Yungas that they’ll throw them out of their community, and they’ve called them persona non grata.” The young director protests that his comedy, while filmed in the Yungas, could be set in any jungle area of Latin America. “I was surprised that one of the leaders of the coca growers wanted to know who gave us permission to film a cocaine lab,” said Sarabia. A scene in the movie shows mean-looking men stumping their feet on coca leaves, the traditional maceration process in the production of illegal cocaine. “This person believes that what he’s seen in the movie is true but, in reality, that cocaine lab was our artistic recreation.” For the director, this is not just laughable but also an implicit confirmation that some of the coca legally grown in the Yungas for traditional and medicinal uses goes to drug traffickers. “This comment implicates the coca growers, that they do have maceration pits,” said Savadria. “He put his foot in his mouth.” The director, however, is pleased about the controversy because it has given the film very good publicity. “We now plan to launch it again. People now want to see it.” Bolivia Comedy Drugs trade guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Locals ban Adán Sarabia’s Los Gringos No Comen Llajua (Foreigners Don’t Eat Spicy Sauce) because it portrays them as narco-villains For a film-maker, getting lost in the jungle can be a source of amusing sketches, which can turn even more humorous if it’s a German tourist stumbling upon a makeshift cocaine lab run by fictional drug-traffickers. But coca growers in the Yungas region of Bolivia do not see the funny side. They have banned the screening of Adán Sarabia’s Los Gringos No Comen Llajua (Foreigners Don’t Eat Spicy Sauce) because it portrays them as narco-villains. In the movie, the German tourist is kidnapped by drug traffickers who believe he is worth a lot of money. It’s all fiction, says the Bolivian filmmaker, but the coca growers are not convinced. They have even intimidated those who try to show the film. “The house of one of the people who helped us was burnt down,” said Sarabia. “They’ve threatened the actors who live in the Yungas that they’ll throw them out of their community, and they’ve called them persona non grata.” The young director protests that his comedy, while filmed in the Yungas, could be set in any jungle area of Latin America. “I was surprised that one of the leaders of the coca growers wanted to know who gave us permission to film a cocaine lab,” said Sarabia. A scene in the movie shows mean-looking men stumping their feet on coca leaves, the traditional maceration process in the production of illegal cocaine. “This person believes that what he’s seen in the movie is true but, in reality, that cocaine lab was our artistic recreation.” For the director, this is not just laughable but also an implicit confirmation that some of the coca legally grown in the Yungas for traditional and medicinal uses goes to drug traffickers. “This comment implicates the coca growers, that they do have maceration pits,” said Savadria. “He put his foot in his mouth.” The director, however, is pleased about the controversy because it has given the film very good publicity. “We now plan to launch it again. People now want to see it.” Bolivia Comedy Drugs trade guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …School’s refusal to let boy wear cornrow braids is ruled racial discrimination
June 17, 2011 No Comment
Boy’s family wins case in high court against Harrow college that bans ‘gang-related’ hairstyles A school’s anti-gang ban on unconventional hairstyles has resulted in “unlawful, indirect racial discrimination which is not justified”, the high court has ruled. The test case decision is a victory for the family of African-Caribbean teenager “G”, who wears his hair in cornrow braids as part of a family tradition. G, who cannot be named, and his mother challenged a refusal by St Gregory’s Catholic Science College in Kenton, Harrow, north London, to let G through the school gates with his braids in September 2009, when he was 11. Mr Justice Collins, sitting in London, ruled that the hair policy was not unlawful in itself, “but if it is applied without any possibility of exception, such as G, then it is unlawful”. He said in future the school authorities must consider allowing other boys to wear cornrows if it is “a genuine family tradition based on cultural and social reasons”. Even though the family’s application for judicial review was successful, G, now 13, does not wish to return to the school, which he left in tears on his first day. “This is an important decision,” said G’s solicitor, Angela Jackman, after the hearing. “It makes clear that non-religious cultural and family practices associated with a particular race fall within the protection of equalities legislation.” The judge emphasised that the school’s “short back and sides” hair policy was perfectly permissible and lawful, but exceptions had to be made on ethnic and cultural grounds. He stressed that the school was “not in any way racist” but had made “an honest mistake” in failing to allow for exceptions, adding: “The school has had glowing Ofsted reports and there is no question that it is an excellent school.” The judge said headteacher Andrew Prindiville had justified the policy as necessary to stop the gang culture prevalent in the area, in which haircuts were used as badges of membership, coming into the school. Cornrows were not necessarily gang-linked but other styles, like the skinhead haircut, might well have that connection, the judge said. The fear was that allowing exceptions to the “short back and sides” rule would undermine the anti-gang policy. But the judge pointed out that exceptions were already made for Rastafarians and Sikh boys who wore hair beyond the collar, and similar exceptions should be made for African Caribbeans. The judge said G’s family was not alone in regarding cornrows as part of their culture: “There are, on the evidence, other African Caribbeans who take the same view.” The judge refused the head teacher and governors permission to appeal to the court of appeal, but they can still go to the appeal judge directly to ask them to consider the case. The judge stressed that he was not ruling on whether the exclusion of G in 2009 was unlawful. It had been suggested that G’s family might bring a county court damages action over the case. That would be the time to decide whether or not the school had dealt with G’s desire to wear cornrows in an unlawful manner, said the judge. Jackman said the judge had found the school’s policy unlawful as it applied to African Caribbean boys with G’s beliefs because it indirectly discriminated on race grounds. She added: “For G, wearing his hair in cornrows is a fundamental cultural practice which would have had no adverse impact upon the school. His wishes, however, were dismissed by the school without any consideration. Whilst schools face the challenges of maintaining good discipline, a community environment and their particular ethos, this case is a reminder that they must do so within the boundaries of the law.” Schools London guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Premier League fixtures 2011-12: Manchester United start defence at WBA | Sean Ingle
June 17, 2011 No Comment
• Champions play Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea in first five games • Kenny Dalglish unhappy with timing of opening games • Click here for the full list of Premier League fixtures Manchester United face a testing start to their defence of their Premier League title with an opening day fixture at West Bromwich on 13 August, followed by home games against Tottenham and Arsenal. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side then travel to Bolton in early September before another tough game against Chelsea at Old Trafford – their third game against a top-six side in their opening five matches. Arsenal too have a tricky opening, starting at Newcastle – a game in which they blew a four-goal lead last season – followed by a home match against Liverpool and an away trip to Manchester United. Chelsea and Manchester City appear to have slightly more straightforward starts. Chelsea travel to Stoke on the opening day before taking on West Bromwich and Norwich at Stamford Bridge, while Manchester City begin at home to Swansea, followed by games against Bolton, Tottenham, Wigan and Fulham. Of the other Premier League newcomers, QPR open with a home match against Bolton, while Norwich travel to Wigan. Liverpool, meanwhile, start their campaign at home to Sunderland – which means Jordan Henderson may get an immediate match against the team he played for prior to his move to Anfield. Sunderland then face Newcastle the following weekend. Tottenham and Everton meet at White Hart Lane, Fulham and Aston Villa face each other at Craven Cottage, while Blackburn host Wolves. The games will kick-off less than 72 hours after many players will have competed in a host of friendlies, including England versus Holland at Wembley. Liverpool’s manager Kenny Dalglish said he believes it would have made more sense to put back the start of the season by a day, although that would have impacted on television coverage. “There’s not a lot you can say about the fixture list really but I would ask why the season is starting on a Saturday when there are international friendlies the midweek before,” he told the club’s website. “Clubs are doing their best to bring in good players and that usually means they are international players. There is a free week after the first weekend so I don’t understand why we can’t start the season on a Sunday to prevent players having to travel back on a Wednesday night in time for a Saturday start. “If you are going to have international games then have them, but surely it makes sense to put the league games back a day if it’s possible. To me it’s common sense.” Premier League Football fixtures 2011-12 Manchester United Sean Ingle guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Luxury fashion house forced to price its shares at the bottom end of proposed range as it launches on Hong Kong stock exchange Prada was forced to cut the final price of its stock exchange listing in Hong Kong by almost a fifth on Friday, after nervous investors balked at the lofty price tag placed on the Italian fashion house . Despite the glamour surrounding the initial public offering (IPO), which included a 15-minute fashion show for top fund managers in Hong Kong, the maker of Miu Miu dresses and luxury handbags priced its shares at HK$39.50 (£3.13), at the bottom end of the range set by the company earlier this week. As a result the IPO raised £1.3bn, rather than the £1.6bn originally mooted, with the listing valuing the company at £8bn. It was fifth time lucky for Prada, whose previous attempts to float have been derailed by a series of market downturns, including the slump that followed the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US. Friday’s listing follows the rocky debut of luggage brand Samsonite International in Hong Kong this week – its shares slumped 8% on their first day of trading. Around the world, volatile financial markets have been unsettled by renewed fears of a Greek sovereign debt default. “Luxury demand is very self explanatory and it makes a lot of sense for companies like Samsonite and Prada to list in Hong Kong, but we’re talking about quite a volatile market these days,” said Selina Sia, head of consumer research at Mirae Asset in Hong Kong. “The equity market has its own life and may not have anything to do with reality in luxury goods markets.” Prada is yet to confirm the outcome of the share sale but the offering is said to have been over three times covered by institutional investors. The company sold 423.3m shares, or a 16.5% stake, raising HK$16.72bn (£1.3bn). The stock will start trading on 24 June. Retail investors, who typically play a big part in Hong Kong IPOs, were less enthusiastic after Prada’s prospectus warned that shareholders would have to pay Italian capital gains tax of 12.5% on any profits from selling their shares as well as up to 27% on dividends. That is an unusual situation in Hong Kong, which does not tax capital gains or dividends. Mario Prada started the company selling leather bags, trunks and silverware to the European elite from his store in Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in 1913 but it is his granddaughter Miuccia Prada and her husband Patrizio Bertelli who have turned it into a bona fide luxury label with more than 300 stores around the world. The decision to list in Hong Kong was deemed controversial in Italy, but the company said it made sense given China’s relevance as a major economy and its voracious appetite for luxury products. China’s consumption of luxury goods is growing at nearly 20% a year, with the market expected to be worth £17bn by 2015. IPOs Retail industry China Stock markets Fashion Zoe Wood guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …