Sunday, March 03, 2013
BBC: Swiss voters have overwhelmingly backed proposals to impose some of the world's strictest controls on executive pay, final referendum results show.
Nearly 68% of the voters supported plans to give shareholders a veto on compensation and ban big payouts for new and departing managers.
Business groups argued the proposals would damage Swiss competitiveness.
But analysts say ordinary Swiss are concerned about a growing economic divide in the country.
The vote came just days after the EU approved measures to cap bankers bonuses.
'Fat cat initiative'
The final results showed that all 26 Swiss cantons backed the proposals.
In all, 1.6 million voters said "Yes" against 762,000, who rejected the idea.
The BBC's Imogen Foulkes, in Berne, says multibillion dollar losses by Swiss banking giant UBS, and thousands of redundancies at pharmaceutical company Novartis, have caused anger in Switzerland - because high salaries and bonuses for managers continued unchanged.
The new measures will give Switzerland some of the world's strictest corporate rules, our correspondent adds. » | Sunday, March 03, 2013
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The Queen has been admitted to hospital in London after experiencing symptoms of gastroenteritis, Buckingham Palace said today. All official engagements for this week will be either postponed or cancelled as a precaution, the Palace added.
Her Majesty, who is 86, is expected to stay at the King Edward VII hospital in London for two days and is otherwise said to be in “good health and good spirits”.
A Royal visit to Rome planned for later this week will be cancelled or postponed, Buckingham Palace confirmed.
The Queen gave a long-service award to a member of staff this morning but started to feel unwell after lunch and was admitted to hospital about 3pm.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “The Queen is being assessed at the King Edward VII's Hospital, London, after experiencing symptoms of gastroenteritis.
"As a precaution, all official engagements for this week will regrettably be either postponed or cancelled." » | Wesley Johnson | Sunday, March 03, 2013
BBC: Queen cancels Swansea visit after suffering from gastroenteritis: The Queen has been forced to cancel a visit to Swansea on Saturday to celebrate St David's Day, after developing symptoms of a stomach bug. » | Saturday, March 02, 2013
THE GUARDIAN: Poland's first democratic-era president said he believed gay people had no right to sit on front benches in parliament
A national committee devoted to fighting hate speech and other crimes in Poland has filed a complaint with prosecutors in Gdansk accusing Lech Walesa of promoting a "propaganda of hate against a sexual minority", after the Nobel peace prize-winner said gay people had no right to a prominent role in politics.
Walesa said in a television interview on Friday that he believed gay people had no right to sit on the front benches in parliament and, if there at all, should sit in the back "or even behind a wall".
"They have to know that they are a minority and adjust to smaller things, and not rise to the greatest heights," he told the private broadcaster TVN during a discussion of gay rights. "A minority should not impose itself on the majority."
Walesa, Poland's first democratic-era president, is a deeply conservative Roman Catholic and a father of eight who has never advocated progressive social views. The democracy he helped create in 1989 from the turmoil of strikes and other protests has, however, been undergoing a profound social transformation in recent years.
A key symbol of the change is a new willingness to tackle gay rights, long a taboo subject. In 2011, voters elected Poland's first openly gay and first transsexual members of parliament. » | Associated Press in Warsaw | Sunday, March 03, 2013
Verwandt »
Saturday, March 02, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A plan to limit pay to executives based in Switzerland is expected to be passed on Sunday, as people vote on the referendum against “rip-offs” remuneration.
Under the proposal, shareholders will be given the right to hold a binding vote on executive remuneration. Companies would also no longer be able to pay so-called “golden hellos” and “golden parachutes”, whereby senior managers receive a one-time cash lump sum, often running into millions of pounds, when joining or leaving a company.
Polls show the majority of Swiss plan to vote “yes” in the referendum, despite businesses warning it will drive out companies from the country.
The move will also be a blow to the many foreign firms that have moved their headquarters to Switzerland in recent years to benefit from better tax deals, including from Britain.
The Swiss vote comes after Vince Cable, the UK business secretary, pushed through plans to give shareholders a greater say over executives’ pay, including a binding vote on remuneration, last year. The UK measures are due to take effect from October as part of an effort to boost transparency and curb compensation levels when the performance of the business does not warrant it.
Elsewhere in Europe, countries such as the Netherlands and Denmark already have similar legislation allowing shareholders at least a binding vote on executive compensation. » | Louisa Peacock | Saturday, March 02, 2013
My comment:
The plucky Swiss are doing it again. The Swiss are a courageous people. Hats off to the Swiss!
I have lived in Switzerland for over four years. It was the most wonderful experience of my life. Switzerland is a wonderful country to reside in; and the Swiss understand how to keep it that way. I have only respect for the Swiss.
That is exactly what I do not have fo this excuse of a government. When the EU proposed clipping the wings of the greedy bankers this week, all we got from Cameron was excuses and circumlocution. In short, he doesn't have the balls to call the bluff of the bankers. Let the bastards find somewhere else to fill their coffers. Running a country is not all about letting the greedy stuff their bank accounts full with ill-gotten gains; rather, it's about creating a fair society for all. And when there is a period of austerity, we really should all be in this together. Those shouldn't be just fine words uttered by a prime minister. They should have some resonance.
If Cameron has any hope of being re-elected––and it is looking pretty grim for him right now––he needs to understand that he, above all people, cannot afford to be viewed as a soft touch for the über-rich. In short, he needs to grow a pair.
Along with so many other people in this country, I am sick and tired of the greed of bankers and CEOs who have no understanding of humility and fairness. Nobody expects them to live in penury; but we do expect them to toe the line. Now back to the Swiss: Bravo! – © Mark
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TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Nike, Apple, Facebook, John McCain, Clint Eastwood... Les appels à la légalisation du mariage entre personnes de même sexe affluent vers la Cour suprême américaine qui doit se prononcer fin mars sur le sujet.
L'administration Obama, des grandes entreprises, des élus républicains et Clint Eastwood en personne: les appels se bousculent au portillon de la Cour suprême des Etats-Unis pour demander à la plus haute juridiction du pays de légaliser le mariage homosexuel, fin mars.
Les neuf «sages», qui font la pluie et le beau temps sur les grands sujets de société, siègeront les 26 et 27 mars pour examiner la question sensible de l'union des couples de même sexe, interdite au niveau fédéral mais légale dans neuf Etats américains sur cinquante et dans la capitale Washington.
Situation inédite, le gouvernement américain a formellement demandé, la semaine dernière, à la haute Cour d'abroger un texte de son propre arsenal législatif, définissant au niveau national le mariage comme l'union «entre un homme et une femme».
La loi dite de «Défense du mariage» (DOMA) datant de 1996 est «inconstitutionnelle» car elle «empêche des dizaines de milliers de couples homosexuels, légalement mariés selon la loi de leur Etat, de jouir des mêmes avantages fédéraux que les couples mariés hétérosexuels», a ainsi écrit l'administration Obama. » | afp/Newsnet | samedi 02 mars 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Beppe Grillo, the comedian who was the big winner in Italy's election, suggests Italy may have to abandon the euro and go back to the lira, and renegotiate its gigantic debt.
Beppe Grillo, the former comedian who holds the balance of power in Italy, has suggested the country may have to abandon the euro and return to the lire.
In an interview with a German magazine published on Saturday, Mr Grillo said that “if conditions do not change” Italy “will want” to leave the euro and return to its former national currency.
The 64-year-old comic-turned-political activist also said Italy needs to renegotiate its €2 trillion debt.
At 127 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), it is the highest in the euro zone after Greece.
“Right now we are being crushed, not by the euro, but by our debt. When the interest payments reach €100 billion a year, we’re dead. There’s no alternative,” he told Focus, a weekly news magazine. » | Nick Squires | Saturday, March 02, 2013
Queer and Catholic part 1 from Mark Dowd on Vimeo.
Unfortunately, Part 2 appears not to be available.
MAIL ONLINE: Drunken parties at the seminary, crushes on young ‘pups’ and gay mafia accused of bringing down Britain’s top Catholic»
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Classes in German are booming across southern Europe as young Spaniards, Greeks and Italians flee their own recession-hit countries to seek employment in the region's powerhouse.
More than 9,000 Spaniards took German courses last year, a jump of 56 percent since 2009, new figures show. Of those studying the language in Madrid, one third were under the age of 25.
Unemployment in Spain stood at 26 percent in January - twice the average for the European Union - while more than half of young people are unemployed.
The classes appear to be paying off, however: in Germany, the number of Spanish workers finding employment rose by just over 12 percent last year. The number of Spaniards living in Berlin alone jumped to 11,473 in 2011 from 8,223 the previous year.
In Greece, where young people alone were facing an unemployment rate of nearly 60 percent last year, enrollment in German classes has surged by 24 percent since the start of the credit crunch. Last year, the number of Greeks working in Germany climbed by around 10%.
Italians were also dusting off their German books, with some 4,700 enrolling in classes last year, an increase of 28 percent since the financial crisis began. Read on and comment » | Jeevan Vasagar, Berlin | Friday, March 01, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Homosexuelle sollen nach Ansicht des früheren polnischen Arbeiterführers Lech Walesa im Parlament in der letzten Reihe sitzen - oder gleich hinter einer Mauer. Der Friedensnobelpreisträger will nicht, dass seine "Kinder und Enkel von dieser Minderheit verwirrt werden".
Warschau - Er ist Friedensnobelpreisträger, doch regelmäßig sorgt der frühere polnische Arbeiterführer Lech Walesa mit seinen Aussagen für Unverständnis. Auch in der Diskussion um Homo-Ehen in Polen hat sich der 69-Jährige eine Entgleisung geleistet. Nach Walesas Meinung sollten homosexuelle Abgeordnete im Parlament in der letzten Reihe sitzen - "und sogar hinter einer Mauer". » | max/dpa | Freitag, 01. März 2013
Friday, March 01, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Four British al-Qaeda inspired fanatics are facing jail after admitting they were planning a terrorist attack using home-made bombs.
The gang, from Luton, Beds., downloaded computer files giving instructions on how to launch an attack, discussed possible targets and took part in military-style physical training.
They were due to stand trial next month but pleaded guilty in a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court in London today.
Zahid Iqbal, 31, Mohammed Sharfaraz Ahmed, 25, Umar Arshad, 24, and Syed Farhan Hussain, 21, admitted one charge of engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism.
According to the details of the charge, between Jan 1, 2011 and April 25 last year the four discussed “methods, materials and targets for a terrorist attack, including firearms and improvised explosive devices” and downloaded files “containing practical instruction for a terrorist attack”.
They also facilitated and planned overseas travel, took part in physical training, bought survival equipment and collected and supplied funds for terrorist purposes overseas. » | Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter | Friday, March 01, 2013
LONDON EVENING STANDARD: Right wingers demand tougher policies as Lib Dems cling on to seat / Late Ukip surge fails to defeat Lib Dems / Embarrassment for Tories as they finish in third place / Mike Thornton held on to the seat vacated by disgraced ex minister Chris Huhne
Tory MPs were in open revolt against David Cameron’s touchy-feely leadership style today after being thrashed into third place behind Ukip at the Eastleigh by-election.
Right-wingers said Mr Cameron brought on the disaster by trampling on traditional Conservative values with policies like gay marriage and husky hugging.
In a strongly worded warning, backbencher Stewart Jackson, who quit as a ministerial aide over Europe, told the Standard: “Unless things are demonstrably different in terms of public perception by the early summer he will have great difficulty in persuading the electorate that we can win a general election.
“He is out of touch with the party. Both gay marriage and EU migration feed into a narrative that too much emphasis is going to the Liberal metropolitan elite and not enough to the blue-collar working vote that Margaret Thatcher had the support of.” Epping Forest’s Eleanor Laing said: “Loyalty is a two-way thing and the leadership of the Conservative Party asks for loyalty from our supporters but those supporters don’t feel that they’re getting loyalty back.”
Tory supporters felt “hurt and left out” and MPs were “in despair about the number of people who are resigning from the Party”, she told the BBC’s World at One. Backbencher Douglas Carswell urged the PM: “Don’t alienate base in return for pundit applause. Pundits don’t have many votes.”
There were calls for tougher policies on immigration, Europe and marriage. Ominously, some MPs said Mr Cameron was now on probation and a full-blown leadership crisis would blow up if the party is routed in May’s council elections. The Tory day of anger followed a night of pure drama in Eastleigh. » | Joe Murphy | Friday, March 01, 2013
THE GUARDIAN: Malik Obama is running for a governor's position in Kenya's nationwide elections on Monday
A politician named Obama who is running for governor in Kenya can boast of one big claim to fame on the campaign trail: blood relations with the president of the United States.
Malik Obama, 54, a half-brother of Barack Obama, is running for a governor's position in the country's nationwide elections on Monday. He said he was not sure what impact his relationship to the US president had on his campaign.
"I'm going into it as Malik Obama," he said in a phone interview from western Kenya. "I can't run away from my name and association with my brother, but I have the feeling that people somewhat want to see who the brother of Obama is."
He has invoked the message that Barack Obama leaned on during his 2008 presidential campaign: change. Malik Obama says his platform is poverty eradication, infrastructure development and industrialisation. » | Associated Press in Nairobi | Friday, March 01, 2013
SAUDI GAZETTE: JEDDAH: Abdul Malik Obama, the brother of US President Barack Obama, has described their family as a symbol of religious coexistence and tolerance.
Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, Abdul Malik Obama said the family is a perfect example of this mindset because the US president has embraced Christianity while the rest of the family are Muslims and are leading Da’wa work, the religious call, in Africa.
Abdul Malik Obama said that coexistence between religions, preventing sedition, conflicts and wars, is important for the well-being of humanity. He confirmed that he has observed up close that President Obama loves and respects Islam and Muslims.
He said his brother has always remained in contact with the family and his roots in Africa, especially after his 2006 visit to Kenya and the birthplace of his father, Hussein Obama, in Kogelo village.
During the visit, he met his grandmother, Sara Obama; his sister, Obama Obama; his uncle, Sa’iy Obama; and his cousin, Omran Obama. He said his brother donated money to build a school bearing the name “Senator Obama.”
Abdul Malik Hussein Obama is spending most of his time in serving about 10 million Kenyan Muslims, who represent 35 percent of the country’s population, through Islamic centers and charitable societies he supervises.
He is also working as the executive secretary of the Islamic Da’wa Organization in Kenya. » | Naeem Al-Hakim | Thursday, December 09, 2010
KURIER: Mustafa Ben Jafaar: Tunesiens Parlamentspräsident im KURIER-Gespräch.
Die Ermordung von Oppositionspolitiker Chokri Belaïd, die zu landesweiten Protesten und dem Rücktritt der Regierung geführt hatten, sei eine „große Tragödie“ gewesen, sagt Tunesiens Parlamentspräsident Mustafa Ben Jafaar (73). Dennoch werde das „postrevolutionäre Tunesien“ in seiner schwierigen Übergangsphase keinen Schritt zurück machen. Mit dem KURIER sprach Ben Jafaar in Wien über...
... die Gefahr religiöser Radikalisierung In Tunesien gibt es keine Tradition des Extremismus. Der radikale Islam passt überhaupt nicht ins religiöse Profil unseres Landes. Die Gesellschaft ist offen und moderat gegenüber anderen. Aber beeinflusst über andere Wege gibt es auch bei uns eine extreme Minderheit an gewaltbereiten Dschihadisten. Dabei ist es nicht ihre Anzahl oder ihre Größe oder ihre Inhalte, die uns Sorgen bereiten – sondern das Klima einer gewaltbereiten Umgebung. Man muss nur sehen,was in Mali vor sich ging, zuletzt in Algerien, und es gibt auch einige Tunesier, die in Syrien mitkämpfen. » | Donnerstag, 28. Februar 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A prominent Russian banker claims he has received political asylum in Britain after claiming he was being subjected to a campaign of persecution led by former President Dmitry Medvedev.
Andrei Borodin, 45, the former president and co-owner of the Bank of Moscow who is wanted in Russia for alleged fraud, told the Vedomosti daily that he had been granted asylum by UK authorities in the last few days.
The news drew a sharp condemnation of the British government from Mr Medvedev's spokesman.
If true, the asylum decision is likely to cause fresh tension in the already fraught UK-Russia relationship. The Kremlin was furious when Britain gave asylum to fugitive oligarch Boris Berezovsky and Chechen rebel envoy Akhmed Zakayev.
"My lawyers put in an application for political asylum to the UK Home Office indicating that the pursuit of me and my colleagues in Russia is politically motivated," Mr Borodin told the newspaper.
"Behind it are politicians including the former president, Dmitry Medvedev, who is the chief initiator of all this persecution and victimisation. We said that all the criminal cases against me in Russia are nothing but a weapon of that illegal, politically motivated persecution, and the British government decided to give me asylum." Mr Medvedev served for one term as president from 2008 to 2012 before handing back the Kremlin to his ally, Vladimir Putin. He is now prime minister. » | Tom Parfitt, Moscow | Friday, March 01, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is fighting for his life in a Caracas military hospital 10 days after returning from cancer treatment in Cuba, his vice president said.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro did not provide more details, but the government said last week that Chavez was still suffering from a respiratory infection and that the trajectory was not favorable.
As he presented subsidised homes on state-run television, Maduro said that Chavez was "battling for his health, for his life, and we are accompanying him," adding later that the president was in a "complex and difficult" stage. » | Friday, March 01, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: At least 44 people have died in clashes throughout Bangladesh after the leader of an Islamic party was sentenced to death for rapes and murders committed during the country's 1971 war of independence.
Violence continued on Friday in a series of battles between police and supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh's fourth largest political party, in the capital Dhaka and Chittagong.
More than 20 of the dead are believed to have been killed by police who opened fire on protesters with rubber bullets.
The violence erupted amid already heightened tensions in Dhaka where thousands of anti-Jamaat protesters have been gathering daily to demand that those convicted of war crimes be hung. » | Dean Nelson, David Bergman in Dhaka | Friday, March 01, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Catholic Church has awoken with no leader following Benedict XVI's resignation, in which he described himself as "simply a pilgrim" starting the final part of his life.
Now begins a period known as the "sede vacante" or "vacant see" - the transition between the end of one papacy and the election of a new pope.
The Vatican post office issued a set of stamps for use during the "Sede Vacante". The unusual interregnum stamps, a series of four, include the Vacant See symbol - a striped umbrella over crossed keys - as well as the words Sede Vacante, Citta del Vaticano and MMXIII, the year in Roman numerals.
The stamps have a face value of 70 euro cents for Italy, 85 cents for Europe and the Mediterranean, two euros for Africa, Asia and the United States and 2.50 euros for Australia.
During these few days - no more than 20 - a few key players take charge running the Holy See, guiding the College of Cardinals in their deliberations and organising the conclave to elect Benedict's successor. » | Source: AP | Friday, March 01, 2013
LE MONDE: La monarchie espagnole résistera-t-elle au parfum de scandale qui l'enveloppe ? Eclaboussée par l'affaire de corruption qui touche le gendre du roi, Iñaki Urdangarin, ébranlée par les soucis de santé de Juan Carlos Ier, qui doit subir, le 3 mars, sa quatrième opération en un an, critiquée par plusieurs partis politiques, lacasa real (le palais royal) est affaiblie. [€] » | Par Sandrine Morel - Madrid Correspondance | vendredi 01 mars 2013
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: L'inhalation d'héroïne est une méthode moins dangereuse que l'injection. Le gouvernement entend réduire le nombre de surdoses dans un pays où la drogue tue davantage que la circulation routière.
Le gouvernement norvégien a annoncé vendredi qu'il souhaitait dépénaliser l'inhalation d'héroïne, une méthode moins dangereuse que l'injection, afin de réduire le nombre de surdoses dans un pays où la drogue tue davantage que la circulation routière. » | afp/Newsnet | vendredi 01 mars 2013
BBC: Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been heavily criticised by the US, Israel and the UN for branding Zionism a "crime against humanity".
He told a UN forum this week: "As with Zionism, anti-Semitism and fascism, it is inevitable that Islamophobia be considered a crime against humanity."
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu called the comments "dark and mendacious".
New US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to raise the issue when he meets Turkey's leaders on Friday.
He is in Ankara for talks on the crisis in Syria.
But his visit has been overshadowed by Mr Erdogan's comments, comparing Zionism with fascism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, at a meeting of the UN Alliance of Civilisations Forum in Vienna earlier this week.
His words drew strong condemnation from Mr Netanyahu's office, which called them "a dark and mendacious statement the likes of which we thought had passed from the world". » | Friday, March 01, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Reaktionen aus USA und Israel: Scharfe Kritik an Erdogans Zionismus-Entgleisung – Israel und die USA sind empört über die Äußerungen, auch Uno-Generalsekretär Ban Ki Moon stellt Türkeis Regierungschef an den Pranger: Ministerpräsident Erdogan bezeichnete den Zionismus als "Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit". » | als/Reuters/AFP | Freitag, 01. März 2013
St David's Day: recipes for a feast – Delicious recipes from Welsh chef Bryn Williams »
Saint David's Day »
Happy St David’s Day »
Saint David »
Thursday, February 28, 2013
THE GUARDIAN: European council president Herman Van Rompuy says no other leader likely to back plan to change terms and put to referendum
David Cameron has been put on notice that no other EU leader is likely to support his campaign to rewrite the terms of British membership of the union and then put the outcome to a referendum.
As Britain faces a fresh EU battle over a proposal to cap bankers' bonuses, Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European council, attacked the way the prime minister was waging his campaign for a "new settlement" in Britain's 40-year membership of the EU.
The president said he presumed leaders of other EU countries "neither particularly like ... nor particularly fear" Cameron's plans to demand the repatriation of powers during a future revision of the Lisbon treaty.
"How do you convince a room full of people, when you keep your hand on the door handle? How to encourage a friend to change, if your eyes are searching for your coat?" he asked at a Policy Network conference in London.
The intervention by Van Rompuy, who chairs and organises the regular EU summits, came as Cameron served notice that Britain would challenge an EU agreement to slash bankers' bonuses at a meeting of European finance ministers next week.
Amid fears that the EU agreement could deal a hammer blow to the City of London, Cameron said EU regulations needed to be flexible enough to allow international banks to operate in Britain and the rest of the EU. » | Ian Traynor, Europe editor | Thursday, February 28, 2013
BBC: The Pope has resigned because he felt he was no longer up to the demands the office made on him.
That hasn't happened in 600 years.
In 1294 the hermit Pietro da Morrone, elevated to the papacy with the title of Celestine V because the cardinals couldn't agree on anyone else, felt likewise after only six months in the job, and gave up.
He wanted to return to his hermitage, but Boniface VIII, his successor, thought it wiser to lock him up in a convenient castle for the rest of his life, fearing he might become a rallying-point for the disaffected.
And, as it turned out, there was no shortage of disaffection during Boniface's pontificate.
One of the arguments marshalled by Boniface's many enemies was that, because popes could not resign, he wasn't the legitimate heir to St Peter.
Electing an antipope?
That may have been a long time ago but the same arguments are beginning to appear.
Two distinguished Italian theologians have called on Benedict XVI to withdraw his resignation, one arguing he ought not to resign, the other claiming a pope cannot resign.
In the latter case, when the cardinals proceed to elect a successor they are, according to Enrico Maria Radaelli, electing an antipope, an impostor on the chair of St Peter. » | Michael Walsh * | Papal historian | Thursday, February 28, 2013
* Michael Walsh is a papal historian and author of several books about the Papacy, including The Popes: 50 celebrated occupants of the throne of St Peter
DAWN: PRZEMYSL: Poland, for Zaida Saleh, like for many observant Muslim women, manicures have long posed a religious problem.
With prayers five times a day, and the pre-prayer ritual of “wudhu” that requires washing the hands and arms, traditional fingernail polish has been mostly off limits because it prevents water from making contact with the nails. A new ”breathable” nail polish by a Polish company, Inglot, is changing that.
The company and some Muslims say the polish is the first of its kind because it lets air and moisture pass through to the nail. A craze has built up around it with Muslim women in recent months after an Islamic scholar in the United States tested its permeability and published an article saying that, in his view, it complies with Muslim law.
”It’s huge,” said Saleh, a 35-year-old who hadn’t polished her nails in many years but immediately went out and bought the product in five colours, including a bright pink, a burgundy and a mauve. ”I am excited. I feel more feminine – and I just love it.”
The news of Inglot’s breathable polish has in recent months spread quickly from woman to woman and over the Internet. It also has given Inglot a boost in sales of the product, called O2M, for oxygen and moisture.
The nail polish now stands as one of the final life achievements of Wojciech Inglot, a Polish chemist and entrepreneur who developed it to create what he billed as a healthier alternative to traditional nail enamels, which block the passage of moisture and oxygen to the nail. He died suddenly on Saturday at the age of 57 after suffering internal hemorrhaging.
Though the Holy Quran, does not specifically address the issue of nail polish, some Islamic scholars have said that water must touch the surface of the nail for the washing ritual to be done correctly.
Nobody was more surprised by the splash it made with Muslims than Inglot himself. » | AP | Wednesday, February 27, 2013
LE POINT: En visite à Moscou, le président français a insisté sur le fait qu'une solution au conflit syrien dépendait "beaucoup" de la position de son homologue russe.
François Hollande, en visite de travail jeudi à Moscou, espère avancer vers une solution politique au conflit syrien avec son homologue russe Vladimir Poutine, avec lequel il entend aussi parler droits de l'homme. La relation entre la France et la Russie est "majeure parce que nous sommes deux grands pays membres du Conseil de sécurité (de l'ONU) et qui ont des responsabilités pour régler des conflits planétaires", a déclaré le président français au début de ses entretiens avec Vladimir Poutine au Kremlin. Le président russe a indiqué pour sa part que la France restait un "partenaire privilégié" de Moscou, que les relations étaient "très bonnes" et le dialogue politique "très bon". Mais l'ambiance sous les ors du Kremlin était glaciale entre les deux hommes qui ont à peine croisé le regard pendant leurs deux interventions de près d'une dizaine de minutes devant les journalistes. » | Source AFP | jeudi 28 février 2013
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le mystère reste entier sur le nom de celui qui sera choisi par les cardinaux réunis en conclave. Une dizaine de noms de «papabili» circulent déjà dans les coulisses du Vatican. » | afp/Newsnet | jeudi 28 février 2013
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