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Ireland one of least Muslim-friendly countries – report
Ireland is considered to be one of the least friendly places for Muslims to visit, according to the Global Muslim Travel Index, which has just been published. The report evaluates countries in terms of their attentiveness to the needs of Muslim travellers, including the presence and accessibility of “halal” restaurants with food prepared to Islamic standards, and the provision of prayer rooms at airports, shopping centres and hotels. The index compiled by travel firm CrescentRating and MasterCard suggests that Mexico is the least Muslim-friendly country in a list of 25 countries where Islam is not the predominant religion with Ireland finishing in second-last place. The United Kingdom finished in sixth place, while the US was said to be the 14th most welcoming countries for Muslims.
The Irish Times q -
Passenger planes dodged Russian bombers in Irish-controlled airspace
Commercial jets carrying hundreds of people had to be diverted in mid-air or else prevented from taking off to avoid potential collisions with two Russian bear bombers which “cloaked” their presence during their latest incursion into Irish-controlled airspace. A report in the Irish Examiner revealed that the Tu-95 bombers, which flew just 40km off the coast, criss-crossed into major civilian airline traffic lanes, including incoming flights from North America on February 18. Following the first publicised incursion two weeks previously, the Department of Foreign Affairs signalled its officials had spoken to the Russian ambassador and sought reassurances that its military aircraft would not fly into our area of control without advance notification, especially if their transponders were off.
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Slowly it dawns that you no longer fit in in Ireland, after 18 years gone
I laughed hysterically the first time somebody called me Frau Murphy, but that is who I have become. To be an emigrant is to be an enigma, shrouded in mystery and, in my case, wrapped in a conundrum of shamrocks and sauerkraut. Emigration changes every ounce of your being, over and over again.
The Irish Times q -
8 celebrity break-ups equally as devastating as David Walliams and Lara Stone's 'split'
Say it’s not true!
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Sixteen foot python found in canal
The grim discovery of the giant snake floating in a canal in Lancashire was made by walkers on Sunday. A reptile expert went to the scene at Norden Bridge, Rishton, and recovered the python, which measured at over 16ft 5ins and is believed to have been around 12 to 15 years old. Lancashire Police are now investigating how the python got there and are appealing for anyone with any information to come forward. Ribble Valley wildlife crime officer Pc Carl Chew said: “Experts believe that a python of this size could have been capable of attacking a person so it is fortunate that no one came to any serious harm.
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United with last-gasp win against Newcastle
Newcastle United's Papiss Demba Cisse has words with Manchester United's Jonny Evans during the Barclays Premier League match at St James' Park. Ashley Young fired Manchester United to a last-minute victory at Newcastle to maintain their charge for a top-four finish.
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Family face battle to free Dubai plane spotters
The families of two British men jailed after going plane spotting in Dubai are having to “beg and borrow” to raise desperately-needed cash for the legal battle to free them. Conrad Clitheroe, 53, and his friend Gary Cooper, 45, were arrested after being spotted by an off-duty policeman taking notes near Fujairah Airport, about 128km from Dubai. Mr Clitheroe’s wife Valerie, from Stockport Greater Manchester, said: “We are all sick with worry.
Irish Examiner q -
Reports claim Eric Clapton had a brief romance with Princess Diana
Eric Clapton enjoyed a romantic liaison with Britain's Princess Diana, a new book has claimed. The 70-year-old guitarist enjoyed a flirtation with the late princess - who separated from husband Prince Charles in 1992 - after meeting regularly at his favourite restaurant, San Lorenzo in London's upmarket Knightsbridge. Paul Scott wrote in his new book 'Motherless Child: The Definitive Biography of Eric Clapton': "One who regularly caught his eye was another San Lorenzo devotee, Princess Diana.
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O’Sullivan warns Waterford IT over university status
Bill requiring merger of institutes seeking designation to be published after Easter
The Irish Times q -
All the teams for tonight's Premier League games
Check out the starting line-ups for all of tonight's matches.
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High-profile mixed-use corner building near Grafton Street for €1.4m
The continuing demand from private investors for well located city-centre retail properties in Dublin is to trigger yet another sale, this time just 100m from Grafton Street. The latest investment, a high profile corner building at the junction of South William Street and Wicklow Street, is for sale through agents Knight Frank at €1.4 million. The ground floor and basement are let to Cassidor Ltd, which trades at Meet and Meat, a New York-style deli/cafe. A roof- mounted antenna produces a further €5,000 a year from Vodafone under a five-year lease from March 2010.
The Irish Times q -
Murderous cartels infiltrate all levels of Mexican society
You won’t find them scrambling across rooftops in their underwear or cowering inside cupboards as the Swat team breaks down the door: Mexico’s money-laundering moguls are smartly dressed members of the country’s business elite, featured in society columns and feted at charity events. “The aim of the cartels is to legalise their wealth, integrate it into the legal economy and pay tax,” said Edgardo Buscaglia, a law professor and consultant on organised crime. The beating heart of Mexico’s ever expanding mafia does not lie in the coca plantations of the Peruvian highlands or the processing plants in Tijuana, or even the safe houses in Sinaloa. The sums involved are staggering: in 2010, when the US-based Wachovia bank was investigated over suspicious money transfers from Mexico, the amount involved over a five-year period was $378.4 billion (€337.7 billion)– equivalent to one-third of Mexico’s gross national product.
The Irish Times q -
New car sales still climbing but there’s a sting in the tail for used buyers
The sales of new cars in Ireland grew by 24 per cent in February, compared to the same period last year, bringing the total sales gain over 2014 to 28 per cent overall. Volkswagen Group took three of the top five selling model spots for February, with the Golf and Passat locking out the top two spaces, the the Nissan Qashqai coming third, the Skoda Octavia fourth and the Ford Focus fifth. VW claimed the best-selling brand and model (the Golf, again) slots for the year to date overall. In year-to-date sales, Hyundai has climbed above Nissan to snatch fourth place overall behind VW, Toyota and Ford.
The Irish Times q -
Victoria Beckham launches her new fashion line with some inexplicable modelling shots
Victoria revealed what happens when you lock a model in a flat with her new AW15 range and some mysteriously appearing flowers.
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Solicitor barricades himself in Killiney home to stop repossession
A High Court judge wants evidence as to what has been happening at a house in Killiney, Dublin, after he was told solicitor Brian O’Donnell has barricaded himself inside it to prevent a bankappointed receiver taking it over. The house, Gorse Hill, at Vico Rd, was recently vacated by three of the children of Brian and Mary Pat O’Donnell in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling dismissing a challenge to repossession on foot of a €71.5m judgment obtained against them by Bank of Ireland. Mr Justice Brian McGovern said he wants affidavit evidence todayfrom receiver Tom Kavanagh outlining what has been happening there since 12pm yesterday when the receiver was due to take possession.
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Phil Hogan defends decision to publish details farmers’ payments
EU commissioner for agriculture Phil Hogan has defended the decision to publish details of payments to farmers under the single-farm payment scheme, in the coming months. Mr Hogan said the measure had been agreed in 2013 and he had no difficulty with it.
The Irish Times q -
‘Women’s troubles’: Study shines a light on hidden problems
Common, often hidden, health issues after childbirth include pain, urinary and bowel problems, changes affecting sexual health and emotional health, and difficulties in intimate partner relationships. Women frequently just accept these health issues and do not talk about them or seek medical help; but they can be treated successfully. A major Irish longitudinal research project, the Maternal Health and Maternal Morbidity in Ireland (Mammi) study, is looking at the health and health problems of women during pregnancy and during the first year after the birth of their first baby.
The Irish Times q -
It's not a dream — Opel Astras can break down
Don’t listen to supermodel Claudia Schiffer in the advert on the television — Opel Astras do break down. Despite this rather obvious fact, the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) has ruled that the latest advert for the car brand, which features the German model — Schiffer, that is — appearing in a man’s dream was not misleading. One complainant considered the claim, “an Astra doesn’t break down”, to be misleading as he had owned an Astra and it had broken down on a number of occasions. In view of his experience with his Astra, he considered that the statement was untrue.
Irish Examiner q -
Helen Mirren admits her secret subway shame
Dame Helen Mirren has confessed she is a “terrible person” after getting a fellow subway passenger into trouble, weeks after she was spotted displaying flawless subway etiquette. The Oscar-winning actress used her latest red carpet moment to publicly apologise to a passenger she said was hauled away by “subway police” in New York. Dame Helen made the admission as she walked the red carpet for the Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2015 Spring Gala which was held in her honour in New York last night. “This very nice man jumped up and held the doors open so we could all come in and sit down and then the train sort of got stuck and then the subway police came along and said, ‘who’s responsible for holding the train?’.
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Geneva motor show 2015: Lunchtime roundup
Right, this is as good a time as any to stop, nibble the corner of a sandwich and take stock of what we’ve seen and what we know so far at the Geneva motor show. A light, lithe and low tow-seater, it’s the anthesis of the firm’s forthcoming big and bulky Bentayga 4x4 but it’s a preview of where Bentley will go next.
The Irish Times q
