IN THE NEWS

A CHAPPIST VIEW OF EVENTS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

THE CRUELLEST CUT
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinnerjacket had the last laugh in the British marine hostage crisis. Before announcing their release, he laced his press conference with barbed digs at the British government and our way of life, but he saved his final insult until the last minute.

The service personnel's release had been delayed by two days after the Ayatollah had ordained it – to give Tehran's tailors enough time to run up fourteen identical grey suits.

When they were finally paraded on Iranian television, in front of a beaming Ahmadinnerjacket, it was obvious what the president was smirking about: the ill-fitting polyester suits had clearly been made without the benefit of a second fitting.

NOTHING TO LOSE BUT YOUR CHAIN STORES
Bargain hunters at the new branch of Primark on Oxford Street in London got more than they bargained for when the doors opened.

A rumour had spread that everything in the new store would be reduced to one pound. Even though the average price for an item of clothing in Primark is £4, shoppers simply could not contain themselves at the thought of even bigger bargains.

The sound of bolts being drawn back caused a massive surge forward, resulting in several injuries. Security staff had to restrain hundreds of shoppers from crushing each other in a stampede, while police were called to the scene.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world in Bangladesh, where Primark’s clothes are made, there were also violent clashes – but between police and factory workers, striking over appalling wages and conditions at a clothing factory. Girls as young as 13 are paid between £7 and £8 a month for an 80-hour week. Workers are obliged to work some night shifts until 3am and discouraged from taking any days off.

In a recent study by Ethical Consumer, Primark scored just 2.5 out of 20 on an ethical index that ranked the leading clothing chains on criteria such as workers' rights and whether they do business with oppressive regimes.

But these figures were not going through the minds of the mob outside the doors of Primark in London. All that mattered to them was the thought of getting a stripy T-shirt for a pound. The reductions turned out to be nothing but a rumour – even so, the price of a Primark T-shirt would have paid the person who made it for a month.

 

 

Photograph: Kit Oates