Hundreds of Ireland's judges abandoned their
wigs for the first time in centuries Friday after the Irish Courts Service ended the rule requiring them to wear the British-style headgear.
The move is designed to save the taxpayer money in debt-struck Ireland. Until now, each new judge has received a London-made, white-dyed horsehair wig that costs the state about €2,200 ($3,000) each.
Ireland is voting Oct. 27 on a constitutional amendment that would give the government new power to cut judges' salaries.
Ireland's judges are to end the tradition of wearing horsehair wigs that dates back over 350 years to British colonial rule, the country's Courts Service said.
The Superior Courts Rules Committee, chaired for the first time by recently appointed Chief Justice Susan Denham -- Ireland's first female top judge -- approved the court rules change that does away with the requirement for ceremonial wigs to be worn in the Supreme and High Courts.
A similar rule change will apply to judges in the Circuit Court after the change is signed into law by Justice Minister Alan Shatter.
Wigs have been worn in court as "a matter of rule, tradition and law" since about 1660, the time of the restoration of the English monarchy, and survived Ireland's transition to independence in 1921.
The Service said the decision to dispense with wigs is complementary to a rule change made some time ago which removed the necessity to address a judge in court as "My Lord".
It is now the rule that a judge be referred to simply as "Judge" or in the Irish language as "A Bhreithim".
Irish judges have worn wigs since the mid-17th century and kept the policy after Ireland won independence from Britain in 1922.
'Totally blind' Italian hairdresser caught in benefit scam
Rome, Oct 14, 2011 (AFP) -An Italian woman claiming a disability allowance for blindness was remanded in custody on Friday for benefit fraud after police filmed her working as a hairdresser and cycling about town on her bicycle.
The 62-year old woman, who owns a hair salon in the town of Lugo in northern Italy, began claiming benefit in 1986 because her vision was degenerating and by 2011 she claimed to be "totally blind," according to a police statement.
By 1997 her doctor said she had to be accompanied when she left the house, and by 2008 she could only count the number of fingers held up in front of her if the hand was held a few centimeters away from her face.
In double-checking a list of professions of those registered as blind, police stumbled across the salon and filmed the woman cutting clients' hair, shopping for clothes and food and walking and cycling about the town.
Her benefit — 43,000 euros ($59,000) so far — has been suspended.
Sleeping Austrian alerted to fire by cats
VIENNA, Oct 14, 2011 (AFP) -An Austrian man was saved from tragedy in the early hours of Friday morning after his cats woke him up by repeatedly walking over his face as he slept, police said.
When the 37-year-old from Hohenems in the western state of Vorarlberg finally came to, he smelled burning and discovered the blaze in his flat.
After failing to put out the flames with an extinguisher he called the fire brigade at 3:30 am. The man was unharmed but his living room furniture was almost completely destroyed.
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