A kindly doctor eventually laughed in my face and told me to take life a little easier, but for a while I was scrupulously examining the manes of all around me to see who did, and who did not, have a Hair Loss Problem.I recall a trip to Palermo. To this Anglo-Saxon sensibility, a piega is hell on a head - lots of useless bouffing and application of gel, resulting in a confection that doesn't so much resemble hair as an 18th-century wig. But Italians love it, and are apparently willing to pay extortionate sums to have one as often as possible (my wife has had to scour every hair salon in central Rome to find one that will cut her hair without insisting on the piega too).So diffuse is the culture of the piega that one specialist salon operating near our house until recently even offered them to dogs. Outside, the shop sign announced canine stripping, trimming, toelettaggio and a host of other services, while inside the hapless pooches were chained to a medieval washbasin, given the once-over with shears, shampoo, conditioner and blowdryer, and then, the ordeal over, were served a congratulatory bowl of Weetabix out of industrial-sized sacks.I have to confess my understanding of the Italian obsession with hair is probably more acute because I used to have a thing about hair myself. I have visions of legions of Italians staring at themselves in the mirror each morning and wondering how many more days they will have to wait before they can at last justify another scintillating trip to the hairdressers'.At last I understand why my own barber makes no effort to lure me in when I pass his shop. He must assume I'll be leaping into his reclining seat as soon as I can slot it in to my hectic schedule.After all, the establishments near my house are usually brimming with customers demanding a cut, or blonde highlights, or just a "do", known in Italian as a piega.

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"Che stress!" the first one sighed melodramatically, even though she looked drop-dead gorgeous and unruffled by life's little vicissitudes. "What is it? Your computer?" asked the other."No, it's my hair!"Although this advert seemed hilarious, the Italians I knew thought it was a perfectly ordinary conversation for two immaculate fake blondes to be having in the course of a morning's work.

Can't stop worrying about her hair? That sounds perfectly plausible to us, they said.I also know the Italians have a thing about hair because of a curious recent opinion poll conducted by the state broadcasting network teletext service, in which viewers were asked to name their favourite pastime. The outright winner, picked by 68 per cent of respondents, was going for a hairdo.Not watching football, not eating pasta, but a hairdo. The Italians have got a thing about hair. I know this because a few years ago there was an advert on television for dandruff shampoo, or split ends, in which two glamorous professional women (the sort of people the papers here like to call donna manager to make them sound efficient and important) were exchanging small talk across their desks. This time, it was not to prosecute the New China News Agency, which used to act as Peking's de facto embassy when Hong Kong was still a British colony and was widely believed to monitor the political stance of Hong Kong people.The agency had breached the privacy laws but did not even get a reprimand Mr Tung said that the matter was a mere "technicality".. His family also used to be firm supporters of Taiwan and he sat on the Sing Tao board of directors for eight years.Mr Tung declined to comment directly on the case but said, "the decision to prosecute or not rests entirely with the Secretary for Justice".Last week, Mr Tung provoked protests when he dismissed another controversial decision.

The Sing Tao group then became the first overseas publisher allowed to publish a newspaper in mainland China.The situation is further complicated by the strong links between Ms Aw's family and Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong's Chief Executive. Martin Lee, the leader of the Democratic Party, said the failure to prosecute "cries out for an explanation".Even normally docile members of the non-elected Provisional Legislature have voiced their misgivings and will be holding a meeting with Elise Leung, the Secretary of Justice, next Monday to seek an explanation.Yesterday, Ms Leung's office issued a statement saying "this department does not consider the personal connections or political status of any suspect. In this particular case, these principles have been scrupulously observed".Ms Aw controls the Sing Tao publishing empire which used to back the staunchly anti-Communist government in Taiwan It switched support to Peking more than a decade ago. This has caused uproar in Hong Kong, where preserving the rule of law is seen widely as a litmus test of the credibility of the post-colonial administration.Demonstrators gathered outside the Department of Justice's office yesterday to protest. However, no charges were laid against Ms Aw, one of Hong Kong's best-known newspaper owners - and a prominent member of the Chinese People's Consultative Committee, a political advisory organ of the Chinese government.Although the ICAC has made public its allegation against Ms Aw, the Department of Justice has declined to act. ARE NEWSPAPER proprietors above the law in Hong Kong? Or, does this only apply to those serving on official Chinese bodies? These questions arise following the appearance in court yesterday of three newspaper executives accused of a conspiracy to defraud, by artificially inflating the circulation figures of the English-language Hong Kong Standard newspaper. The executives were charged after an investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), which found that they had conspired with Sally Aw Sian, the newspaper's owner, to defraud the advertisers. Second, there are the weakness and internal dissensions of the RPR and UDF, which have not recovered from the humiliating defeat in parliamentary elections last year.