A glance at the week that was
We now know
The doomsday clock, gauging the danger of nuclear war, has been put back a minute to six minutes to midnight.
Google has threatened to pull out of China because of censorship.
The BBC has admitted that its extensive coverage of U2’s recent album release was “inappropriate”.
Great Escape
It was a strange week for the ebb and flow of Irish migrants. Canada is about to get a few more – temporarily at least – after its 12-month working holiday visa programme for under-35s saw 1,000 applicants register in only two days. The waiting list is also likely to get quite long. However, the Irish community in Australia lost a few people this week after at least a dozen were deported for visa fraud. A crackdown had followed the discovery last year of a fake visa scam. This week’s deportees were caught as they returned after the Christmas break.
"I always thought a British accent made people sound smart but I guess I was wrong."
A US TV critic reflects on Victoria Beckhams debut as an American Idol judge
Little meets large
The world’s tallest man met the world’s smallest man this week, offering a fine picture opportunity for any photographers with a wide enough lens and a long enough room. Sultan Kosen of Turkey is 8ft 1in (2.46m), while He Pingping of China is a mere 2ft 5in (73.6cm). They met at a Guinness World Records event. However, a shadow cast larger than Kosen’s was cast over the event. A challenger to the title of world’s smallest man, Wu Kang of China, says he’s two inches shorter than He.
20Age of the world's oldest dog when it died this week
€1.5bnThe amount owed by property developer Bernard McNamara
$21,000Cash returned by New York cabbie after it was left behind by a passenger
