A glance at the week that was
We now know
Lack of sleep can be fatal, say British and Italian researchers. Their study found that getting less than six hours sleep a night increases your risk of dying over a 25-year period by 12 per cent, when compared with those who get six to eight hours a night.
Apple’s iPad is selling faster than the iPhone did, with 1 million iPads sold in just four weeks.
A study of 1,300 children found that the more TV toddlers watch, the more likely they are to perform badly at school and have health problems at the age of 10.
New domains
HAILED AS a way to connect people from all over the world, the internet has only really done so for people who can use Latin alphabets. Until now, that is, with the arrival of web addresses without Latin characters, ensuring the web may finally live up to its name. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the first countries to have their country codes – codes such as .ie or .co.uk which usually end web addresses – written in Arabic script. Over 20 other countries, including China and Thailand, have already applied to internet regulator Icann to have their own native language domains.
"You should always be careful what you wish for in politics"
The DUP’s Peter Robinson on losing his East Belfast seat
Ash attack
OTHER INTERNATIONAL connections were in short supply this week, however, when the weather ushered in more volcanic ash. Further airport closures and several hundred flight cancellations ensued. Though flight restrictions were eased, the winds that pushed the ash back over Ireland are expected to return next week, according to Met Éireann. The good news is that decisions to close airspace are now based on ash concentration, rather than the zero-tolerance approach.
The numbers
€1.3bn:Ireland's contribution to the IMF's rescue plan for the Greek economy
€6.96bn:The Exchequer deficit for the first four months of the year
12%
: The percentage increase in the number of Irish people emigrating to the US last year
