A glance at the week that was
The numbers
3Number of St Patrick's Athletic fans who followed the team to Russia for a European tie. They witnessed a heroic victory over Krylia Sovetov
14,000The number of swine flu cases in Ireland this week, down from 15,000 the week before
2 hrsThe time on Thursday that Twitter went down because of a hacker attack, causing severe twitchiness among many of its users
We now know
Overseas visits to Ireland fell by 15 per centin June compared with the same month last year.
ITV has sold the website Friends Reunited for €30 million, just three years after buying it for €200 million
Many parts of the country had the
wettest July for more than 50 years, according to Met
Éireann
Fianna Frail
To lose one TD may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. Brian Cowen's holidays got interrupted this week when two Sligo-North Leitrim TDs – Jimmy Devins and Eamon Scanlon – resigned the Fianna Fáil whipin protest at the closure of a cancer unit at Sligo General Hospital. It left the Government without a majority. The two TDs remain members of the party, though, but Fine Gael seems to be hatching a plot that will force a no-confidence vote later in the year. The Taoiseach won't be able to enjoy his ice cream.
Powerful Putin
If, however, Cowen wishes to reclaim the front pages for himself, he should follow the lead of Vladimir Putin, who has released his now annual photos of him topless on holiday. The judo-loving prime minister of Russia was seen riding a horse while stripped to the waist. These follow topless pictures last year in which he was wrestling a bear, or something similar. There were also pictures of him looking militaristic while walking through the hills of the Russian republic of Tuva – possibly in the hunt for some cute animal to crush with his bare hands.
"When he started doing the twist, everyone wondered if he was going to be able to straighten up again"- An eyewitness watches the 72-year-old
Jack Nicholsonas he dances on a French holiday.