A glance at the week that was
Domestic problems
Silvio Berlusconi has again given us all a reason to be glad he’s around, and delighted that he’s not in charge of our country. This time, it involved his attendance at a friend’s 18-year-old daughter’s birthday party. His wife Veronica Lario spat that “he never bothered to attend even one 18th birthday party for his own children”. She also criticised his party’s tactic of running glamourous young women as candidates, calling it “shameless rubbish in the name of power”. But fun for outsiders to watch.
Domestic pride
Dublin is the 25th best city to live in, according to a study by consultants who look into these things for corporate clients placing staff across the globe. It doesn’t have a great infrastructure, according to the report, but overall it ranks higher than Paris or London. Vienna topped the list. Baghdad, for obvious reasons, came last, but in these challenging times, no job seeker can afford to be picky.
The numbers
€30kThe price at auction of a football used in Croke Park on Bloody Sunday in 1920
2The age of Mensa's youngest member, Londoner Elise Tan Roberts
3bnThe distance in light years of the farthest object yet photographed, a gamma-ray burst from a dying star
We now know
Almost one in five college students expect to be earning €100,000 per annum by the time they’re 30
New car registrations fell by 64 per cent in 2008
Daniel Day Lewis (right) has become the first person to be awarded the Freedom of Co Wicklow