The week that was at a glance
Last laugh
A generation of TV addicts mourned prankster Jeremy Beadle, who died aged 59. He lured members of the public into believing aliens had landed, their car had been crushed or their reputation ruined. But all would end in a flurry of laughter and bleeped curses. He also gave the world the guilty pleasure that is You've Been Framed, and raised a lot of money for charity.
Loose translations
An English company will compile the next English-Irish dictionary for Foras na Gaeilge. The contract stipulated that the publishers will have to include someone who is fluent in Hiberno-English, as words such as eejit or press (as in cupboard) might not be familiar to many British people. Project manager Cathal Convery said, "It does seem strange that we should offer the contract to an English company, but this phase does not require any expertise in the Irish language." But if they do have any problems with the language, they can always look up a dictionary.
We now know...
VAT on condomsis to be cut
The Indian government has broken up a kidney racket, that might have stolen organs from more than 500 people
Iran has banned public executions, except in exceptional cases
Quote of the week
There's a cord sticking out of the back of the machine. Might you tell me where it goes?
Prince Philip to Cate Blanchett after presuming her role in the film industry might help fix his DVD player
The numbers
1Number of passengers on Dublin-Limerick train, because 200 were left behind
€1French president Nicolas Sarkozy's claim for damages over a Ryanair ad
23mHeight of world's largest pencil, now in a museum in St Louis, Missouri