The week that was at a glance
Tall Story
The world's tallest man, Bao Xishun, rescued two dolphins that had swallowed the plastic used around the aquarium pool in northeast China. When surgical tools proved unsuccessful, the vets called in the 7ft 9in tall Mongolian herdsman, who reached deep into their stomachs and removed the shards. Not a plot twist that ever featured in Flipper.
Ghost Story
It's not been a good week for the legal profession, after a Competition Authority report said it needed "substantial reform" and was weighed down by monopolies and lack of transparency. And it's been a worse week for estate agents, after Prime Time's hidden cameras appeared to confirm the existence, so to speak, of ghost bidders.
In Quotes
"We have no choice but to leave the market with great regret". Martin O'Rourke,of health insurance company Bupa Ireland.
We now know . . .
There's a parallel between a country's corruption record and its diplomats' racking up of New York parking violations, says UN.
The number of blogswill peak and level out next year at 100 million, according to an industry analyst.
The Arcticwill largely be open water by the summer of 2040, according to climatologists.
The numbers . . .
$38,000prize offered by Planetary Society to scientists who find the best way to tag a 400m-wide asteroid.
116age at thich the world's oldest woman, Lizzie Bolden, died this week.
18,000number of couples who married in New Delhi on Wednesday, acting on astrologers' advice.