A glance at the week that was
Bacon gains
The Dublin-born painter Francis Bacon continues to become ever more sought-after and expensive. This week, at Sotheby's in New York, his 1976 Triptych sold for €55.6m, about €20m more than his previous best price. The work, which features disfigured faces, had been in private hands since 1977. "It showed Bacon working in a new way. It is a watershed painting which sees him moving beyond personal grief," said the Sotheby's spokesman. That grief has now made its previous owner very happy indeed.
Rocket booster
Yves Rossy from Switzerland became the envy of every young boy and grown man who has dreamed of strapping on a jetpack and flying through the air - which is pretty much every boy and man.
Calling himself Fusion Man, the former airline pilot used his 8ft wingspan and rocket boosters to swoop at 180km/h, and rise to 2,600ft. Performing a sequence of stunts, he executed a perfect 360 degree roll that stunned the watching crowds. "That was to impress the girls," he said.
"He is still of ther opinion that he acted correctly"Austrian police on the 39-year-old man who killed fiev of his family with an axxe, to save them from the "shame" of financial ruin
We now know
Irish banksgave out 25 per cent fewer mortgages in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2007.
The oldest known bust of Julius Caesar, dating from 46BC, has been found at the bottom of a stretch of the River Rhone near Arles in France.
Graphic photographs, showing the ill-health caused by smoking, are to be printed on cigarette boxes.
The numbers
38The number of pubs prosecuted last year for breaching the smoking ban
4 The number of Tony nominations received by Conor McPherson's play, The Seafarer
19The possible percentage increase in gas prices from October