A glance at the week that was...
43percentage of Irish people in favour of an absolute ban on sunbeds
105The number of complaints lodged last year with the Defence Forces ombudsman, 27 of which were from the same man
55,000-plusthe number of students that began the leving cert this week
We now know
IRELAND HAD the second highest rate of measles in Europe in the first quarter of this year according to new figures from the European Centre for Disease Control.
The world's snake populationmay be in decline, a new global study shows, with records for 17 snake populations revealing a major drop in numbers.
Short peopleare more at risk of heart disease than tall people, new research suggests. Researchers found that being under 5'4" if you are a man, or under 5" if you're a woman may pose a risk.
The times they are a-changin'
A LOCAL British politician caused uproar by wearing headphones and listening to Bob Dylan during prayers before a meeting of Wellington town council in Shropshire. Councillor Pat McCarthy, who has called for compulsory prayers at the start of meetings of the full council to be made voluntary, chose to listen to music rather than join his fellow councillors in prayer before the meeting of Wellington Town Council. While a fellow council member expressed his “disgust” at his actions, McCarthy, who says compulsory Christian prayers discriminate against atheists and people of other faiths, was unrepentant.
Women, meanwhile, had a good week in politics. Diane Abbott joined the fray as the only woman candidate in the Labour party leadership contest, while in the US, former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman won the Republican nomination for the governorship of California, and Carly Fiorina won the race to stand as a Republican Senate candidate in the same state. The Republican nomination in Nevada also went to a woman, Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle, with Democratic senator Blanche Lincoln winning the party’s Arkansas nomination.
An Indian-American woman, Nikki Haley, is the frontrunner for the governorship of South Carolina, while the Republican nominee in
New Mexico is Susana Martinez, the first ever Hispanic woman candidate for governor.
"I'm a red-blooded robust dude"
Former New Zealand government minister Shane Jones after it was revealed he charged 20 pornographic films to his official ministerial credit card
