A glance at the week that was
The numbers
$4.05 bn
The amount Disney has paid for Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise.
8,000
Estimated number of families left homeless by Hurricane Sandy in Haiti, where 54 people were killed.
2,000
Number of jobs Eircom plans to cut by 2014.
90%
The proportion of of northern Europeans who would vote for Barack Obama if they could, according to a survey by YouGov.
16
The new voting age in Argentina, down from 18.
500
Age of the Sistine Chapel (below), which reached the landmark half-millennium on Wednesday.
Give us our gold, Says Germany
With nearly half of Germany’s sovereign gold reserves stored in vaults deep below the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, there is growing pressure from some voices there to make sure the 1,536 metric tons of gold bars are safe, and not because of the risk of hurricane-related flooding. To placate the conspiracy theorists who believe all the foreign gold reserves have disappeared, the Bundesbank plans to repatriate 150 tons of it.
We now know
The
Seán FitzPatrick puppet
has been written out of Anglo: The Musical. Lawyers warned it might prejudice FitzPatrick’s trial.
It's possible to cancel Halloween, at least in New Jersey, where the governor, Chris Christie, postponed celebrations in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
Gardaí in Dublin are now equipped with Segway scooters, donated by the Dublin City Business Association.
Most read on irishtimes.com
1Signs that your mammy may be Irish
2Is Dublin 8 the new gay village?
3Girl dies after bullying claim
4Theres little special about being Irish, no matter how many certs you have
516 dead as Superstorm Sandy hits US east coast
6On the Record: Why Bon Jovi at Slane Castle will be the yawn gig of 2013
7Is there a new face of atheism?
8NI prison officer dies in ambush
9Saving lives, losing respect: how 'consultant' became a dirty word
10Qualified Bent could get Ireland out of a tight spot
Rankings for Oct 26th-Nov 2nd
