A glance at the week that was
Dusted Down:
The pictures of the dust stormin Sydney were spectacular and triggered more than one "Life on Mars" headline. The blanket of dust travelled over 1,000 kilometres across the outback and carried an estimated five million tonnes of dust with it. The rust-coloured topsoil enveloped Sydney's famous landmarks, but meant that people were urged to stay indoors. The clean-up bill is expected to be substantial.
Ploughing In:
Soil was on the minds of tens of thousands of people in Athy this week, but there were no dust storms at the National Ploughing Championships, despite the fact that it was nice and dry for once. There was the usual gathering of equipment and animals, and a total of 80,000 people visited on Wednesday alone – only half of those seemed to be politicians.
We now know:
Iranian authorities are warning shopkeepers against using mannequinsthat expose body curves
The Moonis wetter than scientists originally thought, according to new findings by an Indian spacecraft
Almost 20 per centof Galway's citizens are non-Irish
"I was actually black before the election": Barack Obamareveals all to chat show host David Letterman
44cnew plastic bag levy, which is likely to be introduced later this year
8,750number of years left on Guinness's St James Gatelease, after this week's 250th anniversary
4number of Dublin Bus crashes on Tuesday alone