A glance at the week that was
A bit rich
Showing a way of explaining away delays that should earn him a job with Irish Rail, the Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey this week said that the reason that so many of the Transport 21 deadlines would not be met was that they were only "indicative dates". Only one of the five main public transport projects due to be completed this year will actually do so. And 13 of the total 39 projects have now been put back. The biggest surprise was that he didn't go on to blame leaves on the line, a points failure or that catch-all, "a technical failure".
We now know...
The gun Jack Ruby used to kill Lee Harvey Oswald is up for auction.
$1 will buy you 25 million Zimbabwe dollars.
Some 40 per cent of German soldiers are too fat, according to a parliamentary report.
A study of nearly 1,000 pairs of twins found that about half of a person's happiness is inherited, according to researchers at the University of Edinburgh
A lot rich
The wealthiest man on the planet is now Warren Buffett, who is worth almost €41 billion. According to Forbes, there are now 1,125 billionaires in the world, with the youngest the founder of Facebook, 23-year-old Mark Zuckerberg. In total, 50 are younger than 40, although the average age is 61.
Five Irish are on the list, with Sean Quinn leading the charge on €4 billion.
Buffett, a friend of previous top dog Bill Gates, has already pledged to give over half his fortune to Gates's charitable foundation.
The numbers
3The number of right feet washed up on Canadian shores in past six months - baffling police
$100The price of some houses available in Detroit
70The percentage of new jobs in Ireland going to women
Quote
"Anybody that knows Ian Paisley knows that he is very hard to push" The North's soon-to-depart First Minister denies he was forced to resign