That week that was at a glance
Papal snub
Forget the enlightenment - Pope Benedict XVI cancelled a visit to Rome's largest and oldest university, La Sapienza, after protests from students and staff over comments he made in 1990, when he quoted the judgment of an Austrian philosopher who wrote that the church's 1633 trial of Galileo for heresy was "reasonable and fair". The pontiff stressed he didn't share the Austrian's view.
Online Hub
Internet phenomenon Facebook can't stay out of the news. The social networking site is considering making Ireland its European hub after the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, met Facebook executives last October. Meanwhile, toy makers Hasbro and Mattel are demanding that Facebook remove Scrabulous, the most popular game on the site. The game takes its inspiration from Scrabble, but makes it a little more fabulous.
We now know...
Mona Lisa was Lisa di Antonmaria Gherardini, wife of Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo
EMI has 1 million unsold copies of Rudebox, the latest album by Robbie Williams, which it will send to China to be used in road surfacing
Cloned meat is safe for consumers, according to US FDA officials
Quote of the Week
I fully accept personal responsibility for all of my actions in this matter
Wayne O'Donoghue upon his release from prison
336number of homes in Dublin without sewerage facilitites
1,318number of people in 2007 census who claim no nationality
$10bnQuarterly losses at Citigroup, the world's largest bank