Monthly Archives: March 2011

SIXTEEN SWANS have died in the last 10 days and up to 10 more are seriously ill after they contracted a mysterious infection on the Grand Canal in Dublin.

Tests are being carried out on the corpses of the birds by the Department of Agriculture at the State laboratory.

As of yesterday avian flu had been ruled out, but the cause of the bird deaths remained unknown last night.

A spokeswoman for the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which is caring for the sick swans, said they appeared to have contracted a bacterial infection which was possibly botulism.

Swans Stricken With Mystery Illness (Irish Times)

(Photocall Ireland)

Frickin’ ecstatic.

Forbes has just released its annual list of the world’s most obscenely wealthy people. Above, the top 4: Carlos (Telmex) Slim Helu, $74bn; Bill (Microsoft) Gates, $56bn; Warren (Berkshire Hathaway) Buffet, $50bn and Bernard (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy) Arnault, $41bn.

This year’s list broke records in size (1,210 billionaires) and total net worth ($4.5 trillion). China doubled its number of 10-figure fortunes, and Moscow now has more billionaires than any other city.

The World’s Billionaires (Forbes)

Meet Maire Whelan, the new government’s legal advisor and the first female attorney general in the history of the state.

Maire, a barrister from Kinvara, Galway, was chairwoman of the free legal aid service FLAC and is a protégé of of Michael D Higgins. So we’re guessing/hoping she might be the first progressive AG for a couple of decades. Maire also knows a thing or three about Nama having literally helped write the book (below).

It’s a rollicking read as you can imagine and makes an excellent weapon should an intruder come into your room at night. Maire’s now working on the much-anticipated sequel, Nama And The Deathly Hallows.

(Photocall Ireland)