Yesterday was a ...

Good Day for giant pandas, as the Xinhua news agency reported progress in fertilisation techniques. A new thawing and culture solution has increased the number of pregnancies of artificially inseminated pandas by keeping sperm alive for up to 21 hours outside the male panda's body. Hormone supplements have also been developed that "cause sexual excitement among female pandas that normally looked on males with little more than contempt".

Bad Day for miracles, as an archbishop played down the significance of an image of the Virgin Mary that has appeared in a dried-up puddle of water at a subway station in Mexico City. Nearly 2,000 people an hour are flocking to see the image, but the archbishop of Mexico City doubted it was a miracle. "There are no theological elements that lead us to consider this a divine presence through these lines that have formed due to a water leak," said a statement from his office.

Good Day for used car salesmen, as Loughborough University began its first degree course in "retail automotive management".