The week at a glance...Americas

Vancouver

Washed-up feet explained: The mystery of the disembodied feet that have sporadically washed ashore on the Pacific coast over the past five years has been solved. The nine sneaker-clad feet found on shorelines in British Columbia and Washington state since 2007 are the remains of people who committed suicide by jumping from bridges over Canada’s Fraser River, the British Columbia coroner’s office said last week. Because the remains were only feet and no other body parts, some people speculated that they were ghoulish calling cards of some serial killer. But the coroner had a simpler explanation: Fish eat the bodies of suicide victims, but they can’t get at feet that are protected by polymer-based shoes. “It’s very explainable,” said coroner Stephen Fonseca, who solved the mystery. “I think there are a lot more cases out there.”

Buenos Aires

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Singer turns on Britain: British rock star Morrissey has come out against his country’s sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas. “We all know that the Malvinas are Argentina’s,” the former Smiths front man told 15,000 Argentine fans at a concert in Buenos Aires. His band for the show all wore T-shirts featuring a wedding photo of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with “We Hate William and Kate” in block letters, a reference to the controversy over Prince William’s recent deployment to the Falklands. Morrissey isn’t the first singer to side with Argentina in the island dispute: Last week Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters told Chilean TV that he thought the islands should be Argentine.

Rio de Janeiro

In the big leagues: Brazil has edged out Britain to become the world’s sixth-largest economy, according to economic data released this week. Thanks largely to high global food and oil prices, Brazil’s economy grew three times as fast as Britain’s last year and is now worth some $2.47 trillion, compared with Britain’s $2.42 trillion. “It is not important to be the world’s sixth-biggest economy, but to be among the most dynamic economies, and with sustainable growth,” said Finance Minister Guido Mantega. Brazil still trails the U.S., China, Japan, Germany, and France.