'All will see his glorious sign': repair-work has begun on the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro after its right thumb was damaged in a lightning-storm last week. Monitors say it was the fiercest such storm since records began to be made in 1999. The statue is struck by lightning four or five times a year, on average. A storm last month also caused damage to the figure's head and the middle finger of its right hand. The 38-metre-high statue was erected in 1931