A round-up of today's other stories in brief
RANDOM TESTS SALUTED: Drinks manufacturers have welcomed the results of mandatory random breath-testing of drivers carried out over the August bank holiday weekend.
Drinks Manufacturers Ireland (DMI) - a division of the business and employers' body Ibec - said the fact that 1 per cent of drivers tested were over the limit indicated offenders were a "small minority".
"However, it is vital that the Government commits all the resources necessary for the continued effective enforcement of drink-driving legislation, rather than focusing on highly-publicised once-off blitzes," said Rosemary Garth, DMI director.
"Enforcement and sanctions for drink-drive offenders should not only punish those who break the law, but create a culture of unacceptability associated with violators," she said.
The bank holiday weekend campaign was the first since the introduction of random breath-testing last month.
AIDS PANDEMIC FACTORS
Southern Africa's Aids pandemic, the world's worst, is being fuelled primarily by low condom-use among people with multiple concurrent sexual partners and low levels of male circumcision, according to a study.
The report by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) said men's sexual attitudes and behaviours, intergenerational sex and high levels of gender and sexual violence were also to blame for the rapid spread of the disease.
It urged regional leaders - often accused of moving too slowly against the Aids crisis - to encourage condom-use and the reduction of the number of concurrent sexual partners, as well as prepare for the possible roll-out of programmes to expand male circumcision as a bulwark against HIV infection.
Southern Africa is at the epicentre of Africa's Aids epidemic, with an average adult HIV prevalence rate estimated at 11 per cent, compared to 1 per cent globally.
SPECIAL NEEDS EVENT
The newly formed Special Needs Assistants Group (Snag) is to hold its first national conference in Kilkenny this September.
The group was set up last March to offer additional training to special needs assistants working in primary schools. It now has over 850 members.
Five experts from the UK and Ireland will speak on topics such as craniosacral therapy, technology for special needs children, autism, Down syndrome and sensory integration during the day-long event.
Parents of special needs children are welcome to attend. Tickets cost €130. For more information, call 045-896010.
EYE FOR COLOUR
Brightly coloured yellow and green vegetables may offer some protection against damage to eyesight in later life, suggests a study published yesterday.
Higher consumption of vegetables containing the plant compounds lutein and zeaxanthin appear to reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in a group of women aged 50 to 79.
Both are carotenoids, the family of substances that give fruit and vegetables their colour.They are found in sweetcorn, squash, broccoli and peas. Egg yolk is another source.
Higher intakes of lutein and zeaxanthin over a period of 15 years are associated with a reduced risk of intermediate-stage AMD in women younger than 75. The findings were published today in the journal Archives of Ophthalmology.
MEDICAL DEVICE FEES
Business group Ibec has called for a "concerted effort" to enable small EU-based medical device and diagnostic companies benefit from major reductions in fees when registering new product applications with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
According to Ibec's Irish Medical Devices Association (IMDA), small US companies currently qualify for fee reductions of 38 per cent, giving them a "massive competitive advantage" over their European counterparts.
IMDA director Sharon Higgins said EU countries should put together proposals for US legislators, to enable European companies to benefit from the reductions on offer.
"The US is the biggest export market for Irish companies. Recent figures show that 55 per cent of Irish medical device and diagnostic exports are destined for the US market," she said.