More news in brief.
Curtin moves to delay start of Dáil hearing
The hearings were due to start last Monday but were adjourned following a request from Judge Curtin's legal team to the committee last Wednesday to allow them more time to carry out their investigations.
It is understood Judge Curtin sought a six-week adjournment but after a lengthy meeting the committee agreed to adjourn for just one week.
However, the committee, chaired by Fianna Fáil TD Denis O'Donovan, held a two-hour emergency meeting yesterday following further correspondence from Judge Curtin's legal team.
It is understood the committee will tell Judge Curtin in a response today that it will not agree to a further adjournment. Committee sources said last night there is an expectation that the judge may go to the courts to seek an adjournment of the hearings.
A report by independent experts on records held on Judge Curtin's computer was completed in August.
The report also examined financial and other personal records to see if they were in any way connected or linked to information and files discovered on his computer
Details of the report will be formally presented to the committee when the hearings get under next week.
Luas has carried 50m passengers
Dublin's Luas made history yesterday as it passed 50 million passengers carried since its launch in June 2004.
More than 80,000 people travel on the light rail transit system every weekday, up 20 per cent from this time last year, according to the Railway Procurement Agency.
The RPA attributed the higher numbers to increasing the peak-time frequency on the Green Line and running a special shuttle service between Heuston and Connolly stations.
A planned extension of all Red Line trams in 2007 will increase the capacity of the 26 Luas Red Line trams by 40 per cent.
Talk on Pope Benedict XVI
John Allen, Vatican correspondent of the US magazine, the National Catholic Reporter,will speak on Benedict XVI: Pope for a New Century on Wednesday next, November 15th, at 7.30pm in the MacNeill Theatre, Hamilton Building, Trinity College Dublin and on the topic Opus Dei: Beyond the Myths, Behind the Curtain on Thursday, November 16th, at 7.30pm in the Burke Theatre, Arts Building at Trinity College, Dublin.
Knife found near crime scene
Gardaí investigating the murder of Co Limerick man Liam O'Donovan, confirmed last night that a knife and glove had been found near the crime scene.
The items were found in a wheelie bin in Croom, less than half a mile from where the 59-year-old was killed last Saturday morning.
It is believed Mr O'Donovan was stabbed by an intruder who broke into his home at St Senan's Terrace.
His body was discovered on the footpath outside his home at 7.30am by a neighbour on his way to work.
Scientists restore vision in mice
British and American scientists have restored vision in blind mice by transplanting light-sensitive cells into their eyes in a breakthrough that could lead to new treatments of human eye diseases.
The mice suffered from eye damage called photoreceptor loss which occurs in macular degeneration, the leading cause of sight loss in the elderly, and other eye disorders.