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Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion holds a model Aer Lingus aircraft after an engine fell off it during a photocall at Stormont with Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley to mark the setting up of a regional hub at Belfast International Airport. However, the airline's decision to drop its Shannon-London route has caused controversy.

Photograph: Paul Faith

FMD could have been transferred by humans, report says
Senior Department of Agriculture officials are to examine an interim report released by the British authorities last night, which said there is a "real possibility" that an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on a Surrey farm was caused by human movement.
DNA database threatens rights - watchdog
Government plans to establish a database that will retain DNA samples of suspects, convicted persons and people who give samples voluntarily lack sufficient safeguards to protect people's rights and avoid potential miscarriages of justice, the State's human rights watchdog has warned.
Extra training ordered for private driving testers
Driving testers working for a private company have been required to take extra training after inconsistencies were found in the way they conducted and marked driving tests.

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Ireland

Siptu plans alliance to reverse Shannon decision
The trade union Siptu is to try to put together a broad-based coalition aimed at forcing Aer Lingus to reverse its plans to drop the Shannon-Heathrow route next January. p
Cancer specialist condemns diagnosis system
The director of cancer care services for the HSE in the midwest has warned he would find it "difficult" to continue his work in the health service if the assessment of suspected breast cancer cases does not improve. p
Census shows dramatic rise in non-Irish population
More than a quarter of the population of large areas of Dublin, including most of the city centre and parts of Blanchardstown, Clondalkin and Tallaght, are immigrants, according to the latest census figures. There was a 53 per cent increase in the immigrant population between 2002 and 2006. p
Retirement age must be reviewed, says Martin
The Minister for Enterprise and Employment Micheál Martin has said that current rules governing mandatory retirement age should be reviewed as part of an overall examination of the role and potential of older people in the work force. p
Quiet, sedate longlist avoids controversy
This year's Man Booker Prize appears set to be one of the most sedate literary bunfights of all time, writes Eileen Battersby. p
384 bank holiday drivers drink tested
The number of drink-driving incidents recorded over the August bank holiday weekend rose by almost 60 in comparison to the same weekend last year, according to provisional figures released by gardaí yesterday. p
Protesters blocking Lismullin moved on by gardaí
Protesters blocked access to the national monument at Lismullin, Co Meath, yesterday just before controversial excavation work began at the site. p
Price of basic food items set to increase 'significantly'
Consumers can expect significant rises in the price of basic food items in the coming year, according to industry sources who say an era of cheap food is coming to an end. p
Paisley ready to lobby in defence of NI meat
The North's First Minister, the Rev Ian Paisley, said he is prepared to engage in worldwide lobbying to prove Northern Ireland's meat products are safe amid concern that Northern meat is being linked to the foot-and-mouth outbreak in England. p
SF anger as British army starts to use North as training ground
Northern Ireland is to be used increasingly to train British soldiers before they are sent to conflict zones such as Afghanistan and Iraq. p

Finance

Hotels' owners reinvest in €46m buyout
The owners of Choice Hotels are reinvesting some €3 million in the €46.4 million buyout of its Quality and Comfort chains by private equity firm TVC Holdings, which consists of former Jurys Doyle chief Pat McCann and clients of Davy Stockbrokers. p
US drug firm buys Cork facility but shelves €60m Dublin move
US biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences has pulled back from a planned €60 million investment in Dublin and has instead acquired the Cork manufacturing facilities of Nycomed for almost €34 million. p
Brewer blames weather for poor beer sales
Bad weather has hit the first-half profits and full-year forecasts for Britain's largest brewer, Scottish & Newcastle, the parent company of Beamish & Crawford. p

World

British U-turn on residents held by US in Cuba
BRITAIN: The British government yesterday called on the United States to return five UK residents held without charge at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba in a sudden reversal of policy which follows years of refusing to help the men. p
Canada chilled by Russia's Arctic flag
CANADA: The dramatic deep-sea submarine dive to plant the Russian flag under the North Pole last week has rattled Canadian politics and underscored the growing stakes as the ice cap melts in the oil-rich Arctic. p
Father of Madeleine believes she is still alive
PORTUGAL: The father of missing British four-year-old Madeleine McCann said he strongly believed his daughter was alive, rejecting reports she may have been murdered after disappearing from their apartment in Portugal. p

Sport

O'Sullivan fine-tunes World Cup headset
RUGBY: For some, the need to hit the ground running at the start of the 2007-2008 campaign this Saturday in Murrayfield will be much more pressing than for others. p
Caffrey sticks with tried and trusted
GAA: Probably the least surprising team line-up of the summer was confirmed last night when Dublin manager Paul Caffrey announced the same starting 15 for Saturday's All-Ireland football quarter-final against Derry - already a guaranteed sell-out at Croke Park. p
Harrington is primed
GOLF: Everyone, it seems, wants a piece of Padraig Harrington. For the past fortnight, ever since he got his hands on the Claret Jug, the demands have come at him faster than the sun's rays. p