CONSUMER groups want hidden fat that contributes to heart disease and cholesterol to be limited or banned but the Irish Food Safety Authority says it should be enough to label it.

HUMAN breast milk is contaminated with over 300 toxic chemicals, Friends of the Earth reported yesterday in an appeal for stronger EU legislation governing chemicals.

IRELAND’S teenagers are among the highest users of ecstasy and magic mushrooms in a survey of 26 European countries, according to a study released yesterday.

COMPANIES doing business in the developing world spend nearly €800 billion a year bribing officials and politicians — 20 times more than the current spend on international aid.

THE Dutch public service broadcaster has been ordered to pay back over €76 million in State aid in a European Commission ruling that could have implications for RTÉ.

AIRTRICITY, the Irish-owned wind energy company, has launched its bid to get EU backing for a €22 billion off-shore supergrid.

IRELAND has secured around €80 million in EU funds to redevelop the fishing sector over the next six years.

ALLOWANCES to Palestinian health workers and funds for essential utilities could begin to flow from next month under a new mechanism developed by the European Union.

THE European Parliament has voted to fund stem cell research using human embryos, although the ban on such research in Ireland will remain.

The wealth gap between the old and new EU member states is narrowing but Luxembourg and Ireland are still the wealthiest countries in the bloc.