A round-up of today's other stories in brief...

Rapid rise in numbers using broadband

Broadband access and the mobile phone text market grew rapidly at the end of last year, while fixed-line business and other forms of internet access declined, according to the latest figures from ComReg.

There are now more than 517,000 broadband subscribers, just short of the 518,000 who dial up to connect to the internet. The number of broadband subscribers has doubled in just over a year.

Texting is also growing at a massive rate. The average Irish mobile phone subscriber sent 117 texts a month - equivalent to almost four a day - in the final quarter of 2006. This compares to 94 in the third quarter. SMS volumes have been climbing steadily in recent years, from 515,000 a quarter in early 2002 to almost 1.5 billion in the last quarter of 2006.

ComReg's figures also show that mobile phone penetration, at 111 per cent, has finally exceeded the European average. There are about 4.7 million mobile phone subscribers in Ireland; many users keep separate phones for personal and work use. The equivalent figure for the first quarter of 2005 was 3.8 million mobile phones.

Company faces pollution charges

Pharmaceutical company Norbrook Laboratories will face eight charges of failing to comply with pollution prevention and control regulations in Northern Ireland, after failing to have the case struck out by magistrates in Newry yesterday.

The court was told the complaints related to the operation without a licence of incinerators at Norbrook plants at three locations in Newry on dates from March 30th, 2004, to February 9th, 2005. It is the first case to be taken under the pollution prevention and control regulations in Northern Ireland. Each complaint carries a maximum penalty of £20,000 (€25,900).

Frank O'Donaghue QC, for Norbrook, argued yesterday that the company had not been given adequate advice, caution or warning that criminal proceedings would be taken. For this and other reasons the case should be struck down, he said.

Prosecutor David McAughey, for the Northern Ireland Department of the Environment, which is taking the case, said there had been numerous correspondences with the company. He said the company was warned in August 2004 by letter that criminal proceedings would ensue if Norbrook failed to apply for a licence for the incinerators.

Magistrate Bernadette Kelly agreed there had been "voluminous correspondences" with the company. She said Norbrook had had adequate time to seek a judicial review of the need for licences for the incinerators or taken other action to avoid criminal proceedings.

Optimism over German economy

German business morale unexpectedly rose in March as the impact of a new year rise in value added tax appeared to fade, reinforcing expectations the European Central Bank would raise interest rates further. The Munich-based Ifo research institute said its business climate index, based on a monthly poll of 7,000 firms, rose to 107.7 from 107.0 in February.

"No doubt about it, the Ifo is better than expected," said Commerzbank economist Ralph Solveen. "This makes it more likely that the economy will continue to progress well."- ( Reuters )

Interest rate rise expected in Britain

Britain's inflation outlook remains murky with risks to the upside, Bank of England governor Mervyn King said yesterday, doing nothing to douse expectations for a further rise in interest rates this year.

But sterling initially dipped after Mr King said the housing market was starting to slow following three interest rate rises since August. - ( Reuters )