Northern Ireland News for August 2003

UK National News, Aug 29, 2003
Blair's 'fearless' spin doctor steps down
The Prime Minister's director of communications, Alastair Campbell, has resigned his position, it was announced today. It had been no secret that Mr Campbell was considering his position of late and...
UK National News, Aug 29, 2003
Investigation under way after London blackout
An investigation is under way after a massive power failure in the national grid caused major transport disruption in central London last night. The network failure at 6.20pm affected the majority of...
UK National News, Aug 29, 2003
'Dismay' over proposed increases to water charges
WaterVoice reacted with dismay yesterday to the announcement by the water industry body Water UK that the expected average water bill of £240 in 2004-05 could rise by £15 on top of inflation, every ye...
Northern Ireland News, Aug 29, 2003
Chief Constable concerned over 'early' bail
PSNI Chief Constable, Hugh Orde has expressed concern over the brief period of time paramilitary chiefs are kept behind bars before being released. Speaking on the first anniversary of his appointmen...
Northern Ireland News, Aug 29, 2003
Police arrest man following drug seizure
A man has been arrested after police seized an estimated £15,000 worth of drugs at Belfast International Airport. Drugs Squad officers made the seizure from a man who had just disembarked from a Manc...
UK National News, Aug 29, 2003
Patients contracting Hepatitis C in NHS to be compensated: Reid
Health Secretary John Reid has decided to establish a financial assistance scheme for people infected with Hepatitis C as a result of being given blood products by the NHS. The details of the payment...
Northern Ireland News, Aug 29, 2003
EasyJet increase Belfast to London flights
Leading budget airline, EasyJet is set to expand its UK services at Belfast International Airport. The airline, which recently doubled its Belfast-based staff, announced it is to increase its low cos...
Northern Ireland News, Aug 29, 2003
Strangford Lough marked as basking shark 'hotspot'
A 15-year survey into activity in and around UK waters by one of the world's largest sharks has revealed that Strangford Lough is a regular visiting place for this underwater giant. The Marine Conser...
Northern Ireland News, Aug 29, 2003
Paisley calls for election date
DUP leader Dr Ian Paisley has urged the Government to name the date for an Assembly election. Dr Paisley said: “When the Prime Minister arbitrarily aborted the Assembly election in May, we were told ...
UK National News, Aug 29, 2003
Kagame's Rwandan poll victory welcomed, despite 'irregularities'
The Foreign Secretary has welcomed the election of the new president of Rwanda and expressed his hope that this would mark the "start of a new chapter in the political life and development" of the cou...
UK National News, Aug 29, 2003
Postmortem on Dorset sea rescue tragedy victim
UPDATED: A postmortem examination is to be carried out on the man who died after an attempt to rescue a seven-year-old boy from rough seas off Chesil Beach in Dorset coast went tragically wrong. The ...
Northern Ireland News, Aug 29, 2003
Illegal fuel seized in Down and Antrim
Customs officers have seized 11 commercial vehicles and nearly 20,000 litres of illegal fuel in Counties Down and Antrim. The Customs operation involving specialist road fuel officers followed the ...
UK National News, Aug 29, 2003
New GCSEs require broader take-up, says Ofsted
Schools should offer the new GCSEs to a wider range of students if the courses are to be held in similar esteem to traditional GCSEs, according to a report published today by the Office for Standards ...
UK National News, Aug 29, 2003
Fans urged to stay away from Euro tie
The Foreign Office is "strongly urging" England fans not to travel to Macedonia for the match between Macedonia and England on 6 September. The FA has not taken up its allocation of tickets for this ...
Northern Ireland News, Aug 29, 2003
Mental approach brings business success
Top executives from Northern Ireland companies were advised by an international expert how to achieve greater business success faster by applying practical mental tools to harness creativity and enabl...
UK National News, Aug 29, 2003
Royal Mail first class reliability rises
First Class mail reliability has reached its highest levels since the summer of 1998, rising throughout the first quarter of the financial year to reach more than 93% in June. Figures released today ...
Northern Ireland News, Aug 29, 2003
Top award for NI ploughman
Two Northern Ireland entrants at this year's World Ploughing Contest have been praised for their efforts. The 50th World Ploughing Contest, which was held in Ontario, Canada, saw Magherafelt man, Dav...
UK National News, Aug 29, 2003
WWF's 'deep concern' over decline in hippo population
The World Wildlife Fund has expressed its "deep concern" following a new census which shows that one of the world's largest hippos populations has slumped by 95%. The WWF says that less than 30 years...
Northern Ireland News, Aug 29, 2003
First Trust launch networking initiative
A new business networking initiative is to be launched at First Trust Bank's Head Office in Belfast on Tuesday, September 2. The B4B (Business for Business) initiative aims to give new businesses in ...
Northern Ireland News, Aug 29, 2003
Local sides crash out of Uefa Cup
All of the Northern Ireland teams have exited in the first round of their Uefa Cup ties. Coleraine and Portadown's dream of progressing through to the next round of the Uefa Cup fell apart last night...
Recruitment News, Aug 28, 2003
Tánaiste announces three-year strategic plan
The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Harney has launched the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment's new Statement of Strategy 2002-2005. The 88-page document ...
UK National News, Aug 28, 2003
Blair: I would have quit if BBC claims were true
The Prime Minister has told the Hutton Inquiry that he would have quit if the BBC's claims that Downing Street had "sexed up" an intelligence dossier on Iraq's WMD capability were true. Tony Blair m...
Northern Ireland News, Aug 28, 2003
Body on beach had 'bullet wound to head'
Police in the Republic of Ireland have confirmed that the body of a woman found on a Co Louth beach died from a bullet wound to the head. Speculation mounted on Thursday that the body was that of dis...
Northern Ireland News, Aug 28, 2003
Postal worker in shock after hijacking
A post office worker was left badly shaken yesterday after his van was hijacked and he was held for a time by three masked men. The incident occurred at around 6.30pm when three masked men approached...
UK National News, Aug 28, 2003
Blunkett hails figures showing asylum applications halved
The number of people applying for asylum in the UK has halved, removals are up 20% and the number of claims awaiting an initial decision has fallen to the lowest in a decade, Home Secretary David Blun...
UK National News, Aug 28, 2003
British soldier killed and another wounded in Iraq firefight
A British soldier was killed and another wounded in an incident in Ali al-Sharqi in southern Iraq yesterday. The soldiers were part of a convoy which was stopped by a large group of Iraqi protesters....
Northern Ireland News, Aug 28, 2003
Gun and ammunition found in search
One man has been arrested after a pump action shotgun and 300 rounds of ammunition were uncovered by police in Co Antrim on Wednesday. An empty gun magazine was also found following what police said ...
Northern Ireland News, Aug 28, 2003
Elderly woman confronted by knifeman
An elderly woman was recovering today after an armed man confronted her in her north Belfast home yesterday. The 94-year-old was alone in her Knutsford Drive home when the intruder walked in through ...
Northern Ireland News, Aug 28, 2003
Homeless figures on the increase
The number of homeless families in Northern Ireland has risen by 16% in the last year, it was revealed today. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive said that almost 16,500 households had been presen...
Northern Ireland News, Aug 28, 2003
Belfast tourism sector receives online boost
Belfast City Council is using interactive technology in an innovative bid to get everyone involved in both the cultural and tourism sectors to communicate with each other on a regular basis. The Coun...