Northern Ireland News for October 2004

Northern Ireland News, Oct 29, 2004
BELB chief executive suspended over budget debacle
The chief executive of the Belfast Education and Library Board (BELB) has been suspended following an overspend of nearly £5 million by the region's education department. Following a four-hour meetin...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 29, 2004
Bank robbers hold family hostage overnight
Police have appealed for information after masked robbers held a family hostage in their Co Tyrone home overnight. Two masked men, one of whom was armed with a handgun, held a man, a woman, and three...
UK National News, Oct 29, 2004
EU constitution poll could come early in 2006, says Straw
Britons could go get their chance to vote on the EU constitution "early in 2006" if Labour wins the general election, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said today. Speaking at the signing of the new EU co...
UK National News, Oct 29, 2004
Ailing Arafat flies to France for treatment
The Palestinian president Yasser Arafat is travelling to a hospital in France today to seek treatment for an illness related to a "low blood platelet count". Mr Arafat, who has been ensconced at his ...
UK National News, Oct 29, 2004
UK battle group arrives safely at south Baghdad base
The British force moving up to Baghdad to reinforce US troops in the area has arrived safely at its new base. The 850-strong battle group, consisting of armoured infantry from the 1st Battalion The ...
UK National News, Oct 29, 2004
Nine Britons confirmed dead in Jordanian coach crash
Nine Britons are confirmed dead following a coach crash near the Jordanian tourist attraction of Petra yesterday. According to reports, a tyre of the tour bus blew out on a stretch of the Desert High...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 29, 2004
Boy forced from car by thieves
Thieves forced a young boy from his father’s car last night at a garage forecourt in Co Armagh. The 11-year-old boy was sitting in the vehicle waiting for his father, who was paying for petrol, when ...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 29, 2004
Efforts continue in bid to free NI woman
Efforts are continuing in a bid to free a Northern Ireland woman who was one of three people kidnapped in Afghanistan on Thursday. Annetta Flanigan was one of three foreign UN election workers kidnap...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 29, 2004
Hundreds of offensive weapons seized at airport
Customs officers have seized the largest ever single consignment of “potentially offensive weapons” destined for Northern Ireland. Swords, knives, death stars, machetes and bladed knuckle-dusters wer...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 29, 2004
Belfast City Council wins regional Enterprising Britain award
Belfast City Council has been nominated as the regional winner for this year’s Enterprising Britain award. The competition, launched by the Chancellor Gordon Brown this year, aims to reward towns and...
UK National News, Oct 29, 2004
UN adopts UK-sponsored resolution against 'honour crimes'
A resolution presented by the UK and Turkey aimed at eliminating crimes against so-called honour crimes – crimes committed against women and girls – has been adopted by the UN. The resolution, which ...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 29, 2004
UU Vice-Chancellor hits out at government proposals
Professor Gerry McKenna, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ulster, today expressed his “disappointment and concern” following the announcement of government proposals for the funding of higher educ...
UK National News, Oct 29, 2004
Grim Darfur situation shows little improvement, says UN
Ahead of a visit to New York to report to the Security Council on the Darfur conflict in Sudan, the senior United Nations envoy to the country today warned that the situation in the strife-torn region...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 29, 2004
Marketing and innovation central to dairy success, says Minister
Marketing and innovation are central to the success of the Northern Ireland dairy industry, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Ian Pearson, has said. The Minister was speaking at the ope...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 29, 2004
DoE issue driving warning as clocks go back
As the clocks go back this weekend, marking the end of summer, the DoE has reminded road users to keep death off the roads during the darker hours. Research shows that deaths on local roads increase ...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 29, 2004
Trading Standards advise businesses over misleading ‘invoices’
The Trading Standards Service (TSS) is advising local businesses to be wary of unsolicited telephone calls and misleading ‘invoices’. The advice is prompted by a recent spate of complaints, received ...
UK National News, Oct 29, 2004
Children 'well looked after' by boarding schools, says report
Modern-day boarding schools offer strong benefits to pupils and are looking after children well, according to the Children's Rights Director for England. The first major study into life in boarding s...
UK National News, Oct 29, 2004
Eurotunnel reveals plan to 'reverse decline'
Eurotunnel has revealed a new strategy which it hopes will reverse a "general decline that has been in evidence for several years". The three-year plan, dubbed 'Project Dare', is designed to increase...
UK National News, Oct 29, 2004
UK launches 'international priorities' on climate change
Urgent international action is required to tackle climate change and secure sustainable energy supplies, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said today. Mr Straw was speaking at the launch of the 'UK Intern...
UK National News, Oct 29, 2004
West Yorkshire project wins Prime Minister design awards
The A650 Bingley Relief Road project in West Yorkshire has won a top design excellence award. At this year's Prime Minister's Better Public Building Awards, the Highways Agency's 4.5km project became...
UK National News, Oct 28, 2004
British tourists killed in Jordan road smash
At least eight Britons are reported to have been killed in a bus crash in Jordan this morning. According to news agencies, the tourist bus the Britons were travelling in collided with a pick up truck...
Business News, Oct 28, 2004
Kells textile firm rolls out £1.2m investment
Francis Dinsmore Limited (FDL), of Kells, Co Antrim, is investing £1.2 million in innovative value-added fabrics and a new finishing process for export markets with assistance from Invest NI. Announc...
Recruitment News, Oct 28, 2004
Over 1% of British jobs pay less than minimum wage
Over a quarter million jobs in Britain are paid at below the national minimum wage, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The number of jobs under the minimum wage, 272,000 in spring ...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 28, 2004
IMC hand second report to governments
The government has received a second report from the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) into ongoing paramilitary activity. Secretary of State Paul Murphy confirmed that he had received the repo...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 28, 2004
Police link hostage incident to attack on police station
Police have linked a gun attack on a police station on Wednesday night with a hostage incident in Co Antrim. A van used in the shooting of Randalstown PSNI station on Wednesday evening is believed to...
UK National News, Oct 28, 2004
Doctors examine 'seriously ill' Arafat
The Palestinian president Yasser Arafat, who has been ensconced at his Ramallah compound for more than two years now, is very seriously ill, according to reports. Mr Arafat has been ill for the past ...
UK National News, Oct 28, 2004
Three foreign workers kidnapped in Kabul
A woman holding dual British-Irish nationality is among three foreign workers kidnapped in Afghanistan today. The trio – including a Kosovar woman and Filipino man – were assisting with the president...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 28, 2004
Dodds again calls for Bradley removal
DUP MP for North Belfast, Nigel Dodds, has again called on the vice chairman of the Policing Board Denis Bradley to either resign or be removed from office following comments made concerning nationali...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 28, 2004
Gale force winds hit NI
Gusts of up to 60mph were recorded in some parts of Northern Ireland overnight as storms swept across the British Isles. While Northern Ireland escaped the worst of the stormy weather, heavy rain sti...
UK National News, Oct 28, 2004
Lib Dems deride ID card scheme as costly and insecure
The Home Secretary's new ID cards will be costly for the public, insecure and will divert funds away from policing, according to the Liberal Democrats. The Lib Dem frontbencher was speaking after the...