Northern Ireland News for January 2007

Northern Ireland News, Jan 31, 2007
March assembly election to take place
The Prime Minister has today announced that the March 7 election will go ahead as planned. The announcement followed yesterday's meeting between Tony Blair and the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, however the...
Recruitment News, Jan 31, 2007
40 Jobs To Go In County Antrim
A County Antrim food processing plant is to close down, resulting in the loss of 40 jobs. Oaktree Foods, which is a division of the O'Kane Group, has blamed steep competition from low-cost imports fr...
UK National News, Jan 31, 2007
Lord Levy arrested in cash-for-honours probe
Lord Levy, the Labour party's chief fundraiser, has been arrested for a second time in the cash-for-honours investigation. The peer, who is the Prime Minister's envoy to the Middle East, was first ar...
UK National News, Jan 31, 2007
Ninth person arrested over 'terror plot'
A ninth person has been arrested by police investigating an alleged terror plot in Birmingham. It is understood that the ninth person was arrested on a motorway near Birmingham. Eight people were a...
Northern Ireland News, Jan 31, 2007
Woman dies in County Tyrone collision
A woman has died following a road traffic collision in County Tyrone earlier today. The incident happened just outside the village of Clady at around 10am this morning and is understood to have invol...
UK National News, Jan 31, 2007
Asylum seeker jailed for sex attack
A Somali asylum seeker, previously convicted for several sex attacks, has been jailed indeterminately for molesting a seven-year-old girl. Sadiq Mohammed, 32, was found guilty of abducting and sexual...
Northern Ireland News, Jan 31, 2007
Chief Constable hits out at Sinn Fein and SDLP
PSNI Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde has today hit out at Sinn Fein and the SDLP, accusing them of insulting his officers and using the police as a political football. The comments were leaked to a Bel...
Northern Ireland News, Jan 31, 2007
NI civil servants embark on one-day strike
Around 3,000 Northern Ireland civil servants are taking part in industrial action today in protest over an announcement that staff could be made to take compulsory redundancies. Over 100,000 civil se...
UK National News, Jan 31, 2007
Report criticises rape prosecutions
Police and prosecutors should be doing more to build stronger cases in order to boost the conviction rate for rape, a report has said. The report, conducted by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabul...
UK National News, Jan 31, 2007
Intruder breaks into Prince Charles' home
An intruder armed with a pitchfork has been arrested after breaking into the grounds of Prince Charles' country home in Gloucestershire. According to reports, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwa...
UK National News, Jan 31, 2007
Litvinenko file handed to CPS
Scotland Yard has handed a file on the investigation into the death of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko to the Crown Prosecution Service. Mr Litvinenko, 43, died in hospital in London in Novembe...
Northern Ireland News, Jan 31, 2007
Police reissue McCartney murder appeal
Detectives investigating the murder of 33-year-old Robert McCartney near a Belfast city centre bar are renewing their appeal for information two years on from his death. The senior investigating offi...
UK National News, Jan 31, 2007
BA slashes prices on flights
British Airways is offering reduced price tickets on flights in a bid to fill seats after the threat of strikes by cabin crew was averted. Cabin crew had planned three walkouts - one of which was due...
Northern Ireland News, Jan 31, 2007
Armed robbery in County Tyrone
Detectives in County Tyrone have appealed for information following an armed robbery yesterday evening. The incident happened at around 10pm, when two masked men, who were armed with a knife and a sc...
UK National News, Jan 31, 2007
BBC Trust backs plans for downloads
The BBC Trust has published provisional conclusions broadly backing the BBC Executive's planned on-demand services and opened a period of consultation. Speaking on behalf of the Trust, Diane Coyle, B...
Northern Ireland News, Jan 31, 2007
Convenience store robbery in north Belfast
Police are investigating a robbery in north Belfast yesterday evening. Shortly before 8.15pm, a man armed with a knife, entered a convenience store on the Woodvale Road area of the city, threatened s...
Northern Ireland News, Jan 31, 2007
40 jobs to go in County Antrim
A County Antrim food processing plant is to close down, resulting in the loss of 40 jobs. Oaktree Foods, which is a division of the O'Kane Group, has blamed steep competition from low-cost imports fr...
Northern Ireland News, Jan 31, 2007
Three released in Bangor murder probe
The three men who were being questioned in connection with the murder of Bangor man Mark Christie in August last year, have been released without charge. Mr Christie, 36, from the Whitehall area of t...
Northern Ireland News, Jan 30, 2007
IMC reports republican terrorism and violence 'abandoned'
Today's Independent Monitoring Commission's report has said that republican terrorism and violence has been "abandoned". The 13th IMC report, which was published today, recognised Sinn Fein's decisio...
UK National News, Jan 30, 2007
Prison system in 'serious crisis'
The jail system is in "serious crisis" due to the level of overcrowding, the Chief Inspector of Prisons has warned. In her annual report, Anne Owers said that overcrowding in prisons was making it ha...
UK National News, Jan 30, 2007
Sentence increased for teenage killer
The teenage killer of schoolboy Joe Geeling has had his minimum sentence increased from 12 to 15 years. Michael Hamer, 15, was sentenced to life imprisonment at Manchester Crown Court last October, a...
UK National News, Jan 30, 2007
Pair charged under Terrorism Act
Two men arrested during raids in West Yorkshire last week have been charged under the Terrorism Act. Rizwan Ditta, 29 and Mohammed Bilal, 25, both from Halifax were arrested by anti-terrorism officer...
UK National News, Jan 30, 2007
Manchester wins race for first UK super-casino
Manchester is the surprise winner in the bid for the license for Britain's first Las Vegas-style super-casino. The verdict comes as a shock, as Blackpool and London's former Millennium Dome were the ...
Northern Ireland News, Jan 30, 2007
Three men arrested in connection with Christie murder
The police major investigations team along with uniformed police officers in Bangor District Command Unit have arrested three men in connection with the murder of Mark Christie last year. A spokesper...
Recruitment News, Jan 30, 2007
Minister Announces Investment In Five Industry Led Network Projects
Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin, announced the approval of almost 1.5 million euro in support of five industry networks who are undertaking collaborative projects un...
Recruitment News, Jan 30, 2007
Cap On Student Numbers In Higher Education Changed
The current Maximum Student Number (MaSN) in full time under graduate places in Higher Education in Northern Ireland will remain unchanged. The decision was announced today by Maria Eagle, Minister f...
UK National News, Jan 30, 2007
Lonely hearts conwoman jailed for two years
A woman who conned thousands of pounds from men she met through newspaper and internet dating sites has been jailed for two years. Emma Golightly, 22, from Meadowfield Gardens in Walkerville, Newcast...
Northern Ireland News, Jan 30, 2007
Uniformed officers to be based at A&E
An innovative pilot scheme, which will see two uniformed police officers being based at Belfast City Hospital during "hotspot" times to combat attacks on health staff, has today been launched. The un...
UK National News, Jan 30, 2007
NME award nominations announced
Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian and Muse are among those shortlisted for this year's Shockwaves NME Awards. All three bands have picked up four nominations, alongside American bands The Killers and My Chemi...
UK National News, Jan 30, 2007
'172 mph' driver arrested
A driver has been arrested on suspicion of driving at 172 mph on an A-road in Oxfordshire. Police clocked 33-year-old Tim Brady driving a borrowed Porshe 911 Turbo at 172 mph near Abingdon. A car le...