Northern Ireland News for May 2007

Northern Ireland News, May 31, 2007
Policing Board announces committee members
The Northern Ireland Policing Board has met today to announce a number of appointments to the Board's various committees, that for the first time includes members of Sinn Fein who have taken their sea...
Northern Ireland News, May 31, 2007
Paisley Jr criticised over 'gay' comments
A Democratic Unionist Party member is under pressure to apologise for allegedly saying he is “repulsed” by gays and lesbians. Ian Paisley Jr made the comments to Hot Press magazine and is quoted as s...
UK National News, May 31, 2007
Litvinenko murder suspect blames MI6
The main suspect in the murder of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko has claimed that the British secret services were involved in his death. Andre Lugovi also claimed that MI6 tried to recruit ...
UK National News, May 31, 2007
Search for hit-and-run driver following girl's death
Police in Edinburgh are searching for a motorist, after a young girl died and her mother was injured in a hit-and-run incident. The incident happened on Redford Drive, near to the junction with Westg...
Northern Ireland News, May 31, 2007
Four men remanded over blackmail charges
Four men have appeared in court today charged with an alleged plot to blackmail a Belfast businessman. They have been charged with demanding £50,000 with menace from a person known as Witness A betw...
UK National News, May 31, 2007
Three killed in motorway collision
Three people have been killed in a collision on the M40 in Buckinghamshire. Eleven people were also injured in the incident, which involved between six and eight vehicles, including a lorry. The co...
Northern Ireland News, May 31, 2007
West Belfast injured man identified
Detectives in west Belfast have identified a man who was found unconscious at the junction of Ross Street and Albert Street late last night. He was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital and is current...
UK National News, May 31, 2007
Police support worker shot in training
A police support worker is being treated in hospital after being shot and injured during a firearms training session. It is understood that the civilian employee was injured during a Thames Valley Po...
UK National News, May 31, 2007
Schools given powers to search for knives
Teachers have been given the right to search pupils for knives and offensive weapons, under new guidance announced by the government. The new power, which comes into force today, is being introduced ...
Northern Ireland News, May 31, 2007
Controversial landfill site reopened
A landfill site that was closed after residents complained that the area had become infested with flies has reopened. The Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) decided to close the controversial Mul...
UK National News, May 31, 2007
Police appeal over missing businessman
Greater Manchester Police have issued a fresh appeal over the disappearance of a man who disappeared from his home in Didsbury a year ago. Sarwar Al-Hafeed, 38, was last seen by his wife, Dana, at hi...
Northern Ireland News, May 31, 2007
Minister approves classroom assistant settlement
Education Minister Caitríona Ruane has announced approval for a settlement in the long-running dispute over the job evaluation exercise for classroom assistants. The exercise forms the last major par...
UK National News, May 31, 2007
Evans and Piper divorce granted
DJ Chris Evans and actress Billie Piper have been granted a divorce by the High Court in London, nearly three years after they separated. The couple married in Las Vegas in May 2001, five months afte...
Northern Ireland News, May 31, 2007
Emergency Rescue station opens on Rathlin
The first joint Rescue Station between a fire and rescue service and the Coastguard in the UK is set to open tomorrow on Rathlin Island. The Emergency Rescue Station is in association with the Northe...
UK National News, May 31, 2007
Ex-newspaper editor to be Tory press chief
Andy Coulson, the former editor of the 'News of the World' is to become the new director of communications for the Conservative party. Mr Coulson resigned as editor of the tabloid in January after th...
Northern Ireland News, May 31, 2007
Worthington tipped to be Northern Ireland manager
Former international player Nigel Worthington has been tipped as Lawrie Sanchez's replacement as Northern Ireland football manager, according to reports. The 45-year-old, 66-times capped former defen...
UK National News, May 30, 2007
Public inquiry into Stansted expansion launched
A public inquiry has been launched into proposals to expand the capacity of Stansted Airport. Airport operator BAA wants to increase passenger numbers at the Essex airport from 25 to 35 million each ...
UK National News, May 30, 2007
George Michael 'drove car on drugs'
Pop singer George Michael had a cocktail of drugs in his system when he was arrested in his car in north London last year, a court has heard. The 43-year-old singer, whose real name is George Panayit...
Northern Ireland News, May 30, 2007
Documents 'destroyed' in Billy Wright tribunal
A public inquiry into the assassination of loyalist leader Billy Wright has been informed that thousands of documents have gone missing or been deliberately destroyed. A lawyer for his family made th...
Northern Ireland News, May 30, 2007
Landfill site closed as 'precautionary' measure
The government has closed a landfill site outside Lisburn after residents have complained that the area had become infested with flies. The Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) decided to close the...
UK National News, May 30, 2007
Houses raided in search for kidnapped Britons
The search is continuing for five Britons who were abducted by gunmen from the Iraqi finance ministry in Baghdad yesterday. US and Iraqi troops have conducted a series of raids on houses and building...
Northern Ireland News, May 30, 2007
Cameroon woman's deportation order halted
A woman has successfully won a legal bid to prevent her and her daughter from being deported to Cameroon. Lordorice Djountso arrived in Northern Ireland in August 2005 when she was pregnant. She sa...
UK National News, May 30, 2007
Madeleine's parents meet with the Pope
The parents of missing British girl Madeleine McCann have attended an audience with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome today. Gerry and Kate McCann's visit is part of a series of trips to highlight the case, ...
UK National News, May 30, 2007
Murder inquiry launched following Lancashire stabbing
Lancashire police have launched a murder inquiry after a 19-year-old man was stabbed to death. The body of Andrew Cole, 19, was found at an address in Thornton, near Fleetwood, around 2am on Tuesday ...
Northern Ireland News, May 30, 2007
Woman dragged from car in Belfast
Detectives in Belfast are appealing for information following an incident where a woman was dragged from her vehicle yesterday evening. The 23-year-old woman had stopped in her black Renault Clio at ...
Northern Ireland News, May 30, 2007
Donegal Golden Eagle project a success
The first Golden Eagle chick in nearly 100 years has hatched in County Donegal. It is understood two chicks were born around five weeks ago in a remote area of the Glenveagh National Park in Donegal,...
UK National News, May 30, 2007
MoD names soldier killed in Afghanistan
The Ministry of Defence has named a British soldier who was killed in southern Afghanistan. Corporal Darren Bonner, of the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglican Regiment, was killed in an explosion in the...
Northern Ireland News, May 30, 2007
Ballynahinch police station raided
Burglars have broken into a police station in County Down, it has been revealed. The station at Ballynahinch was raided, however nothing was taken in the overnight break-in. An assembly member for ...
UK National News, May 30, 2007
Police officers due in court on child porn charges
Two police officers are due to appear in court today, charged with possessing indecent images of children. Detective Constable Graham Ferguson, 40, from the Metropolitan Police and PC Gerard Collins,...
Northern Ireland News, May 30, 2007
Ritchie says regeneration is 'more than bricks and mortar'
Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie MLA has urged communities in North Belfast to grasp the opportunity to create a legacy of community renewal from EU funded initiatives. The Minister was s...