'Otter' Madness At Zoo

Belfast Zoo has welcomed two smooth-coated otters (male and female) into an enclosure opposite their sea lions, and are now only the second zoo outside of Asia to care for this endangered species. The smooth-coated otters are an energetic and noisy pair, and are expected to be a summer favourite. Other new animals that can be seen at the Zoo this summer include red titi monkeys, toco toucans and Visayan warty pigs.

Aldergrove Fees Take Off

Belfast International Airport has decided to charge anyone dropping off or picking up passengers at the front of the departure/arrivals area. From 7 July a £1 charge will allow motorists to use the new drop off zone for ten minutes, before they have to park. An airport spokesperson said that it had also doubled the time duration at the lowest rate in the short-stay car park for those who needed to stay longer than ten minutes.

Educational Investment Vital

A failure to invest in higher education is a failure to invest in all that is good in our society, the Chancellor of the University of Ulster, Dr James Nesbitt told graduates at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast this week. In his inaugural graduation speech to over 1,000 successful students, the world-famous Coleraine film and TV actor delivered an incisive overview of the challenges facing higher education. "Government, both at Stormont and Westminster must know - and if it does not know, must be told - by you, by me, by our staff and students, and by our alumni, that a failure to invest in higher education is a failure to invest in all that is good in our society."

NI Needs More Public Health Docs

Dr Vinod Tohani, an independent public health doctor and member of the BMA's Northern Ireland Council has called for more public health doctors to be appointed. Speaking at the British Medical Association's annual conference in Brighton, he said: "How can we attract doctors to train in public health medicine if we do not have jobs for them? Public health medicine is of vital importance, contributing to tackling health inequalities as well as health improvement and protection. Public health doctors played a key role in, for example, tackling swine flu." Dr Tohani concluded: "Prior to the Review of Public Administration, (RPA) NI had 26 whole time equivalent consultants in public health medicine. However, there was a 25% reduction in posts after the RPA. It is essential that this is reversed given the central role that improving public health will play in sustaining our health service in the future."

(BMcC/GK)