Chilly December 'Official'

December was the coldest on record in NI and one of the coldest months ever recorded in the UK, according to the Met Office. Although globally last year was one of the warmest on record, provisional figures for 2010 show that in the UK it was the 12th coldest year in records dating back to 1910. Temperatures in the UK averaged 8 Celsius over the year, but the UK average temperature for December was minus 1C, significantly colder than the long term average of 4.2C and lower than the previous coldest December in 1981, when temperatures averaged 0.1C over the month.

'Bomb-Hit' M-Way Opens

Several controlled explosions were carried out on a suspicious vehicle at Blackstaff Way in the Kennedy Way industrial estate this morning with traffic on the nearby M1 motorway halted. The road had been closed in both directions between Stockman's Lane and Broadway. At 9am, there was still heavy traffic coming from the Lisburn direction as a result of the alert, but was rapidly clearing.

Shop Robbed

Alliance Party Dunmurry Cross candidate Aaron McIntyre has condemned those who smashed-up a shop whilst robbing it in Dunmurry on Tuesday. A shop assistant was treated for shock following the incident. "This was an appalling incident and my thoughts are with the shop assistant who was subjected to this brutal ordeal. The total lack of regard displayed by those involved for the person working in the shop at the time is frightening. Shops have had a very tough time of late, given the adverse weather conditions and the subsequent decreased footfall in the run up to Christmas, and acts like this make life even tougher. Those who are involved in incidents of this nature are despicable," he said, noting that anyone who has information which could help police in their enquiries should contact them immediately.

Gardaí Arrest Two Over Fatal Stabbing

A 25-year-old man has died and two have been arrested after a stabbing incident in Co Meath. The incident happened early this morning at the house in Rathmolyon. Gardaí discovered the victim at about 1am before he was taken to Connolly Memorial hospital in Blanchardstown, Dublin, where he died in the early hours of the morning. A 29-year-old man and a 59-year-old man, were arrested at the scene. They are being detained at Navan and Trim Garda stations under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.

TS Foods Success

Castlewellan-based TS Foods is targeting £800,000 worth of sales in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland following an investment in research and development supported by Invest Northern Ireland. TS Foods is an established family business which provides a range of fresh and frozen convenience foods for retail, food service and wholesale customers. TS Foods' foodworks and Tony's Chippy range are among the popular brands sold in supermarkets across the UK and Ireland. Invest NI offered TS Foods over £120,000, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), to help the company develop its R&D capability and boost sales after it analysed its production process and enhanced its approach to identifying and developing new products and market opportunities. As a result of the investment, the company is progressing towards the launch of a new range of value added products.

(BMcC/GK)