Belfast City Airport Launches 'That's the Spirit' Event

Belfast City Airport has launched 'That’s the Spirit' – a week-long celebration of local spirit brands that are helping to put Northern Ireland on the global distiller stage.

Taking place from 23 to 30 August, the event will shine a spotlight on the homegrown brands behind the region’s distillery resurgence, giving passengers an opportunity to sample premium spirits.

Speaking at the launch, Michael Jackson, Head of Commercial at Belfast City Airport, said: "As an airport at the heart of the city, we are passionate about showcasing the very best that Northern Ireland has to offer. We share our distillers’ pride in their creations and want to support local producers, giving our passengers a true taste of the place that we are fortunate enough to call home."

The airport is partnering with Copeland, Basalt, Boatyard, Hinch, Jawbox, and Titanic Distillers, with sampling to take place in the airport’s World Duty Free and Aspire Lounge. Special offers and promotions will also be available in The Artisan and Samson’s Kitchen and Bar. Michael Jackson added that brand representatives will be on hand to share tasting notes and insights into their distilling process, with full bottles of all featured spirits available for purchase.

Health Minister Nesbitt Shares RCN Frustration Over Nurses' Pay

Ulster Unionist Party Leader and Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt, has issued a statement expressing his frustration over the ongoing delay in implementing the recommended pay increases for nurses for 2025-26. His comments come after the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) entered a trade dispute with the Executive over its failure to deliver the pay award.

Mr Nesbitt stated that in May, he announced he was triggering a Ministerial Direction process to deliver the pay increases as soon as possible, in line with his commitment to maintaining pay parity with England. However, he noted that the decision was then referred to the wider Executive, where it currently remains stalled. "Our health workers deserve so much better," Mr Nesbitt said, adding that he "couldn't agree more" with the RCN's call for the Executive to deliver the "long-overdue pay award for this year" as a first step.

In his earlier announcement on the Ministerial Direction process, the Minister emphasised the importance of treating health staff with respect and warned that falling behind on pay levels would "exacerbate challenges with recruitment and retention". He cautioned that a failure to act would undoubtedly lead to industrial action, which would cause significant disruption to patient care and negatively impact the focus on reducing waiting lists and reforming healthcare delivery. He concluded that the risk of a budget overspend must be balanced against the significant risk to service provision.

Police Appeal for Information Following Limavady House Fire

Detectives are continuing to investigate a house fire that occurred on the Seacoast Road in Limavady and are appealing for information from the public. The fire took place between 12.50am and 1.10am on Sunday, 27th July.

Detective Inspector Connolly stated that the investigation is ongoing and that they are keen to speak with anyone who may have seen anything while travelling on the Seacoast Road that morning. Police believe several cars were in the area at the time and would appeal to those drivers to get in touch. They are also specifically requesting any dash-cam footage that might assist with their enquiries.

Anyone who was on the Seacoast Road during that time and has information is asked to contact police on the non-emergency 101 number, quoting reference 179 27/07/25. Alternatively, a report can be submitted online using the non-emergency reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/. Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.