Dramatic Chase Ends In Arrests

Four men have been arrested after a chase involving police and a van through the west Belfast area on Tuesday afternoon. During the incident, two generators, believed to have been stolen from Duncrue Industrial Estate on Sunday, were pushed from the suspect vehicle which also later collided with other vehicles at Upper Dunmurry Lane and Kennedy Way. A man, a woman and a child were injured in the first of the crashes.

Pensioner Dies After Newry Crash

Two people injured in a road accident in Co Down earlier this week are recovering, but a woman in her 70s has now died following the crash. She was initially taken to hospital for treatment after the collision near Newry on Monday after two vehicles collided at the junction of the Old Warrenpoint Road and the A2 dual carriageway.

Island Hopping

Rathlin Island was the centre of attention today as Arlene Foster, Minister of the Environment, visited the opening of the RSPB's Seabird Centre near Bull Point at the west end of the island. The Seabird Centre is adapted from the lighthouse buildings and offers visitors spectacular views of some quarter of a million seabirds nesting on the sea stacks of Kebble Nature Reserve. The centre is a co-operative project drawing in the Commissioners for Irish Lights, Environment and Heritage Service, the Planning Service, NI Water, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, the Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust, the Heritage Lottery Fund and, of course, the islanders.

Hot Property!

Things have been really heating up at Belfast's new Victoria Square complex, literally. Visitors were stopped from travelling up to the centre's landmark glass dome on Saturday, as temperatures inside had reached an uncomfortable 30C degrees. Management decided to halt shoppers from climbing to the top of the impressive viewing area for health and safety reasons. Victoria Square Manager Hugh Black has said the dome does have safety measures in place to stop it becoming too hot but said that the higher than usual temperatures on Saturday meant these were not enough to reduce the humidity in this particular area.

Infection Levels Blamed On Staff Shortage

Staff shortages in hospitals are to blame for soaring levels of C-Difficile, according to a new report. Other contributing factors include ageing buildings and junior doctors receiving restricted training in infection control and prevention. The report from the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority was ordered by Health Minister Michael McGimpsey in response to an outbreak of a virulent strain of C-Diff in the Northern Trust.

Commissioners Appointed

The Office of the First and Deputy First Minister has announced the appointment of three new commissioners in the Province. The non-political appointees, who will fill newly created vacancies in the separate Planning and Water Appeals Commissions, are Aidan McCooney, who will take the role of Principle Commissioner, as will Sean O'Hare. Brian Martin has been appointed as a Senior Commissioner. All three men are members of the Royal Town Planning Institute. The commissioners' salaries will range from £48,810-£61,183, and all three will receive a pension. The Planning Appeals Commission is an independent appeals body that decides a wide range of appeals against decisions of the Department of Environment's Planning Service, while the Water Appeals Commission is a separate tribunal, established by the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.