Back From The USA

Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson (pictured) and the NI Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness have his week concluded their US visit with a meeting with New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Mr Robinson said: "Over the course of the last four days we have been welcomed by some of the most powerful and influential people in America, all of whom have expressed a keen interest in the opportunities that Northern Ireland has to offer. "I am confident that our presence here this week will lead to more US based companies taking up those opportunities," he said, as his Executive colleague, Martin McGuinness commented: "I am very encouraged by what we have heard during the course of our visit. There is tremendous support amongst corporate America for what we are trying to achieve with our economy at home. Time after time this week we have been granted access to some of the most important people in the American business world. Despite the difficult economic climate I leave the United States very hopeful for the future."

Aer Lingus Boost As Staff Take Up Options

Aer Lingus has announced that enough staff have taken up its new severance deal to meet their cost-cutting targets. The airline aimed to reduce staff by 7% to avoid the original plan to outsource 1,300 jobs as part of a last minute deal between management and SIPTU members. The news comes as Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary continued to urge the Iirsh government to sell it's 25% shareholding in Aer Lingus. Mr O'Leary claimed that a guarantee it had tabled on landing rights at London's Heathrow airport removed the need for the Irish government to retain a strategic stake in flagship carrier Aer Lingus.

School Car Journeys Cut

The number of journeys to NI schools have been reduced thanks to a project involving 18 schools and managed by the transport charity Sustrans and the Department of Agriculture and Department of Regional Development. The cut, by more than a quarter in the past year, is good news, according to the Rural Safe Routes to School programme. Walking paths, pedestrian crossings and safety lights have been put in place under the initiative and the charity says it would now like to see similar measures introduced across Northern Ireland.

Dairy Calves To Go For Beef?

The Northern Ireland Red Meat Task Force will be at this year's Winter Fair in Belfast to gauge the level of interest from farmers for supplying calves or rearing calves for a Northern Ireland calf rearing company. They will ask interested farmers at the show to complete a short questionnaire and from that will be able to assess the availability of calves and calf rearers for an integrated supply chain approach to contract calf rearing. Speaking on behalf of the Northern Ireland Red Meat Task Force, Dr Mike Tempest from the Livestock & Meat Commission said: "The Task Force Report showed that rearing dairy calves for beef has greater potential to be profitable than any other system. We have been losing valuable raw material in the form of dairy bull calves that have been destroyed or have been exported to veal units which could be used in our own beef production industry."

Teens on Hoax Bomb Charges

Two teenage boys, aged 14 and 15, have been charged with conspiring to cause a bomb hoax at a school in west Belfast. The 14-year-old is also charged with four counts of placing an article to cause a bomb hoax. It is understood the charges relate to a series of hoax security alerts at St Colm's High School in Twinbrook last month.

(BMcC)