Killer approached other violent groups when targeting Adrian Ismay

Covid vaccinations for over-80s due to begin on January 4

Barry McCaffrey: Now give the Loughinisland families the truth and justice they deserve

Cross-border travel restrictions will be examined by Irish government next month

Patrick Murphy: Biden's election a setback for the Catholic Church in the US and Ireland

Co Tyrone republican Kevin Barry Murphy went on all-expenses paid holidays with MI5 agent Dennis McFadden

Dissident Murphy's Spanish holidays with MI5 agent Dennis McFadden

Derek Ryan is on The Road to Christmas with new festive album

Jake O'Kane: Voucher scheme shows that yet again, it's up to us as individuals to circumvent political idiocy

Mary Kelly: Johnson's payout priorities on similar trajectory to Elon Musk's

Latest

Declan Martin: True gentleman whose generosity touched countless lives

Menarys to close three branches in new year

Former Utility Regulator chief executive Jenny Pyper to be interim head of NI Civil Service

Covid deaths in north's hospitals rise to highest during pandemic

Call for Policing Board investigation after PSNI agree to pay £875,000 damages over raids on journalists

New-found Déise goals threaten Kilkenny's semi-final record

Coronavirus

Covid vaccinations for over-80s due to begin on January 4

COVID vaccinations for over-80s not living in care homes are due to begin on January 4 as part of a massive programme delivered by GPs across Northern Ireland.

Topics

Vaccine

Covid deaths in north's hospitals rise to highest during pandemic

HOSPITALS in Northern Ireland recorded their highest number of Covid-related deaths in the week to November 20, official figures show.
Cross-border travel restrictions will be examined by Irish government next month

A relaxation of cross-border travel restrictions will not be looked at by the Irish government until next month.
Diane Dodds extends Covid support schemes as new restrictions kick in

ECONOMY Minister Diane Dodds has confirmed that the terms of the Covid Restrictions Business Support Scheme (CRBSS) have been extended, with the closing date for applications to Part A and Part B of the scheme extended to Wednesday December 16.
Kim Jong Un locks down North Korea captial Pyongyang and orders executions in anti-Covid-19 drive

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered at least two people executed, banned fishing at sea and locked down the capital, Pyongyang, as part of frantic efforts to guard against coronavirus and its economic damage, South Korea's spy agency told politicians.

News

Declan Martin: True gentleman whose generosity touched countless lives

IN the days and weeks following the death of Declan Martin, the same tribute echoed again and again through messages to his family – a 'true gentleman', whose generosity touched countless lives.

Peter Robinson believes British government will put 'best interests of English Tories' ahead of north

PETER Robinson believes the British government will put the "best interests of English Tories" ahead of any concern for Northern Ireland in its Brexit negotiations with the EU.
Call for Policing Board investigation after PSNI agree to pay £875,000 damages over raids on journalists

THE Policing Board is to be asked to investigate the arrests of Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney after the PSNI agreed to pay out nearly £900,000 in damages as part of a settlement reached with the two journalists whose homes were unlawfully raided.
One in three freight firms have made `little or no progress' preparing for Brexit changes

ALMOST a third of freight firms have made "little or no progress" preparing for logistics and transportation after Brexit, with the entire industry concerned "about how imports from Northern Ireland will work".
`Watershed moment' for protection of Neolithic Co Down burial site

THE first formal stage in the removal of a controversial wind turbine built alongside a protected ceremonial site at the centre of an ancient Irish kingdom has been passed with cross-community political support.

Business

Amazon delivers Christmas bonus to Northern Ireland staff

AMAZON workers in Northern Ireland are in line for an up to £300-a-head Christmas bonus.

Topics

Viberoptix smashes 100th employee mark in just four months

COALISLAND-based fibre infrastructure firm Viberoptix says it has recruited more than 100 employees in record time.
Diane Dodds extends Covid support schemes as new restrictions kick in

ECONOMY Minister Diane Dodds has confirmed that the terms of the Covid Restrictions Business Support Scheme (CRBSS) have been extended, with the closing date for applications to Part A and Part B of the scheme extended to Wednesday December 16.
Declining insolvencies 'signal black hole of corporate debt' for Northern Ireland

A MASSIVE decline in corporate insolvencies this year is said to be a warning sign that businesses in the north are facing a "black hole of debt and payment defaults" in 2021 worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
Hinch Distillery strikes deal with German distributor

IRISH whiskey brand Hinch, which earlier this month launched its £15 million distillery and visitor experience in the grounds of Killaney Estate near Ballynahinch, has ramped up its global exporting activity through a new partnership with a German distributor.

Sport

The Joker... East Belfast is here to stay says comedian Darren Matthews

He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready… Eminem, Lose Yourself IT’S been 20 years since he’s swung a hurley in anger.

Topics

Fermanagh take on Louth in Lory Meagher Cup final at Croke Park

Lory Meagher Cup final: Fermanagh v Louth (today, Croke Park, 3.
Declan Coulter still bringing home the silverware with adopted county Donegal

DECLAN Coulter admits he “owed Mayo one” and he repaid the debt and avenged the loss in the 2016 Nicky Rackard final by hitting nine points as his adopted Donegal beat the westerners in last Sunday's Croke Park decider.
New-found Déise goals threaten Kilkenny's semi-final record

All-Ireland SHC semi-final: Waterford v Kilkenny (today, 6pm, Croke Park, live on RTÉ2 & Sky Sports Mix) IT has been 15 years, and 11 semi-finals in that time, since Kilkenny were in the last four and didn't make the last two.
Antrim hurlers will leave nothing to chance as Joe McDonagh final beckons

Joe McDonagh Cup: Meath v Antrim (today, Navan, 1pm) DARREN Gleeson would beg to differ – but the Antrim hurlers already have one foot in next month’s Joe McDonagh final.

Opinion

Vaccination plans point to a brighter future

INFORMATION about how health officials hope to roll out the coronavirus vaccination programme will come as a much-needed boost of positivity as Northern Ireland enters its latest period of lockdown.

Topics

Patrick Murphy: Biden's election a setback for the Catholic Church in the US and Ireland

IN an interesting twist of fate, Joe Biden's election as America's second Catholic president represents a significant setback for the US Catholic Church - and his popularity in Ireland will not help the Church here either.
Newton Emerson: Dublin clearly views cross-border Covid cooperation as ludicrous

TÁNAISTE Leo Varadkar has suggested cross-border travel might have to be restricted over Christmas due to differing Covid rates and policies.
North exposed by Covid-19 'economic emergency'

THE announcement of multiple coronavirus vaccines means there are now realistic hopes of a return to something approaching normal life during 2021.
William Scholes: Citizen Donald and My Cousin Rudy show life imitates art - badly

"LIFE imitates art far more than art imitates life," wrote Oscar Wilde, though it's doubtful if even his fertile imagination could have conceived a character as grotesque and preposterous as Donald Trump.

Magazine

Apple found by chance on woodland run is ‘interesting' new variety

The finder of the apple tree growing wild in woods hopes to propagate and name it.

Topics

Coronation Street can go on forever, says William Roache

The actor plays Ken Barlow in the ITV soap.
BBC unveils Christmas animations featuring The Gruffalo

They show characters from Julia Donaldson's much-loved books, illustrated by Axel Scheffler.
Hybrid 5G satellite engineering hub set to open in Oxfordshire

New facility based in Oxfordshire is supported by £3 million of Government funding.
Dawn O'Porter explains how she coped with her grief at Caroline Flack's death

The presenter appeared on That Gaby Roslin Podcast.

Life

Marie Louise McConville: Less than impressed by Stormont's handling of the latest lockdown

What an absolute shambles.

Topics

Travel: Can I go on holiday even if there's no air corridor in place?

AS MOST of us prepare for a winter at home, the idea of getting on a plane and travelling for more than eight hours feels like a dream too impossible to imagine.
The Casual Gardener: It's still too early to call time on the gardening year

NOVEMBER can be a damp, raw month in the north of Ireland and the past few weeks have been unusually wet, with surface water saturating the soil.
Nutrition with Jane McClenaghan: The secret to better health? Make a habit of it

IT’S the little things that matter.
Stephen Colton's Take On Nature: Less is more on Lough Erne in November

NOW on the cusp of winter, tens of thousands of wildfowl and waders have settled across the island to feed in loughs, lush fields and along our bountiful tidal mudflats until the urge to breed will draw them northwards once again next spring.

Arts

Saturday Q&A: Grimes and McKee on L'Etoile's mussels, saving Cerys Matthews and pints in God's waiting room

How do you unwind at the weekend? Grimes: I absolutely adore the weekend and love lighting an early evening fire in our home in Donaghmore near Dungannon.

Topics

Derek Ryan is on The Road to Christmas with new festive album

COUNTRY singer Derek Ryan is hoping to bring festive cheer to his many fans with the release of his first Christmas album.
Alan Ball: Uncle Frank reflects my own struggles of being gay in the US South

WHEN the Oscar-winning screenwriter of American Beauty, Alan Ball, told his mother that he was gay, he was stunned when she told him that she believed his father had been as well.
Albums: New music from Steps, Smashing Pumpkins and Gary Barlow, plus collected favourites from Spandau Ballet

STEPS – WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS THE 90s dance-pop band's sixth studio album opens with the catchy title track and first single What The Future Holds.
Trad/roots: Mick Moloney on Irish in the US, from coal mines to White House

IN 1850 James Finnegan was taken from Co Louth as a child to the United States where his parents were hoping to build a better life.

Brexit

Peter Robinson believes British government will put 'best interests of English Tories' ahead of north

PETER Robinson believes the British government will put the "best interests of English Tories" ahead of any concern for Northern Ireland in its Brexit negotiations with the EU.

Topics

One in three freight firms have made `little or no progress' preparing for Brexit changes

ALMOST a third of freight firms have made "little or no progress" preparing for logistics and transportation after Brexit, with the entire industry concerned "about how imports from Northern Ireland will work".
Northern Ireland will become overseas territory of EU, Reg Empey claims

Northern Ireland will become an "overseas territory" of the European Union under the Brexit divorce deal, ministers have been warned.
Marks & Spencer warns 15% of food products may be unavailable in north after Brexit

MARKS & Spencer has warned that up to 15 per cent of its food products may not be available in Northern Ireland stores in the new year.
Contender to be US ambassador to Ireland fires warning shot to British over hard border

ONE of the main contenders to be the Biden administration's first ambassador to Ireland has reiterated the US President-elect's commitment to ensuring there is no hard border after Brexit.

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