Other NI News In Brief

Passport 'Tourist Boost'

The UK's new passport will help stimulate tourism with famous images - including the White Cliffs of Dover, the Gower Peninsula in Wales, Ben Nevis in Scotland and the Giant's Causeway (pictured) representing scenes from across the UK. Sarah Rapson, Chief Executive of the Identity and Passport Service, said: "What we're not trying to do is represent every single aspect of Britain today. We've deliberately chosen scenic Britain, the images you're seeing are representative of that aspect of Britain." The 10-year adult passport, which will cost the same £77.50 as now, uses complex images to help prevent fraud.

Lurgan Bin Bomb Arrests

It emerged yesterday that detectives investigating a bomb attack in Lurgan in which three children were injured had arrested three men. The bomb, on 14 August, exploded in a bin while police investigated a warning that another device had been left at a nearby primary school. The three children, aged between two and 12, suffered minor injuries. Officers arrested the three men during a search operation in Lurgan on Wednesday. A number of items were taken away for examination.

Belfast Boxing Clever

North Belfast Sinn Féin Councillor Conor Maskey has commended the achievement of boxer Ryan Burnett on winning a Gold Medal in the Youth Olympics in Singapore. Burnett, 18, from the Newington area of Belfast defeated his opponent Salman Alizida from Azerbaijan in the final with a 13-6 points score, becoming the first Irish boxer to win a gold in this the inaugural event. "This is a wonderful achievement for young Ryan. He can quite proudly put his name up among some of Belfast's boxing history makers like Caldwell, Gilroy and more recently Paddy Barnes who resides in the same club and lives only a few streets away," said Mr Maskey.

Sunbed Alert

A new campaign on sunbeds to communicate the long-term health effects, including skin cancer and premature ageing was launched this week. Research has shown that using a sunbed before the age of 35 can increase the risk of melanoma skin cancer by up to 75%. Chief Medical Officer, Michael McBride, representing the Health Minister said: "I welcome the launch of this important campaign to highlight the obvious dangers of using sunbeds. Our pale skin types, which burn easily, are very vulnerable to the harmful effects of UV radiation and I would urge anyone using sunbeds to seriously consider how dangerous they are to your health." Skin cancer cases have nearly trebled in the last 25 years in Northern Ireland and as the most common cancer it accounts for 28% of all individuals diagnosed with cancer

Goat ID Needed

The Department of Agriculture has issued a final reminder that all sheep and goat keepers to identify their animals by nine months of age. Sheep and goats that have not left the holding of birth must be correctly identified by the time they reach nine months of age (or six months if normally housed overnight). Keepers are also reminded that lost tags must be replaced within 28 days of discovery and before the animal leaves the holding. It is important for traceability purposes that red replacement tags are applied if the animal is no longer on the holding of birth. Replacement tags must be recorded in the flock register and cross-referenced with the lost tag. Animals tagged before 31 December 2009 only need to be upgraded to EID for sheep, or two matching identifiers for goats, when they leave the holding, or if all tags have been lost.

(BMcC/GK)