Other NI News In Brief

Sweet Success

The Stormont Environment Minister, Edwin Poots has been feeding a 'sweet tooth' and is shown here as he samples Gourmet Fruits' popular caramel-coated apples at Lisburn Enterprise Organisation's (LEO) 20th birthday celebrations. Gourmet Fruits, run by David Hallowell (pictured left) is one of 1,350 businesses that the enterprise agency has helped to start up. The Minister revealed his favourite topping flavour was mint chocolate. LEO Chief Executive Aisling Owens is also pictured. See full story at: Tasting Success In Lisburn

Nephews Charged With Killing

Two brothers who each have no fixed abode have appeared in court charged with the murder of their uncle, Seamus Holland, in west Belfast. Daniel Bernard Gaskin, a 20-year-old labourer, and Gerard Patrick Gaskin, 29, a student, are accused of killing Mr Holland who was found by relatives on the floor of his Upton Court home, in the Glen Road area, on Sunday. He had suffered head injuries and died in hospital later.

Fatal Accident Blights Fermanagh

A woman named as 54-year-old Bridget McGovern from the Derrylin area has been killed in a car crash in Co Fermanagh. The single vehicle accident happened about three miles from Belcoo at about 11am on Wednesday on Lattone Road which was then closed for most of the day for PSNI investigations.

Shooting Condemned

A Sinn Fein Councillor has slammed those behind a shooting in Iveagh Parade in west Belfast earlier this week, describing it as reckless. Cllr Brownlee said: "This shooting is wrong and completely reckless. I know the overwhelming majority of people within this area acknowledge that fact. Those behind this attack have shown no regard for the local community. It was carried out at a time of day when there are many school children and parents coming and going around these streets. These shootings need to stop," he said. The 48-year-old male victim was shot in both knees about 4pm on Tuesday and was taken to hospital with injuries which are not believed to be life threatening. Two masked men thought to have been involved in the shooting fled on foot in the direction of Mansen Street and the PSNI have appealed for information.

Craigavon Recalled

NI's top politician, the First Minister, Peter Robinson has marked the 70th anniversary of the passing of NI's very first such leader, Viscount Craigavon, the first Prime Minister. The DUP Leader accompanied by Assembly colleagues laid a wreath at the tomb of the statesman in the grounds of the Stormont Estate on Wednesday. "Viscount Craigavon is the father of the modern State. He presided over the birth of our country and saw it through a period of considerable turbulence and strife, defeating the attempts of the IRA and others to strangle NI at birth and played a leading role in mobilising mass Unionist resistance to the plot to foist the Third Home Rule Bill on Ulster. NI people enjoy full UK citizenship as part of the legacy bequeathed to us by Viscount Craigavon," said the DUP Leader.

Staff Commission New Faces

Several appointments to the Local Government Staff Commission for Northern Ireland for a four-year term effective from the 1 December have been announced. Environment Minister, Edwin Poots who is responsible for the commission said it is an executive non-departmental public body, established in 1972 to oversee matters connected with the recruitment, training and terms and conditions of officers of district councils and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. The new faces are Mervyn Rankin, (Chairman) and members, Ashley Boreland; Carmel Connolly; William Francey MBE and the DUP Newtownabbey Alderman Nigel Hamilton as well as Alderman Geraldine Rice MBE and Seamus Shields.

Recruiting Gulf Success

Carrickfergus-based MindMill, a specialist in human profiling software used for selection, training and recruitment, has secured an initial project in Qatar from participating in an Invest Northern Ireland trade mission to the Arabian Gulf. It is an innovator of web-enabled assessment software that organisations can use to assess the suitability of a candidate for a particular employment role, has secured an initial three year contract with Oryx HR, a recruitment specialist based in Doha. The company is part of Oryx Engineering, one of Qatar's leading businesses involved in the huge natural gas industry there. The deal followed the Co. Antrim company's participation on an Invest NI mission to the Gulf centres of Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman by Laing Mewhort, MindMill's Managing Director, in April 2010. Dr Vicky Kell, Invest NI's Trade Director, welcoming MindMill's success, said: "This is a significant achievement that positions the business for fast growth throughout the Gulf region. The company has invested time and resources in developing the substantial business opportunities it pinpointed there during the mission."

Biomass Grants Approved

The NI Agriculture Minister Michelle Gildernew has announced nine offers of grant totalling £967,000 made under DARD's EU co-funded Biomass Processing Challenge Fund. The awarded monies under the fund will support the installation of biomass processing facilities to produce renewable energy on farms. The fund provides capital support on eligible expenditure of up to 40% to a ceiling of €400,000 per project. "Improvements in farm business efficiency, competitiveness and greater energy security, through the processing of agricultural and forestry wastes and other biomass material are key components in all these projects. The projects, producing heat and or electricity, represent a total investment of over £3.4million and include installation of biomass boilers and anaerobic digesters on farms," she said, yesterday.

(BMcC/GK)