Other NI News In Brief

Zoo Says 'G'day Mate'

Belfast Zoo is delighted to welcome Boom (short for boomerang) the red kangaroo joey. Keepers had suspected that Dancer, the red kangaroo, was carrying a joey in her pouch but suspicions were confirmed when Boom popped out of the pouch to say hello in April. Boom has joined dad, Randalph, mum, Dancer and the other red kangaroos in their enclosure at Belfast Zoo, bringing the total of kangaroos to six. Red kangaroos are part of a European endangered species programme. There are more than 400 red kangaroos living in zoos around the world. As part of this breeding programme, in the future Boom could move on to join red kangaroos at other European zoos to play an active role in the conservation of this famous Australian marsupial.

Alert 'Hoax'

Police have declared a suspicious object in the Donegall Road area of south Belfast this morning "an elaborate hoax". Army Technical Officers attended and a number of homes in the area were evacuated and the road closed at the Falls Road/Donegall Road junction and St James Drive. The PSNI have no also said that a security alert that was underway in the village of Glynn in Co Antrim this morning has ended too. Police have confirmed that a controlled explosion was carried out and a vehicle has now been taken away for further examination. It is believed nothing untoward was discovered during the investigation. Army Technical Officers were sent to the scene this morning and police were advising motorists to avoid the area.

Fraud Fined

A man was convicted at Downpatrick Crown court this week for claiming benefits he was not entitled to. Colm Kearney, 54, of Burren Road, Castlewellan claimed Income Support and Rates totalling £22,735 while failing to declare his partner's employment. He was given 200 hours community service and ordered to pay court costs of £34. He will also have to repay any outstanding money wrongfully obtained to the Social Security Agency.

Africa Calls

Carrickfergus-based MindMill has secured a distribution agreement in Sub Saharan Africa for its advanced human profiling software, following the company's participation in Invest Northern Ireland trade missions to South Africa. The company has clinched an initial £200,000 deal with EOH Group, Johannesburg, South Africa, one of the country's leading technology and services organisations. MindMill has also recently won substantial export business in key markets such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Syria for its psychometric assessment software. The agreement was announced during the current Invest NI trade mission to South Africa by Laing Mewhort, MindMill's Managing Director, and welcomed by Dr Vicky Kell, Invest NI Trade Director.

Nurse Honoured

NI Health Minister Edwin Poots has congratulated Mary Hinds, Director of Nursing and Allied Health Professionals in the Public Health Agency on receiving an Honorary Degree for services to work in areas of special educational concern to the Open University in Ireland. "Mary was instrumental in developing the Open University's pre-registration nursing programme enabling Health Care Assistants to access a programme of study that allowed them to reach their potential as registered nurses. It is therefore only fitting that the Open University of Ireland has awarded Mary this deserved Honorary Degree."

Health & Safety Matters

The NI Health and Safety Professionals conference was held this week in Belfast on the theme, 'Health and Safety in Challenging Times'. Delegates considered how best the health and safety professional community could work more effectively during the current challenging economic times. Health & Safety Executive NI (HSENI) Chairman George Lucas said: "I hope that you will see your commitment to the health of your workforce as an investment and not a cost. Your commitment will undoubtedly benefit workers themselves, their families and society as a whole. I have every confidence that together, by working in partnership, we can continue to ensure a work culture which protects, promotes and supports health and well being." The key note address given by HSENI's Chief Executive Jim Keyes reviewed the regulation of health and safety at work, present and future. "Despite the improving situation of falling injury numbers there could be no room for complacency. Now was the time to redouble efforts to eliminate incidents that might lead to death, injury or illness. Effective health and safety management was a proven and certain way of stripping out costs from businesses at a time of financial pressure," he said.

(BMcC/GK)