Other NI News In Brief

Four Freed Over School Hoaxes

PSNI officers investigating a long-running series of hoax security alerts in a west Belfast estate - particularly targeting a local school - have now released three teenage boys and a 22-year-old man who were held yesterday, pending reports. The four were arrested in Twinbrook as police carried out searches. A number of items were seized for further examination. St Colm's High School in the area has been the target of several incidents over the past month and things escalated further this week resulting in the Army having to carry out several controlled explosions on Wednesday.

Booze Ban For GAA Celebrations?

The fizz could be taken out of post match GAA celebrations after some officials said they might consider drilling holes in trophies in a bid to stop players filling them with bubbly. Officials in Co Kerry said they could take the step as a last resort to ensure post match celebrations do not get too boisterous. A GAA spokesman said guidelines already banned the practice of filling trophies with alcoholic beverages. He also said that while drilling holes in silverware was not official policy, it was up to individual counties to decide what they wanted to do with their trophies.

Kelly Backs Renewables

Stormont Junior Minister Gerry Kelly has welcomed an international conference focused on the development of renewable energy technology, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland. The two-day International Renewable Energy Conference and Exhibition is being held in the Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle and is hosted by the Agri Food Biosciences Institute. The theme of the conference is Global Challenges Community Solutions and over the two days will be addressed by leading experts in the field from across Europe and the USA. Minister Kelly said that he hoped that the conference would "reach out to the people living and working in our rural communities, providing them with an alternative economic direction as businessmen, and a cleaner, greener environment for all of us".

(BMcC)