Other NI News In Brief

Lagan Trawl Resumes

The festive season makes little difference to the emergency services that are this morning to resume their search of part of the River Lagan in Belfast. Yesterday, reports that a man was seen in the water about 3am sparked a fruitless search on Monday morning. It was called off late on Monday afternoon because of fading light.

NI Broadband UK's Slowest

Northern Ireland has come out at the bottom of the table on nationwide broadband speeds. London has the fastest average connections and Northern Ireland the slowest. Thinkbroadband.com conducted a survey between June and November of some 188,000 online speed tests across nearly 36,000 postcodes. Nationwide, the survey found an overall 11% rise to 3.6 Megabits per second. Northern Ireland saw a 19% rise to 2.7 Megabits per second (Mbps), but is still the slowest.

Crime Victims Happy With PSNI

Some 80% of people who have been victims of crime say they are satisfied with the overall service they have received from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), according to a joint survey published by the Northern Ireland Policing Board (the Board) and PSNI. The 2007/08 Quality of Service Survey, which monitors how victims feel about how the police deal with their cases, was sent to a random sample of victims of vehicle crime, violent crime, domestic burglary, racist incidents and road traffic collisions. Commenting on the findings, Chairman of the Board, Professor Sir Desmond Rea, said: "The survey's findings are broadly positive and it is very welcome that the majority of victims of crime are satisfied with the way they and their cases have been dealt."

Rough Sleepers Funded

There was a little more festive cheer today as the Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie presented a cheque for £35,000 to the Director of the Northern Ireland Council for the Homeless, Ricky Rowledge. The Minister also toured the facilities in the Salvation Army Rough Sleepers Unit at Centenary House, Victoria Street, Belfast. Minister Ritchie will also accompany Welcome Outreach Centre volunteers to various pick up points for homeless people in Belfast. The Rough Sleepers Unit is open from 10pm to 9am seven nights per week which, combined with the existing 'drop in' centre in St Peter's Square, meets the needs of rough sleepers on a 24/7 basis. The Minister heard that the service is funded by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and delivered by the Salvation Army.

(BMcC)