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05/06/2009
Charles To Make D-Day Trip
A solemn ceremony to mark the anniversary of the D-Day landings will be held tomorrow.
It takes place 65 years after tens of thousands of US troops left dozens of temporary training camps across Northern Ireland and other parts of the UK to join British and Commonwealth forces as part of the Normandy invasion.
Prince Charles will be attending - but not The Queen - as the US President marks the occasion alongside the UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown instead.
Charles' attendance comes after French officials failed to invite the Queen, causing an intense diplomatic spat.
A spokeswoman for Charles confirmed he would attend the June 6 commemoration as a guest of President Nicolas Sarkozy and the US President Barack Obama will also attend.
"Prince Charles contacted the Queen and said it might be a good idea if someone from the royal family went along and he proposed himself," a spokeswoman said.
"He has received an invitation from President Sarkozy and will most definitely be attending."
The ceremony in northern France commemorates the 1944 invasion by American, British and Commonwealth troops that broke Germany's hold on France during World War Two.
The event is traditionally attended by the Queen. Her Majesty went to both the 50th and the 60th commemorations - but this year France failed to send an invitation.
France later denied it had snubbed her, saying the ceremony was a Franco-American affair and there was no particular protocol that required the Queen to be invited.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown received an invitation from Sarkozy in March and was already planning to attend to honour the 73,000 U.S. troops and 83,000 British, Canadian and Commonwealth forces who landed in France on June 6, 1944 in the largest amphibious attack in history.
Many thousands of the US troops had been obvious across Great Britain and large areas of Northern Ireland in the run-up to the gigantic Operation Overlord.
Then days before the original invasion date of 5th June, they disappeared - virtually overnight - to take part in what was an increasingly obvious operation.
Delayed 24-hours because of bad weather in the English Channel - the huge force crossed to France to begin a bloody and prolonged assault that led to the liberation of Nazi-occupied France and the end of the war a year later.
See: Princess Anne Flies Into Northern Ireland
(BMcC/JM)
It takes place 65 years after tens of thousands of US troops left dozens of temporary training camps across Northern Ireland and other parts of the UK to join British and Commonwealth forces as part of the Normandy invasion.
Prince Charles will be attending - but not The Queen - as the US President marks the occasion alongside the UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown instead.
Charles' attendance comes after French officials failed to invite the Queen, causing an intense diplomatic spat.
A spokeswoman for Charles confirmed he would attend the June 6 commemoration as a guest of President Nicolas Sarkozy and the US President Barack Obama will also attend.
"Prince Charles contacted the Queen and said it might be a good idea if someone from the royal family went along and he proposed himself," a spokeswoman said.
"He has received an invitation from President Sarkozy and will most definitely be attending."
The ceremony in northern France commemorates the 1944 invasion by American, British and Commonwealth troops that broke Germany's hold on France during World War Two.
The event is traditionally attended by the Queen. Her Majesty went to both the 50th and the 60th commemorations - but this year France failed to send an invitation.
France later denied it had snubbed her, saying the ceremony was a Franco-American affair and there was no particular protocol that required the Queen to be invited.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown received an invitation from Sarkozy in March and was already planning to attend to honour the 73,000 U.S. troops and 83,000 British, Canadian and Commonwealth forces who landed in France on June 6, 1944 in the largest amphibious attack in history.
Many thousands of the US troops had been obvious across Great Britain and large areas of Northern Ireland in the run-up to the gigantic Operation Overlord.
Then days before the original invasion date of 5th June, they disappeared - virtually overnight - to take part in what was an increasingly obvious operation.
Delayed 24-hours because of bad weather in the English Channel - the huge force crossed to France to begin a bloody and prolonged assault that led to the liberation of Nazi-occupied France and the end of the war a year later.
See: Princess Anne Flies Into Northern Ireland
(BMcC/JM)
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02 June 2009
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Debris from a plane believed to be the missing Air France Flight 447 has been found floating in the ocean some 400 miles north-east of Brazil, the Brazilian Air Force has revealed.
31 October 2007
Non-Resident Pupils Row Gathers Pace
The NI Assembly Education Minister is under increasing pressure over schools allocating places to children from another jurisdiction. The Assembly has heard that there were 455 pupils attending schools in Northern Ireland last year who were not residents of the province.
Non-Resident Pupils Row Gathers Pace
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28 April 2005
PSNI officers rewarded for 'outstanding service'
PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde has recognised examples of “outstanding service” within the force by awarding the Chief Constable's Highly Commended Awards at a ceremony on Thursday.
PSNI officers rewarded for 'outstanding service'
PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde has recognised examples of “outstanding service” within the force by awarding the Chief Constable's Highly Commended Awards at a ceremony on Thursday.
07 January 2002
Ambulance staff threaten strike action
Northern Ireland Ambulance Service staff are threatening to take strike action over a series of serious attacks on emergency personnel attending incidents in the province. The latest attack left a female paramedic with face injuries when a brick was thrown through the windscreen off an ambulance in north Belfast.
Ambulance staff threaten strike action
Northern Ireland Ambulance Service staff are threatening to take strike action over a series of serious attacks on emergency personnel attending incidents in the province. The latest attack left a female paramedic with face injuries when a brick was thrown through the windscreen off an ambulance in north Belfast.
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:Gale, coastal severe gale, northwest winds ease from late afternoon. Scattered showers will fall as snow over the hills at first, becoming isolated from mid-afternoon. Maximum temperature 7 °C.Tonight:Showers, scattered in the evening, will clear by midnight leaving the night dry with clear spells. Cloud will spread east towards morning. Minimum temperature 2 °C.
