#northern-ireland

#northern-ireland

Peter Robinson and Sammy Wilson will be among a host of high-profile witnesses called in a major corruption trial involving the sale of Nama's Northern Ireland loans, a jury was told this morning.

Northern Ireland faces a permacrisis from recurring race riots and may need to use military bases to shelter people burnt out of their homes, government documents reveal. Officials fear the region faces prolonged instability and that a single incident, local or international, could spark widespread disorder. The stark warnings say some displaced families have gone off-grid for security and that authorities may struggle to provide safe emergency accommodation if renewed unrest erupts.

The Northern Ireland secretary has said new measures aiming to deal with crimes committed during the Troubles will address the unfinished business of the peace agreement struck 27 years ago. Hilary Benn said the significant reforms would replace the controversial Legacy Act 2023 brought in by the Conservative government, which he said had failed to confront the past, partly because it had been rejected by all five main political parties and victims' families.

The education department in Northern Ireland has removed research on LGBTQ+ pupils from its website. The research, commissioned by the Department of Education itself in 2015, was publicly published in 2017 and detailed the school experiences of 16 to 21-year-olds who are LGBTQ+. At the time, the research found two-thirds of LGBTQ+ young people did not feel welcome in their schools and nearly half said they experienced bullying because of their sexuality and/or gender.

Fans in the UK can watch Germany vs Northern Ireland for FREE, with the public service broadcaster BBC showing the game. TV viewers will find the action on BBC Two, while those watching online can find the Germany vs Northern Ireland free live stream on the BBC iPlayer streaming platform. Coverage starts at 19:30 BST, with 15 minutes of build-up ahead of the 19:45 kick-off. Coverage is geo-restricted to the UK.

Earlier this year, the UK government delayed the rollout of driverless vehicles until late 2027* as it strives to build public trust. While limited self-driving technology is permitted on UK roads, a human driver must be at the wheel to supervise and intervene if needed. But several companies are already testing more advanced tech across the UK. In Belfast, NI's first self-driving vehicle - the Harlander shuttle bus - is giving passengers at Titanic Quarter a taste of the future.**

Such is the nature of the international football calendar that when Northern Ireland begin their efforts to make it to the 2026 World Cup against Luxembourg on Thursday it will be their first qualifying game in almost two years. A 2-0 win over Denmark at Windsor Park in October 2023 was the last time Michael O'Neill's side faced such a fixture with their success over the Euro 2024-bound side proving to be something of an outlier in recent times.

Some patients who have been red flagged for breast cancer assessments are waiting up to seven weeks to be seen in Northern Ireland. The target set by Northern Ireland's devolved Department of Health (DOH) - which oversees five health and social care trusts - is 14 days. Judith Mullan, a nurse from Cookstown, who went private for an appointment said she was "frustrated" and "let down" by waiting times.

The 25-year-old was forced off during the first half of Sunderland's 2-0 defeat against Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday. Speaking after the Black Cats' Carabao Cup loss against Huddersfield on Tuesday, their boss Regis Le Bris said while the concern was not "long-term", Ballard does face a spell on the sidelines. "It's not too serious so we expect him to be out for two to three weeks," he told the club's website.

Charles, 19, injured his shoulder in Wednesday's defeat by Stoke City in the Championship. He had been named by manager Michael O'Neill in the initial squad on Thursday, but he has now been ruled out after further assessment. Northern Ireland travel to Luxembourg in their opening qualifier on 4 September and take on Germany four days later. Both games will be broadcast on BBC Two NI, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

Karis Kelly's play, awarded the Women's Prize for Playwriting in 2022, masterfully captures a family’s reunion in Northern Ireland, focusing solely on the women present. The narrative navigates humor and pain through rich character dynamics and familial tensions, particularly expressed through the matriarch Eileen and her daughters Gilly and Jenny, each grappling with inherited traumas while humorously confronting their pasts.

Wind speeds of 122mph were recorded at the Cairngorm summit in the Highlands due to Storm Floris, surpassing earlier Met Office predictions of 90mph.

A mother and her two children, Vanessa Whyte, 45, her daughter Sara Rutledge, 13, and son James Rutledge, 14, were killed in Maguiresbridge.

The project, which will cost around £30million, will deliver a championship-standard links course between Portrush and Limavady, joining notable golf courses on the north coast.

The Twelfth fortnight can evoke contrasting experiences, particularly between the unionist and nationalist communities. For nationalists, it often meant holidays, while unionists participated in celebratory marches.

The growth in the women's game in Northern Ireland since the Euros is massive. I think there is still a long way to go, but we are definitely going in the right direction.

When Kneecap performed at Glastonbury music festival this year, bandmember Mo Chara told the crowd, 'us three have no right to be on this stage in front of this many people, rapping predominantly in a language that even people at home don't even speak.' Kneecap has risen to prominence amidst controversy surrounding its shows and political statements.

Isaac Adams, a 19-year-old, appeared in court charged with criminal damage for spraying manure slurry across Ballymena ahead of its inaugural Pride parade.

Red kites, along with all birds of prey, are protected in Northern Ireland under the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order. This case is not the first time we have had reports of this nature in this same area, with similar incidents involving poisoned birds.