Belfast news

• Play-Offs quarter-final, first leg: Belfast Giants 4-3 Nottingham Panthers

  30-03-2018 23:41 via bbc.co.uk
  Belfast Giants will take a slender 4-3 lead into Sunday's second leg in the play-offs quarter-final against Nottingham after Friday's first leg.
  
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• Five arrested after huge drugs haul in Dromore

  30-03-2018 23:37 via bbc.co.uk
  Police say the find "could be one of Northern Ireland's largest ever hauls of herbal cannabis".
  
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• Date is set for West Tyrone by-election

  30-03-2018 23:32 via bbc.co.uk
  The Westminster by-election to find a replacement for Sinn Féin's Barry McElduff will be held on 3 May.
  
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• Belfast Giants gain slender first leg lead over Panthers

  30-03-2018 22:46 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Belfast Giants 4
  Nottingham Panthers 3
  
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• Newry LGBT community group faces closure without financial support

  30-03-2018 20:03 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  A Newry-based LGBT community group is facing closure unless they can raise over £200k.
  
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• PSNI to conduct investigation into findings of Hyponatraemia Inquiry

  30-03-2018 19:03 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  The PSNI have confirmed that they will conduct their own investigations into the findings of a report into the deaths of five children at Northern Ireland hospitals.
  
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• Alleged IS ‘Beatles’ murderers attack ‘illegal’ stripping of British citizenship

  30-03-2018 18:56 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Two Britons accused of being members of Islamic State have complained they cannot get a fair trial because the UK Government stripped them of their citizenship.
  
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• Council backs Army school recruitment ban

  30-03-2018 18:31 via bbc.co.uk
  The motion was proposed by independent councillor Gary Donnelly.
  
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• Seamus Mallon says Good Friday Agreement 'not finished'

  30-03-2018 18:09 via bbc.co.uk
  Former NI Deputy First Minister was speaking ahead of an event to commemorate victims of the Troubles.
  
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• SDLP query Hume's omission in BBC's Good Friday Agreement coverage

  30-03-2018 18:07 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  SDLP deputy leader Nichola Mallon has queried the coverage given to John Hume's role in the Good Friday Agreement during a video package on BBC's The View programme.
  
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• Irish diplomat to be expelled from Russia in response to 'act of solidarity'

  30-03-2018 18:03 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Russia is set to expel an Irish diplomat in retaliation for the Irish government's "act of solidarity" following the poisoning of former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
  
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• Russia expels one Irish diplomat in retaliatory move

  30-03-2018 17:52 via bbc.co.uk
  The move comes days after Ireland expelled a Russian diplomat over the Salisbury nerve agent poisoning.
  
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• PSNI to examine report into Hyponatraemia deaths

  30-03-2018 17:48 via bbc.co.uk
  A dedicated PSNI team is being established to examine a report on Hyponatraemia-related deaths.
  
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• PSNI issue Easter road warning as stats show nine deaths in 2018

  30-03-2018 16:56 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Police have issued a plea for drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians to take care on the roads over the bank holiday Easter weekend.
  
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• Call for Easter alcohol rules change

  30-03-2018 16:09 via bbc.co.uk
  Michael Stewart, who runs a hotel in Belfast, says there must be changes to alcohol restrictions over the Easter period.
  
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• Motherwell: Trevor Carson 'out of pocket' after Northern Ireland debut

  30-03-2018 15:23 via bbc.co.uk
  Motherwell's Trevor Carson reveals he was out of pocket after securing tickets for friends and family to mark his Northern Ireland debut.
  
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• Magee medical school on track

  30-03-2018 14:34 via bbc.co.uk
  Plans for the first intake of trainee doctors to start their studies in Londonderry next year remain on track, Ulster University has said.
  
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• Ardoyne shop robbed by three masked men armed with hammer, axe and electric saw

  30-03-2018 14:20 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Three men armed with a hammer, a pick axe and an electric saw have robbed a shop in north Belfast.
  
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• Northern Ireland floods: Half a million pounds for rivers

  30-03-2018 14:10 via bbc.co.uk
  The money will be spent re-setting the courses of rivers which over-flowed their banks in August 2017.
  
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• Half-a-million pounds for flooded rivers

  30-03-2018 14:10 via bbc.co.uk
  The money will be spent re-setting the courses of rivers which over-flowed their banks in August 2017.
  
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• Lawyers for Paddy Jackson sue Irish senator for defamation following rape trial verdict

  30-03-2018 14:09 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Lawyers for Ulster rugby star Paddy Jackson have launched a defamation action against a senator in the Irish Seanad for social media comments he posted after the acquittal.
  
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• Will Addison: Ulster sign Irish-qualified Sale Sharks centre

  30-03-2018 14:07 via bbc.co.uk
  Sale Sharks' Irish-qualified centre Will Addison is to join Ulster in the summer in the hope of furthering his international ambitions.
  
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• Ulster to sign Irish qualified centre Will Addison this summer as Sale Sharks confirm move

  30-03-2018 14:00 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Sale Sharks have announced that club captain Will Addison will join Ulster this summer.
  
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• Rugby rape trial juror's comments investigated

  30-03-2018 13:51 via bbc.co.uk
  The juror made online comments describing the trial as well as answering questions from other users.
  
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• From Skegness to the big screen: Heartbeat star Maynard’s career spanned decades

  30-03-2018 13:51 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Bill Maynard will be best remembered for the eight years in which he brought to life the curmudgeonly king spiv of Aidensfield Claude Jeremiah Greengrass in Heartbeat.
  
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• Heavy rain expected early next week with flooding possible

  30-03-2018 13:40 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  A weather warning for rain has been issued for early next week with flooding in some areas possible.
  
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• Cheers! Irish pubs serve alcohol on Good Friday for first time in decades

  30-03-2018 13:20 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Queues formed outside pubs in Ireland as a 90-year ban on serving alcohol on Good Friday was lifted.
  
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• Unionists slam council vote on Armed Forces recruitment drives in schools put forward by former dissident republican

  30-03-2018 13:06 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Unionists have slammed a motion put forward by a former dissident republican seeking to ‘ban’ the British Army from recruiting in schools.
  
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• Poll: Should Northern Ireland's Easter alcohol laws be scrapped?

  30-03-2018 13:04 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Calls have been made for Northern Ireland to change its alcohol licensing laws, with the hospitality sector expecting to take a financial hit over the Easter weekend.
  
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• SDLP to review position on abortion ahead of Irish referendum

  30-03-2018 11:37 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  The SDLP will hold a special conference to review the party’s position on abortion ahead of the Irish referendum on the controversial issue.
  
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• Confirmed: Northern Ireland's penalty blunder referee Ovidiu Hategan misses out on World Cup spot

  30-03-2018 11:29 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Ovidiu Hategan will not be working at the World Cup this summer.
  
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• Rugby rape trial: Juror could face arrest after making comments online following verdict

  30-03-2018 11:14 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  A juror in the Belfast rape trial involving rugby players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding could face arrest and a contempt of court charge over comments made online following the trial's verdict.
  
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• Rugby rape trial: Comments made by juror online after verdict referred to Attorney General

  30-03-2018 11:14 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Comments made online by a juror taking part in a rape trial involving two Ulster rugby players have been referred to Northern Ireland's Attorney General.
  
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• Staff threatened with bat during armed robbery in Belfast

  30-03-2018 11:11 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Staff at a service station in north Belfast have been threatened with a bat during an armed robbery.
  
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• NI paper review: Rugby rape trial grabs headlines

  30-03-2018 10:41 via bbc.co.uk
  Police question at least two people over social media posts and a juror's comments are investigated.
  
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• Watch: Country star Nathan Carter rocks mamas in maternity

  30-03-2018 09:49 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Country music singer Nathan Carter made a surprise visit to new mums and babies yesterday at Craigavon Area Hospital.
  
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• Six have lucky escape after 'mystery' collision

  30-03-2018 09:48 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Six people escaped with minor injuries following a "mystery" collision involving a car and a caravan.
  
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• Plan to merge a Co Down grammar with three other schools is facing backlash

  30-03-2018 09:25 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  A plan by the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools to merge four schools in south Down has been slammed as "intransigent folly".
  
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• Dee Stitt’s home raided in crackdown on UDA by anti-terror police

  30-03-2018 09:13 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Prominent loyalist Dee Stitt has said that his house was hit by the PSNI "with a vengeance" yesterday as officers from the Paramilitary Crime Task Force carried out raids across Co Down.
  
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• Anti-abortionists claim Irish law change will be 'licence to kill' unborn

  30-03-2018 09:08 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  One in five pregnancies could be terminated in the Republic next year if its strict abortion laws are changed after May's referendum, anti-abortion campaigners have claimed.
  
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• Community left reeling after popular Co Armagh farmer killed in accident

  30-03-2018 09:03 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Health and safety officials are investigating after a pensioner died in a farming accident in Co Armagh.
  
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• Ballintoy hotel’s £200k revamp as Game of Thrones and Lonely Planet recommendation bring the crowds

  30-03-2018 09:00 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  A hotel on the north coast has unveiled a £200,000 refurbishment as it looks to take advantage of a growth in visitors, partly fuelled by interest in cult TV series Game of Thrones.
  
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• Selfless Northern Ireland schoolgirl Daniella invited to Prince Harry's wedding

  30-03-2018 08:57 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  A Co Antrim schoolgirl has become one of the first members of the public from Northern Ireland to receive an invitation to the royal wedding.
  
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• Selfless Northern Ireland schoolgirl Daniella invited to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wedding

  30-03-2018 08:57 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  A Co Antrim schoolgirl has become one of the first members of the public from Northern Ireland to receive an invitation to the royal wedding.
  
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• Weekend of trouble in Belfast sparks crackdown on youth violence

  30-03-2018 08:51 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  The PSNI has joined forces with Belfast City Council in a crackdown on anti-social behaviour across Belfast.
  
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• Prime Minister in plea for return of Stormont to give Northern Ireland a full say in Brexit talks

  30-03-2018 08:49 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  The Prime Minister yesterday made a fresh call for the restoration of power-sharing at Stormont to ensure Northern Ireland's voice is heard in the Brexit negotiations.
  
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• Watch: Donaghadee’s angelic-voiced Kaylee wows US TV with her version of Hallelujah

  30-03-2018 08:47 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  It's every singer's dream to make it big in America - but a talented Co Down schoolgirl has already done just that.
  
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