Belfast news

• Nicola Sturgeon apologises for breaching Covid rules

  22-12-2020 23:53 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has apologised after she breached Covid rules by taking off her face mask at a funeral wake.
  
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• Israel set for fresh elections as government collapses

  22-12-2020 23:37 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  The Israeli Knesset spokesman’s office has confirmed that the country is heading to its fourth elections in two years.
  
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• Mass testing for lorry drivers aims to ease congestion as French border reopens

  22-12-2020 23:31 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  A mass testing programme for lorry drivers will get under way on Wednesday to alleviate congestion at ports after an agreement was reached to reopen the border between France and the UK.
  
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• Sergio Reguilon ‘very much aware’ of Spurs trophy drought and keen to end it

  22-12-2020 23:30 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Tottenham defender Sergio Reguilon is aware of how long the club have had to wait to win a trophy and is determined to end the drought this season.
  
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• Rodgers confident that Northern Ireland ace Evans is "close" to signing new contract with Leicester

  22-12-2020 23:30 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Jonny Evans could sign a new deal with Leicester before the end of the year.
  
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• Leicester defender Jonny Evans close to agreeing contract extension

  22-12-2020 23:30 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Jonny Evans could sign a new deal with Leicester before the end of the year.
  
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• David Moyes supports return of twice-weekly coronavirus tests in Premier League

  22-12-2020 23:30 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  West Ham manager David Moyes believes testing Premier League players twice a week for Covid-19 will help limit its spread as fears grow over a mutant variant of the coronavirus which is believed to be more infectious.
  
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• Sikh volunteers and local football club deliver meals to stranded lorry drivers

  22-12-2020 23:05 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  A group of Sikh volunteers and a local football club have sourced hundreds of meals for lorry drivers stuck in Kent.
  
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• Manchester City outclass Arsenal as agony goes on for Mikel Arteta’s Gunners

  22-12-2020 23:00 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Manchester City outclassed Arsenal to seal their place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals as Mikel Arteta’s squad rotation came back to haunt him.
  
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• Eddie Murphy returns as Prince Akeem in Coming 2 America trailer

  22-12-2020 22:55 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Eddie Murphy reprises his role as Prince Akeem in the trailer for long-awaited comedy sequel Coming 2 America.
  
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• Republic's travel ban on Britain blindsided us: Health Minister Swann

  22-12-2020 22:45 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Health Minister Robin Swann has questioned the Irish government's decision to charter flights to take people back home to Ireland from Great Britain while a ban on commercial flights remains in place.
  
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• Shoppers hit Belfast city centre as Christmas approaches - Belfast Live

  22-12-2020 22:43
  
  Shoppers hit Belfast city centre as Christmas approaches  Belfast Live
  
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• Shoppers and cute dogs hit Belfast city centre ahead of Christmas - Belfast Live

  22-12-2020 22:43
  
  Shoppers and cute dogs hit Belfast city centre ahead of Christmas  Belfast Live
  
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• Perishable goods must be prioritised when travel ban eases – Sturgeon

  22-12-2020 22:00 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Nicola Sturgeon has said that perishable produce such as seafood must be prioritised if hauliers start moving freight across the Channel again on Wednesday.
  
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• One-off seasonal special unwraps memories of NI Christmases past

  22-12-2020 21:50 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Unseen television archive material from years gone by, along with personal Christmas memories from local people, will feature in a BBC NI programme airing on Wednesday night.
  
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• Biden addresses Covid bill and holiday pandemic precautions

  22-12-2020 21:49 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  President-elect Joe Biden has expressed empathy with struggling families and applauded Congress for passing the coronavirus relief bill as the nation deals with a Covid-19 surge that is casting a shadow over the Christmas holiday.
  
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• Lord Tebbit: My wife died without forgiving IRA bombers who destroyed her life

  22-12-2020 21:44 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Conservative peer Lord Tebbit said his late wife Margaret died without ever forgiving the IRA terrorists who ruined her life.
  
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• Belfast shoe store collects thousands of socks for United Way of Eastern Maine - WABI

  22-12-2020 21:39
  
  Belfast shoe store collects thousands of socks for United Way of Eastern Maine  WABI
  
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• Steve Bruce ready to accept ‘fully justified’ criticism after Carabao Cup exit

  22-12-2020 21:34 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Steve Bruce admitted he will have to accept the wave of criticism which will come his way after Newcastle crashed out of the Carabao Cup at Brentford.
  
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• Kristen Wiig jokes about secrecy surrounding her Wonder Woman 1984 casting

  22-12-2020 21:26 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Kristen Wiig joked she feared the “Warner Bros police would come knocking on my door” while discussing the secrecy surrounding her Wonder Woman 1984 casting.
  
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• Brexit trade deal is more likely than less likely, Irish premier says

  22-12-2020 21:14 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Irish premier Micheal Martin has said he believes a Brexit deal is “more likely than less likely”.
  
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• UK faces race between vaccine rollout and virus mutations, scientists say

  22-12-2020 21:09 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Scientists have said a Covid-19 variant resistant to the current crop of vaccines is likely to emerge at some point, but immunisations can also be adapted “within weeks”.
  
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• Young artists' festive card designs draw praise from First Minister Foster

  22-12-2020 21:00 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  First Minister Arlene Foster has praised the artistic talents of two young Co Fermanagh schoolchildren who were chosen to design her official Christmas cards for 2020.
  
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• Brentford knock Newcastle out of Carabao Cup to reach semi-finals for first time

  22-12-2020 20:35 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Newcastle missed out on a first major semi-final in 15 years after they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Brentford in the last eight of the Carabao Cup.
  
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• US authorities sue Walmart over role in opioid crisis

  22-12-2020 20:31 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  The Justice Department is suing Walmart, alleging the company unlawfully dispensed controlled substances through its pharmacies, helping to fuel the opioid crisis in America.
  
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• Conor McGregor heading to Abu Dhabi to fight Dustin Poirier on UFC return

  22-12-2020 20:07 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Conor McGregor’s highly anticipated UFC return against Dustin Poirier next month will take place at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
  
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• Glentoran make special donation to Royal Maternity Hospital staff - Belfast Live

  22-12-2020 20:00
  
  Glentoran make special donation to Royal Maternity Hospital staff  Belfast Live
  
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• Knife held to teenager's throat during Derry burglary

  22-12-2020 19:57 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  A knife was held to the throat of a teenager during an aggravated burglary in Londonderry on Tuesday morning.
  
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• Barbara Windsor’s husband ‘overwhelmed’ by response to her death

  22-12-2020 19:47 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Dame Barbara Windsor’s husband said he has been “completely overwhelmed” by the response to her death after a dementia research fund set up as a tribute to her raised more than £100,000 in less than a week.
  
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• Newcastle-Leicester called off following coronavirus outbreak at Tigers

  22-12-2020 19:45 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Newcastle’s home Gallagher Premiership match against Leicester on Boxing Day has been cancelled because of an outbreak of coronavirus at the Tigers.
  
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• French agree to ease travel ban, but hauliers still warned to avoid Kent

  22-12-2020 19:37 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  French authorities have announced that journeys from the UK will be allowed to resume after the coronavirus ban was lifted, but those seeking to travel must have a negative test result.
  
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• Goods arriving in NI from GB that fail to pass Brexit checks ‘will be sent back’

  22-12-2020 19:31 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain that fail to pass new Brexit checks will be sent back, Northern Ireland’s chief vet has warned.
  
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• Ulster pair Carter and Coetzee still injury doubts as flanker Reidy ruled out of trip to Connacht

  22-12-2020 18:58 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Ulster are facing another anxious wait over the availability of import duo Sam Carter and Marcell Coetzee ahead of Sunday's interprovincial clash with Connacht.
  
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• 'Christmas in Story and Song' at The First Church in Belfast - Bangor Daily News

  22-12-2020 18:51
  
  'Christmas in Story and Song' at The First Church in Belfast  Bangor Daily News
  
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• Labour demands clarity from Government on pupils’ return to school in January

  22-12-2020 18:38 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Labour has called for clarity from the Government over the return of students to schools and colleges in January.
  
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• Alexander McCall Smith to receive 2020 Edinburgh Award

  22-12-2020 18:36 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Author Alexander McCall Smith is to receive a prestigious award from Edinburgh in recognition of the “outstanding contribution” he has made to the city.
  
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• Markets recover following Monday’s Covid-19 and Brexit falls

  22-12-2020 18:34 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Markets had been spooked by the new Covid-19 strain and no sign of a trade deal signed between the UK and EU on Monday.
  
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• Prince of Wales praises armed forces for Covid efforts

  22-12-2020 18:33 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  The Prince of Wales has praised the efforts of the armed forces, who have demonstrated the nation’s “ability to unite through adversity” during the coronavirus pandemic.
  
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• Sir Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials to return to BBC for third series

  22-12-2020 18:31 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  His Dark Materials will return to the BBC for a third series with Ruth Wilson reprising her role as Mrs Coulter.
  
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• Sinn Fein demands island-wide travel shutout to stem virus spread

  22-12-2020 18:24 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  An island-wide travel shutout should be introduced in Ireland to stem the spread of the new Covid variant, Sinn Fein has demanded.
  
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• David Moyes admits West Ham are unlikely to delve into January transfer market

  22-12-2020 18:24 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  David Moyes does not expect West Ham to be too active in the January transfer window but knows the owners at the club will help if required.
  
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• Truck drivers call for help as hundreds face third night stranded in Kent

  22-12-2020 18:19 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Stranded truck drivers have called for immediate help from the Government as hundreds face a third night sleeping in their cabs.
  
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• Stranded truck drivers ‘left with no water and single blocked toilet’

  22-12-2020 18:19 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Hundreds of truck drivers stuck in a lorry park near Dover have been left without water and the only toilet has been blocked, according to a fellow driver delivering supplies to them.
  
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• Coronavirus: Ministers argue for and against GB-NI travel ban

  22-12-2020 18:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Dozens of countries, alarmed by a new coronavirus variant, have suspended travel links with the UK.
  
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• Author becomes first debut novelist to score Christmas number one

  22-12-2020 17:57 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club has become the first debut novel to score a Christmas number one.
  
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• Black Lives Matter protesters to sue police over Covid detentions

  22-12-2020 17:53 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Black Lives Matters protesters are to sue the police after a watchdog found the force had been discriminatory in issuing fines to demonstrators.
  
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• More than 4,000 food and drink lorries halted by virus disruption, MPs told

  22-12-2020 17:49 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  More than 4,000 food and drink lorries are being held up by the French travel ban which has caused gridlock at the port of Dover, industry experts have told MPs.
  
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• Scrawny Christmas trees lift spirits and raise funds for school

  22-12-2020 17:45 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  A man has raised money for a school in the US that provides scholarships for students from an impoverished area by selling scrawny-looking Christmas trees.
  
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• Van Morrison launches another attack on Stormont ministers - Belfast Newsletter

  22-12-2020 17:33
  
  Van Morrison launches another attack on Stormont ministers  Belfast Newsletter
  
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• Co Down road closed following serious crash, police say - Belfast Live

  22-12-2020 17:26
  
  Co Down road closed following serious crash, police say  Belfast Live
  
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