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30 July
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Both of the teams were playing in the Milk Cup tournament |
Two teams from Dublin taking part in the Milk Cup have been moved after stones were thrown at the buildings in which they were staying.
It is believed they were also subjected to sectarian abuse on Monday night.
Crumlin United and Cherry Orchard were staying in a block of flats in Cromore Court, Coleraine.
Police said stones were thrown at about 2230 BST on Monday. A 19-year-old man has been arrested by police for questioning.
Paul Hammond from Crumlin United said sectarian remarks were shouted.
"There were bottles, cans of beer, bricks and all sorts coming over towards the kids. The kids were terrified. Some of them are 14, others are 15," he said.
Jim Sandford, a public relations officer for the Milk Cup said in the 26 years of the tournament, there had never been incidents like this.
"We totally deplore the behaviour of a number of those young people," he said.
"It does not reflect well on Coleraine and it is not indicative of the welcome that is given to the teams.
"In our 26 years of existence we never had to pull the plug on the tournament and we never had incidents like this."
He said he believed it was drink fuelled. |
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The government met with the UDA leadership
The government has held secret talks with the UDA leadership about the decommissioning of its weapons.
Security Minister Paul Goggins and Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde met members of the organisation's ruling "inner council" on Monday night.
The NIO has confirmed Mr Goggins had private talks with the political representatives of the UDA and what it called "other leading loyalists".
The BBC understands they included the majority of the UDA's inner council
The UDA has said for years that decommissioning was "not even on its radar screen".
However, the UDA leadership now says the issue is being discussed, but the vast majority of its members and supporters are opposed to giving up its weapons.
The government says that is just an excuse.
It wants the organisation to begin the process of decommissioning within six months and if it does not, the international decommissioning body could cease to exist.
At that point there would no longer be a weapons amnesty and any weapons found will be forensically tested and the evidence used in future court cases. | 28 July
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Chris James discovered the champagne in a sideboard |
A "priceless" bottle of 115-year-old champagne has been found in a sideboard at a Scottish castle.
The 1893 bottle of Veuve Clicquot had been locked away in Torosay Castle, Isle of Mull, for more than a century.
Owner Chris James made the find after employing a specialist locksmith to cut a key and open the piece of furniture.
He contacted Veuve Clicquot, who said the bottle was the oldest in existence. The company now has it on display at its visitor centre in Reims, France.
When Mr James had the sideboard opened it became clear that he had unearthed a previous castle owner's personal drinks cabinet.
Inside were a bottle of brandy, a port decanter, a bottle of claret and the single bottle of 1893 Veuve Clicquot.
The distinctive yellow-labelled champagne was in mint condition, having been kept in the dark.
"I really had no idea what to expect when the cupboard door was finally opened," he said.
"I'm genuinely delighted that part of Torosay's 150-year-old history has turned out to be so important and the bottle is now on display in its rightful home."
Fabienne Huttaux, head of communications at Veuve Clicquot said: "The bottle is literally priceless. It is a one off and therefore unique.
"We would never consider selling it as it is far too important to us. It is a unique piece of champagne history.
"It was amazing to find this bottle and it's really an extraordinary story all in all."
Torosay Castle was built in 1858 for John Campbell of Possil, a wealthy Glasgow merchant.
He sold it in 1865 to merchant banker, Arbuthnot Guthrie, who lived there until his death in 1897.
The castle was left to his favourite nephew, with the entire contents going to his widow.
She removed all the contents except the solid wooden dining room sideboard, which was too heavy.
The drinks are believed to have been locked inside the cabinet since at least 1897. |
Irish dissidents 'UK's main threat'
Dissident Irish republicans are more active than any other terrorist group in the UK, according to the latest intelligence service surveillance.
New MI5 data indicates organisations such as the Real IRA and the Continuity IRA currently posed a greater danger than Islamic extremists.
Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde has said the threat from republicans opposed to the peace process is the highest at any time this decade.
More than 60% of all electronic information intercepted through wire taps and other covert operations related to dissident republicans, sources told the Guardian.
Dissidents have claimed responsibility for murder bids on five police officers in Northern Ireland since November.
Security sources told the newspaper that 80 hardcore dissidents may be plotting terrorist attacks. They said the Real IRA and Continuity IRA's short-term goal is to kill a Catholic police officer in the hope of deterring young Catholics and nationalists from joining the PSNI.
Dissident republican groups were formed after mainstream paramilitary organisations such as the IRA declared ceasefires in the mid 1990s.
Since then they have been involved in sporadic campaigns of violence, most notoriously in 1998 when a Real IRA bomb attack claimed the lives of 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, in Omagh, Co Tyrone.
Jeffrey Donaldson, DUP minister in the Stormont Executive, said: "This information comes as no surprise to me as I'm aware of the very high level of activity that there is at the minute from dissident republicans. This activity is targeted at members of the security forces and prison services and the threat level is very high at the moment."
My view:
A part of what this article says is absolutely true, Irish republicans have attempted to kill a couple of policemen over the last couple of months, but that are almost all the issues that have occurred in the last year with these organisations.
If you regularly read the newspapers here in Northern Ireland (and then I mean real newspapers, not the tabloids like the racist Daily Star), there are every single day some articles that describe how people or their homes have been attacked, and for some reason in nearly all these cases there is a loyalist paramilitary organisation behind these attacks.
Not so long ago a man was attacked with what has been described as a spear, when he was just on his way home from having a drink at the pub, this happened at 8pm, so in full daylight in a street that is between a catholic and a loyalist estate in North-Belfast.
This man, a catholic, was lucky to survive the attack, which the newspapers said was performed by the loyalist UDA.
A little longer ago, in a bar in city centre, people were watching a football game, when some supporters of Linfield (a loyalist team), Rangers and Chelsea (the so called blues brothers), came in and slashed the throat of one completely innocent person in the bar.
Over the last couple of months, many immigrants have been attacked, and forced to move out of their homes, and every time this happens it is in a loyalist estate, in many, but not all, of these cases the immigrants are Polish workers, and therefore probably catholics, but I also know from some former colleagues, who lived in a loyalist street in East-Belfast, that they didn't feel safe outside their own home, and several times people have put burning bins against the wall of their homes.
Calling the police wouldn't help, because the police won't do anything in cases like this.
When there was a fight some time ago, and the police were called to stop this fight, they stayed away from the scene until the fight was over, because their safety is more important than protecting the safety of the people in the streets. That is what the PSNI is all about. In most countries the police would go in and do what they can to stop the fight and try to prevent anyone from getting hurt, but not here, here they do what they can to prevent getting hurt themselves and the public is not that important.
The things I mentioned here are just some examples of things that recently happened. Similar things happen every day, so my opiniong about the article above is that it is misleading and a big lie. It shows that the Brittish intelligence is still focussing on a few small republican organisations instead of looking at the big picture and see the real treat to the safety in Northern Ireland. 26 July If you love guitar solos you should know at least most of these.
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A passenger films the Qantas forced landing from inside the plane
An Irishman has described what happened onboard a flight from London to Australia during which a hole appeared in the plane's fuselage.
The Quantas jet had to make an emergency landing in the Philippines on Friday morning.
George Kierans from Drogheda said the 346 passengers were having dinner when they realised something was wrong
"There was a loud explosion in the cabin and the plane suddenly plummeted from the sky," he said.
"Obviously, the oxygen masks and everything fell down. Nobody had any idea what was going on.
"There actually wasn't any great panic on the plane because I think most people were in a state of shock."
Qantas Airways said its Boeing 747-400 diverted to the Filipino capital Manila, where it landed safely.
Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon said engineers were investigating what might have caused the hole - about 2.5m to 3m in diameter - in the fuselage.
He said Qantas had provided all passengers with accommodation and a replacement aircraft had been arranged.
The airline boasts of never having lost a jet, but has seen some of its aircraft involved in minor accidents in recent years. |
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Nakamura will miss the start of the season for Celtic |
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan says midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura could return to action in a matter of weeks.
The Japanese playmaker, 30, is to have a hernia operation and will miss the start of the season.
But Strachan told the club's website: "He'll go to Germany to see the same guy who operated on Darren O'Dea.
"Darren was only out for a couple of weeks so it could be the same for Shunsuke, although some players take longer than others."
Nakamura missed Celtic's 1-0 defeat by Cardiff in the Algarve Cup on Thursday, but Strachan hopes to see him back in the first-team soon.
"I know people here the word operation and think 'oh no' but it's not like that," said the Celtic manager. "It's not a big problem.
"There has been wear and tear but that's just Naka's body giving him a wee nudge saying it's time for a wee rest."
Of Strachan's other players absent from the games in Portugal, he said: "Koki Mizuno will get a meniscus operation, which is in his cartilage, on Monday. That will be him out for a couple of weeks.
"Evander Sno and Chris Killen are at the Olympics, Cillian Sheridan and Ben Hutchinson have hamstring injuries, while Paddy McCourt only trained on day." |
22 July
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By Mike McKimm
BBC NI environment correspondent | 
Just a handful of journalists and photographers witnessed the historic return of the Red Kite to the north of Ireland.
The RSPB released 27 chicks in what is the first ever species reintroduction to Northern Ireland, part of a pan-UK and Ireland reintroduction.
Set free in groups of four per day, most of the birds took their time to leave their cage.
It gave waiting photographers time to grab the first ever pictures of these birds in their new habitat. But once in the air they soared, turning into the wind and disappearing into dense woodland.
Once commonplace in the countryside, these spectacular birds were driven to near extinction in the UK by hunting, poisoning and changes to their habitat.
But from this week, after an absence of 200 years, their distinctive five foot wingspan and rusty-red colouring can be seen in the skies over County Down.
The RSPB's Red Kite officer, Robert Straughan, is part of the team who planned the birds return.
The RSPB released 27 birds in County Down |
"The release has been the culmination of a huge amount of work over this past number of years in order to make this project a reality," he said.
"I have been looking after the birds prior to their release with important help from Forest Service and they are healthy and doing well.
"As they take their first flight in a new country the red kites should soon feel at home in the mixed woodland, farmland and rough grassland of south County Down, as it offers ideal habitat for the birds.
"People will be able to easily identify red kites with their rusty-red colouring, forked tail, white patches under each wing and inky black wing tips, not to mention their five-and-a-half feet wingspan."
With just a small population in Britain, it has not been an easy task to gather sufficient chicks for the reintroduction.
The young birds were carefully removed from nests where there was more than one chick, then hand-reared until big enough to be released and had shown the ability to fly and fend for themselves.
Each bird is tagged and carries a tiny radio beacon. This allows them to be followed and monitored to check on survival and watch how each copes with its environment.
It will also show how the kites interact with each other.
To help develop a sustainable population, more kite chicks were released into the countryside in County Wicklow in the Republic.
Scavengers
These birds will supplement the population re-introduced there in 2007. Across Scotland, England and Wales there are now more than 1,000 breeding pairs of Red Kites.
It's an amazing turnaround from a few years ago when there were just a handful of native birds left in Wales.
But there have been minor setbacks. A kite was recently shot dead in Wicklow and three were poisoned in Scotland.
There has been considerable secrecy about the exact location of the kites released in Northern Ireland.
Despite their size and seemingly menacing hooked bills, the birds offer no threat to farming of local communities.
"Kites are opportunistic scavengers, to conserve energy they feed mostly on worms and small dead animals, which they can see from a great height", Mr Straughan said.
"They are a large bird, but are not designed to feed on mobile prey, so are not a threat to livestock, game birds or songbirds."
Pigeon fanciers will also be relieved to know that the kites don't take other birds in flight.
Down, Newry & Mourne and Banbridge councils chipped in along with other organisations to make the reintroduction possible.
"Not only is this an exciting and important conservation project, but it could also provide a tremendous tourist boost to the local economy in the Mourne area", explained Mr Straughan.
"It is our belief that the Northern Ireland Red Kite Reintroduction Project will provide a similar outcome for conservation and for the benefit of local people."
People are encouraged to report any sighting of the birds to the RSPB either by emailing the information to redkiteni@rspb.org.uk or by telephoning 028 90 491547. | 20 July Football clubs almost always make sure that a player whose wages they're paying, but who isn't currently playing for them, can't do anything to hurt them.
This caution usually comes to the fore when it comes to loan deals with a player loaned out to another club barred from playing against the one he's loaned out from. Maybe such arrangements should extend to clubs' IT departments.
On Thursday night, West Ham took on non-league Hampton and Richmond Borough in their first pre-season friendly. The Premier League side ended up winning the match 4-2, but had to come from a goal down when Francis Quarm hooked a spectacular volley past goalkeeper Robert Green to give the non-leaguers a, who are managed by Hammers legend Alan Devonshire, the lead.
Quarm's 20-yard effort was a clear case of him biting the hand that feeds him, as he works as an IT support specialist at Upton Park.
19 July A man from Antwerp has payed his energy bill with 215 kilogram of eruo-coins.
Patrick Janssen brought the tens of thousands of coins togeter with a friend to Electrabel in two wheelbarrows.
The unemployed Flemish man wanted to protest against the rising prices of energy this way.
Employees of Electrabel looked up in surprise when the two men dropped the load of coins in their hall, but the company did accept the payment.
Altogether the coins had a value of 931.02 euro.
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Sue Jones-Davies (centre) with the Monty Python team on the film |
She's not the messiah, she's the mayor of Aberystwyth and she has a plan.
Sue Jones-Davies is trying to overturn a near 30-year ban imposed by the town on Monty Python's Life of Brian - the film in which she played a role.
Long before she donned her mayoral robes in the mid Wales town, she played Brian's girlfriend in the movie.
Opponents claimed it made fun of Jesus, but she says it's "amazing" that a town like hers still officially bars a movie now regarded as a comedy classic.
In 1979, however, it grabbed the headlines for the wrong reasons, with critics accusing the Python team of blasphemy with its story about a Jewish man who was mistaken for the messiah and then crucified.
Some religious groups picketed cinemas which screened the film.
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 Given what's on TV now I think it's amazing a ban in Aberystwyth still exists 
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A number of areas in Wales banned it, as former Python John Cleese recalled during an interview on Channel 4's Richard and Judy programme on Wednesday.
But nearly 30 years on, the new mayor of Aberystwyth wants the restriction lifted in her town.
"Given what's on TV now I think it's amazing a ban in Aberystwyth still exists," said Ms Jones-Davies.
"I think it should be lifted.
"I would like to think that any religion would have the generosity to see the film for what it is, which is a comedy.
"I was surprised at the outrage it caused at the time, but I did not expect or appreciate the impact and never thought it would turn out to be so popular."
The movie has maintained its popularity. It is usually at or near the top of lists of the greatest comedy films.
It featured some iconic lines, most famously the verdict by Brian's mother on her son: "He's not the messiah - he's a very naughty boy".
Parts of the script are still quoted at Ms Jones-Davies today, but she confessed the lines were wasted on her: "I can't remember the lines from the script now - it's nearly 30 years ago," she explained.
Sue Jones-Davies as Judith Iscariot in the Life of Brian |
Ms Jones-Davies played a revolutionary called Judith Iscariot, and she had a nude scene with the film's hero, Brian, played by the late Graham Chapman.
But she very nearly didn't appear in the movie at all.
"I got the part because somebody dropped out," she said. "I had the same agent as John Cleese and was recommended for the part.
"I went for an interview at a flat in London and all the Monty Python crew were there.
"It was quite funny really because it wasn't a proper interview at all, as you'd expect with Monty Python.
"They were all chipping in and saying, 'Oh yes, she'll be fine'. I wasn't asked many questions."
It was shot in Tunisia, but part of the crucifixion scene had to be filmed in a sandpit in Kent.
"It was great fun to work on, and we had the odd day off. One day I went with Terry Gilliam to buy a carpet and driving along we came to a river," she added.
"Local people nearby were warning us not to go through it, but Terry just drove on - I thought we were going to sink but we managed to make to the other side."
Recalling her famous nude scene, Ms Jones-Davies said: "It was a part and I just played it, although I did call for a closed set.
'Commercial impact'
"It was filmed in a sort of small tunnel, and wasn't very sensual at all."
It is understood a committee made up of church leaders in Aberystwyth recommended a ban in 1979.
Ceredigion council has the power to lift it, but a spokesman said no-one in the licensing department knew about the ban.
But Michael Davies, the owner of Aberystwyth's Commodore Cinema, said he was sure it was still in place.
"As far as I know the Life of Brian is still banned from being shown at the cinema," he explained.
"My father ran the cinema when the ban was imposed and I suppose it would have had a commercial impact at the time because it was a huge film and made a fortune.
"I don't think lifting the ban now would make much of a difference."
Stars such as Spike Milligan and ex-Beatle George Harrison, who financed the Life of Brian when no-one else would, played cameo roles. |
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Husband tortured and killed dog
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William Streeter taunted his wife as he left Mac hanging in the garage |
A man who killed his wife's dog and threatened to kill her has been sentenced to six months in jail.
William David Streeter, 29, of Cloyfin Park, Coleraine, was convicted of seven counts of animal cruelty and one of making threats to kill.
The judge said it was one of the worst cases he had seen involving animals.
Streeter hanged golden retriever Mac by his collar, kicked him with steel toe-capped boots and hit him with a boulder in October 2006.
North Antrim Magistrates' Court heard that he threatened to kill his wife two days after the dog's death.
The one-year-old pedigree dog died after Streeter put a choke chain around its neck and hanged it from a rafter in his garage.
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He was just like Jack Nicholson (in The Shining)
Alison McMonagle
Former wife
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The dog suffered severe bruising and swelling to his back and head as well as two broken ribs. There was also evidence of bleeding on his brain and lungs.
One day earlier, he had left the dog hanging in the garage and taunted his wife who untied her much-loved pet.
Speaking outside court, Streeter's former wife Alison McMonagle said she believed the sentence should have been longer.
"He was just like Jack Nicholson (in The Shining) - it was as if he was inhuman. He was just pure evil.
"I was shocked, I thought the sentence should maybe be a wee bit longer. Mac's laid to rest today. It was the one thing I wanted to do and I did it," she said.
A defence lawyer said Streeter "has accepted that his behaviour on the days in question went far beyond the pale, he has made no excuse for his behaviour.
"He simply lost it. It is behaviour that he sincerely and genuinely regrets."
Magistrate Richard Wilson said he had little alternative but to impose a custodial sentence.
He said he wanted to convey the court's disapproval and detestation of what happened over a period of days in imposing an immediate prison term.
Streeter was released on bail pending a High Court appeal.
As part of his sentence, he was banned from having an animal for 10 years.
A Coleraine man is convicted of torturing and killing his partner's golden retriever dog in October 2006. |
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Smurfmania sweeps through town
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The county's Gaelic football strip is also blue and white |
Smurfmania has taken over a County Monaghan town as the streets were filled with people from near and afar attempting to get Castleblayney into the Guinness Book of Records.
They were hoping to beat the tally of 451 for the most Smurfs in the one place at the one time set by Warwick Student's Union in June 2007.
Held during the seventh annual Muckno Mania Festival, the event coincides with the Smurfs 50th birthday - and the blue and white colours just happen to be the same as the county's Gaelic football strip.
When I arrived in the town prior to the registration time, organisers informed me that more than 500 potential Smurfs had already registered at the reception-cum-paint stop based at the old court house.
As I watched grandmother-of-ten, Marie Murray, getting her face painted I couldn't help but inquire why on earth she wanted to take part in such an activity.
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We've sold 1,200 of the white hats over the past fortnight so we're hoping that everyone that bought a hat turns up tonight
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"I just wanted to support a good cause. It's a bit of fun and I've brought five of my grandchildren, my daughter and my son-in-law as well," she said, adding that she had met Smurfs from New York and a family of Smurfs from France.
Castleblayney is twinned with Nogent-sur-Vernisson, a town in central France and the Billault family-of-five made their way over to Ireland especially to take part in the record-breaking attempt.
Mum Anne-Gael arrived in Monaghan at 2am on Friday for a week-long holiday along with her husband Pascal and their three sons, 11-year-old twins Axel and Cedric, and four-year-old Elouan.
Informing me that the Smurfs were called Stoumpf in France, she said they had brought their outfits with them and that they were "looking forward" to entering the Guinness Book of Records.
Further along Main Street, Judge Erica Holmes-Attivar, from the Guinness Book of Records, was walking through the crowd ahead of the event soaking up the atmosphere.
She said would be "as strict as the guidelines say she should be" when it came to adjudicating the event.
A white Smurf hat had to be worn along with white trousers or shorts and a blue T-shirt or long-sleeved shirt.
I befriended this bearded Smurf in Castleblayney |
Also, all skin on show had to be painted blue.
Looking up at the grey sky I had to ask about the rain.
What if the good people of County Monaghan and beyond queue all night to take part only for the heavens to open and wash all the paint off?
"Oh no, I hadn't thought of that… tell them to get umbrellas!"
With that, I bumped into Papa Smurf, or one of the many Papa Smurfs present that made up the management committee.
In order to obtain a quote I would have to take part, said Papa Smurfs Brian and Gordon.
And so, my coat was discarded and I was handed a child's blue T-shirt aged 7-8 and a disposable white body suit the like of which I have only ever seen before on a forensic scientist.
"We've sold 1,200 of the white hats over the past fortnight so we're hoping that everyone that bought a hat turns up tonight," said Gordon.
"We've had a great response so far - even better than we imagined.
"You didn't think you were coming down here to report on this and not take part did you?," he said, before sending me on my way to join the long procession line of Smurfs.
Roisin McQuillan and grandson Canice Murphy took part |
Led by the especially assembled Smurf Samba Band, we proceeded through Main Street before arriving at the inspection point.
There were Smurfs as far as the eye could see and as I patiently waited my turn in the rain to be inspected by Erica, I was quietly confident that the record had been broken.
As I passed by the judge, a Smurf source told me that I was number 1,039 and there was still "a good hundred or so still to go through".
We patiently waited as the count continued and before long the senior Smurfs took to the stage.
There was one final condition - we had to remain in a cordoned-off area for five minutes in order to break the record.
As the minutes ticked by, the Smurf theme tune was sang by the audience eagerly awaiting the final tally.
In the end, 1,253 Smurfs made history to enter the Guinness Book of Records and as the fireworks exploded over my head I wondered just how exactly I was going to get out of the forensic suit I had been tied into. |
16 July HELP ME PLEASE!
You have to be quick, otherwise they will all be gone.
Hello everyone,
They are not even a week old yet, but I am not able to keep them all. The young ones can go for £2 each, and if I really have to I will also sell the mother for £20. Listen to your heart and adopt one please. Click here to view a pictureThe other night I went to a petrol station and said to man behind the counter "Please give me £5 of gas".
He grinned, then he farted and took the £5 of me.
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Ronaldinho is set to bid farewell to Barcelona |
Manchester City have lost out to Italian side AC Milan in the race to sign Barcelona playmaker Ronaldinho.
"AC Milan and Barcelona have reached an agreement in principle over the transfer of Ronaldinho," the Serie A club said on their website.
"The player will be in Milan on Wednesday to undergo a medical and sign a contract that will keep him at Milan until 30 June 2011."
City had reportedly bid £25.5m for the 28-year-old Brazilian.
Manchester City boss Mark Hughes believes they should be given credit for launching their bold move to bring the Brazil superstar to the Premier League.
He said: ?I think we have shown a willingness to bring Ronaldinho here and should be complemented for that. In the end though it will be the player?s decision.?
Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport reported on its website that Milan will pay Spanish side Barcelona just £14.6m for his services, with the figure likely to be increased by performance-related bonuses.
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606: DEBATE
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Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani has been in Barcelona for talks with the club and the player for two days.
The two-time Fifa World Player of the Year's time at Barcelona effectively came to an end in June when new manager Pep Guardiola announced the playmaker was surplus to requirements.
Nevertheless, the Catalans were not prepared to release Ronaldinho to join Dunga's Brazil squad for next month's Beijing Olympics.
City will be disappointed at their failure to pull off what would have been a major coup, despite the heavy financial and footballing risks involved in completing the deal.
But their determined effort to sign Ronaldinho has offered a clear indication of the financial muscle available to new boss Hughes from owner Dr Thaksin Shinawatra.
Reports suggest that Ronaldo's negotiating team were ultimately uinimpressed by a financial package from City that was heavily weighted with clauses relating to performance, success and marketing.
City had also hoped their signing on Ronaldinho's fellow countryman Jo in a deal that could eventually be worth £19m would have been a signal of their intent and lured him to Eastlands, but he has decided to move to Milan.
Ronaldinho helped Barcelona win back-to-back Spanish league titles (2004-05, 2005-06) and the Champions League in 2006, but failed to cement a regular place in the starting XI last season because of injury and fitness issues. | 15 July Cliftonville's UEFA Cup preparations suffered a blow last night after they were trashed 7-0 by Ipswich Town at Solitude.
The reds face FC Copenhagen in their UEFA Cup first leg preliminary tie at Mournview Park on Thursday night, and will be without attacking duo Geordie McMullan (Honeymoon) and Rory Hamill (holidays).
Ipswich raced into a 3-0 half-time lead with Gary Roberts, Alan Lee and Danny Haynes finding the net for Jim Magilton's side, while Reds' keeper John Connolly saved a penalty.
Connoly was Cliftonville's best player after making a string of saves.
In the second half, Jaime Peters, Alan Quinn (2) and David Wright got on the scoresheet.
Chris Scannell and Mark Holland didn't have much luck in front of goal for the home side, while new signing Ciaran Donaghy partnered Davy McAlinden in defence.
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Getting in some Smurf practice before the world record attempt |
A town in County Monaghan, will transform itself into a sea of blue on Friday in an attempt to get its name in the Guinness Book of Records.
This year is the 50th birthday of the popular cartoon characters The Smurfs.
To mark the occasion organisers of the Muckno Mania Festival in Castleblayney will attempt to break the record for the most Smurfs in one place.
Tommy McGuire, festival organiser said: "We've had a great response so far from people of all ages".
The record currently stands at 451 and that's held by Warwick Student's Union in England. Organisers are aiming for 1,000 on the day in Monaghan.
He said: "I'm dressing up as Papa Smurf as are the other organisers to make us identifiable from the crowd. The guidelines are very strict and an official from the Guinness Book of Records will be there on the day to count the number of people and inspect what they are wearing," he added.
Outfits
Explaining the costumes, Mr McGuire explained: "Participants must wear white full-length trousers, a blue long sleeved shirt or blue T-shirt, a white Smurf hat and all skin showing must be painted blue".
The idea was formed after organisers watched the 1,488-strong Gallagher Clan enter the Guinness world record for the biggest number of people with the same surname attending a clan gathering in Letterkenny in September.
"When we returned, we got the Guinness Book of Records out and read through it until we found something that was wacky and colourful," said Tommy.
The event is taking place on Castleblayney's Main Street. Registration is at 1800 BST on Friday, although organisers advise to arrive early. Specially made hats, blue T-shirts and face paints will be handed out on the day. | 14 July
The devastation left at McGurk's bar
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A report on a 1971 loyalist pub bombing which killed 15 people in north Belfast is to be raised in the Commons later.
The Historical Enquiries Team's report on the McGurk's bar bombing is
being raised by Scottish MP Michael Connarty, whose great-uncle died in
the attack.
It dismissed as "irresponsible and inaccurate" British army claims at
the time the bomb was an IRA bomb being prepared which exploded
prematurely.
A UVF getaway driver received 15 life sentences in 1978.
The group revisiting more than 2,000 unsolved murders during the
Troubles found that the authorities' IRA claim, which upset relatives
of the victims, "could not be based on facts but instead reflected a
desired outcome".
Documents recently emerged stating that military advisers told
politicians the bomb was in the hands of one of the customers and urged
them to make this public.
Apology
Ahead of Monday's brief Commons debate, Northern Ireland
Secretary Shaun Woodward has written to apologise to the Labour MP for
Falkirk East, an apology which he said reflected his concern for all
those who died in the Troubles.
He said: "The tragedy of the Troubles is that any of those
people died, and one of the things that politicians have to get much
better at is actually taking on their responsibility as a secretary of
state and saying, I'm sorry.
"Michael has a relative who was in that bar. I am sorry his relative died.
"I am sorry for the extraordinary additional pain they suffered from the descriptions at the time of who was behind the bomb." 13 July By Allison Morris 09/07/08LOYALIST DISPLAY: An illegal UDA flag on the loyalist Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim PICTURE: Mal McCann A
TURF war between rival loyalist factions has led to an upsurge in
paramilitary flags in parts of Northern Ireland in the lead up to the
annual Twelfth of July Orange marches.
A previous commitment to
reduce the number of paramilitary flags in loyalist areas has been cast
aside as UVF and UDA flags compete for space on lampposts across
Northern Ireland.
This week SDLP assembly member Dolores Kelly called on the police to take action.
“Paramilitary
flags are illegal and there is no excuse for the PSNI not to take
enforcement action against those responsible for placing them,” she
said.
“Ordinary people don’t want their town centres marked out
in this way and that includes people in the unionist community who have
told me they have to ‘quietly endure’ this kind of behaviour around the
Twelfth.
“While paramilitary flags are illegal the displaying of
other flags such as the Union flag is a political issue and more needs
to be done by the first and deputy first ministers’ office to address
this.
“They cannot agree on the way forward and our society is suffering because of that.”
Meanwhile,
with the Eleventh Night fast approaching, a shop in east Belfast
selling loyalist memorabilia has been cashing in on the practice of
burning the Irish tricolour on top of loyalist bonfires.
The
Union Jack Shop on the mainly Protestant Newtownards Road has been
selling tricolours in the run-up to Friday’s annual bonfire night
advertising them as ‘Fenian flags’.
Niall O Donnghaile of Sinn Fein said yesterday that referring to the tricolour as a
‘Fenian flag’ was an “exercise in bigotry”.
“I
would call on the owners of this shop to reflect on the hard work put
in by community workers and political representative across east
Belfast to ensure a quiet and peaceful summer,” he said.
“This type of irresponsible bigotry does nothing to assist that work.”
When contacted, a spokesperson for the Union Jack Shop declined to comment.
A
spokesperson for the PSNI said they were “firmly committed” to
addressing the issue surrounding the flying of flags in public areas.
“The
display of flags to mark out geographical areas of control or to
promote sectarianism or intimidation is wholly unacceptable in a
peaceful and tolerant society and the police service is clear in its
responsibility to work with communities to find acceptable solutions
and enforce the law,” a spokesperson said.
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