A £750 mai tai previously earned the city centre bar the title of world’s most expensive cocktail
Spending a grand on an unforgettable experience might not feel extreme for people keen to shake up their routines. But what if it doesn’t involve falling through the skies, or even going outside at all?
“A life-changing experience” is the promise of one Belfast hotel’s £1,000-pound cocktail, launched as part of a new drinks menu.
Continue reading...New safety regulations have led SMEs to stop sales to bloc and Northern Ireland while they work out how to comply
Small businesses are warning they have had to pause selling their products in the European Union and Northern Ireland since mid-December while they work out how to comply with new EU product safety regulations that caught many of them unawares.
Skye Weavers, a small family business on the Isle of Skye, says it has missed out on sales of its scarves, shawls and blankets to customers in both markets after halting internet orders from those locations because of the rule change.
Continue reading...Mary Grimes, Avril Monaghan, Maura Monaghan and Avril’s unborn twins died in 1998 attack, inquiry hears
A family from which women of three generations were killed in the Omagh bombing have spoken about the immeasurable pain caused by the atrocity and said they hope no other family suffers as they have.
They were speaking at a public inquiry established to determine whether the attack, the worst in the Troubles in Northern Ireland, could have been prevented.
Continue reading...Paloma Abad Ramos thanks the inquiry chair for the only support her family has felt ‘for many, many years’
The sister of a 23-year-old Spanish visitor killed in the devastating Omagh bomb has said the public inquiry into the atrocity is allowing the family “to close a wound that has been open for 26 years”.
During the opening day of the resumed inquiry, Paloma Abad Ramos told of the “mind-blowing shock” she and her family felt in 1998 when they learned the youngest of three daughters, Rocio, had been caught up in a bomb in a foreign country.
Continue reading...The young man who died in Ireland after a tree fell during Storm Eowyn has been named as Kacper Dudek
Irish premier Micheál Martin said every effort is being made to restore power and water supplies following Storm Eowyn.
He described the destruction caused by some of the strongest winds on record as “unprecedented”.
Continue reading...Comedy film loosely based on lives of Belfast hip-hop trio missed out on nominations for best international feature and original song
Hollywood may not have been quite ready to see Kneecap “walking down the red carpet smoking a joint” but the makers of the comedy biopic about the hip-hop trio say it has shown there is a “bright future” for Irish-language cinema and an indigenous industry in Belfast.
The producers of the film – which is named after the group – and their family and friends turned out to watch the Academy Awards nominations announcement in Madden’s bar in Belfast with the band tuning in on Zoom from London, where they are recording a new album.
Continue reading...Prime minister says global economy experiencing volatility after Conservative leader attacks him over economy
The Mauritian government said talks will continue on the Chagos Islands deal, with attorney general Gavin Glover set to return to the UK for further negotiations, PA Media reports.
A statement issued following a meeting of prime minister Navin Ramgoolam’s cabinet said:
The commitment and resolve of Mauritius to reach an agreement and end this long battle for the sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago remains unshaken.
Continue reading...Beatification ceremony for Clare Crockett, former party girl from Derry, draws more than 100 people to Madrid
A nun from Northern Ireland who was killed in an earthquake while she was teaching music in Ecuador has taken a step closer to sainthood.
A ceremony on Sunday afternoon started the process of beatification for Clare Crockett, who died in Portoviejo, Ecuador during an earthquake in April 2016. The 33-year-old had been working in the country as part of her work as a nun, which had also taken in placements in Spain and the US.
Continue reading...There are also fears electronic travel authorisation will threaten post-peace tourism sector in Northern Ireland
The UK Home Office’s already burdened immigration services could be overwhelmed this summer when a new visa-waiver system comes into force for European business travellers and tourists in April, a leading law firm has said.
There have also been fresh warnings that the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) requirements could threaten the post-peace tourism sector in Northern Ireland, with Americans and Europeans travelling to Dublin and beyond deciding not to bother crossing the border because of the red tape.
Continue reading...Family ‘heartbroken’ after discovery of body of John George, 37, who went missing in Alicante area in December
A murder investigation is under way in Spain after the body of a 37-year-old man from Northern Ireland was found three weeks after he went missing.
John George from Belfast, a father of two children, was in Spain for a short visit in December but the alarm was raised when he failed to board a flight home on 18 December.
Continue reading...Snow, ice and fog yellow weather warnings remain in force across the UK as snow and sleet cause disruption to transport
It’s a very cold morning in Ireland with widespread frost and ice lingering, says the Irish meteorological service, Met Éireann.
In a post on X, Met Éireann said:
Sunny spells will develop later with just a scattering of cloud in a cold northerly breeze.
A few isolated wintry showers will drift in over Connacht and Ulster for a time but elsewhere should hold dry.”
Continue reading...Amber warnings for snow and freezing rain in place for much of Wales and England while second snow warning affects most of northern England
Some pictures of heavy snow from the Pennines
Heavy snow is threatening to postpone Manchester United’s Premier League game with Liverpool on Sunday.
Continue reading...Disruption expected as rain turns to snow, after major flooding incident declared in Greater Manchester
An ice warning is in force for much of the UK as temperatures have dropped, after a major incident was declared due to flooding.
The yellow Met Office warning indicates there could be some difficult travel conditions across Scotland, Northern Ireland and north Wales, and stretching down to the Midlands, until 10am on Thursday.
Continue reading...Manager of Lough Neagh Partnership praises actions so far on lake’s algae crisis but warns of wider problems
The introduction of water rates in Northern Ireland could address crumbling wastewater infrastructure and the impact on waterways, it has been suggested.
It comes as the Stormont executive works to halt an environmental crisis at Lough Neagh, where noxious blooms of blue-green algae have covered the surface of the water across the past two summers.
Continue reading...Unsealed documents show British PM’s idea in 2002 did not go down well with Northern Ireland politician
The 2002 World Cup had been a gruelling rollercoaster for the Republic of Ireland. Nine days before the team’s first match in the tournament, hosted by Japan and South Korea, its captain and talisman Roy Keane was on his way home before a ball had been kicked, after publicly berating his manager, Mick McCarthy.
Two draws and a victory against Saudi Arabia had taken Ireland through the group stages, but after a dramatic penalty shootout against Spain, they were knocked out of the competition.
Continue reading...Weather warnings for wind, rain and snow cover much of country, with 16 flood alerts in place
Storm Bert has hit the UK, with snow closing roads and strong rains and winds expected to cause further travel disruption and potential flooding.
Weather warnings and 13 flood alerts have come into effect across much of the country.
Continue reading...Several weather warnings in place for weekend, with snow, wind, rain and ice predicted
Storm Bert is expected to bring wind, rain, ice and snow to much of the UK over the weekend in what forecasters have called a “multi-hazard event”.
The Met Office has issued several weather warnings – mostly yellow, but also including the more severe amber in Scotland – for Saturday and Sunday.
Continue reading...Say Nothing, about 1972 abduction and murder of Jean McConville, is horrendous, says Michael McConville
The son of Jean McConville, a woman who was murdered and buried in secret by the IRA, has condemned a new Disney series on her death as “horrendous” and “cruel”.
The series is based on the acclaimed book Say Nothing, about McConville and the wider role of the IRA during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, written by the US journalist Patrick Radden Keefe.
Continue reading...Only 2.5% of more than 300,000 farms were inspected at least once in 2022 and 2023, researchers find
There is just one local authority inspector for every 878 farms in England, Scotland and Wales, according to a report, which says that the current welfare system is continuing to fail animals.
Researchers for the Animal Law Foundation found that only 2.5% of the more than 300,000 UK farms were inspected at least once in 2022 and 2023, a marginal decrease from 2018-21 when Covid-19 might be expected to have affected inspection rates.
Continue reading...Matthew Pennycook says Tory position now unclear on cap on tax rises that was in place when Kemi Badenoch was local government minister
A minister has criticised her Tory shadow for talking about “joy” in the health sector about the funding it received.
Karin Smyth, a health minister, said it was a strange word to use given the state of NHS finances left by the last government.
Many in the health sector would have been pleased to hear the announcement of the extra funding going into the NHS [in the budget], only for the joy to be struck down by the realisation of a broken manifesto promise not to raise national insurance contributions.
This was only compounded further on the discovery that a raft of frontline care providers – care homes, hospices, care charities, pharmacies, GPS, to name but a few – found themselves not exempt from the NI rises, leaving them with crippling staff bills and the threat of closure and redundancies.
He talks about joy. There was no joy when we inherited the mess that they left back in July.
The chancellor took into account the impact of changes to national insurance when she allocated an extra £26bn to the Department of Health and Social Care.
There are well established processes for agreeing funding allocations across the system, we are going through those processes now with this issue in mind.
The British government needs to start now indicating for them what they believe is the tipping point at which they believe a referendum would be called.
Continue reading...