Sunday Telegraph

Via Newshound

By David Harrison
(Filed: 23/07/2006)

Police have raided the secret hideaway of a former soldier who claims he carried out killings with official approval while working as a British agent within the IRA.

Officers went to the home of Kevin Fulton - not his real name - as part of an investigation into his claims in a new book that he was involved in murder and bombings.

In his memoir, Unsung Hero, published last month, Fulton describes shooting and abducting people and planting bombs while working within the Provisional IRA as an agent for British security forces. Even his wife knew nothing of his 21 years as a double agent.

Fulton claims that he committed all the offences, including helping to kill British soldiers, with the full knowledge of his intelligence handlers, and is suing the Government for a compensation package he claims he was promised for his work.

Last week five plain clothes officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) raided his address in southern England and seized a computer, papers, audio tapes and recording equipment. Police also visited the west London office of his publisher, John Blake, and the home of the ghost-writer John Nally, and confiscated all documents relating to the book.

Fulton, who lives on the run under a death threat from the IRA and cannot see his wife and children in Northern Ireland, said yesterday he was shocked by the raids and vowed to fight any attempt to prosecute him. "I am supposed to be living in a secret location but they have compromised me," he said. "I do not know exactly what they are investigating. The police have got to do their job but I was not a terrorist who turned. I was a serving British soldier working covertly in Northern Ireland.

"If they try to get me, I am ready to fight and I will bring MPs and other senior people into it because they knew all about what I was doing. I didn't break the law, but war is dirty."

Fulton, from Newry, Northern Ireland, joined the Army at 18 and was soon recruited as an agent. He claims to have infiltrated the IRA and remained there for 15 years but says he was abandoned by his military controllers in 1994, when his usefulness ended. He fled Northern Ireland that year, returned in 1997 and fled again when his life was threatened.

"To this day British intelligence agencies refuse to acknowledge the full extent of my role in the dirty war," he claimed. "In truth they'd like me dead. I'm a nuisance. I don't expect to live long."

Police are understood to be particularly interested in Fulton's confession of links to the murder of Eoin Morley, a republican shot dead by the Provisionals in Newry 16 years ago. In the book, Fulton admits being one of two gunmen involved, although he does not say who fired the fatal shots. The other man was an IRA bomb-maker who later joined the Real IRA.

Morley's mother, Ailish, and brother, Ivan, have called for Fulton and the second gunman to be charged.

Last year the Northern Ireland police ombudsman found that Morley's murder had not been investigated properly and that police had failed to arrest a suspect, understood to be Fulton.

The Morleys, a well-known republican family, lived near Fulton's home on the Derrybeg estate in Newry, where Morley was shot twice in the back outside his girlfriend's house. Ivan Morley believes that senior IRA figures had resented the Morleys ever since Eoin's father, David, defeated Gerry Adams in an IRA inmates' election to become an IRA officer in the Maze prison in the early 1970s.

Eoin Morley had left the IRA and, like Ivan, joined the rival Irish People's Liberation Organisation. Fulton says his death was ordered soon after that by a member of the IRA with a grudge against Morley.

Yesterday the PSNI would not confirm that Fulton's home had been raided. It said that as part of its investigation of "the contents of a book" searches had been carried out in south-east England.

The Admins have sorted the Blogsome location of this site in case some of you prefer it over there.
All posts from yesterday are there as well.

micheailin

Guardian

· Amnesty and RSPCA back campaign for free speech
· European judges struck down similar Swiss law

Clare Dyer, legal editor
Monday July 24, 2006
The Guardian

The ban on "political" advertising on radio and TV, which prevents thousands of campaigning organisations from airing their views through the broadcast media, will be challenged in a test case that goes to the high court today.

Animal Defenders International (ADI), whose My Mate's a Primate television ad was turned down for broadcast, will argue that the ban breaches article 10 of the European convention on human rights, which guarantees freedom of expression.

The case will be closely watched by not-for-profit organisations such as Amnesty International and the RSPCA, which have also had adverts rejected. If successful it could open the way for them to try to affect public opinion and raise funds through broadcast advertising.

( >>more )

To PFC subscribers

MI5 internet bibliography

In August 2007 the British Security Service, MI5, will assume lead responsiblity for 'national security intelligence work' in the North. MI5 has a long history of involvement here and an equally long history of involvement in illegal activities. MI5 for instance was aware in advance that Pat Finucane was to be murdered but did not intervene, it allowed the 1998 Omagh bombing to proceed, it destroyed covert recordings in the shoot-to-kill cases, ran agents involved in multiple murders and sought to undermine opposition groups in Britain itself.
The PFC has compiled an extensive internet bibliography on MI5 .

The interim report into the Kay's Tavern bombing is now available. See www.patfinucanecentre.org

Justice Barron's fourth and final report into a number of incidents connected to the conflict in the north of Ireland where there is allegations of collusion. This report provides extensive detail on the so-called 'Glenanne gang', a group of loyalists and members of the RUC and UDR responsible for a large number of cross border bombings and shootings in the seventies. Parliamentary sub-committee hearings into this final report will not take place until October as the Dail is now in recess.


Please delete all other PFC email addresses and replace with info@patfinucanecentre.org

Belfast Telegraph

By Lisa Smyth
24 July 2006

Attacks on a Catholic church and an Orange hall at the weekend have prompted calls from politicians for an end to sectarian-fuelled hatred throughout Northern Ireland.

A window was smashed and graffiti was daubed on the wall of Derryadd Orange Hall on the Derrytrasna Road in Lurgan shortly after 4am yesterday.

A PSNI spokeswoman today said that three men arrested at the scene have been released from police custody pending reports to be sent to the PPS.

The attack on the hall, which is used as a community centre and hosts two Orange lodges and the oldest Royal Black Preceptory lodge in Lurgan, came less than 24 hours after sectarian thugs damaged a Catholic church in Co Antrim.

A passing police patrol discovered vandals had thrown a tar-like substance over the front of the church in Bushmills early on Saturday.

SDLP North Antrim MLA Sean Farren said it was "yet another despicable attack on the entire Catholic community".

He added: "It is shameful for anyone to attack a place of worship in such a gross act of vandalism.

"This is the third attack in the North Antrim area, following attacks on the Glens chapel near Armoy and an Orange hall in Lavin. All these attacks are wrong and must stop."

Meanwhile, his party colleague Dolores Kelly, an Upper Bann MLA, branded the attack on the Orange hall as wrong.

"No-one has the right to vandalise or destroy property in this way," she said.

Belfast Telegraph

By Michael McHugh
24 July 2006

Forensic scientists are examining material linked to the loyalist murder of Raymond McCord in a move welcomed as a breakthrough by the dead man's family.

Mr McCord's father, Raymond Snr, said he hoped the progress would bring prosecutions after learning that the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) had submitted material to scientists.

The north Belfast victim, aged 22, was murdered in Newtownabbey in November 1997, allegedly by the UVF.

Mr McCord Snr met Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde recently and said: "I am hopeful this will lead to arrests. We are hopeful the stuff will be enough to allow police to bring charges.

"I know for certain that there's been a forensic breakthrough. This is the first breakthrough we have seen for eight and a half years."

The HET was established last January to investigate 3,268 unsolved paramilitary-linked murders in Northern Ireland.

Mr McCord Snr's claims that a Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch informant was involved in his son's murder are being investigated by Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman.

The case was raised in the Irish Parliament by Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte in October 2005.

Using parliamentary privilege, he said the murder of the ex-RAF airman was carried out under the orders of Mount Vernon UVF figure Mark Haddock.

Mr Rabbitte called for an international public inquiry once the Ombudsman's investigation is complete and claimed Mount Vernon UVF figure Mark Haddock, who was shot in Newtonabbey earlier this year, was not charged with the killing as he was an informer.

Belfast Telegraph

By Chris Thornton
24 July 2006

The Government was accused of having something to hide today after refusing to disclose how much taxpayers are paying to build MI5's new Northern Ireland headquarters.

Home Office Security Minister Tony McNulty told SDLP leader Mark Durkan that it is "established policy" to keep such costs secret - even though the Government previously revealed the £197m overspend on the secret agency's London base.

SDLP policing spokesman Alex Attwood said the secrecy about the cost of the new building at Palace Barracks in Holywood suggests MI5 has something to hide.

The agency, officially known as the Security Service, is building the headquarters in preparation for taking over the management of anti-terrorist operations in Northern Ireland next year.

The Government wants to bring Northern Ireland into line with anti-terrorist operations in the rest of the UK before justice and policing powers possibly get handed over to the Assembly.

MI5 told Whitehall's Intelligence and Security Committee how much the Holywood building is expected to cost, but the Government refused to let the committee publish the amount in its annual report last month.

Mr Durkan decided to ask in Parliament about the cost of the building because the Government is refusing to provide an extra £40m to build a police training college for the PSNI.

But Mr McNulty said: "It has been the established policy of successive Governments not to comment on such matters."

However, earlier this month Shadow Home Secretary David Davis told Parliament about his successful battle to get the Government to reveal MI5's huge overspend on Thames House, its London headquarters.

Mr Davis - who has promised to set a Public Accounts-style committee to oversee MI5 if the Conservatives get in power - revealed to Parliament in 2000 that the refurbishment of Thames House ended up costing £244m, more than four times initial projections.

Today Mr Attwood attacked MI5's record in Northern Ireland, including the failure to tell police that Omagh was a dissident republican target several months before the town was attacked, leading to the deaths of 29 adults and children and two unborn babies.

"Again and again MI5 use secrecy to hide inefficiency and incompetence," the West Belfast MLA said.

"It takes them seven years to pass on a threat warning about a possible bombing in advance of the Omagh massacre.

"But they don't admit it - and don't even bother meeting the Omagh victims to discuss it.

"Now we find that they won't even say how many millions their new headquarters in the North cost. But they did say how much their headquarters in London cost - so presumably they won't say in the North because - yet again - they have something to hide.

"At a time when the British Government won't cough up enough money for the new Police College that Patten recommended, it is telling that they are spending undisclosed millions on a headquarters for an expanded MI5.

:::u.tv:::

One in five police officers in Northern Ireland are now Catholic.

MONDAY 24/07/2006 11:48:02
By:Press Association

As demand to join the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) reached a new high, the drive to achieve religious balance in the ranks was strengthened by the latest figures.

Catholics account for 20.05% of regular officers in the force, compared to just 8.3% when the Patten probe into the old Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was carried out in 1998.

Even though the Social Democratic and Labour Party`s (SDLP) Alex Attwood described it as a landmark in attempts to overhaul the service, he warned against any move to now end the 50:50 recruitment policy.

"It`s a watershed that they have broken through the 20% barrier," the Policing Board representative said.

"The figures remain very encouraging and very strong.

"But the continued success of overall recruitment and Catholic recruitment must not mean that the Government changes its position on the retention of 50:50.

"It`s up for renewal next spring, but Patten said it should continue for at least 10 years.

"You cannot play fast and loose with policing."

With new recruits graduating from the Garnerville training college in east Belfast last Friday, there have now been more than 65,000 applications to join the PSNI.

The latest campaign led to the highest level of interest yet. Nearly 7700 applicants competed for 220 places.

Out of these, 37% were Catholics, again the highest rate to date.

Paul Goggins, the Northern Ireland Security Minister, praised the standard of men and women joining the PSNI.

He said: "Policing as a career isn`t an easy choice. It`s not an easy job, and not everyone could do it.

"The PSNI has shown that it is attracting high calibre candidates into its ranks."

Mr Goggins added: "I am delighted that so many people from all communities and backgrounds have taken up the challenge of delivering what is an absolutely vital service to the community and I would like to take this opportunity to wish them every success for the future."

The News Letter

24 July 2006

LOYALISTS are forcing building contractors to pay a new "totally crippling" form of extortion.
Contractors have pulled out of jobs in north and west Belfast because they are being forced to hire unskilled men and pay them extortionate wages.
A contractor who contacted the News Letter said he pulled out of a job in west Belfast last month because he could not have his name and reputation connected to such "inferior workmanship".
He said the latest extortion racket, being carried out by the UDA, was stopping contractors even tendering for jobs in north and west Belfast.
The NI Affairs Committee report into organised crime said that paramilitary involvement was threatening political progress in Northern Ireland.
The IRA and UVF were both accused of extorting five and six-figure sums from businesses.
Committee chairman Sir Patrick Cormack said it was also having a severe impact on the economy.
The contractor said: "For years they have been promising security firms of a sort to look after building sites at night and at the weekend for, let's say, £1,000 a week.
"The money they are making is phenomenal. If you don't pay up, whatever work you do is destroyed. Another way they get at you is to have diggers and other heavy and expensive machinery go missing. Then you have to pay to get it back.
"That, I know, is happening regularly in the Shankill area. One contractor had a wall built one day and the next day the whole thing was gone, every single brick."
The contractor, who does not want to be named, said he doubted whether the paramilitaries cared that their own
areas are going to suffer.
"Their latest racket is back-firing on them, if they care, because there are
going to be very few new houses in their areas," he said.
"The men we are being asked to hire have never done a day's work in their lives. They have not done their time and are not skilled, just handymen.
"It means there is a lot of inferior building going on – and either a contractor gets one of his men to fix it which takes time or it is left inferior.
"The whole hassle has made contractors like me pull out because it is just too much bother.
"I know others who have pulled out in the west and the north."
Police said they were very much aware that extortion was being carried out in north and west Belfast, but that they needed information from the public to progress their enquiries.
The PSNI's confidential extortion helpline number is 028 9092 2267.

Newshound

(Seamus McKinney, Irish News)

Charles Haughey's recent death revived memories of how he sent Martin Mansergh on a historic outreach mission to republicans – kick-starting the peace process.

Now the former Irish government adviser speaks to Seamus McKinney about the future of politics in Ireland, issuing a word of warning to both unionists and nationalists

Martin Mansergh is regularly portrayed as having provided the intellectual muscle behind Dublin's role in the peace process but like any politician he can never stray too far from grass roots matters.

The 60-year-old may have come to Donegal to address the prestigious Patrick MacGill Summer School in Glenties but his latest jaunt north had a dual purpose.

After he had finished talking politics with The Irish News, he was off to Ballybofey to collect a TV he won in a Fianna Fail prize draw.

Dr Mansergh, now a Fianna Fail member of the Irish Senate, was an adviser on Northern Ireland to three Fianna Fail leaders (and taoisigh).

At a time of political uncertainty and even stagnation he believes the risk of unionism losing its influence if devolution is not restored, is one of the key reasons for optimism that a deal will be struck on the restoration of power-sharing government.

While adamantly defensive of his Irishness, Dr Mansergh accepts the Anglo-Irish background of his family gives him a special insight into the workings of the northern state.

But what does the future hold for the union of Northern Ireland with Britain?

>>Read on

Belfast Telegraph

By Michael McHugh
24 July 2006

The Government was yesterday accused of wasting £50m on management consultants and hospitality at a time when the health service is under severe financial pressure.

Most of the taxpayers' money was shelled out on independent experts. This has led to calls for future funds to be redirected towards services such as policing and education.

Figures for 11 local departments and the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) showed £47.1m spent on consultants, £2.7m on hospitality and £190,563 on taxis.

Conservative Northern Ireland spokesman David Lidington obtained the spending information in Parliament.

"These are very large sums of money and this spending is happening at a time when front-line services in Northern Ireland are under enormous pressure. It seems at odds with Peter Hain's reported promises to get better value for money out of Government," he said.

"I want to see money spent on nurses and doctors, teachers and police officers, not on expensive consultants."

The bill in question covers three financial years from 2004 to the end of last March.

Dr Deirdre Heanen, School of Policy Studies at Magee College in Derry, said the level of spending could not be justified.

"The whole process needs to be looked at for a number of reasons in terms of transparency. In many cases they are bringing in accountants when they already have accountants on their staff," she said.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Finance and Personnel said: "All departments are well aware of the need to ensure consultants are only engaged when it is the best approach to tackling an issue and provides value for money."

An NIO spokeswoman said: "The NIO has effective arrangements in place for ensuring that expenditure on management on consultants is properly justified and monitored."

BN.ie

24/07/2006 - 14:21:57

Sinn Féin’s social affairs spokesperson Seán Crowe has called on the Government to prioritise a substantial increase in the fuel allowance in this year’s Budget following massive proposed increases in gas and electricity charges last week.

Deputy Crowe pointed out that the weekly fuel allowance in 1985 was €6.35 and has only increased increased to €14 in 20 years.

“It is only three years since the publication of a report entitled Fuel Poverty and Policy in Ireland and the European Union,” said the Dublin South West TD.

“This damning report found that one in 10 Irish households suffer from fuel poverty with as many as 2,000 winter deaths in Ireland associated with fuel poverty and domestic energy inefficiency.

“If the increases in gas and electricity prices are approved, this will mean increases of 91% and 80% respectively over the last five years, while the fuel allowance has increased only 120% over the last 20 years.

“I appreciate and welcome the increase of €5 a week in the 2006 Budget, but the reality is that this increase will be wiped out and then some by the proposed fuel increases for 2007 and was long overdue in any case.

“Fuel poverty is not just, as is often suggested, an issue of concern only to senior citizens. The report pointed out that incidence of fuel poverty was highest among low-income groups including lone parents and the unemployed.”

Sinn Féin

Published: 24 July, 2006

Sinn Féin MLA for North Belfast, Gerry Kelly has appealed for unionist representatives to show leadership in their communities after a sectarian mob attacked cars and homes in Whitewell Road and Catherine's Court last night.

Local residents were alerted at approximately 11.30pm last night when a crowd of up to 40 men entered the area and smashed windows and damaged cars.

Mr Kelly said:

"I would appeal for calm in the Whitewell area at this point in time. This was a planned and orchestrated attack on vulnerable nationalist properties and vehicles. The residents in this area pose no threat to their neighbours, however are forced to endure attacks of this nature all year round.

"Sinn Féin has worked tirelessly across North Belfast, and in Whitewell in particular to ensure a peaceful summer, however we are not witnessing the same level of commitment by Unionist politicians. I am therefore calling for representatives of the DUP and UUP in the area to show some positive leadership in bringing this type of attack to an end.

"North Belfast also has a number of interface workers at present tasked with dealing with this type of situation and I would call on them all to work together constructively to ensure the safety of all residents in the area." ENDS

BBC

Paramilitaries are not thought to have been involved in weekend attacks in north Belfast, the police have said.


Masked men armed with hatchets broke windows

A group of about 30 masked men armed with hatchets and golf clubs attacked homes and property in the area.

House and car windows were broken by the gang in the mainly nationalist Catherine Court area, off the Whitewell Road, at about 2330 BST on Sunday.

Homes in the nearby loyalist Graymount area were also attacked at the weekend. Police patrols are being stepped up.

Superintendent Nigel Grimshaw said: "We will be increasing patrols in the area to provide reassurance to the public and to ensure we can prevent these attacks happening in the days ahead."

Superintendent Grimshaw also appealed for help from the public in finding those responsible for both attacks.

Teresa Knowles who lives at Catherine Court said the incident was "terrifying".

"They broke all the windows, they broke car windows, anything they could get their hands on," Mrs Knowles said.

'Deplorable'

The group of men were seen running towards Graymount Crescent.

North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds appealed for the attacks to end, and called for security cameras to be installed in the area.

"All these attacks are deplorable and should stop immediately," he said.

"People taking part in them do not represent the vast majority of ordinary decent people who want to live in peace and quiet and who do not want to see this type of violence on their doorsteps.

The SDLP's Pat Convery said the attack was "concerted and organised".

"Any attack, regardless of which community is being attacked, has to be condemned, but this one was particularly organised and particularly vicious," the north Belfast councillor said.

BBC

Up to 1,500 Ministry of Defence civilian workers who face redundancy under base closure plans are to get an extra payment of £14,000.


Civilian jobs are going as Army bases are closed

The MoD has said those affected will also get a retraining allowance on top of agreed redundancy compensation.

In May, the government said it would retain 11 Army bases in the province, instead of the 14 originally planned.

It came in response to the IRA's statement in 2005 that it was ending its armed campaign.

The base closures are part of the end of Operation Banner, the Army's support role for police during the Troubles.

It has been running for 35 years and is the longest operation in British Army history.

It will end on 1 August next year and by then the Army presence in Northern Ireland will have been radically reduced.

At the height of the Troubles there were almost 27,000 troops based in Northern Ireland. By next summer, there will be no more than 5,000.

Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram said: "While normalisation is good news for Northern Ireland, it also brings substantial change for our civilian workforce and my department has been working hard to draw up an enhanced redundancy package for those affected.

"This is a generous package for a unique set of circumstances for those MoD civilians in Northern Ireland made redundant between 1 August 2006 and 31 December 2008."

Daily Ireland

**I titled this article myself because it seems that Daily Ireland has the wrong headline for this article.The link is correct, but their headline pertains to the Abbeylara siege

24/07/2006

Community Restorative Justice (CRJ) will resist any attempt by the British government to force it to co-operate with the PSNI, its director said yesterday.
Jim Auld told Daily Ireland that the group would not be “bullied” into such a position, even if it resulted in the British government refusing to fund CRJ schemes. The British government will announce later in the week if CRJ is to receive public cash.
SDLP leader Mark Durkan has warned providing the organisation with funds will create “state-paid vigilantes”.
The sisters of murdered Belfast man Robert McCartney, have also argued against giving CRJ cash.
Before providing CRJ with any funds the British government will ask it to sign up to a series of guidelines. These are expected to include an insistence on the PSNI playing a role in CRJ affairs.
There are currently 15 CRJ schemes operating in nationalist areas in the North and five in loyalist areas.
Mr Auld said that because of nationalists’ mistrust of the PSNI the organisations could not work together.
“People are not ready yet to work with the PSNI. All the evidence suggests there is still a huge sense of mistrust in them,” said Mr Auld.
“CRJ will not be bullied into conforming or making any premature decisions. We will wait and see what it said and analyse the document. If we went ahead and decided to work with the police, and we didn’t have the backing of the people, that would be the doom of this organisation. We would lose that truth – and that is crucial.”
Mr Auld had a key role in introducing CRJ to the North in 1999. The organisation deals primarily with people who have ben the victims of crime but who have no faith in the PSNI. CRJ brings together victims and offenders in order to resolve their differences without going through the courts.
In the last seven years, CRJ has dealt with nearly 7,000 cases involving over 40,000 people. This compares to less than 300 cases handled by the Youth Conference Service, which was set up in 2003 and which is British government funded.
Just five of the 15 CRJ schemes operating in nationalist areas are funded. This cash, which comes from a charity established by an American millionaire, will run out in December 2006.
Last week it emerged senior CRJ figures, including Mr Auld, had met with Criminal Justice Inspector Kit Chivers. Mr Chivers has responsibility for monitoring the performance of the police, prisons, probation service and courts. CRJ will fall under his remit should it be awarded public funds. Mr Chivers said the North’s Criminal Justice Inspectorate had known since 2000 that it may have to monitor CRJ.

Belfast Telegraph

By Matthew McCreary
24 July 2006

Northern Ireland has seen its highest ever increase in the number of people coming to live in the province, according to new figures published today.

Between mid-2004 and mid-2005 an estimated 6,700 people - 4,700 of whom were from outside the United Kingdom - came to live in Northern Ireland, the highest population growth from migration ever observed here, statistical experts have said.

Mid-year population estimates from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency also show that, as at June 30 of last year, Northern Ireland's population was estimated to have increased by almost 15,000, or 0.8 per cent, bringing the local resident population to around 1.725 million people.

Over the last decade the average annual rate of population increase has been around 7,000 people, equivalent to 0.4 per cent each year, with the 2005 increase in population larger than the average annual increases experienced over recent years.

Experts say the increase is a result of the following factors:

l A natural increase of 8,000 people, as a result of 22,400 births and 14,400 deaths

l Estimated net migration into Northern Ireland from Great Britain of 2,000 people. In total, 13,300 people are estimated to have come to Northern Ireland from Great Britain, while 11,300 people left Northern Ireland for Great Britain.

l Estimated net international migration of 4,700 people. In total, 13,600 people are estimated to have come to Northern Ireland from outside the UK, while 8,900 people left Northern Ireland for outside the UK.

:::u.tv:::

Community tensions in north and west Belfast may be behind a large-scale flight from the area, it has been claimed.

24/07/2006 14:37:39
By:Press Association

Figures released by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) show the population dropping in the interface-riddled area while regions like Lagan Valley have seen a substantial increase.

Other factors include the general trend for moving out of cities as well as redevelopment in the area.

Ardoyne priest Fr Aidan Troy said it may show a desire to escape conflict.

"I don`t think the violence is deterring people from living in north Belfast but if they do get the chance to move away they are taking it," he said.

"It is clear that people will take the opportunity if it is offered them and I have noticed people from Ardoyne moving to areas like Glengormley or Crumlin."

He added there was still demand for housing in interface areas like Alliance Avenue in Ardoyne.

Between June 2004 and June 2005, the population in north Belfast dropped by 700 people and in west Belfast by 1100.

The largest increase was in the Lagan Valley parliamentary constituency, which includes Lisburn, at 1500.

Fermanagh and South Tyrone and the Upper Bann also saw substantial increases.

North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds said his constituency was more stable now than in the past and added many migrants may be moving to await new developments on the site of demolished housing.

"Compared to the 1980`s and 1990`s the situation is more stable now and that`s down to the fact that there`s been less trouble," he said.

"It takes time for people to move back into areas after they are redeveloped and I know parts of the Shore Road have been particularly affected by this.

"I would be confident that things are pretty stable in the long run."

Other findings in the report include:

:: The number of people living in Northern Ireland is estimated to have increased by nearly 15,000 people.

:: Population growth from migration at 6700 people is the highest ever seen.

The number of people living in Northern Ireland is 1.725 million.

The hike was linked in the report to a natural increase of 8000 people through birth and death, as well as people coming from Great Britain and outside the UK.

A total of 13,600 people are estimated to have come from outside the UK, with many foreign migrants working in the service and manufacturing industry.

A NISRA spokesman said: "These figures illustrate the significant increase in the Northern Ireland population over the last year.

"In particular, since the enlargement of the European Union in May 2004 significant migration to Northern Ireland from Eastern European countries has occurred."

The working age population increased by 1.1% while the number of pensioners rose by 1.6%. The number of children declined by 0.6%.

West Belfast had the highest proportion of children and east Belfast the largest proportion of pensioners.

Alliance Party.org

Alliance Vice Chair, Michael Long
Mon 24th Jul 2006

Alliance Party Vice Chair, Cllr Michael Long, has slammed loyalists thugs who are allegedly carrying out extortion rackets on building contractors in North and West Belfast. Cllr Long has stated that the government should be careful about providing loyalists with the £30 million mentioned in the media in previous weeks.

The Castlereagh Councillor stated: "It seems that every week a new story about loyalist thugs and their continuing criminality emerges.

"This week we learn that loyalist racketeering is destroying the economy of North and West Belfast. Builders are allegedly being deterred from working on property developments in these areas, therefore the areas are suffering greatly.

"These thugs have no regard for their country and are hell-bent on destroying the economy in their locality.

"Many people in North and West Belfast live in a climate of fear because of the aggression and intimidation of these so-called community representatives. If that is not bad enough, these individuals also want to destroy the chance that their area has to regenerate, by allegedly driving out building contractors.

"The government should be providing funding to create jobs in North and West Belfast instead of giving loyalists a pension fund.

"The fact that these same loyalists put out the begging bowl and demand £30 million from the government to retire from crime, is a sick joke.

"Criminality and sectarianism should never be rewarded by pay-offs from government. They are robbing everyone else and now they are trying to con the government into providing their pension fund."

IFAW

**I am always suspicious of any charity, no matter which one, because too many times the money raised through media campaigns goes into admin costs or 'worse' rather than to the objects it is intended for. I received an email from IFAW and am including it here for general information. I know that with the war going on as it is and people getting slaughtered right and left that many of you might think that asking for help for animals is not relevant, but that is not my feeling. If anyone has any firsthand knowledge of IFAW as regards their sincerity, I would appreciate some feedback. Thanks.

International Fund for Animal Welfare
July 21, 2006

At this very moment, brave men and women are risking their lives to help feed and transport hundreds of dogs and cats trapped in animal shelters being destroyed by the bombing in Lebanon.

>>Can you please help them?

Since its beginning, Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (BETA) has been at the forefront of the battle to ensure animals are respected and cared for in Lebanon. BETA has rescued over 500 stray and abused cats and dogs, founded Lebanon's first cat and dog shelters, and spayed/neutered almost half of its rescued animals.

But BETA's three separate shelters, which care for more than 130 dogs and 100 cats, are in constant danger. The dog shelter is located on the border of Dahye, a suburb where many of the attacks are taking place, and trips to the cat shelters take brave volunteers through a large part of Beirut. Just a few nights ago, a bomb fell 400 meters from the shelter, leaving many of the dogs visibly suffering due to the ongoing noise and near destruction.

Help us raise the funds needed to move these pets to safety

The necessary goods to care for these animals are becoming more difficult to find, and what is available is now becoming more expensive due to their scarcity. Because of a severe shortage of medication, the medication needed for these dogs and cats is becoming extremely costly.

BETA plans to take on the extremely dangerous task of moving the animals trapped in the shelters to an old farm in a safer area. But small constructions around the farm are also needed to fix the fencing, barns and doors, as well as to purchase several small generators.

The U.N. has said at least a half-million people have been displaced in Lebanon. Many if not all of the evacuees are being told they cannot take their pets with them. We already know from Katrina the additional tragedy such a situation can cause for those who have already lost everything. BETA is taking on as many abandoned pets as they possibly can but the situation promises to get much worse as the war continues.

BETA and the animals in its care urgently need your help. ( >>Donation site ) With the country shut down, all of BETA's in-country fundraising projects have come to a stop. IFAW is preparing a financial grant up to $20,000 to help transport the animals, pay for food, medication and shelter. But I need your help to make this incredible effort possible.

Let's make sure these brave individuals are not risking their lives for these animals in vain.

Thanks for all you do,

Fred O'Regan
President and CEO

P.S. BETA already faced financial challenges to sustain current sheltered animals and rescue new ones in need before the war. Now these abandoned dogs and cats need us more than ever. Please give what you can now.

Newshound

Posted via group email by >>'Artybhoy'

(by Suzanne Breen, Sunday Tribune)

The bulk of the South Derry brigade of the Provisional IRA has broken away from the organisation because of its disillusionment with the leadership, republican sources have told the Sunday Tribune.

It's the most serious division in republican ranks since the split which led to the formation of the Real IRA in 1997.

Sources close to the men who left said they were committed to the 'tactical use of armed struggle' and planned to carry out intermittent attacks on the security forces.

They said the men did not want to join either the Real or Continuity IRA but would collaborate with both groups. It is understood they also want to hold discussions with the INLA.

"They don't want to amalgamate with any other organisation but they want to work with other republicans and build an anti-Good Friday Agreement front," the source said.

The source claimed the men were "completely disillusioned" with the stance of the Sinn Féin and IRA leadership on a range of issues, but particularly on policing.

The 25 men, compromising almost the entire brigade, resigned from the Provisionals within recent weeks. The source alleged the men had weapons but would not disclose any details. He said the defectors included seasoned activists in their 30s and 40s, and men in their 20s who joined the IRA after the ceasefire.

Another source close to the men accused the Adams-McGuinness leadership of abandoning the last vestige of traditional republicanism by wanting to sign up to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The brigade saw this as "yet another ideological u-turn". They had grown increasingly unhappy with various political compromises and policy shifts over the years, he said.

Last year, around 20 IRA members resigned in north Belfast amidst disillusionment with the leadership but they walked away from all military and political involvement.

The biggest threat to the peace process occurred in 1997, when senior IRA members, led by the quarter-master general, Mickey McKevitt, resigned from the Provisionals and formed the Real IRA.

They were supported by units in the Republic and the bulk of the IRA's First Battalion in South Armagh. The Real IRA went on to carry out an armed campaign, bombing commercial and security targets across the North and in Britain.

In recent years, the intelligence services have had remarkable success against dissident republicans through high-tech surveillance and informers.

While the security forces will be concerned about the latest developments, the threat from the South Derry men is substantially less than that following the 1997 split.

The latest dissidents will be operating within a limited geographical area. Earlier this month, a nail bomb, complete with command wire, was found in Bellaghy, Co Derry. The police said the device could have "caused death or serious injury" and described it as a "sinister" development.

July 24, 2006
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This article appeared in the July 23, 2006 edition of the Sunday Tribune.