The British government's Northern Ireland Office is to get two new junior ministers under Prime Minister Tony Blair's Cabinet reshuffle.

Plans to close George Best’s old school will wipe out part of the soccer legend’s past, it was claimed today.

Mobile phone companies must move faster to end accidental roaming which is leaving customers with hefty bills, it was warned today.

A former senior executive with Anglian Water has taken over as the North’s new energy regulator, it was confirmed today.

Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey has welcomed the announcement by the EU Commission of a proposed regulation designed to tackle cross-border roaming charges.

Small businesses are under threat and jobs will be lost if postal services in Belfast are crippled by a second strike, it was claimed tonight.

VIRIDIAN, the Northern Ireland-based energy group with substantial operations in the Republic, has welcomed the publication of a bill in the British Parliament that should help create a single energy market for the island of Ireland.

Mobile phone giant O2 was tonight facing demands from the British and Irish governments to axe roaming charges for Northern Ireland customers.

The Democratic Unionist Party has expressed fresh fury with the British government's acceptance of IRA decommissioning.

Royal Mail tonight confirmed it was unable to accept any Special Deliveries due to the wildcat postal strike which has all but crippled services in Belfast.

Three convicted sex offenders are working in schools in Northern Ireland, the British government admitted today.

The British government today signalled its plans to give the green light for the construction of cross-border gas pipeline.

Research into the next generation of “green” electricity generation is to be carried out in the North, it was announced today.

Nearly £10m (€14.7m) is being invested in further education in north Down, it was announced today.

THE North’s unemployment rate showed another downward drop to a new all-time low yesterday.

Planned legislation will cut down on red tape for businesses in the North, it was announced today.

Mobile phone companies have been given three months to come up with a solution to the problem of users in border areas being caught for unexpected roaming charges, it was announced today.

The island of Ireland is at the forefront of the European debate on the development of sustainable energy, ministers from both sides of the border claimed today.

Unemployment in the North edged up fractionally during the last three months, according to figures released by the British government today.

Another three air routes from Belfast open today with two more tomorrow.

THE North’s technology infrastructure received a major boost yesterday with the opening of a €9m engineering research centre at FG Wilson in Larne.

The North’s technology infrastructure received a major boost today with the opening of a £6m (€9m) engineering research centre at FG Wilson in Larne.

A NEW £200 million gas-fired power station built by the ESB in Northern Ireland will help hold down electricity prices, according to the energy regulator.

The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey, and his Northern Ireland counterpart, Angela Smith met today in Limavady and reaffirmed their commitment to the All-Island Energy Market and the importance of the Single Electricity Market (SEM).

JERRY DESMOND, Chief Executive of the Irish Coursing Club, was awarded a prestigious ‘Lifetime Commitment’ award by Irish Country Sports and Country Life (ICS&CL) magazine, at an awards ceremony in Shane’s Castle, Co. Antrim, recently.

Unemployment rates in the North have risen over the last three months, it emerged today.

The first ever non-stop scheduled air service between New York and Belfast touched down today.

SINN FÉIN president Gerry Adams said threats to burn the family of murdered Belfast father of two Robert McCartney out of their homes did not come from his party.

Sinn Féin and the IRA were under renewed pressure tonight following threats to burn down the homes of the family of murdered Belfast father-of-two Robert McCartney.

Threats to burn the family of murdered Belfast father of two Robert McCartney out of their homes were branded “beneath contempt” today.

Children need to take control of their own road safety and not rely on adults, according to a new cross border road safety campaign launched today.

People in the North have just one month to say if they support a ban on public smoking, they were told today.

The hare is safe in the North for another few months after the High Court in Belfast today upheld a effective British government ban on coursing.

A public inquiry into the sudden deaths of three children after routine treatment in hospitals in the North is opening today.

An overwhelming number of children in Northern Ireland support a ban on smoking, a new report revealed today.

A businessman whose tractors ripped up an internationally-protected nature reserve declared tonight: “I’ve done nothing wrong.”

A MILLION-euro counterfeit veterinary drug operation on both sides of the Border has been dismantled, it emerged yesterday.

The British government has revealed that it is considering introducing a workplace smoking ban in the North identical to the one introduced in the Republic earlier this year.

The threat to the future of the Northern Ireland Events Company has been lifted, it was revealed today.

The British government is expected to make its final decision on the draft budget for the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure next month.

Dan Buckley

A Northern Ireland Office minister was today urged to help speed up a decision on whether a cross-border dental and facial treatment service will be given the go-ahead in the North.

Government departments in Northern Ireland are to become no smoking zones from next year.