The Special Criminal Court has ruled for the first time on the use of new laws which were brought in last year to tackle gangland crime.

A Belfast man died from a single gunshot wound to the head fired at close range, a murder trial at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin heard today.

The non-jury Special Criminal Court in Dublin has asked for permission to hear evidence in Northern Ireland in the trial of a Belfast man accused of shooting dead a man in the city last year.

The Special Criminal Court has set a date for the trial of a man accused of murdering another man in Belfast last year.