Londonderry grenade attack: Children were near device

The PSNI area commander in Londonderry has said two children under the age of 10 were nearby when a military grenade was thrown at officers in the city. It happened as police were dealing with a security alert in the Southway area of Creggan on Monday afternoon. Chief Superintendent Stephen Martin said the "viable" device landed at one police officer's feet but did not explode. He said it was "sheer good fortune" that no-one was hurt or killed. "There were four officers in fairly close proximity to the attack," he said. "I have absolutely no doubt that the person who threw this believed it would detonate and if it had detonated I would be talking this morning about seriously injured or killed police officers and young children." Several homes were evacuated in Monday's alert and Army bomb experts were called to the scene to examine a suspicious object. ...

First Minister to meet Paterson after MoD refuse city parade

The First Minister will hold an urgent meeting with the Secretary of State to discuss the MoD’s refusal to hold a Belfast homecoming parade for troops returning from Afghanistan.
Peter Robinson demanded the meeting in a telephone conversation with Owen Paterson in a bid to have the controversial decision overturned.
“This outrageous decision has been made by the MoD in London without any consultation either with the local administration or local representatives,” the DUP leader said.
“The decision is unacceptable and we will be seeking a review of the decision otherwise the impression will be given that dissident republicans can dictate where our soldiers are able to parade.”

The Royal Irish Regiment will be taking part in an annual service of Thanksgiving at St Anne’s Cathedral on May 22.
However, petitions calling for a full military parade to go ahead have been organised.
...

Tucked away for almost 40 years in a steel-lined room at police HQ, an envelope held the key to eventually solving Alfredo Fusco’s 1973 murder. Inside that envelope, reference FP7/4, was a white card with fingerprints belonging to Mr Fusco’s killer obtained at the time from the crime scene. The prints of a palm, left forefinger and a left thumb, were taken from a door to a store where Mr Fusco had tried to escape. The prints were lifted on to sellotape and put onto a card. But in 1973 fingerprint technology was much less sophisticated than today. Then it was a manual process of comparing a crime scene print with a fingerprint. The only way investigations would have proceeded on fingerprint evidence was on the basis of comparing the prints with a suspect or suspects. Up until 2009, when the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) reviewed the case, Clarke was never a suspect. His fingerprints were not even on file until he murdered Margaret O’Neill (58) two years after killing Mr Fusco. ...

The children's commissioner in NI is investigating photographs of young children dressed as republican paramilitaries.
Patricia Lewsley described the photographs as "deeply worrying". In them, children are seen wearing balaclavas, combat clothes and berets while holding replica weapons, including AK47s and Armalites. The images were taken six months ago at an event at the Ti Chulainn cultural centre, south Armagh. The centre in Mullaghbawn has received significant EU funding in recent years. Ms Lewsley said: "I will be contacting the Ti Chulainn Centre, the Special EU Programmes Body and the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister for an explanation. "Parents and responsible adults must protect children and young people, parents and responsible adults must keep them safe. "My job is to hold Government and organisations to account over their actions," she said. "The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the Government has signed, states there is a clear duty to protect children from getting into vulnerable situations such as this." ...

Demands for a homecoming parade in Belfast to recognise soldiers returning from Afghanistan are intensifying.
The City Council is expected to hold a meeting next week to propose inviting the Ministry of Defence to stage an event for the Royal Irish Regiment and Irish Guards who return from Helmand province in the coming weeks.

The motion will be proposed by Ian Crozier, chairman of Belfast City Council’s policy and resources committee. “The people of Northern Ireland want to see a homecoming parade in their capital city, there is no doubt about that,” he said.
“Defence Secretary Liam Fox has made clear his support for a parade in Belfast, but in recent days some ambiguity has emerged about what needs to happen so that a parade is actually organised.
...

Tributes have been paid to a Royal Irish Regiment soldier from Banbridge who was killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday. L/Cpl Stephen McKee, 27, was taking part in an operation in Helmand province when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb. His wife Carley said he was a hero and the best husband anyone could have. The Ministry of Defence said he was a "fine soldier, trustworthy and courageous". Tributes have also been paid by NI First Minister Peter Robinson, Danny Kennedy MLA, who is a friend of the McKee family and the Orange Order, of which L/Cpl McKee was a member. As well as his wife, he leaves behind parents Heather and Bobby, brothers Michael, Gareth and Robert and sisters Kelly and Rebecca. His two-day-old daughter passed away last year. The dead soldier's brothers, father-in-law and cousin have all served with the Royal Irish Regiment. ...

From the Belfast Telegraph.

Healing Through Remembering director Kate Turner spoke with a banner at her side - and on it the words: Whatever you say, say something.

On its own, that short sentence says a lot about the distance we have travelled; a considerable distance from the words that once cautioned: Whatever you say, say nothing.
The Police Ombudsman Al Hutchinson was in the audience, as was Alan McBride, who lost his wife and father-in-law in the IRA bomb on the Shankill Road in 1993.
This event, in my hometown of Holywood, was organised by the Sanctus Boscus Reconciliation Group, and I had been asked to say a few words at the end of the talk by Ms Turner.
...

A Northern Ireland Veteran is planning to trek to Mount Everest basecamp in aid of Help for Heroes.

"Shaun the Sherpa" who lost his son Phillip in Afghanistan has undertaken the challenge to raise money for the charity who provide help and support for wounded members of our armed forces and their families when they need it most.
...

A former soldier who served with the Royal Irish Regiment is selling his Military Cross on auction website eBay.
Ranger Alan Owens was awarded the prestigious honour for work in Afghanistan, developing “a level of empathy with the local population which no amount of fighting could establish”.
Mr Owens, from Portadown, Co Armagh, was presented with the Military Cross in March 2009.
But it, along with other military memorabilia is listed for sale on eBay under the title “real British military cross medal”.

...

The Northern Ireland civil rights campaigner and former Westminster MP, Bernadette McAliskey, has been shot by gunmen who burst into her home at Coalisland in County Tyrone. The three men shot Mrs McAliskey, formerly known as Bernadette Devlin, in the chest, arm and thigh as she went to wake up one of her three children. Her husband, Michael, was also shot twice at point blank range. Three men are now being questioned by police. They were arrested by members of the Parachute Regiment, who were on patrol nearby when they heard the shots. The McAliskeys were flown by army helicopter to hospital in Belfast, where their condition is said to be serious, but not life-threatening. ...