Man remanded over murder charge

A man appeared before magistrates on Wednesday charged with the murder of an Army sergeant 18 years ago, police said.

Sergeant Michael Newman, 34, was shot in the head as he walked from an Army careers office to his car in Derby in April 1992.
The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) was believed to be responsible for the killing.

In 2004 Joseph Magee was jailed for 25 years after pleading guilty to Sgt Newman's murder on the ...

Riots have broken out in Londonderry after it was revealed Bernadette Devlin had been arrested. The Mid-Ulster MP was to address a meeting in Bogside before handing herself in to police after she lost an appeal against her December conviction. Miss Devlin, 23, was sentenced to six-months in jail for her part in the Bogside riots in 1969. She appealed against the decision but the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal rejected her application earlier today. Speaking just before her arrest Miss Devlin said: "I was involved with people in defending their area. They were justified in defending themselves and I believe I was justified in assisting their defence." ...

Police believe a fire in Keady, County Armagh, at the weekend was an attempt to lure officers into the area and is linked to an ongoing bomb alert. A number of families have been moved from their homes after a suspect object was found on the town's Castleblayney Road on Tuesday. Just after midnight on Sunday a section of fencing in the area was set alight before being put out by firefighters. Police have appealed for information about both incidents. Six houses have been evacuated after a beer keg which had wires attached to it was found by a member of the ...

Hundreds of people have been forced to leave their homes in an overnight bomb alert at a police station in County Tyrone. Army bomb experts are examining a white van which was abandoned outside Aughnacloy PSNI station at Dungannon Road on Thursday at 2210 BST. Police said about 350 people were asked to leave their homes and spent the night in three halls. Some roads around the village remain cordoned off in the security operation. The main street in Aughnacloy is now partially open and the A5 is accessible, however the main Aughnacloy to Dungannon road is closed. ...

The Bloody Sunday killings were unjustified and unjustifiable, the Prime Minster has said. Thirteen marchers were shot dead on 30 January 1972 in Londonderry when British paratroopers opened fire on crowds at a civil rights demonstration. Fourteen others were wounded, one later died. The Saville Report is heavily critical of the Army and found that soldiers fired the first shot. Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "deeply sorry". He said that the findings of the Saville Report were "shocking". A huge cheer erupted in Guildhall Square in Derry as Mr Cameron delivered the findings which unequivocally blamed the Army for one of the most controversial days in Northern Ireland's history. ...

A report claiming the Bloody Sunday Inquiry will conclude some of the fatal shootings were unlawful is "speculation", the government has said.
Thirteen people were shot dead by paratroops in Londonderry on 30 January 1972. A 14th person died later. The Guardian says Lord Saville's report - which has taken 12 years to compile and is due to be published on Tuesday - will say some were unlawfully killed. The government said such speculation added to the stress of those involved. A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Office said: "The report will be published in a few days and everyone can read it then. ...

DAVID Cameron has ordered plans to be drawn up to ensure better care for ex-troops traumatised by war. A proposed service would track down veterans plagued by mental health issues. And a lifelong screening process would catch those with problems as they leave the Forces. The decision is a long-fought victory to get more help for troubled troops. Charities have warned of a ticking timebomb as tens of thousands of servicemen and women struggle with tours of Iraq and Afghanistan. ...

Groups representing police officers in England said they are concerned that their officers could be deployed in Northern Ireland if trouble flares up during the summer.
Police officers from Yorkshire, Northumbria and Strathclyde will take part in training programmes in NI over the next few months.
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The official wing of the IRA in Northern Ireland has announced a ceasefire, reserving the right of self-defence against attacks by the British Army and sectarian groups.
However the Provisional IRA dismissed the truce as having "little effect" on the situation.
The Northern Ireland Secretary, William Whitelaw, welcomed the move and a spokesperson said it was "a step in the right direction".
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A CRACK shot saved his Brit commander from two Taliban gunmen by shooting them dead from a world record MILE and a HALF away.

Hero sniper Craig Harrison, 35, nailed the killers with a rifle bullet each as the pair manned a machine gun - then for good measure let rip a third shot that took out their weapon.

His marksmanship was all the more amazing because the enemy were firing on his trapped troop leader from 3,000ft BEYOND his rifle's effective range.
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Alcohol misuse is a problem among UK troops who have been in Afghanistan and Iraq, but serious mental disorders are not as common as feared, a study says.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) rates are low despite many deployments in foreign combat zones, a study in The Lancet based on 10,000 personnel found. They are significantly lower than those reported among US troops, it adds. The King's College research, funded by the MoD, said more emphasis should be placed on drinking problems than PTSD. ...

A dissident republican group says a device found at a leisure centre in Londonderry on Monday had been left by the organisation five days ago. Police said they searched Templemore sports complex last Thursday - when the centre was used for an election count - after a coded warning about a bomb. But they said the original information was misleading. They said the device, hidden in the ceiling of toilets, did not contain a detonator and could not have exploded. ...

Two people have been injured in a car bomb explosion outside a police station in Newtownhamilton, County Armagh. The explosion happened at about 2325 BST. Police were told in a call to a Belfast hospital about an hour earlier that a vehicle had been abandoned. Officers were en route to the station, which is staffed on a part-time basis, when the explosion happened. The two people's injuries are not life-threatening. Shots are reported to have been fired before the explosion. The two people who were treated in hospital - a man and an elderly woman - are said to have been left "extremely shaken". ...

Police in Londonderry are investigating reports of an explosion outside a house at Dunmore Gardens in the Creggan area. A PSNI spokesperson said the blast was reported shortly before midnight on Tuesday. The area has been cordoned off while a forensic examination of the scene is carried out. There are no reports of anyone being injured. Police would like anyone who was in the area around midnight to contact them. One local resident said she was "disgusted" at the attack. "I'm rearing a wee child, and my granny is an elderly lady a...

A car bomb has exploded near an Army base in Holywood, County Down, forcing the evacuation of several homes. The blast seems to have been timed to coincide with the precise moment that policing and justice powers devolved from Westminster to Stormont. It happened at about 0020 BST outside Palace Barracks, where MI5 has its NI headquarters. A warning was given. The Real IRA has admitted the attack. An elderly man was treated in hospital for minor injuries. The bomb was placed in a taxi, which was hijacked in the Ligoniel area of north Belfast, about seven miles from Holywood, at about 2150 BST. ...