Discussions are under way about transforming the Boucher Road area of south Belfast into a sporting village.
Read more here: Sporting village plan for Belfast
Category : Business
Category : Business, World News
The last working linen factory in Belfast – a city once famous across the world for producing and exporting the textile – is set to close.
Read more: Last Belfast linen factory shuts
Son of Belfast electrician Stephen McFaul says he will never let father return to Algeria after he was held captive by militants
The family of an Irishman held captive by militants at a gas facility in Algeria have spoken of their joy after he was freed on Thursday, with his teenage son saying he would give him a “big hug” and not let go.
Stephen McFaul, 36, from west Belfast, contacted his wife, Angela, at about 3pm to confirm he was no longer being held captive, Donna McBride, his sister, said.
“We are absolutely delighted that he is free and is unharmed,” she said, adding that her brother was currently being debriefed by officials in Algeria.
His 13-year-old son Dylan said: “I feel over the moon, just really excited. I just can’t wait for him to get home. I just can’t wait, I’ll never let him go back there.”
Asked on Northern Irish television channel UTV what was the first thing he would do when his father got home, Dylan replied: “Give him a big hug and I won’t let go.”
McFaul, who has two children, works as a supervising electrician at the natural gas pumping station stormed by Islamist gunmen on Wednesday. When McFaul realised the raid was taking place he hid in the living quarters of the facility, staying in touch with his brother Brian by mobile phone and text. After the gunmen found him, he was allowed to make a final call to his family.
His family then had an increasingly tense wait for his family, who received conflicting news reports but no clear idea of whether he was alive. Only when he called home on Thursday afternoon were they able to relax.
McBride said: “He’s a very kind person. He would do a lot for anybody, he would do anything for anyone. I can imagine out there he has probably done everything in his power to make sure everybody is safe. It is just a pity that some people have lost their lives.”
McFaul’s father, Christopher, told UTV it had been “a tough 48 hours but we’ve come through it. We’re a strong family. It’s been hard – I’ve tried to put a brave face on it.”
He said his son was easygoing, happy go lucky and took everything in his stride. He added that he felt sorry for the other hostages and their families.
His wife, Marie, said she was “delighted, thrilled to bits” that their son was safe. “We’re very happy – over the moon.”
Ireland’s taoiseach, Enda Kenny, said he was relieved to hear McFaul was safe and well.
“I believe he has already spoken to his family in Belfast and I wish him a safe return home to his loved ones,” he said. “I would like to pay tribute to all those who have been involved in the effort to resolve this crisis and my thoughts are with the other oilfield workers and their families who have found themselves at the centre of this traumatic situation.”
McFaul is a former pupil of De La Salle College in west Belfast where Dylan is a year-nine pupil.
Acting principal, Fiona Kane, acting principal, said: “We were very concerned and we were rallying round to support the family; that is very much part of our ethos. Dylan was in this morning to tell his form teacher and he’ll be back in school on Monday. I think the family are taking tomorrow to celebrate.”
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LONDON
The Ginger Pig
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Branches in Hackney, Borough, Shepherd’s Bush, Waterloo and Marylebone; thegingerpig.co.uk
East London Steak Company
Choose your own steaks and know exactly which cow they came from. Delivery within 24 hrs for London.
27-29 Fowler Road, Hainault, Essex, IG6 3UT; 020 7060 5328, eastlondonsteak.co.uk
SOUTH & WEST
Riverford Online
Their huge range of fruit and veg boxes, as well as organic meat, are the main draw but there’s plenty more on offer at the Devon farm.
Wash Farm, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0JU; 01803 762 059, riverford.co.uk
Papadeli
Everything you want from a well-stocked deli plus cookery classes to make the best of your order.
84 Alma Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2DJ; 0117 973 6569, papadeli.co.uk
MIDLANDS
Westin Gourmet
This extensive online butchers is exceptional value for money, with a
Category : World News
Cash-strapped Irish League Football club Newry City FC is wound up at a High Court hearing in Belfast.
See the rest here: Newry City wound up in High Court
A notorious Belfast prison that held IRA inmates during the worst of the city’s sectarian troubles is to be transformed into a whiskey distillery.
Here is the original post: VIDEO: From prison to Belfast distillery
Category : Business
George Best Belfast City Airport’s chief executive says he hopes that by next week another airline will take the place of BMI Baby, which stops flying from the airport in June.
Read this article: Airport hopes to replace BMI Baby
Loss-making airline which employs 470 staff is to be grounded this September
Bmibaby, which employs 470 staff, is to close this September after no buyer was found for the loss-making airline.
All flights from its Belfast base will cease in mid-June, with many services from East Midlands and Birmingham axed at the same time.
British Airways’ parent company IAG acquired bmibaby and bmi regional when its purchase of bmi mainline from Lufthansa was cleared last month. IAG has made clear that the low-cost and regional subsidiaries were not part of its plans. The takeover could ultimately lead to 2,000 job losses across the bmi group, although IAG boss Willie Walsh has insisted that the deal was preserving many jobs that would otherwise have been lost.
IAG, which has begun consultations with trade unions on future options for bmibaby, said there had been progress with a potential buyer for bmi regional. Peter Simpson, bmi interim managing director, said: “We recognise that these are unsettling times for bmibaby employees, who have worked tirelessly during a long period of uncertainty.
“bmibaby has delivered high levels of operational performance and customer service, but has continued to struggle financially, losing more than £100m in the last four years. In the consultation process, we will need to be realistic about our options.”
To help stem losses as quickly as possible and as a preliminary measure, we will be making reductions to bmibaby’s flying programme from June. We sincerely apologise to all customers affected and will be providing full refunds and doing all we can with other airlines to mitigate the impact of these changes.”
Bmibaby flights to and from Belfast will end on 11 June, along with services from East Midlands to Amsterdam, Paris, Geneva, Nice, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newquay, and from Birmingham to Knock and Amsterdam.
The airline said customers could still book summer holiday flights from East Midlands and Birmingham. Bmi mainline services from Belfast to London will continue.