A wrap of some of the day's other news.
Number of NI patients with MRSA falls
The number of patients who contracted MRSA in Northern Ireland has fallen for the first time in four years, according to a report published yesterday.
Hospitals in the north have recorded a 21 per cent drop in cases of the superbug compared with 12 months ago. But experts have warned against complacency in the fight against MRSA, which claimed 44 lives in 2004.
Dr Brian Smyth, director of the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre Northern Ireland, said it remained a challenging task to sustain the downward trend over future years, "and this must now form the focus of ongoing work."
Consultant microbiologist Dr Tim Wyatt said the downturn in MRSA cases in the latest research was due to new infection control measures within all hospitals. - (PA)
Republicans arrested in North
PSNI detectives investigating the activities of dissident republicans in Strabane, Co Tyrone, were yesterday evening still questioning four men. The arrests took place at a number of houses in the Head of the Town area yesterday morning. A spokesman said a number of items found in the searched houses were taken away for forensic examination.
Tenant locked in flat gets €6,000
A landlord who locked a woman tenant in her flat in a dispute over rent was yesterday ordered to pay her €6,000 in compensation.
Justin Malone (43), Palmerston Gardens, Rathmines, Dublin pleaded guilty to falsely imprisoning the woman in Rathmines on July 22nd, 2004.
Dublin District Court heard there was a dispute over rent payments and Mr Malone walked out of the flat and locked it from the outside. The woman was unable to leave for a couple of hours.
Cocaine worth €210,000 seized
Gardaí yesterday seized cocaine with an estimated market value of €210,000 during a planned search of a house in Lucan, Co Dublin.
A total of 3 kgs of cocaine were found in the house when officers from the Garda National Drugs Unit searched it following a surveillance operation.
Two people were arrested, a 25- year-old man and a 24-year- old woman. Both were detained at Clondalkin Garda station.
Interpol to help find rape accused
Interpol has been drafted in to help gardaí in their hunt for a Limerick rape accused who has been on the run for almost 10 days. The 42-year-old, who is due before the Central Criminal Court next month on a rape charge, escaped from Garda custody on September 21st during a court appearance in Co Limerick.
It is feared the prisoner may have made his way to England where he has spent some time in the past.
Archbishop to be honoured
The Church of Ireland primate Archbishop Robin Eames is to be awarded two honorary degrees by prestigious theological colleges in the US. Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and the Virginia Theological Seminary, Washington DC, will each confer the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity on him.
In each case the citation refers to the Archbishop's "outstanding leadership and contribution to the life of the Anglican Communion."