Zoo Goes All Kissie! Kissie!

Belfast Zoo visitors looking for a way to please their loved one this Valentine's Day can enter the Zoo's 'woo at the zoo' competition. By purchasing an animal adoption for a loved one and by answering a simple question, they will be automatically entered into a prize draw for the chance to feed the giraffes on Sunday 13 February. To be in with the chance of winning, Zoo lovers should follow three simple steps: Choose the animal to adopt, the level of adoption (at either bronze, silver or gold) and then answer the following animal question: Question: Red Titi monkeys mate for life. What do they do with their tails when they are 'in love'? Phone 028 9078 2085 or email: adoption@belfastzoo.co.uk

Further Bomb Scare

A further security alert is under way in north Belfast with Army bomb officers called to examine a suspicious object at Cavehill Road near its junction with Madison Avenue on Thursday. Part of the Cavehill Road has been cordoned off as the alert continues. Earlier, the police and army bomb experts were investigating reports of a suspect device in Newtownabbey after an object was discovered on the Reahill Road on Thursday at 12.30pm. The road was closed and a police spokewoman said they were dealing with a "possible pipe bomb".

Belfast On Alert - Again

The latest in a series of security alerts in north Belfast this morning followed the discovery of a suspicious object in the New Lodge area. A number of houses were evacuated in Stratheden Street. The object was discovered shortly before 7am on Thursday and the police attended the scene of the alert and have since declared it to be a viable device. A controlled explosion was then carried out and the device was taken away for examination. Residents are expected to be allowed back to their homes soon. It is the second time a device has been left in the area in recent months.

Radio Ulster Is Tops

BBC Radio Ulster remains the most listened to radio station in Northern Ireland with an average weekly audience of 524,000 listeners tuning in each week - according to the latest RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research Ltd) figures for Quarter 4, 2010. These latest RAJAR figures show an increase of 26,000 listeners year on year (with 498,000 listeners in Quarter 4, 2009) and an increase of 17,000 listeners to the station quarter on quarter (with 507,000 listeners in Quarter 3, 2010). BBC Radio Foyle, meanwhile, has an average weekly audience of 28,000 listeners. This is consistent with the same period last year (with 28,000 listeners in Quarter 4, 2009) and down 4,000 listeners compared to the last quarter (with 32,000 listeners in Quarter 3, 2010).

Corporation Tax Tackled

DUP MP for South Antrim, Dr William McCrea has pressed the Prime Minister on his plans to reform the Corporation Tax rate in Northern Ireland. During the election campaign David Cameron made public comments about reform and Dr McCrea asked David Cameron about current plans at Prime Minister's Question Time on Wednesday. "Our part of the UK is being put at competitive disadvantage by our neighbours in the Republic of Ireland enjoying a substantially lower rate. I urge the Prime Minister to make good his word on Corporation Tax. It's time to deliver on their contract with the people," said the MP. See: UK Urged To Fund Infrastructure

Tobacco In Focus

The Stormont Health Minister Michael McGimpsey has launched a public consultation on a new tobacco control strategy. The 10-year strategy aims to reduce the numbers of people in Northern Ireland taking up smoking, to encourage more smokers to quit and to afford greater protection for the whole population from tobacco-related harm. "Smoking remains the single greatest cause of preventable illness and premature death in Northern Ireland and is the leading cause of health inequalities in our society. I believe that the new strategy along with other legislative measures I have proposed, will undoubtedly help to further reduce prevalence rates and prevent people from taking up the smoking habit," he said, yesterday.

Ulster Probes Mental Health

University of Ulster researchers revealed fresh evidence of the depth of NI's mental health problems at the official launch of a major research initiative at Magee campus. With depression already recognised as the most common reason for visits to GPs here, a study by the new Bamford Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing found rates of mental health disorders were among the highest in a survey of 17 regions and countries. It also reported a wide disparity in how long it takes people to seek professional help. Professor Brendan Bunting, Centre Director, warned that people with anxiety issues often suffer in silence too long, some delaying more than 20 years before seeking help. The Centre, which was officially launched by Professor Norman Black, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), University of Ulster, opened a new chapter in Ulster's internationally recognised research into mental health.

Iris Fined Over Crash

The one-time DUP MP Iris Robinson has been fined for causing a roadaccident in east Belfast. The wife of Stormont First Minister and Democratic Unionist leader Peter Robinson was handed a £200 fine and three penalty points after admitting driving without due care and attention. It happened just over two months before the MP found herself embroiled in controversy after it emerged she was alleged to have helped her teenage lover secure a business contract in her own council area. She has since been receiving medical treatment for depression and withdrawn from public life and has only returned to NI in the last few months after treatment in a London clinic.

Women Supported

The NI Education Minister, Caitríona Ruane, has officially opened the south Belfast Village Sure Start Centre. The Minister said: "I have enjoyed the opportunity to see the good work that is carried out by the Village Sure Start Centre and the Women's Windsor Centre. I have been impressed by what I have seen and heard and how hard everyone has worked together over the years to get to this stage. This is a great example of women empowering women."

(BMcC/GK)