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11/02/2015
Other News In Brief
Woman's Car Hijacked In South Belfast
A woman has been forced from her car during an armed hijacking in south Belfast.
Police said the incident happened in the Strangford Avenue area of Balmoral at around 7.30pm on Tuesday (10 February).
The woman, aged in her 40s, was in her car when a man approached the vehicle. He was carrying a knife and he threatened her, forcing her from the car. The man then got into the vehicle – a white-coloured Seat Leon – and he drove off. It was later found abandoned on the Monagh Bypass, in the west of the city, a short time later.
The woman was not injured but left shaken by the incident.
Police have said the suspect is described as being aged in his mid-20s, approximately 5'6" tall and of thin to medium build. He was wearing a grey hooded top with the hood pulled over his head.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police.
Tribunal Rules Obesity 'Is A Disability'
An employment tribunal in Northern Ireland has ruled that obesity can be considered a disability in the workplace.
The ruling, which is the first of its kind in the region, means that individuals who suffer abuse in the workplace, on grounds related to their obesity, can challenge their employer – and abuser – in a tribunal.
This case was brought by a former employee of Randox Laboratories. The man, whose identity has not been revealed, claimed he had been discriminated against because of his weight. For more than four years, he said he was harassed by a number of fellow workers.
According to reports, judges in the case noted that obesity in itself was not a disability; however, if a person had a long-term impairment due to their obesity, then they would be protected by disability legislation.
The union Unite welcomed the ruling, and said obesity can now be considered a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
Concerns Raised Over Prison Service Understaffing
More than 800 staff have left the Prison Service since 2010, however less than half of that number have been recruited, it has been revealed.
The figures have been described as concerning by Justice Committee Chairman Alastair Ross.
The DUP MLA added that recent incidents at Maghaberry Prison, where prisoners staged a protest earlier this month, "demonstrates the need for more staffing.
He said: "Concerns have been raised for some time over staffing levels within the Prison Service. These concerns were raised about both HMP Maghaberry and HMP Hydebank yet nothing has been done to ensure adequate staffing levels within these prisons.
"The figures revealed to me by the Justice Minister demonstrate the extent to which staff numbers have fallen. Concerns about staff safety are very real, and demonstrated most clearly by the incidents which have occurred at Maghaberry in recent times.
"A lack of staff not only reduces the ratio between prisoners and staff, but results in more lockdowns and increases overtime costs. It increases the demands placed on existing staff who are already working in exceptionally difficult circumstances. The increase in prisoner-on-prisoner assaults highlighted only a few days ago is yet another example of the impact that staffing pressures have."
(JP/MH)
A woman has been forced from her car during an armed hijacking in south Belfast.
Police said the incident happened in the Strangford Avenue area of Balmoral at around 7.30pm on Tuesday (10 February).
The woman, aged in her 40s, was in her car when a man approached the vehicle. He was carrying a knife and he threatened her, forcing her from the car. The man then got into the vehicle – a white-coloured Seat Leon – and he drove off. It was later found abandoned on the Monagh Bypass, in the west of the city, a short time later.
The woman was not injured but left shaken by the incident.
Police have said the suspect is described as being aged in his mid-20s, approximately 5'6" tall and of thin to medium build. He was wearing a grey hooded top with the hood pulled over his head.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police.
Tribunal Rules Obesity 'Is A Disability'
An employment tribunal in Northern Ireland has ruled that obesity can be considered a disability in the workplace.
The ruling, which is the first of its kind in the region, means that individuals who suffer abuse in the workplace, on grounds related to their obesity, can challenge their employer – and abuser – in a tribunal.
This case was brought by a former employee of Randox Laboratories. The man, whose identity has not been revealed, claimed he had been discriminated against because of his weight. For more than four years, he said he was harassed by a number of fellow workers.
According to reports, judges in the case noted that obesity in itself was not a disability; however, if a person had a long-term impairment due to their obesity, then they would be protected by disability legislation.
The union Unite welcomed the ruling, and said obesity can now be considered a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
Concerns Raised Over Prison Service Understaffing
More than 800 staff have left the Prison Service since 2010, however less than half of that number have been recruited, it has been revealed.
The figures have been described as concerning by Justice Committee Chairman Alastair Ross.
The DUP MLA added that recent incidents at Maghaberry Prison, where prisoners staged a protest earlier this month, "demonstrates the need for more staffing.
He said: "Concerns have been raised for some time over staffing levels within the Prison Service. These concerns were raised about both HMP Maghaberry and HMP Hydebank yet nothing has been done to ensure adequate staffing levels within these prisons.
"The figures revealed to me by the Justice Minister demonstrate the extent to which staff numbers have fallen. Concerns about staff safety are very real, and demonstrated most clearly by the incidents which have occurred at Maghaberry in recent times.
"A lack of staff not only reduces the ratio between prisoners and staff, but results in more lockdowns and increases overtime costs. It increases the demands placed on existing staff who are already working in exceptionally difficult circumstances. The increase in prisoner-on-prisoner assaults highlighted only a few days ago is yet another example of the impact that staffing pressures have."
(JP/MH)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A very mild, but mostly cloudy day, although with some bright or sunny spells. It will be mostly dry in the morning, but a little patchy light rain or drizzle at times in the afternoon. Maximum temperature 14 °C.Tonight:A band of heavier rain will move east during the evening before clearing eastwards after midnight. then mostly dry through the early hours, but a little rain towards dawn. Minimum temperature 8 °C.
