Arrest Made in North Belfast Following Dromore Pipe Bomb Discovery

Detectives investigating the discovery of two pipe bombs in Dromore, County Down, earlier this month have today, Thursday 17th April, arrested a woman in north Belfast.

The arrest follows the discovery of two viable explosive devices at premises on Church Street in Dromore on Wednesday, 2nd April. The incident led to a number of evacuations, including a local nursery school. Both devices were subsequently made safe by bomb disposal experts and removed for forensic examination.

Earlier today, a woman in her 40s was apprehended on suspicion of possession of explosives in suspicious circumstances. The arrest was made during a search of an address on North Queen Street, Belfast, conducted by officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Tactical Support Group (TSG).

The arrested woman has been taken to Musgrave police station in Belfast for questioning and remains in police custody at this time.

Lisburn Pair Convicted for Benefit Fraud

Two individuals were convicted at Lisburn Magistrates Court today for claiming benefits they were not entitled to.

Jackie Kidd, aged 53, of Hamilton Gardens, Lisburn, fraudulently claimed a total of £7,770 in Universal Credit by failing to declare that he was in employment. He received a four-month prison sentence, which was suspended for 18 months.

Caroline Kirkpatrick, aged 60, of Glenavy Gardens, Lisburn, claimed £1,925 in Jobseeker's Allowance without declaring her employment status. She was sentenced to an 18-month probation order.

The court also ordered both individuals to repay the full amount of the benefits they had wrongfully obtained to the Department for Communities. The Department for Communities encourages anyone with suspicions of benefit fraud to report it anonymously via the NI Direct website.

SDLP Criticises 'Lack Of Urgency' On Lough Neagh Algae Issue

The SDLP's spokesperson on Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (AERA), Patsy McGlone MLA, has criticised the "lack of urgency" in addressing the ongoing issues affecting Lough Neagh, following the confirmation of blue-green algae in the lough for the first time this year.

Mid Ulster MLA Mr McGlone expressed his concern: "Confirmation of blue-green algae in Lough Neagh for the first time this year is in no way surprising and marks the start of what will no doubt be another difficult summer with further damage caused to our local environment and disruption for people who regularly use the lough or visit the surrounding area."

While acknowledging that long-term solutions will take time, Mr McGlone took issue with the perceived inaction of the AERA Minister and the department. "It's clear it will take time to address these issues in the long-term, but that does not mean the AERA Minister and his department can hide behind their failure to properly get to grips with this issue. The Minister is right to say there is no quick fix, but the longer he takes to start addressing these issues, the longer this destruction will continue."

Mr McGlone highlighted the repeated occurrence of the issue, saying: "This is the third summer that the lough will be choked out by toxic algae and yet the Minister continues to delay the rollout of key plans that would improve water quality, such as the River Basin Management Plan and Nutrient Action Plan. Without such measures, the Minister's plans to address this crisis represent little more than a PR exercise. Nobody wants to see the lough in the state it's in, but it's political failure that has got us here and until that changes we won't see an improvement."