Latest news with #Newtownabbey
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
N Ireland hit by third night of ‘racist' violence, main flashpoint calmer
Riots have erupted for a third consecutive night in Northern Ireland, with police condemning the violence as 'racist thuggery' that erupted following an alleged sexual assault. A few dozen masked rioters in the primary flashpoint of Ballymena attacked police, but the unrest was on a smaller scale in the town on Wednesday night compared with previous days. Youths threw rocks, fireworks and Molotov cocktails at officers in riot gear as armoured vehicles blocked roads in the town. Police also deployed water cannon for the second night in a row, but the clashes were far smaller than the previous nights, when five people were arrested and more than 30 police officers were injured. Much of the crowd had left the streets before midnight. Small pockets of violence also erupted in the town of Larne, located 30km (18 miles) west of Ballymena, where masked youths smashed the windows of a leisure centre before starting fires in the lobby, footage widely shared on social media showed. Gordon Lyons, the communities minister in Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, had earlier said a number of people seeking refuge from the anti-immigrant violence in Ballymena had been temporarily moved to the leisure centre. Lyons's post drew sharp criticism from other political parties for identifying the location where the families had taken shelter. Youths also set fires at a roundabout in the town of Newtownabbey, according to police, while debris was also set alight at a barricade in the town of Coleraine. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he 'utterly condemns' the violence which had left 32 police officers injured after the second night of disturbances. Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly appeared together on Wednesday to voice their condemnation. O'Neill told reporters in Belfast: 'It's pure racism, there is no other way to dress it up' while Little-Pengelly described the scenes in Ballymena as 'unacceptable thuggery'. Violence initially flared on Monday in Ballymena – a town of 30,000 people located 44km (28 miles) from the capital Belfast with a relatively large migrant population – after a peaceful vigil was held for a teenage girl who was the victim of an alleged sexual assault on Saturday. Two 14-year-old boys accused of carrying out the attack appeared in court on Monday. Communicating in court via a Romanian interpreter, the pair denied the charges, according to local media reports. Police said the trouble began when people in masks broke away from the vigil and began 'build[ing] barricades, stockpiling missiles and attacking properties'. Tensions remained high throughout Tuesday, with residents saying 'foreigners' were being targeted. Two Filipino families fled their home in the town after their car was set on fire, the Reuters news agency reported. Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Jon Boutcher warned that the rioting 'risks undermining' the criminal justice process in the sexual assault allegations. Some Ballymena residents have begun marking their front doors to indicate their nationality to avoid attack, according to the Belfast Telegraph newspaper. Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson also said the violence was 'clearly racially motivated' and 'targeted at our minority ethnic community'.
Japan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
Disorder breaks out in Northern Ireland for consecutive nights
Public disorder broke out in different parts of Northern Ireland for the third successive night on Wednesday, as rioters attacked police with petrol bombs in the main flash point of Ballymena and a fire was started at a leisure center in the town of Larne. Hundreds of masked rioters injured police and set homes and cars on fire in the town of Ballymena, 45 kilometers from Belfast, during the previous two nights in what police condemned as "racist thuggery." Riot police and armored vans blocked roads in Ballymena on Wednesday evening as a crowd of hundreds watched on. About two dozen masked youths threw some rocks, fireworks and petrol bombs at police, a witness said. Police warned the crowd to disperse immediately and deployed water cannon against them for the second successive night. Riot police were also in Larne where masked youths smashed the leisure center's windows before starting fires in the lobby, BBC footage showed. Swimming classes were taking place when bricks were thrown through the windows and staff had to barricade themselves in before running out the back door, a local Alliance Party lawmaker, Danny Donnelly, told the BBC. "There is absolutely no excuse for what has taken place in Larne and it must be condemned," Northern Ireland's Communities Minister Gordon Lyons, a Democratic Unionist Party representative for the area, told Cool FM radio. Police said youths were setting fires at a roundabout in the town of Newtownabbey, a flash point for sectarian violence that sporadically flares up in the British-run region 27 years after a peace deal largely ended three decades of bloodshed. Debris was also set alight at a barricade in Coleraine, the Belfast Telegraph reported. The violence initially erupted after two 14-year-old boys were arrested and appeared in court on Monday, accused of a serious sexual assault on a teenage girl in Ballymena. The charges were read via a Romanian interpreter to the boys, whose lawyer told the court that they denied the charge, the BBC reported. Police are investigating the damaging of properties in Ballymena, which has a relatively large migrant population, as racially-motivated hate crimes. Two Filipino families said they fled their home in the town on Tuesday night after fearing for their safety when their car was set on fire outside the house. The British and Irish governments as well as local politicians have condemned the violence.
BBC News
03-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Abbey Centre: Forestside owners buy Abbey Centre for £59m
The owners of the Forestside shopping centre in south Belfast have bought the Abbey Centre in Newtownabbey for just under £ buyers are the Herbert Group which is owned by Belfast couple Michael and Lesley year, they also bought the Bloomfield Shopping Centre and retail park in Bangor for £ Abbey Centre was sold by New River Retail, a London-based investment trust. Allan Lockhart, the Chief Executive of New River Retail said the company had transformed the Abbey Centre into "one of the most successful shopping centres in the region."He added that the deal "also demonstrates the continuing improvement in investor demand for UK shopping centres".The Herbert's built up the UK's largest KFC franchise over 40 years, before selling the chain in have reinvested the proceeds into commercial property where they had already significant interests.
BBC News
08-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
NI education: Sports kits 'drive up' school uniform costs
Sports kits 'drive up' school uniform costs says retailer Just now Share Save Robbie Meredith and Andrew McNair BBC News NI Share Save Getty Images 'Many parents now are paying more for their child's PE kit than they are for their uniform', MLAs have been told Branded school sports kits have driven up the cost of school uniform and "ruined the reputation" of sellers, a retailer has said. Jan Buchanan told MLAs in Stormont's Education Committee that many parents were now are paying more for their child's physical education (PE) kit than they are for their uniform. She was one of a number of retailers who gave evidence to the committee about proposed laws to limit the price of school uniforms. One parent told BBC News NI that rising costs of uniforms made it "exceptionally difficult". As well as a maximum price limit, Education Minister Paul Givan also said that there could be a limit on the number of branded items, such as PE kits, a school could ask parents to buy. The School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill is currently being scrutinised by the education committee. Significant amount of money Kerri Denvir Kerri Denvir has two children aged five and nine Kerri Denvir has two children in primary school in Newtownabbey, County Antrim. She told BBC News NI that items often need replaced throughout the year, and that costs were "going up, and up, and up". "They just don't last and they're growing out of them very quickly," Ms Denvir said. "They fall in the playground and get a hole in the joggers, and that's another £20. You're constantly having to replace things," she said. "Sometimes there will be a deal in August, but when you go in during the winter to replace it the price has gone up. "It's not two or three pounds, it's a significant amount of money, and the cost goes up maybe £20 or £30 a year." 'Exceptionally difficult' Tina Mellon, a single mother-of-three, said the rising cost of uniforms was "exceptionally difficult to manage". She told BBC News NI that her son, who is in primary school, requires a branded PE kit as well as his main school uniform. "I feel many unbranded items would be just as acceptable, particularly for primary school children and most certainly for physical activity," she said. Tina Mellon Tina Mellon says branded PE kits make it "exceptionally difficult" for parents 'Northern Ireland falls short'
