Latest news with #SDLP
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sewer works delayed to avoid football parade clash
Planned sewer upgrade works in Londonderry have been paused to avoid a clash with a youth football tournament's opening parade. The work had been due to begin on Sunday at Queens Quay, with a number of traffic restrictions in place over a six week period. But with the Foyle Cup's opening parade – which draws of thousands of people into the city centre – set to take place on Monday, there had been concern over the restrictions. Northern Ireland Water has now told BBC News NI the planned works will not go ahead as initially planned. "NI Water can confirm that it will postpone its planned works at Queens Quay in Derry by 48 hours to alleviate traffic congestion on the day of the Foyle Cup parade," a NI Water spokesperson said. Work will now begin at Queens Quay on 22 July. Social Democratic and Labour Party assembly member Mark H Durkan had said if the tournament parade and planned works clashed it would be a challenge in terms of city centre traffic. The work at Queens Quay is part of a major upgrade of Derry's sewer network and will see Queens Quay restricted to one lane during the day and closed fully at times. In an earlier statement NI Water said it appreciated "work of this nature may be disruptive and thank the public for their patience and cooperation as we complete these essential improvements". Madams Bank restrictions Earlier in July NI Water confirmed traffic restrictions to allow for work in the Madams Bank area of Derry would be reinstated on 20 July. They have been paused while The Open is taking place in Portrush. Madams Bank Road is one of the major routes from the city into County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Earlier this year one of the city's busiest streets reopened after it was closed for eight months. Foyle Street closed in August 2024 to allow for a £4.2m major upgrade to the water and sewerage infrastructure. Traders had expressed concern over the impact of the closure on business in the area. Traders welcome street reopening after eight months In pictures: Young Foyle Cup stars parade in Derry
BBC News
3 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Foyle Cup: Derry sewer works delayed to avoid football parade clash
Planned sewer upgrade works in Londonderry have been paused to avoid a clash with a youth football tournament's opening work had been due to begin on Sunday at Queens Quay, with a number of traffic restrictions in place over a six week with the Foyle Cup's opening parade – which draws of thousands of people into the city centre – set to take place on Monday, there had been concern over the Ireland Water has now told BBC News NI the planned works will not go ahead as initially planned. "NI Water can confirm that it will postpone its planned works at Queens Quay in Derry by 48 hours to alleviate traffic congestion on the day of the Foyle Cup parade," a NI Water spokesperson will now begin at Queens Quay on 22 July. Social Democratic and Labour Party assembly member Mark H Durkan had said if the tournament parade and planned works clashed it would be a challenge in terms of city centre traffic. The work at Queens Quay is part of a major upgrade of Derry's sewer network and will see Queens Quay restricted to one lane during the day and closed fully at an earlier statement NI Water said it appreciated "work of this nature may be disruptive and thank the public for their patience and cooperation as we complete these essential improvements". Madams Bank restrictions Earlier in July NI Water confirmed traffic restrictions to allow for work in the Madams Bank area of Derry would be reinstated on 20 have been paused while The Open is taking place in Bank Road is one of the major routes from the city into County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Earlier this year one of the city's busiest streets reopened after it was closed for eight Street closed in August 2024 to allow for a £4.2m major upgrade to the water and sewerage had expressed concern over the impact of the closure on business in the area.
Belfast Telegraph
3 days ago
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
From Belfast to the Oireachtas: ‘A lot of people haven't crossed the border... we have to break down the idea we're different'
Patricia Stephenson took the scenic route into Irish politics. Her family home in south Belfast was bombed by the UVF in 1993 because her father was an SDLP councillor.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Revenge porn: Victim support in NI 'not good enough'
Support for victims of so-called revenge porn in Northern Ireland "isn't good enough", a Stormont assembly member has said. The Social Democratic and Labour Part's Cara Hunter said the absence of help to target and remove intimate content shared without consent showed a "lack of urgency".Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK and Ireland with no publicly funded service to get intimate images taken down or Department of Justice (DoJ) said: "As intimate image abuse becomes a growing issue, the minister is keen to enhance services." Intimate image abuse, commonly referred to as revenge porn, is the sharing of sexual images of someone without their consent, both online and who herself was the victim of a 'deep fake' in which a pornographic video was digitally altered to appear like her, has urged the DoJ to fund a service that proactively finds and removes non-consensual images for services are government funded to operate in England, Scotland and Wales, and in the Republic of Ireland. 'I don't know if those images still exist' A victim whose intimate images were shared without consent told BBC News NI: "All I wanted was to know they'd been deleted."Olivia (not her real name) reported the incident to police after learning that photos she had sent to a man years earlier had been shown to others in her the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) decided not to prosecute, Olivia said she felt "completely dismissed" and there was no way to ensure those images had been deleted. "Although justice would have been great, it wouldn't help me because I don't know if those images still exist," she said. She claimed one officer told her if she had not shared the images, then she would not be in that position. "There was no empathy towards me, and it was as if the two men were the victims," she PPS said it had concluded "that the available evidence in this case was insufficient", and the Police Ombudsman said it was "unable to either prove or refute" Olivia's allegation that officers "had treated her insensitively". "This is such a cruel crime," said Hunter. "It's a way of making people feel exposed, humiliated, ashamed, embarrassed."It's horrifying. I've sat in my constituency office with victims who are absolutely devastated."The Revenge Porn Helpline is funded by the Home Office in England and Wales, and by the Scottish government in manager, Sophie Mortimer said: "Women often come to us and say 'I'm so sorry I'm having to come to you for help, I've been so stupid', and I say, 'no. You haven't done anything wrong, this is someone who has abused your trust'." How is revenge porn removed? The helpline's researchers use "reverse image searches and facial recognition" to identify content on behalf of victims, Ms Mortimer then approach platforms to ask them to remove the images. helps victims in the Republic of Ireland, however no equivalent service receives funding in Northern Ireland. Without support victims must manually search the internet using reverse image tools and scanning social media, forums, and websites themselves. That involves filing separate reports for each image, on each platform often without assurance of swift removal or meaningful the helpline said it wouldn't turn victims in Northern Ireland away, it stressed that resources would have to be prioritised towards cases in England, Scotland and Wales where it is actually funded to a statement, the DoJ said: "Residents of Northern Ireland can avail of the support services of the Revenge Porn Helpline or visit their website."The department is fully engaged with the Revenge Porn Helpline to explore options available to formally extend and promote its service to Northern Ireland."Hunter said the lack of funding for a content removal services was "part of the problem"."A lot of revenge porn is undeniably linked with misogyny and I think it's really important that we speak more about tech-facilitated abuse". Intimate image abuse was criminalised in England and Wales in 2015, by the Northern Ireland assembly in 2016, and by the Scottish government in 2017. Figures obtained by the BBC under Freedom of Information laws reveal that there were 14 convictions in Northern Ireland in 2024, and 12 in 2023. The latest PSNI figures show there were 91 cases investigated in 2024, and 86 in 2023, but charities argue the issue is much more of help and support with any form of sexual abuse are available in the UK at BBC Action Line.
Belfast Telegraph
3 days ago
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
‘It's totally devoid from reality': DUP's Jonathan Buckley slams SDLP MLA who labelled Twelfth a ‘disaster for tourism'
A unionist MLA has criticised comments made by an SDLP representative who claimed the Twelfth of July is a 'disaster for tourism' as 'entirely incorrect' and 'devoid from reality'. It comes after Sinead McLaughlin MLA shared a post by the DUP's Jonathan Buckley who questioned whether Tourism NI had forgotten something in its line-up of key events taking place in NI over the summer including Belfast Pride, Belfast TradFest and Féile an Phobail.
