Northern Ireland

David Mulholland The Bar of Northern Ireland has taken up a 4,000 sq ft space in Belfast City Centre to provide the base for Northern Ireland's first specialist mediation centre.

A campaign group has raised concerns over the possible political vetting of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to the Northern Ireland Executive, The Irish News reports. The Campaign for Freedom of Information said some departments only release responses to FOI requests after approval by minister

Health Minister Michelle O'Neill Northern Ireland's lifetime ban on the donation of blood by men who have had sex with men (MSM) has officially been lifted today.

The High Court in Belfast has awarded compensation of £50,000 to a former hotelier after defamatory comments were published in the Sunday World newspaper. Justice Stephens held that the newspaper did not meet the standards of responsible journalism in failing to verify sources, and had erroneously

John-George Willis, head of the firm's corporate department Belfast firm Tughans has said it believes transactional activity in Northern Ireland is beginning to return to normality after a slowdown in the wake of the UK's Brexit vote.

Les Allamby The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has called for urgent action to tackle racial discrimination in the wake of a new UN report.

George Hamilton The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has said it is preparing for budget cuts of up to six per cent next year.

Two republican ex-prisoners have given the thumbs up to a new gourmet restaurant based in Belfast's Crumlin Road Gaol, where they were once incarcerated. Former IRA members Gerard Hodgins and Richard O'Rawe returned to Crumlin Road Gaol with The Guardian to sample the food at the new Cuffs restauran

Daithí McKay Legislation allowing Stormont committees to compel witnesses to appear could be used for the first time during the inquiry into the Nama coaching allegations.

Andrew Henderson Pinsent Masons has announced the launch of a UK-wide Public Policy Unit in the wake of Britain's decision to exit the European Union.

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland programme director Police figures showing almost 3,000 hate crime incidents in the last year have sparked concern from human rights groups.

Madden & Finucane Solicitors has complained that one of its clients in Maghaberry Prison was confined to his cell without regard for due process.

The re-offending rate in Northern Ireland fell by around four per cent between 2011-14, according to new analysis from the Department of Justice. The Department's latest statistical bulletin includes re-offending rates for adults and under-17s given a non-custodial disposal at court, a diversionary

Sue McAllister and Claire Sugden Sue McAllister, director general of the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS), is due to step down at the end of October.

Justice Minister Claire Sugden plans to introduce legislation banning so-called "zombie knives" in Northern Ireland following a similar ban in England and Wales. Zombie knives, also sometimes known as "zombie killer knives" or "zombie slayer knives" are ornate weapons ostensibly sold for recreationa