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The policy of 50:50 Catholic/Protestant recruitment to the Police Service of Northern Ireland will end in six days' time.

On Tuesday, NI Secretary Owen Paterson said it was the right time to end the policy as almost 30% of officers are now from a Catholic background.

The policy was one of the recommendations for policing reform made in the 1999 Patten report.

Mr Paterson said the police force in NI could now develop naturally.

"With this transformation in the composition of the PSNI and NI's continued political progress, the use of these special measures can no longer be justified," Mr Paterson said in a written statement at Westminster.

The current 50-50 recruitment process was introduced to increase the numbers of Catholics joining the police.

When it was introduced in 2001, Catholics made up about 8% of the police service. By 2010, the level had risen to just over 27%.

Currently, 29.76% of officers come from the Catholic community.

Mr Paterson's statement came after a consultation process closed on 4 February. In total, 162 responses were received.

Anyone see either of these 2 shows last night?

Republic of telly on RTE and LOL is a 6 counties equivalent on BBC. On at nearly the same time so was flicking between them but very very funny.

On the BBC one this big lad was talking to Jackie Fullerton about taking the woman from behind at the sink as she peeled the spuds then banging her on the floor, it was priceless looking at Jackie's face

ONE of Ireland's largest accountancy firms last night launched an internal investigation after male staff were found circulating emails where they rated the looks of their female colleagues.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) started the probe after pictures of young women, who had just recently joined the firm, were sent around and nominated for a "Top 10".

The emails were circulated between a group of up to 17 male staff members within PWC before being forwarded to other businesses as the emails went "viral", spreading across the internet.

The 13 women, whose pictures were accompanied by their names and departments, all recently joined the accountancy firm as trainee accountants or "associates" and are expected to train with the company for the next three years.

The offending emails were traced and are being examined by senior management at PWC, sources confirmed.

The initial email sent around by the group of men had a subject line of "this would be my shortlist for the top 10".

A subsequent comment in the forwarded email says: "Great work... have reservations about the last one getting in."

In one message, a highly derogatory female description is used about the "new" intake.

Signature

One of the men who forwarded on the pictures asked for his email signature be removed if it was forwarded again.

Last night, the accountancy firm -- which employs 2,000 people in Ireland -- launched an investigation into the matter after they were informed of the emails by the Irish Independent.

The emails have been forwarded to finance companies, accountants, law firms, technology firms, state bodies and construction firms around Ireland since they were first written at the end of October.

"We are taking this matter extremely seriously and are launching a full investigation. We will take all necessary steps and actions in line with our firm's polices and procedures," PWC's human resources partner Carmel O'Connor said last night.

A number of the women whose pictures were circulated have recently graduated from prominent universities.

Graduate trainees at the firm typically stay for between three and three-and-a-half years where they work as accountants.

Ms O'Connor said the men who had been involved in the circulation of the emails had not yet been contacted about the matter.

She declined to comment on what the ultimate sanction would be as a result of the investigation.

UK-based PWC is the second largest accountancy firm in the world and one of the so-called "Big Four" which provide services to most large companies.

The company previously acted as auditor for Anglo Irish Bank and a team from the company was sent to Allied Irish Banks recently by the National Treasury Management Agency.

PWC is no stranger to controversy overseas. The company paid millions to former partner Christina Rich in Australia two years ago following a long-running dispute over claims she had been exposed to sexual harassment and sex discrimination.

The company's website lists a code of conduct for the firm which includes "behaving professionally" and "respecting others".

looks like 2 Unionist 'Heavyweights' need to lie back from the table...


3 November 2010 Last updated at 11:54 Share this pageFacebookTwitter ShareEmail Print Lord's Afghan trip off for want of a large flak jacket
Furious: The Army couldn't find a big enough flak jacket for Lord Maginnis Two of Northern Ireland's politicians are spitting nails after a trip to visit troops in Afghanistan was called off because they were too portly for Army flak jackets.

Lord Ken Maginnis and David Simpson, DUP, had been due to fly out this week to meet soldiers from the Royal Irish and the Irish Guards but the Army couldn't find flak jackets large enough to fit them.

"To be told at the last minute that the British Army has not got two flak jackets with a 54" chest was just a bit thick," said Lord Maginnis who weighs in at about 18 stone.

Continue reading the main story
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To be told at the last minute that the British Army has not got two flak jackets with a 54" chest was just a bit thick"
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Lord Maginnis
"I wanted to go out and meet the troops and made considerable efforts to clear my diary.

"So this made me very cross. I am no giant, neither is Davy Simpson. We are both reasonably normal, although we are bigger than most."

Lord Maginnis said the cancelled trip made him "absolutely furious".

"The reality is that we have young men and women out there fighting for us. They are putting their lives on the line. They deserve a little bit of consideration," he said.

Lord Maginnis said he had made the trip two years ago - and he has got lighter since then.

However, in a statement, the Ministry of Defence said: "Nobody is allowed to board an aircraft to Afghanistan without correctly fitting body armour.

"The MoD provides a wide range of sizes but regrettably none was suitable on this occasion.

"We recognise the importance of politicians visiting Afghanistan but this trip has been postponed while we try to source sufficiently sized body armour."

Turkish football rocked after boss is stabbed six times on the touchline - by his elder brother!

Turkish football is in shock after a manager was stabbed six times on the touchline during a match. 

Local news agencies reported that Yuksel Yesilova suffered wounds to his stomach and hip after being attacked by his elder brother Murat. 

The victim was rushed to hospital where his injuries were said not to be life-threatening. He was released on Tuesday morning. 

Horror: Turkish football coach Yuksel Yalova is held by club officials after he was stabbed six times on the touchline by his brother
The game between Yesilova's side Mersin Idman Yurdu and Samsunspor was promptly suspended after 40 minutes.

'It was discovered that Murat Yesilova, the elder brother of the coach, carried out the assault,' Huseyin Aksoy, the area's Governor told Anatolia news agency.

'In his first statement to the police he said he did it because of personal issues.'
Aksoy added that Murat was watching the game from the stands, and 'from there, he jumped onto the pitch'.

Emergency: Yuksel Yalova was rushed to hospital after the shocking incident
Samsunspor are expected to be hit with a two-match penalty because of the violence, although the Turkish Football Federation has yet to rule on the match result.

A private TV station broadcast accusations on Monday night that claiming the victim had abused a member of Murat's family, Metin Yesilova


Murat's son, said during the program that the allegations were the motive behind the assault. The victim denied the claims.

He said: 'This person is interfering with me, my mother, my father and my other siblings. He has psychological issues. I have filed complaints against him several times and he was hit with a three-month ban for that.

'Three years ago, I wrote a letter to the Interior Ministry asking for help because it was obvious that this person wanted to harm me or a member of my family. 

'There are many allegations in the papers and on television


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1311997/Turkish-football-boss-stabbed-touchline--brother.html#ixzz0zaFEsWkv

[Tiger cub found among stuffed toys in Bangkok luggage]

Tiger cub found among stuffed toys in Bangkok luggage

A two-month-old tiger cub has been found sedated and hidden among stuffed toy tigers in a woman's luggage at Bangkok's airport, the wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic has said.

The Thai national was trying to board a flight to Iran but had difficulty with a large bag at check-in.

X-rays aroused suspicions among airport staff who believed they had seen an image resembling a real animal.

Wildlife officers were then called in and discovered the tranquilised cub.

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If people are trying to smuggle live tigers in their check-in luggage, they obviously think wildlife smuggling is something easy to get away with and do not fear reprimand"
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Chris Shepherd

Traffic
The tiger was found last Sunday and is now being cared for at the rescue centre of the department of national parks, wildlife and plant conservation.

Authorities are trying to determine if the cat is wild or captive-bred.

Chris Shepherd, South-East Asia deputy regional director for Traffic, said: "We applaud all the agencies that came together to uncover this brazen smuggling attempt."

But he also called for regular monitoring and harsher penalties.

"If people are trying to smuggle live tigers in their check-in luggage, they obviously think wildlife smuggling is something easy to get away with and do not fear reprimand," he said.

"Only sustained pressure on wildlife traffickers and serious penalties can change that."