TWO lorries were involved

in a head-on collision in Co
Armagh yesterday evening.
The crash happened on
the A28 Gosford Road at
Markethill at around 6pm.
The drivers of both lorries
were taken to hospital
following the accident,
however it was not known
last night how serious their
injuries are.
The road was last night
closed to south-bound traffc
at the junction with the
Mountnorris Road and also
at the junction at Glenanne
Road while offcers examined
the scene.
Two lorries in
head-on crash
See pages 4 & 5 and
Morning View, page 18
PicTure: Paul
Faith/PA Wire
THREE HORSE RACE
Trio in running for Northern Ireland job...
as Irish League bosses depart SEE SPORT
The pride of Northern Ireland
Price: 72p (ir 1.05 eurO) Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Northern ireland health
review chairman John
compton at the Stormont
Hotel yesterday as the
review teams proposals
for the future of the health
service were outlined. in
what would be the biggest
shake-up of health
provision in the provinces
history, sweeping changes
could see the number
of A&e units halved and
a signifcant number
of state-run residential
homes closed within fve
years
Focusing
on our
health
A 41-YEAR-OLD is due
to appear in court in
Londonderry this morning
charged with supporting
terrorism.
The charge is believed
to be in connection with an
Easter parade held at the City
Cemetery on April 25.
The parade was organised
by dissident republican group
the 32 County Sovereignty
Movement.
charge over
easter march
Since 1737
www.newsletter.co.uk
iNSiDe
Single Farm Payments
arriving in the bank
NORTHERN Banks Head of Agriculture John Henning has confrmed to Farming Life that Single Farm Payment contributions have started arriving in producer bank accounts this week. We are expecting DARD to pay out 83% of all payments before the end of December and 90% before the end of January next, he added. This means that approximately 200 million will be made available by DARD before the end of the year. This signifcant contribution
comes at a time when farmers will be facing some of their largest bills of the year. For example, most conacre fees are paid at this time. The reality is that every farmer in Northern Ireland is coping with fast increasing input costs at the present time. Obviously, the Singe Farm Payment contribution will allow producers to meet this challenge. Adequate cash fow is an essential requirement for every business. Turning to the actual performance being achieved by local farmers, the Northern Bank representative indicated that the differential between farmers in the top 25% category and those in
the lowest quartile remains far too large. Producers must concentrate on what is happening within the confnes of their own farms, he stressed. There is clear evidence that a signifcant number of farmers can still do a lot to improve their business performance levels, despite the ongoing pressure on input costs. With regard to the future, Mr Henning pointed out that many commentators remain confdent about the outlook for agriculture into 2012 and beyond. The global population continues to increase, possibly reaching 9
billion by 2050, he commented. Demand for food, energy and water increases and this is expected to continue. There will be an increased urbanisation in developing countries with a consequent westernisation of diets. He concluded: But other issues will also continue to raise their heads. Ongoing economic and fnancial volatility in many countries, not least in the EU, are matters that agriculture will have to take account of moving forward. Issues around food security and the provenance of food, including food miles, are already in the mix and they are here to stay.
By RichaRd halleRon
all the latest
equestrian news
PaGeS 9-14
yFc news, pictures
and reports
PaGeS 15-17
Farmers can still improve business performance
Wednesday, december 14, 2011
Don't let your
money Ilutter
uwuy !
Sell your poultry
n
ClussIeds Kmul lneuge to clussIed@IurmnglIe.com
Veronica Parke, overall clydesdale champion at the heavy horse show in Ballymena on Saturday, with ann calwell from Ulster Bank, sponsor.
PictURe: Steven Mcauley/Kevin Mcauley Photography Multimedia
Offcer who killed
joyrider reinstated
A POLICEMAN who shot dead a
joyrider in Ballynahinch in 2006
was reinstated a few years ago
with no disciplinary action, the
News Letter can reveal.
The offcer fatally shot 23-
year-old Steven Colwell, who
was driving a stolen car at a
checkpoint set up to stop him in
the Co Down town in April of that
year.
The father-of-one was
originally from the Shankill area
of Belfast.
The circumstances of his death
caused heated debate across
Northern Ireland in 2006, with
some people vocally supporting
the police offcers actions, while
others expressed grave concerns
about what they felt was excessive
force by the PSNI.
In December 2009 the
Public Prosecution Service
decided there was insuffcient
evidence to prosecute the
offcer responsible and said it
had made its decision following
a thorough investigation by the
Police Ombudsman.
BY PHiliP BrADFielD
p.bradfeld@newsletter.co.uk
Turn to page 12