A round-up of today's other news stories in brief.
Seven held by PSNI in child porn operation
Seven people were arrested in Northern Ireland yesterday in what PSNI sources said was a major crackdown on the dissemination of child pornographic images through the internet, writes Gerry Moriarty.
Searches were conducted by the PSNI throughout Northern Ireland in what police said was an "ongoing investigation into indecent images of children on the internet".
The searches and arrests flow from Operation Ore, the long-running UK-wide clampdown against paedophiles, which involves the various British police forces and several other agencies. Several premises were searched in the operation and computer hard disks and other material seized. All those arrested are males, it is understood.
The seven arrested people were last night being questioned at the PSNI's "serious crime suite" in Antrim.
"This is part of a major crime investigation led by the PSNI Care Unit into the possession and production of indecent images of children on the internet," a police spokesman said last night.
"The Police Service of Northern Ireland is committed to protecting children from sex offenders who use the internet"
Cross-Border crime call by MEP
Fine Gael MEP Simon Coveney has called on the Government to ratify the UN Convention against transnational organised crime. He said Ireland was one of only seven of the 25 EU states that had not ratified the protocol, which assists the fight against cross-border crime.
Speaking in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, he said 212 countries had ratified the convention. He added that the Irish Government should also ratify the protocol to the convention to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in people.
"Signing these international conventions would ensure a positive obligation on Ireland to address issues in relation to this growing phenomenon," he said.
Motorist dies after car hits tree
A man in his thirties was killed in a crash in Co Meath early yesterday morning. The victim died when the car he was driving hit a tree on the Dunderry to Athboy road at 12.45am. No other vehicle was involved.
The man - who lived locally - was brought to Navan hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. His name has not yet been released. Witnesses are asked to contact gardaí at Kells on 046-928 0820.
Diesel sludge dumped in Louth
An abandoned container holding 34 plastic crates full of diesel-laundering sludge was yesterday removed by officials from Louth County's Council's environmental section.
The crates, each of which held up to 2,000 gallons of sludge, were packed into a large trailer for an articulated lorry which was found parked under a bridge on the M1 near Dunleer, Co Louth.
Louth County Council has spent more than €1 million disposing of this type of sludge over the past few years. It has to be sent to Germany for disposal.
This is the largest amount of sludge dumped in Co Louth this year. A number of smaller loads were found along the roadside around Dundalk and the Cooley Mountains in recent years.
Council flew the flag too much
Lisburn City Council, Co Antrim, has been found guilty of breaking its own equality rules by excessively flying the union flag at its civic headquarters and other council buildings.
The Equality Commission launched an investigation of flag flying by the council following a complaint by Lisburn Sinn Féin councillor Paul Butler. - (PA)