Tributes to cameraman, Lyra McKee murder probe, new criminal offences: Northern Ireland headlines

Tributes to Irish cameraman killed in Ukraine

Tributes have been paid to an Irish citizen who was killed while working as a cameraman in Ukraine.

Fifty-five-year-old Pierre Zakrzewski , who was working for Fox News near Kyiv, was killed when his vehicle was struck by incoming fire on the outskirts of the capital.

The Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney were among those to pay tribute. It comes as 3million people have left Ukraine since Putin’s forces invaded.

Five released in Lyra McKee murder probe

Five men who were arrested on Tuesday by detectives investigating the murder of journalist Lyra McKee have been released. The men - aged between 20 and 54 - were arrested in the Cityside area of Londonderry.

The PSNI said the men were released pending a report being submitted to the Public Prosecution Service. Meanwhile. a 26-year-old man who was also arrested remains in police custody.

New specific criminal offences in NI

Upskirting and cyberflashing are to become specific criminal offences in Northern Ireland. The bill, tabled by the Justice Minister Naomi Long, passed its final stage in the Assembly on Tuesday.

The new laws come off the back of a review of how serious sexual offence cases are handled within the justice system.

NI land prices rise

The price of land has reached unprecedented heights in Northern Ireland.

In 2021, it came in at £11,444 per acre, according to a report. That’s an increase of 14% on the year before. Armagh remains the most expensive county for land.