Judges Northern Ireland

The outlawed Irish Republican Army confirmed that last weekend's land mine explosion that killed a Protestant family of three was actually intended for a Belfast judge. In a statement issued in Belfast, the IRA said that Ian Higgins, a Roman Catholic justice whose home was the target of an IRA attack 18 months ago, was the intended target of the land mine.

The outlawed Irish Republican Army confirmed that last weekend's land mine explosion that killed a Protestant family of three was actually intended for a Belfast judge. In a statement issued in Belfast, the IRA said that Ian Higgins, a Roman Catholic justice whose home was the target of an IRA attack 18 months ago, was the intended target of the land mine.

Appeals judges in Northern Ireland have overturned an unprecedented libel verdict in which a pizzeria owner successfully sued a Belfast newspaper over a lousy review. Chief Justice Brian Kerr ruled that a jury erred last year when it awarded $50,000 to the owner of the Goodfellas in Belfast. A 2000 review in the Irish News had deemed his restaurant smoky, sloppy and unappetizing. Kerr said the jury failed to consider whether the reviewer showed malice. Irish News Editor Noel Doran said the original verdict threatened the ability of newspapers to publish reviews.