UTV

The only cat cafe on the island of Ireland is about to open in east Belfast. Owner Dr Karen Galway said it's the puuurfect way to reduce your stress levels and help with your mental well being." Just being in the presence of cats is really good for your well being, it can reduce your stress levels and increase your Serotonin levels which is a feel good hormone". There are 11 beautiful cats in the rescue led Kumiko Cat Lounge.

A man has been found guilty of attempting to murder police officers in a New IRA bomb attack in Strabane in 2022. Charlie Love, 31 from Bridge Street in Strabane was convicted on four charges at Belfast Crown Court on Thursday. Mr Justice Fowler said he was satisfied Love was "intimately connected with the planning and execution of what was a dissident terrorist bomb attack on a police car with two officers on board".

The DUP Communities Minister has accused Sinn Féin of using funding uncertainty around a street signs translation project to wage a “coordinated attack” on him based on a “fabrication”. Gordon Lyons made the claim during robust exchanges with Sinn Féin members of his Assembly scrutiny committee, including chairman Colm Gildernew who likened the minister to an arsonist who blames the fire brigade for causing water damage.

One of the themes that keeps cutting through in the UTV podcast Going the Extra Mile is the idea of creating communities and supporting each other. My guest this week is someone who personifies these ideals. Lauren is a trans woman who puts herself forward to be a local voice for the queer community. Her work has meant that she’s recently been nominated for British LGBT Awards – and last year she won the Inspirational Role Model Award at the inaugural Northern Ireland Hummingbird Awards.

The Health Minister has ruled out a public inquiry into the Southern Trust cervical smear scandal. It comes after an expert review which was announced by Mike Nesbitt in November 2025, following the publication of three other reviews. Around 17,500 women in the Southern Trust area who were screened between 2008 and 2021 had to have their results rechecked after concerns were raised in a report by the Royal College of Pathologists.

UTV first revealed shocking details of what is believed to be one of the biggest sex abuse investigations mounted by the Police Ombudsman. At its heart, a former police officer, potential multiple victims and many alleged historical crimes including an allegation of rape. We previously revealed how that former officer’s career came to an end some years ago following an internal investigation which included the discovery of alleged sexually explicit images.

Some £139 million has been paid out so far in a scheme for those permanently disabled in an incident from Northern Ireland’s troubled past. The total comes just months before the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme will close to new applicants at the end of August. It opened on August 31, 2021 with the aim of providing those living with a disablement through no fault of their own in the Troubles with a payment in recognition of the harm they suffered, and impact on their carers.

It was not “reasonably foreseeable” that someone would access the entrance to a culvert in which Noah Donohoe’s body was found, a senior Stormont official has told an inquest. Jonathan McKee from the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) said he had never encountered another death which had occurred in the same circumstances as that of the Belfast schoolboy.

A man has been treated in hospital after he was shot in the leg in Co Down. Police said the victim of the shooting in Bangor would be left with “lasting physical and emotional trauma”. Detectives are appealing for information about the incident that occurred in the Bloomfield Road area at around 10.40pm on Tuesday.

A major fire at a car showroom in a Co Londonderry village is thought to have been deliberate. Around 55 firefighters were battling the blaze at the scene at Carhill Road, Garvagh, in the early hours of Wednesday. The Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) said they believe it was deliberate. An NIFRS spokesperson said they were called to a report of a building fire at 4.30am. “On arrival crews were met with a developed fire involving a car showroom, vehicles and cafe premises,” they said.