Man charged in N Ireland with terrorism

An alleged Republican dissident leader in Northern Ireland has been charged with "directing acts of terrorism" under a controversial law. The 47-year-old man from Lurgan and two of his alleged comrades were to appear in court Saturday, The Guardian reported. All three are charged with conspiracy to murder. Three men and a woman were arrested last weekend as part of the same investigation, police said. The "directing acts of terrorism" law allows suspects to be held based on testimony from a senior police officer that there is good reason to believe they are involved in terrorist action or planning. Its best-known use was in the 1990s against Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair, a leader of the loyalist Ulster Defense Association. The three Lurgan men are believed to be connected to the Continuity IRA, a dissident group blamed for the killing of Stephen Carroll, an officer with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, in March 2009.