Other News In Brief

Mourne Mountains Fatalities Named

Two men who died after separate falls while walking in the Mourne Mountains in County Down have been named.

Seàn Byrne, from Camlough in County Armagh and Robbie Robinson, from Banbridge in County Down lost their lives in the Mournes on Sunday 13 January.

The police attended the scene of both incidents along with other emergency services but both men were pronounced dead at the scene.

A third man fell at around 2.30pm the same day but was rescued after suffering a suspected broken ankle.

10 members of the Police Search & Rescue team responded to the two tragedies during challenging weather conditions, accompanied by the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team, Irish Coastguard and PSNI Air Support Branch, according to a PSNI spokesperson.

"The mountaineering community is a close knit family and the loss will be felt by many," the officer added.

Belfast City Centre Shop Robbed At Knifepoint

Police are hunting a man who robbed cash from a shop in Belfast city centre over the weekend, while armed with a kitchen knife.

The business was targeted on High Street shortly before 9.30pm on Saturday 12 January.

A masked man, who reportedly spoke with a southern accent, entered the premises armed with the weapon before threatening staff and making off with a sum of money.

Detective Sergeant Maguire said: "The suspect is described as being 5' 11" tall,  of a thin build and wore a navy jacket with the hood up and had a blue and white scarf covering his face.

"While the staff member was not physically harmed, they have been left badly shaken. This was someone who was simply doing their job at their place of work when what must have been a terrifying ordeal occurred."

Police are appealing to anyone who was in the High Street area between 9.25pm and 9.35pm and saw a man matching the description of the suspect, or anyone who knows anything about this crime to call detectives in Musgrave on the non-emergency-number 101, quoting reference number 1122 of 12/01/19.

Penalty Defeat For Belfast Giants In Continental Cup Final

The Belfast Giants suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the final of the Continental Cup against Kazakhstan's champions Arlan on Sunday 13 January.

Both sides had won their previous games but the hosts were left chasing victory throughout the match after the Arlan took two goals in the opening period.

In the final stretch of the game, Belfast managed to grab two goals within seconds of each other, the first from Chris Higgins and the equaliser courtesy of Dustin Johner.

The match went into five minutes of overtime before falling to penalties to decide the tournament.

Arlan took another goal, followed by a further equaliser from Belfast which moved the action into a sudden death format.

First to score would take the win and the Kazakhstan side came out on top in the end.



(JG/MH)