Other NI News In Brief

Kidnap Robbery Accused Remanded

A year after two so-called 'Tiger Kidnap' robberies took place in Belfast and Co Down a Downpatrick man has been remanded in custody accused of kidnapping a mother and her four-year-old son as part of an £85,000 security firm robbery. Belfast Magistrates Court heard police claim Michael Clarke, 29, of Colmcille Road, was part of an organised crime gang who carried out the operation.

Derry Violence Continues

There has been further violence in Londonderry which has again seen a police officer injured. He was hit with a missile during a disturbance at Fountain Hill in the early hours of Monday, but did not require hospital treatment. It happened at about 2.20am when the police stopped to speak to a group of males who had gathered in the middle of the road. At one stage, one of them released the handbrake on the police car which rolled down a hill and crashed into a barrier at Duke Street. A man in his 20s has been arrested in relation to the disturbance. See: Policemen Hurt In Derry Trouble

Couple Hit Six In Maternity

NI's top politicians were united at the weekend as the First and Deputy First Ministers sent their congratulations to the parents of Ireland's first ever set of sextuplets. Nuala Conway gave birth to four girls and two boys at the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital in Belfast. They were delivered 14 weeks early on Friday and have since been named as Ursula; Austin; Shannon; Karla; Eoghan and Kerrie and weighed between 1lb 7oz and 2lb 2oz. They remain in intensive care but are understood to be doing well. Mrs Conway and her husband, Austin, live at Dunamore near Cookstown in Co Tyrone and their newly extended family represents the first recorded birth of sextuplets on the island of Ireland, and the first in the UK since 1993.

Seaplane Festival 'Takes Off'

A new festival aimed at celebrating the history of seaplane aviation was yesterday hailed a major success – despite poor weather. Organisers said that the event, at the Share Holiday Village in Co Fermanagh attracted over 3,000 people. The picturesque lakes in Northern Ireland were famously used in World War II as a launch-pad for seaplanes that played a pivotal role in the battle over the Atlantic. The Bank Holiday celebration - the Fermanagh Seaplane Festival – was the first event of its kind in Ireland or Britain, and brought seaplanes from across Europe to touch-down on Lough Erne once again, backed by Waterways Ireland. See: Seaplanes Dip Their Wings Into Fermanagh Lakes

Galway Scientists Discover Coral Reefs

Researchers from the National University of Ireland (NUI) in Galway have discovered a major new area of deepwater coral reefs off the west coast. The area extends to 200sqkm of the seabed on the southern end of the Porcupine Bank. It contains 40 coral underwater hills, some rising to a 100m high. See: Galway Scientists Discover Coral Reefs

£2m For North Down Roads

North Down is set to benefit from a £2.3m roads investment, it has been revealed. Making the announcement, Transport Minister Conor Murphy said the funding will focus on improving road safety in the area. Works will take place in and around St Columbanus College, Bangor Central, as well as Ballymagee and Rathmore. The local cycle network is being extended through additional cycle lane provision along the Newtownards Road and Belfast Road, said Mr Murphy.

(BMcC/JM)