Other NI News IN Brief

Road Tragedy Mars Weekend

There was a tragic accident on Sunday. It happened on the upper part of north Belfast's Crumlin Road and saw a 41-year-old motorcyclist killed in the crash. It involved a motorbike, a car and a van and happened about half a mile from Horseshoe Bend. In the Irish Republic, two motorcyclists have lost their lives in separate crashes in Co Wicklow and Co Limerick with one at 12.15pm on the R747 between Tinahely and Hacketswtown, Co Wicklow. The second crash took place at 6pm on a minor road near Shanagolden, Co Limerick. A 30-year-old was killed when his motorbike hit a wall. He died in Limerick Regional Hospital.

East Belfast Blaze Escape

Belfast firefighters have rescued a grandmother, mother and her daughter who were trapped in an upstairs bedroom after a fire broke out at their home in east Belfast. It was at Willowfield Street and took place at around 1am on Sunday and is thought to have started when a grill pan was left unattended in the downstairs kitchen.

Orange Meets Green

A loyalist parades group, including members of the Loyal Orders, has agreed to hold talks with Gerry Adams. The North and West Parades and Cultural Forum has signalled that they would be prepared to sit down with the Sinn Fein President ahead of a planned Apprentice Boys parade past Ardoyne in a fortnight. The announcement comes in the wake of three nights of intense rioting over the Twelfth in Ardoyne, when dissident republicans attacked police following the passing of an Orange parade. Trouble flared after residents' group the Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) staged a sit-down protest on the Crumlin Road near the Ardoyne shop fronts and now, the same group threatened to repeat the protest before the Apprentice Boys feeder parade in two weeks time on August 14.

Home Moves Probed

Car parking beats being close to family on the wish list of homemovers, new research from Royal Mail Redirections revealed. Almost one in three of people said that car parking was most important if they had to move home, while just 17% said being close to family was the top priority. For many people across Northern Ireland, worries for the safety of their pets and the financial strains of moving were also concerns. Almost one in ten adults stated that they would not wish to move their pets to an unfamiliar neighbourhood, whilst nearly half are concerned about the financial issues associated with moving.

(BMcC/KMcA)