Relief As 'Boys' Parade Peaceful

Saturday's Apprentice Boys 'Relief of Derry' parade in Londonderry passed without major incident after a large-scale security operation was launched ahead of the parade. However, the PSNI made five arrests for public order offences during the parade. In a protest at a north Belfast feeder parade on Saturday morning there were also no incidents although more than 50 nationalists protested at the Ardoyne shopfronts.

Dublin Line 'Closed'

The main Belfast to Dublin rail line has been disrupted today because of a security alert between Lurgan and Portadown. The railway line has been closed after a suspicious object was found in the area on Monday morning. Army technical officers are attending the scene.

Baggot Backs Terror Talks

The PSNI Chief Constable believes that diplomacy can work alongside policing. He told RTÉ he did not think it a "betrayal" if politicians engaged in dialogue with such active terrorist groups, but he said conditions would have to be attached. Matt Baggott said that dissident republican activity in Northern Ireland couldn't be dealt with by policing alone, even after a bomb attack in Lurgan on Saturday, which injured three children, and subsequent attacks on police. While he said the dissidents were ruthless and were prepared to even target young mothers who wear the PSNI uniform (as in Kilkeel last week) he said they would not succeed in their violent ways.

Flooding Reviewed

Flooding responses are to be looked at again as the NI Environment Minister Edwin Poots today announced his intention to review planning policy for flood risk. Existing policy is contained in Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 15 - Planning and Flood Risk, published in June 2006. It sets out the Department of Environment's planning policies to minimise flood risk to people, property and the environment. "The existing policy has proven to be very effective in managing the risk of flooding to new developments. In undertaking this review I am keen to seek the views of the public regarding the existing policy to assist in the identification of issues that may need to be addressed in the review. I am therefore inviting comments to be submitted to the Department of Environment by the end of September."

Pipe Band Success

Culture Minister Nelson McCausland has paid tribute to the success of pipe bands from Northern Ireland. More than 50,000 people watched the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow on Saturday. Mr McCausland said Northern Ireland bands "have out-performed every other country in the world by winning six out of 16 world titles and producing 30 out of 66 prize winners". Dublin band St Laurence O'Toole were crowned world pipe band champions.

PMS Pressure

The NIO Secretary of State is to be pressed over the possibility of having a state-owned bank take over the collapsed Presbyterian Mutual Society, (PMS). Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson said he would be raising the matter with Owen Paterson when they meet this week. Mr Donaldson has arranged to bring a number of individual savers to the meeting with Mr Paterson on Wednesday.

Bono's Daughter On Screen

Cameras start rolling this week on Italian director Paolo Sorrentino's first English feature, This Must Be The Place, which is shooting on location in Dublin for the next three weeks. The film stars Oscar-winners Sean Penn (Milk, Mystic River), Frances McDormand (Fargo), and musician David Byrne, alongside Irish talent Simon Delaney (Zonad, Happy Ever Afters), Olwen Fouere and newcomer Eve Hewson, daughter of U2 singer Bono. Sorrentino has written and directed numerous award-winning films including Il Divo, which was nominated for a Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and for Best Director and Best Screenplay at the European Film Awards in 2008.

Uni Backs Cancer Probe

University of Ulster researchers are to develop a 3D model of breast tissue using human cells, to examine some of the potential causes of breast cancer. The researchers at the Biomedical Sciences Research Institute received £360,000 funding from The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) to carry out the project, which will develop a model of human tissue to explore breast cancer, rather than the current animal testing carried out. The 3D mammary gland model is based on pioneering work carried out by Professors Soto and Sonnenschein at Tufts University.

Police Survey Reported

The NI Policing Board last week published the results from the District Policing Partnership (DPP) Public Consultation Survey, with the 15,675 responses to be used by the Board and DPPs to help shape future policing priorities and objectives for the police. The Board's Acting Chairman Brian Rea said: "One in 10 households received this questionnaire, which is designed to find out what the community thinks about a range of issues relating to the delivery of policing. Perhaps not surprisingly, 82% of respondents named anti-social behaviour as one of the top five biggest policing issues. Other important issues were burglary (stated by 74% of respondents), road traffic offences (64%) and drug dealing and drug use/abuse (55%)." He also said that 72% of respondents stated that prompt responses to emergencies and visible patrolling were the main activities that the police should concentrate on.

UCF Welcomes Good News

The Ulster Cancer Foundation has welcomed research showing that breast cancer deaths have fallen in the UK since the 1980s. The French research looked at 30 countries and showed that the UK rate dropped by about a third as a result of better care and earlier diagnosis. The number of UK deaths caused by breast cancer fell from 41.6 to 28.2 per 100,000 - equivalent to 12,000 deaths per year. In Northern Ireland mortality rates fell by 29%.

(BMcC/GK)