A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Catholic man critical after mob attack
A Catholic man suffered serious head injuries after being beaten by a mob in east Belfast early on Saturday morning.
Witnesses said up to 10 men battered the 29-year-old victim near a peace line in the city.
Paramedics gave emergency treatment after he was found lying on a river walkway at the junction between the Protestant Albertbridge Road and the Catholic Short Strand enclave just after 2am. His condition was later described as critical.
The gang was seen running up the nearby Ravenhill Road after the assault. - (PA)
Autopsy into death of homeless people
A postmortem is due to be carried out later today to establish the cause of death of two homeless people who died in Dublin city centre last week.
The two deceased, one man and one woman, were found separately between Thursday evening and Friday morning.
Gardaí yesterday said they were confident that the cause of death was not suspicious. The body of the woman, who was believed to be in her mid-30s and sleeping rough, was found in an alleyway off Camden street in Dublin at 10pm on Thursday.
The body of the man was discovered at 8.45am on Friday by staff at the nearby Sancta Maria hostel on Charlemont Street, after he failed to come down for breakfast.
Port cocaine find worth €150,000
Some €150,000 worth of cocaine was found hidden in a 4x4 at Dublin Port at the weekend. Gardaí and customs officers made the find after stopping the vehicle as it came off a car ferry from the UK on Saturday evening.
A total of 2.2kg of cocaine was discovered, along with weighing scales and €3,000 in cash. The driver of the vehicle, a 22-year-old Limerick man, was arrested under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act, which allows him to be detained for up to seven days.
Appeal over missing woman
Gardaí in Dublin are seeking help in tracing an 18-year-old woman.
Bridget McDonagh, who had been living at a Dublin address, is 1.7m (5ft 6in), of slim build with blue eyes and blond hair. She was last seen on Saturday, September 3rd, at 10pm on Eden Quay, wearing a pink jacket, green trousers and white runners. Anyone with information should contact gardaí on (01) 6668000.
Funeral service of Rev John Paterson
The funeral service of the former dean of Christ Church, Rev John Paterson, who died last Friday, will take place today.
He died at the national heart and lung transplant unit at the Mater Hospital, Dublin, following a long illness.The service will take place in Christ Church Cathedral at 11.30am.
Ahern warns on climate change
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has spoken of the "importance of finding ways to conserve our natural world" in light of threats to our ecosystem from climate change and pollution.
On a visit to the National Botanic Gardens Mr Ahern said: "Some scientists believe that as much as a quarter of all plant species could disappear within the next 50 years. The alarming rate of decline is a cause of great concern."