More news in brief.
Boys (13) in court on rape charges
Two 13-year-old boys appeared before a court in Belfast yesterday after a girl was raped in a park.
The teenagers are charged with assaulting the girl, aged in her late teens, as she walked through Woodvale Park in north Belfast last month.
One of the boys faces four charges: rape; attempted rape; armed robbery and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
The other is charged with attempted rape; aiding and abetting rape; armed robbery; GBH with intent and making threats to kill.
Neither boy, who appeared via video link in the youth court at Belfast Magistrates' Court, can be identified because of their age.
Both defendants were remanded in custody and ordered to reappear via video link on January 31st at the youth court.
Gardaí assaulted in Galway city
Several gardaí were assaulted in the early hours of yesterday morning while attempting to arrest a man over a road traffic incident in Galway.
The incident began at Abbeygate Street in Galway city centre shortly before 2am when the man refused to get out of a parked vehicle after being stopped on suspicion of drink-driving.
The man reversed the van in an attempt to get away and was pursued by gardaí before being stopped at the Upper Clybaun Road at Knocknacarra, Galway.
A man in his early 20s was arrested under the Road Traffic Act. He was later released without charge and a file is being prepared on the matter.