A round up of today's national news stories
Upgrade announced for Derry to Belfast corridor
The North's Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy has announced a £52 million (€66m) package to upgrade a key section of the Derry to Belfast northern corridor, writes Niall Dumigan.
Part of the A26 between Ballymena and Ballymoney will be upgraded to dual carriageway standard to help facilitate the 18,000 vehicles that travel the route each day.
The road is well known locally as an accident black spot. The decision follows an extensive public and private consultation in which four other options were considered.
In a statement the Minister emphasised the improvements in journey time and road safety. "The improvement will also enhance tourist links for this area," he added.
The move has been welcomed by both the DUP and SDLP.
North Antrim MLA Ian Paisley jnr said, "There've been far too many lives lost on that road, and at last we're going to have a new dual carriageway which will allow for better road safety." SDLP MLA Declan O'Loan also signalled his support, but reminded the Minister safety must be a "key priority" at the design stage.
Meteors most visible tonight
STAR-GAZERS will be hoping for a break in the clouds tonight for a glimpse at one of the world's best known meteor showers.
The shooting stars, known as the Perseids, were due to be at their most visible last night and tonight with one meteor a minute expected to streak across the night sky.
Astronomy Ireland is urging everyone to count sightings of the event and report the data to the star-watching body.
"The Perseids is one of the best known meteor showers and for good reason," said Astronomy Ireland. "You can expect to see up to one meteor per minute around the peak of this shower.
"Such meteors are often called 'shooting stars' but in reality, meteors are not connected with stars at all.
"In fact they are tiny pieces of debris, often no bigger than a grain of sand, which hit our atmosphere at very high speed and instantly vaporise."
Man (29) in serious condition after attack in Sydney
A 29-year-old Irish man was in a serious condition in an Australian hospital yesterday after he was assaulted at the weekend. The man suffered serious head injures after being attacked in Sydney. He was found just before 3am on Saturday morning at Brook Street in the beach area of Coogee which is popular with backpackers.
The young man remained in a serious but stable condition in the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney yesterday. It took almost two days for police to identify the young man after issuing an appeal for anyone who knew him to come forward.
Police in New South Wales yesterday renewed their appeal for witnesses to the attack. The Department of Foreign Affairs is providing consular support to the man's family.
Crowe to take over SF council seat
Sinn Féin's Seán Crowe will take over the party's South Dublin County Council seat in September. The decision came after councillor Mark Daly announced his decision not to contest the next local elections next year.
Mr Crowe, who served as TD for Dublin South West from 2002 but lost his seat last year, said yesterday he was delighted to be given another chance to represent the area.
A poll-topper in 2002, Mr Crowe's failure to be re-elected last year was one of the biggest surprises for Sinn Féin in what was a disappointing general election for the party.
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams claimed the party's Dublin candidates had been "squeezed" in the election battle between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.