More news in brief.
Boy (4) struck by coal lorry fights for life
A four-year-old boy is fighting for his life after being knocked down by a truck.
The boy was set to enrol in junior infants this morning at a primary school in Knocknaheeny, Cork city.
He was playing with a skateboard at Ardcullen in Knocknaheeny at lunchtime on Friday when he was knocked down by a lorry delivering coal. The incident is being treated as an accident. Prayers were offered at Masses on the north side of Cork city yesterday for the boy and his parents.
Man critical after street attack
A man was critically ill in hospital in Northern Ireland last night after being attacked in the street.
The man, believed to be in his 20s or 30s, was found lying injured in the street in the Banfield Road area of Coleraine, Co Derry, at around 2.30am.
The man - who has yet to be identified - is being treated in Coleraine's Causeway Hospital where his condition was described as critical.
Trio appear over cocaine seizure
Three men will apply for bail next Wednesday after they appeared before a special court at the weekend to face charges relating to a cocaine seizure in Limerick.
Timothy O'Grady (46) of St John's Terrace, Hospital, Co Limerick; William O'Donnell (31) of Monabraher Road, Ballynanty, Limerick and Patrick Hogan (26) of Long Range, off Sand Mall, Limerick were remanded in custody until September 3rd.
Each of the men face three charges including possession of cocaine worth more than €13,000 at a house on Friday.
Six kilograms of the drug, worth around €400,000, were seized. A Garda witness said that in relation to one of the charges William O'Donnell replied: "They weren't my drugs and I was forced to do it."
Reports of lion spotted in park
A hunt was launched last night after police received reports of a lion being spotted in a park in Belfast.
The animal was said to have been seen in Cavehill Park - only a short distance from Belfast Zoo.
Urgent checks were being made at the zoo to see if any of their big cats had gone missing.
The PSNI helicopter was scouring the area from the air and officers were deployed on the ground.
A PSNI spokesman said: "We are taking this seriously, there have been a string of calls about sightings." - (PA)
Injured leaping from ambulance
A 35-year-old man was recovering in hospital last night after jumping from a moving ambulance in Limerick while he was being transported to hospital.
The incident occurred at about 12.10am yesterday when an ambulance was sent to assist a reportedly drunken man on the roadside.
The man, who was not injured but was so drunk the crew decided to take him to hospital, would not lie down on the stretcher and was eventually buckled into a seat in the rear of the ambulance.
As the ambulance was negotiating a junction on a dual carriageway at about 25km/h the man leapt from the vehicle.
He was not seriously injured but was taken to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Dooradoyle for treatment.