Northern Ireland Secretary warns: the world is watching

The Northern Ireland Secretary says the eyes of the world will be on the Province in the run-up to the annual Drumcree Parade.

Residents are bracing themselves as anger mounts over the decision to ban the parade from marching down the nationalist Garvaghy Road.

Meanwhile, several hundred loyalists marched up to army lines at Drumcree in protest at the decision to uphold its ban.

A number of protesters carried banners with "Shankill Road UFF" slogans.

Several climbed on top of army vehicles. There was no violence and the crowd later dispersed.

Dr Reid, speaking from Dublin, appealed for the two sides to show that different cultures could coexist free from violence.

Tension is high following the Parades Commission's rejection of a last ditch offer from the Orange Order to engage with the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition in a civic forum in Portadown if the parade was allowed to proceed.

The Order's Grand Master, Robert Saulters, claimed the organisation had been treated with contempt by the Parades Commission.

He commented: "This decision is cowardly and shows a bunch of 'jobs worths' who have no capacity for forward thinking or for finding innovative solutions."

Breandan Mac Cionnaith, spokesman for the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition, welcomed the decision, saying: "There was no justification to cause the Parades Commission to overturn its decision on Monday."