A loyalist paramilitary chief was fighting for his life tonight after assassins struck near north Belfast.

Two women and three children escaped from a house fire in West Belfast today.

Politicians from across the political spectrum have condemned an assault on the deputy chairman of the North's Policing Board last night.

Police believe dissident republicans were responsible for an attack on the vice-chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board as he watched a football match in a Derry bar.

The deputy chairman of the North's Policing Board was hospitalised earlier this week after being assaulted in a pub in the Brandywell area of Derry.

Police and fire crews were attacked today by a gang of youths in Northern Ireland.

Police came under attack in North Belfast tonight as they carried out searches in a loyalist area in connection with an investigation into serious crime.

A man in his 50s sustained serious facial and head injuries in an attack in Belfast last night and the house he was in was set alight.

Five people are being treated for stab wounds after being attacked by a gang in Co Down early this morning.

A family trapped in a house fire may have been the victims of an escalating neighbourhood feud, it emerged today.

An SDLP delegation has met with the Government in Dublin to discuss the continuing crisis over who has authority over Orange parades.

Six packages containing mass cards and a mystery white powder have been sent to the members of the SDLP and the headquarters of the North’s Policing Board.

Unionist political and community leaders in Northern Ireland were today told to do more to tackle racial attacks in their areas.

A 35-year-old father of two was found murdered today after a gang of men abducted him from his Co Armagh home.

Detectives launched a murder inquiry today after a man’s body was discovered in Co Armagh.

A 28-year-old man was recovering in hospital today after suffering a fractured skull in a vicious paramilitary-style attack.

Loyalist paramilitaries were today blamed for a gun attack on a house in Derry which left a woman showered with glass.

A mother and daughter are recovering today after a gun attack on their home in Derry.

Loyalist and republican paramilitaries have carried out 1,700 punishment attacks in Northern Ireland since 1998, Chief Constable Hugh Orde revealed today.

Sinn Féin has claimed that a group of around 40 loyalists crossed the peaceline in south Belfast last night and threatened Catholics in the Lower Ormeau Road area.

A school in the North was evacuated today after a suspect package was found near the school which also had a petrol bomb thrown at it.

Petrol bombers launched overnight attacks on two family homes in Northern Ireland as a baby and teenagers slept.

Police in the North have launched a murder inquiry following the death of an Asian man who was assaulted in Co Tyrone over the weekend.

A family in north Belfast was recovering from shock today after their house was set alight during a night of violence in the city.

A policeman was injured early today during disturbances in west Belfast.

A 12-year-old girl and her 37-year-old cousin have escaped injury after a shot was fired at a house in Belfast last night.

A 19-year-old woman escaped injury when petrol bombs were thrown at a flat in Derry early today.

Maritime distress flares designed to save lives are being used by loyalist terrorists to try to kill, police said today.

Two teenage boys are recovering in hospital following paramilitary style shootings in Belfast last night.

Loyalist paramilitaries were tonight suspected of bludgeoning a man to death.

A pensioner targeted in a bomb attack today claimed it happened because he was a member of a Northern Ireland policing forum.

Two pensioners escaped injury when a bomb exploded at their home in Co Tyrone, it emerged today.

A man, a woman and two teenage boys escaped injury when a shot was fired through the living room window of the family home, in the Westmoreland area of Bangor last night.

A prison officer’s car was attacked with a petrol bomb late last night, police said today.

Sinn Féin is accusing the UDA of stepping into the political vacuum in the North and increasing sectarian tensions and attacks in Belfast.

An attack on children outside a Belfast secondary school today was being treated by police as sectarian.

The homes of Catholics and Protestants in north Belfast were damaged in attacks by rival groups late last night, police said today.

Two men were being questioned in Northern Ireland today about the murder of a young man.

A murder investigation was launched by police in the North today after the violent death of a young man.

Chief Constable Hugh Orde today pledged to track down republicans involved in a growing campaign of intimidation against Catholic members of policing boards in Northern Ireland.

Police in the North have arrested four men and a woman in connection with dissident republican death threats against members of the District Policing Partnerships in the North.

A dissident republican shot by paramilitaries in north Belfast has accused the Provisional IRA of trying to kill him because of his political views, it emerged today.

Police in the North have launched an investigation after a number of homes in West Belfast were evacuated due to a security alert on the Stuartstown Road.

Close to 50 people were involved in overnight trouble in the North along the Irish Street area of Downpatrick.