The Ulster Unionist Party has been fined for failing to declare £12,000 of its spend on last year's Assembly election.

The Taoiseach confirmed last night that Fianna Fáil has been registered as a political party in the North.

Research by the North's Electoral Commission has found widespread political disinterest among ethnic minorities.

Sinn Fein has urged the North's electoral commission to address a "democratic deficit" it said has been created by new anti-fraud measures.