The Orange Order has withdrawn an application to parade past Ardoyne on September 29 as part of the Ulster Covenant rally.

The state thought that Pat Finucane was expendable, the Northern Ireland Assembly has heard today.

There are up to 180 crime gangs in the North engaged in lucrative activities such as counterfeiting and fuel smuggling, police said today.

A STATE visit by Queen Elizabeth next year is yet another visible sign of the transformation which has taken place over recent years between Ireland and Britain. There is nothing to fear from such a visit, and much to be gained.

Prison officers in the North were forced to wear body armour to protect against the dissident republican threat, it was revealed today.

Daily meetings will be held to find a way forward on the North's parading dispute, the British government said today.

The SDLP's Alban Maginness was today nominated to become the first justice minister in the Northern Ireland Executive.

SDLP leader Mark Durkan today announced his intention to step down as party leader after the North's next General Election.

A man stabbed to death on a street in north Belfast earlier today has been named as 29-year-old homeless man George Morrison.

The SDLP today announced a wide-ranging reshuffle of its Assembly team.

Counting is due to begin this morning in the North's European elections, with Sinn Féin set to make history by topping the poll for the first time.

Sinn Féin is being widely tipped to top the poll when the European election results are counted in the North tomorrow.

Election officials in the North will begin preparations today for the official counting of the votes cast in the European Parliament election.

A top election official apologised tonight to voters who were accidentally charged over £5 (€5.75) to receive their polling cards.

The European election cannot be allowed to become a sectarian vanity contest, the SDLP warned today.

A 25-year-old man remained in intensive care tonight after being shot in the North.

CLAIMS that intelligence agents tracked the Omagh bombers on the day of the attack but failed to alert police were rejected in an official report yesterday.

The North’s government has been locked in suspended animation by the dispute between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin, it was claimed today.

Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists today backed calls for an investigation into the murder of an ex-RAF man in the North.

Politicians in the North are considering making developers contribute to the provision of new social housing, an Assembly committee was told today.

Peacelines and current public spending on law and order should remain for the foreseeable future, Ian Paisley said today.

A north Belfast couple were tonight preparing to flee their home after a sectarian petrol bomb attack which they say could easily have killed their 18-day-old son.

The UDA has denied involvement in a punishment attack that saw an alleged drug dealer tarred and feathered in south Belfast during the weekend.

The British government was accused tonight of a scandalous cover-up after a decision not to prosecute police officers or soldiers in connection with the assassination of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane.

The British government was today urged to allow a new advisory forum on a Bill of Rights in the North the chance to set the standards for other nations.

Paramilitary groups must go out of business in the North and stop issuing death threats to all people including civil servants, a senior nationalist politician said today.

Loyalist killer Michael Stone’s former paramilitary bosses must bear some of the blame for his bomb attack on Stormont, it was claimed today.

The British government was attacked tonight after warning Northern Ireland MLAs to begin making any staff redundancy arrangements

The British government was condemned today after announcing it was providing more than £3m (€4.3m) to have paramilitary murals in Northern Ireland painted over.

Ousted loyalist paramilitary chief Ihab Shoukri has been charged with terrorist offences.

A former police chef is to be extradited from the United States to face charges linked to the theft of Special Branch files in Belfast.

Northern Ireland Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde is seeking to have top loyalist Ihab Shoukri sent back to prison, it was revealed tonight.

Sinn Féin and the SDLP have both criticised the delay in bringing charges against 20 RUC officers accused of complicity in murders carried out by loyalist paramilitaries.

The SDLP has slammed Ian Paisley Jr's call for an end to the ongoing police investigation into the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane.

Murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane's family today pledged to take their fight to Dublin after accusing Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain of resisting demands for major changes to the inquiry into his killing.

The British government was last night accused of ignoring the wishes of the North's football fans over the location for a new national stadium.

British government plans for neighbourhood justice schemes in Northern Ireland are riddled with shortcomings, it was claimed tonight.

Camilla Parker-Bowles succumbed to Scandinavian delicacies tonight as she joined the Prince of Wales for an impromptu walkabout in central Belfast.

A bitter row erupted today between nationalists in Northern Ireland over claims that Sinn Féin had secured legislation which would cover up the truth about collusion between members of the security forces and loyalist terror groups.

Ulster Unionists are in Dublin today for talks with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and a senior member of the SDLP have clashed over their views on the UVF.

Councillors in Belfast tonight overturned a block on the family of Lord Fitt using City Hall for a memorial service to the SDLP founder.

Belfast City Council will tomorrow be asked to overturn a decision to deny the family of Gerry Fitt the City Hall for a memorial service.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams today called on the British and Irish Governments to move quickly to restore power-sharing in the wake of IRA decommissioning.