Two British service personnel were killed and one was injured today as two helicopters crashed north of Baghdad, the British Ministry of Defence said.

Two of the 15 captured British sailors pointed to a map of the Persian Gulf and identified where they had been arrested 10 days ago on video clips aired by Iranian state-run television channels.

Defence Secretary Des Browne last night confirmed that more British troops are to be deployed to southern Afghanistan.

British defence secretary Des Browne today denied that senior military officers have urged the Government to withdraw troops from Iraq to concentrate on the campaign in Afghanistan.

Nato defence ministers were today expected to approve an extension of the alliance’s Afghan security mission across the whole of the country, taking in the volatile eastern region and bringing around 10,000 US troops under allied command.

British Defence Secretary Des Browne today dismissed as "propaganda'' claims that the Taliban shot down a Nato aircraft in Afghanistan which killed all 14 British soldiers on board.

Four US soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter were killed by a roadside bomb north-west of Baghdad today and at least two dozen Iraqis died in violence across the country, as politicians put the final touches on a national unity government they hope will restore security to Iraq.

THREE car bombs rocked northern Baghdad yesterday morning within a span of half an hour while another struck a Shi’ite holy city, killing at least 17 and wounding 44.

Jane Kennedy is to leave the Northern Ireland Office in the cabinet reshuffle caused by the resignation of Immigrations Minister Beverley Hughes.

A former British Opposition spokesman on the North has been appointed to take over from Minister Des Browne at the Northern Ireland Office.

Loyalists have called for more funding for working class Protestant areas in Northern Ireland.

Loyalist paramilitary representatives held talks with a senior Government minister in Northern Ireland tonight in a bid to secure more funding for their community.

A COURT ruling in Belfast yesterday could force the British Government and the Police Service of Northern Ireland to reopen murder cases involving the army and members of the RUC.

A new acute hospital serving the west of Northern Ireland is to be built to the north of Enniskillen, it was announced today.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has denied claims by a DUP MP that he was involved in the IRA bombing of a hotel near Belfast 25 years ago which claimed the lives of 12 people.

A senior member of Northern Ireland’s Fire Authority has quit after a row with union chiefs, it was revealed today.

The British government has launched an inquiry into claims that renegade UDA commander Johnny Adair was paid a salary under an EU-funded community employment scheme last year.

Rival loyalists were today urged to use dialogue not gunfire to resolve their feud following the murder of a second man in Belfast.

Northern Ireland's hospital waiting lists have topped 60,000 for the first time.

Nearly 40 firefighters in the North could have lost their jobs if a pay deal to end their strike had been accepted, employers claimed today.

The British government minister in charge of community relations in the North has announced a funding package aimed at developing communities in north Belfast.

Fire brigade union representatives will hold talks with Northern Ireland Office ministers today ahead of next week's planned industrial action.

THE Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid yesterday told Britain’s House of Commons that he very much hoped that the suspended political institutions in the North “can be restored quickly”.

Northern Ireland was back under direct rule from London today after the British government suspended devolution at midnight in an attempt to save the peace process.

Northern Ireland today entered another era of direct rule from Westminster as the British government moved to save the Good Friday Agreement by suspending devolution.

Three men were today shot and injured in what bore all the hallmarks of a loyalist sectarian gun attack in north Belfast.

A man who lost his wife in the Omagh bombing has described the humiliating ordeal forced on his sister, and others, who had to strip in front of lawyers assessing compensation for their injuries.

Independent monitors must be placed at sectarian flashpoints across Belfast in a bid to identify ringleaders orchestrating street violence, republicans demanded today.

Political efforts to stem the rising tide of violence at sectarian flashpoints across Belfast were intensifying today with a number of high-profile meetings following a night of further violence in the city.

A Sinn Féin delegation is due to meet Northern Ireland Office minister Des Browne today to discuss the ongoing violence in Belfast.

Lives will be lost unless the violence in east Belfast ends, the British government was warned tonight.

Reg Empey, the deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, is meeting a top Northern Ireland Office official this afternoon to discuss violence in east Belfast.

Violence along an East Belfast peaceline will not end unless the security forces stop treating a nationalist neighbourhood as a no-go area, Democratic Unionist MP Peter Robinson claimed today.

Northern Ireland minister Des Browne will today meet with members of a political group aligned with the UDA.

Northern Ireland’s politicians tonight agreed to continue meeting to find a way to end the misery of sectarian street violence.

The British government today pledged to plough major resources into cracking soaring crime rates in Northern Ireland.

Tensions in north Belfast were on a knife edge tonight amid fears that the bitter sectarian violence blighting the area could spiral out of control.

The British government came under fire today for its selection of a former top Northern Ireland civil servant with links to the intelligence services to conduct a review of the theft of Special Branch documents in a break-in at a Belfast police station.

The inquiry currently being carried out into the events of Bloody Sunday is expected to cost the taxpayer at least £100m.

A trauma centre for the victims and survivors of Northern Ireland’s Troubles was boosted today under a £6.75m package announced by the Government.

An 18-year-old soldier remained critically ill in hospital today after a blast bomb attack in north Belfast.

The British Government was today being urged to kickstart a round of talks with the Northern Ireland parties in a bid to revive the troubled peace process.

A move to allow fresh elections to be held for the Northern Ireland Assembly if the current impasse continues was approved by the Commons tonight.