The Executive needs to shake off its "delivery sclerosis", the Assembly was told tonight.

Economic growth has fallen to its lowest level since the 1980’s, the Economy Minister in the North warned today.

The Stormont Executive’s first programme for government and investment strategy was tonight passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly, even though one of its minister’s parties voted against it.

The price paid in lost investment due to paramilitarism is to be raised with the Northern Ireland Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister at Stormont later today.

Fifty new jobs are to be created by a car parts firm in Co Antrim, it was announced today.

Proposals to speed up votes in the Assembly at Stormont are being examined further this week.

The only private sector proposal on the table for a controversial visitors centre at the Giant’s Causeway still has a number of issues which need to be addressed, Stormont Environment Minister Arlene Foster said today.

The Irish Government today faced further calls to rejoin the Commonwealth.

The DUP can take the credit for forcing Sinn Féin to move towards supporting the police, the party’s East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson insisted tonight.

Northern Secretary Secretary Peter Hain was today accused of treating the recalled Stormont Assembly as his own personal puppet show.

The British government today faced fresh demands in the North for a pension which all citizens would be eligible for and could afford to live on.

Sectarian division in the North is costing more than £1bn (€1.4bn) a year, it was claimed today.

With all 108 seats filled in the Northern Ireland Assembly the party shares are:

Tough new laws are set to be put in place to tackle sectarian violence and chanting at sports grounds, it emerged tonight.

Asbestos victims campaigning for compensation today received a huge boost as the North's Assembly members united to demand more money for those ‘‘breathing in death’’.

The British Government was expected today to face calls to urgently change the Northern Ireland Assembly’s voting system in a bid to avert a crisis in the peace process in 15 months’ time.

David Trimble has been re-elected as the North's First Minister.

Northern Ireland's Alliance Party has elected David Ford as its new leader.

The Northern Ireland cross-community Alliance Party is to elect a new leader today following last month’s resignation of Sean Neeson.

John Hume is quitting as leader of Northern Ireland's Social Democratic and Labour Party.

Sean Neeson has resigned as leader of the North’s cross-community Alliance Party after three years in the job.

Furious Ulster Unionists tonight hit out at being kept in the dark about new legislation transforming the issue of how the IRA disposes of weapons.

Seamus Close has resigned as deputy leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, it was confirmed today.

A decision by Northern Ireland’s Alliance Party to pull out of the North Down constituency in favour of David Trimble’s Ulster Unionist Party was one of the toughest decisions it has had to make, leader Sean Neeson said tonight.

Ulster Unionism has drifted from its core principals by trying to strike a deal with the Alliance Party, DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson claimed today.

The offer of an electoral pact between parties supporting the Good Friday Agreement remained open today as the Northern Ireland parties prepared to nominate Westminster candidates.