A man and woman escaped injury in a bomb attack early today as loyalists escalated their feud.

A top loyalist was shot dead today as a new paramilitary feud erupted on the streets of Belfast.

Plans to close down 21 post office branches across Northern Ireland will “rip the heart out of urban and rural communities,” it was claimed today.

The RUC came under petrol bomb attack from loyalist gangs in east Belfast overnight.