A stone mason was being questioned tonight about the suspicious deaths of three former girlfriends in a rural town in Northern Ireland.

Blocking a controversial proposal to ban abortions in private clinics allows Marie Stopes to operate under a cloak of darkness, it was claimed tonight.

Two DUP politicians in Northern Ireland have become the latest to receive death threats amid serious violence in the region.

Two senior Northern Irish politicians have received death threats.

A prison officer was shot dead when he was ambushed on a motorway on his way to work in Northern Ireland today.

The death of ex-Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi paves the way for the settlement of legal claims by IRA victims in the North, the DUP's Jeffrey Donaldson has said.

Emergency medical care hours will be cut at Lagan Valley Hospital from today because of a shortage of staff, it has been revealed today.

The Democratic Unionist Party’s Northern Ireland Assembly victory was tonight hailed as its greatest ever political triumph.

New Ulster Unionist Party leader Tom Elliott will meet party staff and officers today following his landslide victory.

Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Tom Elliott confirmed today that he will run for the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party.

JEFFREY Donaldson will be replaced at the Northern Ireland Assembly, the DUP confirmed yesterday.

CLAIRE BRADY (Celbridge) will be back in action on Irish soil on Sunday when she lines up for the 100m at the Woodies DIY AAI Games, which return to Castleisland after a 10-year absence. The Games will include senior relays as well as Paralympic events and a Masters 3km team event.

More than 100 jobs are to be created through a multimillion-pound expansion of an eco-friendly energy business in Lisburn, it was announced today.

THE general election outcome may still not be clear as dawn breaks over Britain on Friday.

The Ulster Unionist Party’s sole MP Lady Sylvia Hermon today said she will “weigh up her options” after refusing to fight the next election under a joint banner with the Conservative Party.

DUP leader Peter Robinson was back behind his desk today following the shock revelation that his wife tried to kill herself after confessing to an affair.

The Democratic Unionists were tonight under mounting pressure to clarify exactly what it will take for them to agree to devolving policing powers to Stormont.

Unionist voters in Northern Ireland were told today they could strengthen ties with Britain by backing the Conservative Party’s new political platform in the region.

A major security operation will be in place across the North today amid fears dissident republicans intend to mark the arrival of the new chief constable with violence.

A major investigation has begun today at a high security prison today after the second suicide of an inmate in more than a year.

Mitchel McLaughlin is standing down as the chairman of the Northern Assembly Finance and Personnel Committee as part of a reshuffle announced by Sinn Féin today.

Former DUP leader Ian Paisley has taken the Northern political establishment by surprise today by saying he might contest the next British general election.

Assembly Members must reveal if they employ relatives or hold second jobs under a new code of conduct unveiled at Stormont today.

The Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) deputy leader Nigel Dodds is to lose his job in the North's government today as part of a major ministerial reshuffle.

Early figures for voter turnout for the European Parliament election have confirmed fears of a huge drop in the numbers voting.

The Democratic Unionist Party was today accused of using 16th-century propaganda to oppose plans to allow heirs to the British throne to marry Catholics.

Politicians clashed today at the Stormont Assembly over attempts by Ulster Unionists to hand Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness the title of First Minister.

The number of police officers suspended for alleged misconduct is now at its highest level since the PSNI was formed, it was revealed today.

The North's business leaders were today urged to do all they can to attract shoppers from Ireland – despite objections from the Government.

The North's Education Minister Caitriona Ruane today faced calls to retain the 11-plus transfer test until a proven alternative is identified.

The North’s Culture Minister has given the clearest indication yet that proposals for a multi-sports stadium at the Maze prison site may be scrapped.

Devolution in the North will perish if urgent concerns about fuel and food poverty are not addressed, Democratic Unionists warned today.

A national sports stadium for the North on the site of the old Maze prison today looked to be dead and buried – at least for the foreseeable future.

Confirmation that the IRA’s ruling Army Council has been disbanded will not necessarily pave the way for devolved policing and justice, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said tonight.

ATHLETICS action at the weekend centred on the 46th running of the KitKat Tailteann Schools’ Interprovincial Championships in Santry on Saturday and the Woodie’s DIY Junior and U23 Track and Field Championships yesterday in Tullamore.

The people behind a booby-trap bomb attack on a police officer in the North are wedded to the politics of the dinosaur, a senior member of Sinn Féin claimed today.

The Rev Ian Paisley must be given credit for finally delivering power sharing in the North, Senator George Mitchell said today.

It has been a long apprenticeship. However today Peter Robinson finally got the chance to take over as leader of the North’s most successful political party, the Democratic Unionists, after 28 years of being the Rev Ian Paisley’s understudy.

ANDREW LEDWITH (Fr. Murphy’s) has been named on the Irish senior men’s team for the world cross-country championships at the end of the month in what could prove a very wise decision by the selectors.

Jeffrey Donaldson has waited a long time for ministerial office.

The North's First Minister the Rev Ian Paisley is odds-on to stand down from office this year, a bookmaker claimed today.

The North is to have four victims commissioners after the Rev Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness dramatically ditched a plan to appoint just one.

Members of the North’s Policing Board were today divided over whether taser guns should be piloted after the weapon was deployed in a tragic incident.

The DUP are seeking talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown after claims by the House of Lords in England that the IRA in South Armagh was involved directly in the murder of a man left with almost every bone in his body broken.