Youth unemployment will be the main focus of discussions at a meeting of the North South Ministerial Council today.

Nearly 1,000 workers being made redundant by US technology company Seagate are being offered six times the minimum statutory pay-off and will walk away with an average of more than £20,000 (€29,000) each.

ONCE again, the enormous efforts the SDLP have made to ensure that North-South issues are at the heart of government policy in Dublin and London have paid dividends, with the launch of the all-island economic cooperation blueprint by the Irish and British governments.

More ambition is needed on an all-Ireland level to deal with the issues of waste, spatial planning, transport and education, it was claimed tonight.

THE thugs involved in assaulting the gardaí, as well as the looters, vandals and drunks deserve severe censure and careful analysis of their backgrounds.

The SDLP will today demand Taoiseach Bertie Ahern puts pressure on the British government to drop plans for controversial legislation which could see on-the-run terror suspects avoid prosecution.

North South co-operation cannot continue to be held hostage to the political stalemate in Northern Ireland, SDLP leader Mark Durkan said today.

The British and Irish governments’ deal for reviving power sharing is flawed, the leader of the nationalist SDLP Mark Durkan claimed today.

The Democratic Unionists’ negotiating position is blocking a return to power sharing at Stormont, it was claimed today.

The political battle for the next general election has already begun, the Labour party warned today.

A major conference on child protection will hear calls this morning for serious examination of the law to prevent sex offenders slipping into this country.

The Government and the Stormont Executive are to consider increasing the number of cross-border bodies, it was disclosed today.

The Government was today warned by Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble that it was being used by Sinn Fein for electoral purposes by holding talks with Stormont ministers Martin McGuinness and Bairbre de Brun.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams was today continuing his visit to the United States, where he has called on the British government and unionists to ‘‘knuckle down’’ and build on the IRA’s re-engagement with the decommissioning body.