Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary the Orange Order has claimed that it was not involved in or responsible for the widespread violence that erupted throughout areas of the Six Counties after the Whiterock Orange parade was re-routed away from Workman Avenue on the Springfield Road on Saturday 10 September. Free article

Amid an orgy of violence orchestrated by the Orange Order and unionist paramilitaries and spurious justifications provided by unionist politicians, attacks on the nationalist community throughout the Six Counties took on a new intensity. Free article

International news in brief stories from around the world Free article

As the five men from Rossport, County Mayo spent their 79th day in jail for defending the interests of their community, protests supporting them continued all over Ireland. Last weekend saw the blockade of the Shell depot at Dublin Port, as well as a march and rally in Sligo Town. Other protests took place at Nenagh, County Tipperary, Dundalk, Tralee and Dublin. Free article

A republican prisoner in Portlaoise Jail was spiked with a bloodstained syringe in an incident at the jail last week. The prisoner from Dublin was playing football in the prison yard when he went to pick up the ball and was stuck with the dirty needle. The incident was reported to the prison authorities. As a result of being spiked with the needle the prisoner will now have to undergo HIV-tests. Free article

A unionist gang discussed sawing up a Catholic man during a savage sectarian attack in Ballymena in March 2003. Thirty-one-year-old Michael Reid was speaking as 30-year-old Neil White appeared in court awaiting sentencing for the sectarian attack. Free article

Although both the UVF and UDA were involved in orchestrating the violence across the North, before, during and after Saturday's Whiterock parade, British Secretary of State Peter Hain has decided to specify the UVF ceasefire while continuing with the farce that the UDA is observing its ceasefire Free article

Sinn Féin has asked MEP Bairbre de Brún to challenge in Strasbourg, the funding decisions made by the Lisburn Strategic Partnership after it emerged that two thirds of the funding applications it refused were from groups from the Catholic community Free article

The Community Restorative Justice (CRJ) group in Derry has urged the public to support a new initiative aimed at ending attacks on homes in the Fountain Estate interface Free article