The all-party talks at Stormont took a vital step forward late on Wednesday night when the parties agreed to negotiate on the substantive issues. Free article

Fern Lane of Fuascailt argues that Britain must hold a public inquiry into the death of Diarmuid O'Neill Free article

A sectarian campaign of verbal and physical abuse, is how independent nationalist councillors' Breandan Mac Cionnaith and Joe Duffy have described ongoing attacks on Catholic schoolchildren by loyalists in Portadown. "Victimisation and harrassment of young Catholics in Portadown is not new," said Councillor Mac Cionnaith, "but it has clearly increased in recent weeks." Free article

"It must be a joke, but no one on the Garvaghy Road is laughing," said Tria Ni Chormaic, responding to RUC Chief Ronnie Flanagan's claim that his officers used "all possible restraint" when removing residents from the Garvaghy Road last July. Free article

Eight weeks into a ceasefire, the RUC in Derry admitted that it is still deeply involved in a strategy of infiltrating and compromising the nationalist community by using informers. This unprecedented admission followed a SF press conference on Thursday when Councillor Cathal Crumley introduced three recent targets of the RUC's recruitment attempts. Free article