Almost £30m has been paid out to patients across Northern Ireland who took medical negligence cases against health trusts in the past five years, it emerged today.

A new research project is set to examine the true situation surrounding the trafficking of women and children into Ireland’s sex industry.

A ward at the Erne Hospital has been closed due to an outbreak of MRSA. A Western Health and Social Care Trust spokeswoman said there were ten confirmed cases of the bug.

A crowd has attacked police carrying out drugs searches in Londonderry. Two officers sustained minor injuries after petrol bombs, fireworks, stones and bottles were thrown as they searched a house in the Brandywell.

Belfast is not the race hate capital of Europe, a leading international human rights expert said today.

Landlords in Northern Ireland are receiving £140m a year from housing benefit, figures released by the Housing Executive have shown. A shortage of social housing means the Housing Executive is using privately rented accommodation more frequently.

The number of women from Northern Ireland going to England for abortions has risen for the first time in five years, it can be. New statistics from the Department of Health in Whitehall show 1,295 women with addresses in Northern Ireland had abortions in England in 2006.

The number of people who claim they have been victims of racial discrimination in the workplace has doubled, according to statistics released today by the Equality Tribunal.

Belfast City Hospital has said it hopes to reopen its intensive care unit on Thursday. The unit was closed to new admissions on Wednesday after two patients were found to have a bacterial infection.

Sex offenders and violent criminals could be caged indefinitely under radical new Government plans. Northern Ireland minister Paul Goggins will publish draft proposals overhauling the law in the province to protect the public from the most dangerous criminals.