More N Ireland politicians threatened in flag row

Protesters stormed a Northern Ireland council meeting and threatened politicians as unrest sparked by Belfast city council's decision not to fly the British flag all year round entered a third week. Police said that no one was injured during the incident in Carrickfergus, north of Belfast, but that one officer had been hurt during a separate protest in east Belfast. Dozens of police have been injured during riots that have raged since councillors voted on December 3 to limit the number of days the Union Jack can fly over the City Hall to 17, outraging loyalists who believe Northern Ireland should retain strong links to Britain. Around 200 rioters pelted police with missiles in Belfast on Monday while parts of the city were blocked off to traffic. Several lawmakers have already received death threats. Some 3,500 people died in the three decades of violence between Northern Irish Protestants favouring continued union with Britain and Catholics seeking a unified Ireland. A 1998 peace agreement largely ended the conflict, but sporadic unrest and bomb threats continue as dissident offshoots remain violently opposed to the power-sharing government in Belfast, formed of Catholic and Protestant parties. Around 1,200 peace campaigners gathered in Belfast on Sunday for the second rally in as many days against the wave of street violence in the city, Northern Ireland's police said.