The forthcoming report by Metropolitan police commissioner Sir John Stevens into the Finucane murder finds collusion between the RUC and Loyalist paramiltaries and is causing it's first rumbles today.

Meanwhile leading Unionists claim that links between the Columbian leftist paramilitary group FARC and the IRA, indicate that Provisionals may have been over there testing new weapons. The Daily Telegraph suggests this is a breach of the IRA ceasefire.

Perhaps the unseasonably early runctions on the streets of Belfast may mean a quieter summer than has been common in the last few years as the Loyalist Commission move towards a no first strike agreement; though I wouldn't hold your breath!

Going back a year or four, here's a potted history of the Unionist Party by republican writer Ronan Bennett.