This blog is now closed. Read our main report here: Police use water cannon against rioters in Northern Ireland

Hadi Alodid refused legal representation and made no reply to charges which were put put to him through an Arabic interpreter as he appeared in court charged with attempted murder following the Belfast knife attack, the Press Association reports.

The 30-year-old, with an address at Duncairn Avenue in Belfast, appeared before the city’s magistrates’ court on Wednesday morning.

He is charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie on Monday, with threatening to kill an NHS radiographer on the same day and with the possession of a knife.

David Stroud grabbed a woman’s hair and asked if he could kiss her two days after legislation took effect

A train passenger has become the first person to be sentenced under a new harassment law after a prosecution brought by the British Transport Police (BTP).

David Stroud, 44, grabbed a woman’s hair and asked her “can I kiss you?” on a rail journey to London on 3 April, two days after the new legislation came into force banning harassment motivated by a person’s sex.

Attack was filmed and shared online prompting Elon Musk and others to call for anti-immigration protests

Politicians from across the spectrum have called for calm after a knife attack in Belfast prompted widespread shock and condemnation.

There are fears there could be disorder after figures on social media, including Elon Musk, called for people to fill the streets in protest against immigration. The alleged perpetrator of the attack, which was filmed and shared widely online, was revealed today as an asylum seeker from Sudan.

Crowds gather at sites across Belfast after Sudanese man charged with attempted murder

• Full report: Man seriously injured in Belfast stabbing Starmer describes as ‘sickening’

Badenoch said, after the murder of Stephen Lawrence, it was right that people wanted to ensure this did not happen again.

It led to the Macpherson report, she said.

[It] wanted to put right what went wrong with policing in the 1990s.

However, in attempting to do so, it also enshrined a principle which I believe is wrong that a racist incident is racist if it is perceived as racist by the victim or any other person.

Equality law, properly designed, should protect us all in the same way. It should be a shield, not a sword.

It should protect people from discrimination. It should protect people from being treated differently because of their race, sex, religion, sexuality, disability or age.

Paul Edwards ordered the publication before the birth of his son in 2007, but experienced pregnant pause before receiving it this week

When Paul Edwards ordered a parenting magazine in 2007, he was hoping that it would provide helpful advice and offers to help him navigate the stresses and challenges of bringing up children.

However the magazine never arrived – until now. The copy of Mother & Baby was delivered on Friday – 19 years after he ordered it – with his children now studying at university.

This blog is now closed – our live coverage of the Middle East crisis continues here

Donald Trump also aggressively pushed back against claims that he broke a key campaign promise to keep the US out of new foreign conflicts.

“Well, well, first of all, I didn’t guarantee no war,” Trump said during the Meet the Press interview. “Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?”