The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, has condemned the sectarian assault in Ballymena yesteday which has left a teenager in a critical condition in hospital.
Mr Ahern said the shocking attack on Michael McIlveen, a 15-year-old Catholic, was a reminder that sectarian hatred and violence were still real problems in parts of Northern Ireland.
Four men have been arrested in connection with the assault in which the teenager was chased from a cinema in the town and beaten by a group of men.
Separately, a 24-year-old man has been remanded after appearing in court in Derry charged with attempted murder.
Richard David Peoples from Lincoln Court is accused of stabbing a man three times in the back in the Waterside area of the city yesterday morning.
The victim, who is 25, does not have injuries that are considered to be life-threatening.
