N Ireland clashes leave 56 police, 2 civilians injured

Fifty-six police officers and two civilians were injured in protests in central Belfast, authorities said on Saturday, following the latest flare-up in violence stoked by tensions between Northern Ireland's Protestant and Catholic communities.

Many of the injuries were minor, but four officers were taken to hospital after the clashes late on Friday, during which police fired plastic bullets and water cannon after being pelted with missiles for a second successive night. (Reuters)