Nineteen now arrested over disorder with house targeted in arson

Nineteen people - including a 16-year-old-boy - have now been arrested following the violence in parts of Northern Ireland this week.

Thursday night was relatively quiet although police say an arson attack in north Belfast is linked to the disorder.

The fire service was called to the Shore Road on Thursday night where a blaze had been set at the rear of a house - there are no reports of injuries.

A leading member of the Indian community in Londonderry has said some health care professionals from overseas have told him they are now questioning whether they should have come to Northern Ireland at all.

In an update on the disorder, police said the property was unoccupied at the time and two neighbouring properties also sustained damage as a result of the attack, which is being treated a hate-motivated arson.

They also said they were alerted to race-hate graffiti in Dee Street and Newtownards Road areas of east Belfast.

Elsewhere, a car fire was extinguished on the Glenshane Road in Derry at 00:30 BST on Friday. No one was injured in the incident and police are treating it as a hate-motivated arson.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) say its policing operation will remain over the weekend to ensure public order is maintained.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said they received 46 emergency calls resulting in crews being mobilised to 26 incidents across Northern Ireland on Thursday evening.

Dr Mukesh Chugh has lived and worked as a doctor in Derry for more than 20 years.

"We hear especially from people who come from different nations and people of different colour - their houses are gone, their cars are gone, their windows are smashed," he told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

"We're in a WhatsApp group and there are messages floating that a certain family has been made homeless overnight and they were a family with small kids.

"I believe that people are anxious, people are in fear and they need reassurance at this point."

The disorder was sparked after footage of a knife attack in north Belfast on Monday night was shared widely on social media.

Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old originally from Sudan, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder over a knife attack in north Belfast on Monday that caused serious injuries to the victim, Stephen Ogilvie.

Violence broke out across Northern Ireland on Tuesday night, with homes, businesses and vehicles targeted.

Further disorder followed on Wednesday, particularly in Glengormley and Portadown, where police came under attack and deployed water cann