The restoration of devolution to the North is not a done deal, Peter Hain warned today.

The British government was today told to put in place the proper funding to enable the devolution process in the North to take effect.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is due to meet the leaders of the DUP and Sinn Féin today to discuss the planned restoration of power-sharing in the North in 12 days' time.

There was a positive air today as the North’s newly elected Assembly members met for the first time since the polls that gave Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionist Party an even greater mandate.

DUP leader Ian Paisley has still not clearly indicated if he will share power with Sinn Féin by the March 26 deadline set down by the British government.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern and Northern Secretary Peter Hain have insisted that there must be a power-sharing Executive at Stormont by the March 26 deadline.

Police in the North are to take out newspaper advertisements on both sides of the border as part of a fresh appeal for information about the Omagh bombing.

Northern Secretary Peter Hain will hold new talks in Belfast today as a two-week countdown begins to the deadline for restoring power-sharing in Northern Ireland.

Northern Secretary Peter Hain will hold new talks in Belfast tomorrow as a two-week countdown begins to the deadline for restoring power-sharing in the North.

Sinn Féin's chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness has said he is hopeful that a power-sharing executive can be formed in the North by the March 26 deadline.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs says he is not surprised by the electoral success of the two more extreme political parties in the North.

The Northern Secretary Peter Hain says he needs an answer from the parties by March 25 if the next day's deadline for devolution is to be met.

Following its success in the North's assembly poll, Sinn Féin will formally launch its campaign for the upcoming general election in Dublin tonight.

The distribution of votes is continuing after the North's Assembly election today, with the DUP and Sinn Féin continuing to surge ahead of their rivals.

Northern secretary Peter Hain has warned the North's politicians that they must "put up or shut up" in relation to the restoration of devolution at Stormont.

Sinn Féin has condemned the arrest of an independent republican candidate outside the Assembly election count centre in Omagh yesterday.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, and British prime minister Tony Blair are due to discuss the outcome of the North's Assembly election today.

The possibility of a resumption of power-sharing in the North remains as unclear as ever this morning as the counting of votes continues following Wednesday's Assembly election.