Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams began their first ever face-to-face talks today in a last-ditch bid to rescue devolution in the North.

David Ervine, leader of the loyalist Progressive Unionist Party in the North, died in hospital today.

The transitional Northern Assembly has concluded the business of nominating a First and Deputy First Minister, despite uncertainty about the DUP's exact stance on the matter.

The Northern Assembly has resumed its work amid tightened security following last Friday's attempted bomb attack at Stormont by loyalist killer Michael Stone.

The Northern Lord Chief Justice was today preparing to tell loyalist killer Michael Stone how long he will have to spend behind bars.

PANTOMIME season is in full swing and clearly this year’s most spectacular (and longest running) show was the one that opened in Stormont yesterday.

One of the North’s most notorious killers Michael Stone has forced the suspension of the Stormont Assembly today after claiming he had thrown a bomb into Parliament Buildings.

NORTHERN Secretary Peter Hain last night bluntly warned squabbling Unionist and Republican leaders to cut a deal before Tony Blair loses power.

The North may not get the same level of British government focus when the next Prime Minister takes over, secretary of state Peter Hain warned today.

Northern Ireland Assembly members will start a two-month holiday on Friday after being called together for one more debate, it was learned today.

The coming weeks will test whether the Democratic Unionists are serious about preparing for devolved government in the North, Martin McGuinness claimed tonight.

Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain today appointed the Stormont Assembly's two deputy speakers to chair a crucial committee preparing for the return of devolved government.

Northern Ireland Assembly members were today given until Monday to make their position clear on a committee preparing for devolved government.

Northern Secretary Secretary Peter Hain was today accused of treating the recalled Stormont Assembly as his own personal puppet show.

NORTHERN Secretary Peter Hain was accused yesterday of letting Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionists pull his strings on how he handled the North.

UK Northern Secretary Peter Hain tonight condemned Stormont Assembly members for failing to find someone to chair a new committee tasked with preparing for devolution.

SDLP leader Mark Durkan has strongly criticised both the UK Northern Secretary Peter Hain and DUP leader Ian Paisley after politics at Stormont today descended into farce today.

The first bid by Northern Ireland Assembly members to elect a First Minister and a Deputy First Minister today failed.

Northern Ireland Assembly members will stage their first debate today since Stormont was recalled for business after three and a half years.

THE peace process lurched forward again yesterday as the Stormont assembly resumed for a last-ditch effort to make power-sharing work.

The Rev Ian Paisley tonight warned Sinn Féin and British Prime Minister Tony Blair there would be no cabinet seat for republicans in a future power sharing government of Northern Ireland unless the IRA had gone out of business.

The North's Assembly members will gather at Stormont today for the first time in three and a half years as part of a new bid to secure devolution.

The nationalist SDLP was accused today of sending out mixed messages on its attitude to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which reconvenes next week.

People were today being invited to sign a book of condolence for murdered schoolboy Michael McIlveen.

Sinn Féin will bid to have the Reverend Ian Paisley nominated as Northern Ireland First Minister when the North’s Assembly is reconvened next week, Gerry Adams insisted today.

The next Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly will be former Alliance Party deputy leader, Eileen Bell, the British government announced today.

Politicians from across the political spectrum have condemned an assault on the deputy chairman of the North's Policing Board last night.

Sectarian division in the North is costing more than £1bn (€1.4bn) a year, it was claimed today.

IT is the duty of all people in Northern Ireland to unite to tackle racism, the Lord Mayor of Belfast told a rally yesterday.

It is the duty of all people in the North to tackle racism, a rally was told today.

With all 108 seats filled in the Northern Ireland Assembly the party shares are:

Northern Ireland’s main unionist and nationalist parties are more likely to suffer from voter apathy in next month’s Assembly election, it was claimed today.

PRISONERS must be denied control of their own wings in Northern Ireland jails, a cross community party insisted yesterday.

A BOMB attack on a prison officer’s home in which his young daughter had a narrow escape after unwittingly picking up the device was branded contemptible yesterday.

SINN Féin’s leadership appears to be in denial about the root problems in the Northern Ireland peace process, Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble claimed last night.

It is exactly a week since Northern Ireland’s power-sharing Assembly was put on hold but judging by the numbers in the Stormont canteen today someone had forgotten to tell the members.

The middle-of-the-road Alliance Party gave a guarded welcome to the IRA statement.

The British Government was expected today to face calls to urgently change the Northern Ireland Assembly’s voting system in a bid to avert a crisis in the peace process in 15 months’ time.

The British Government is setting aside the views of the victims of terrorist violence in Northern Ireland by considering ways of enabling ‘‘on-the-run’’ paramilitaries to return without facing the law, it was claimed today.

David Trimble has been re-elected as the North's First Minister.

Crisis talks to rescue the Northern Ireland Assembly were taking place between the Government and a cross community party today as speculation mounted that there could be another bid to elect new First and Deputy First Ministers.

Northern Ireland's Alliance Party has elected David Ford as its new leader.

The Northern Ireland cross-community Alliance Party is to elect a new leader today following last month’s resignation of Sean Neeson.

Stormont Regional Development Minister Gregory Campbell was today urged to lead a drive to remove paramilitary flags and murals which have communities gripped by fear.