Politicians in Northern Ireland are making significant progress on finding a comprehensive way to deal with the legacy of the Troubles, Stormont’s Justice Minister has said.

The Central Bank may sell more of its holdings of the country’s bonds than scheduled this year, as yields on Irish benchmark notes hover at record lows, according to sources.

Sinn Fein presented Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Brian Cowen with a letter protesting against the postponement of elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly tonight.