US envoy due in North as DUP-SF stand-off continues

US envoy Paula Dobrinsky is due in the North later today as a major stand-off between the DUP and Sinn Féin continues to impede the work of the power-sharing Executive.

The Executive has failed to hold a meeting since mid-June due to the impasse, which centres on the DUP's refusal to approve the devolution of policing and justice powers from London to Stormont.