Power-sharing deal - Singing from the same sheet at last

The British Government, with the full backing of the Irish Government, promised to dissolve the Assembly in Northern Ireland, if it was not up and running by midnight last night. But this decision has now been postponed for a further six weeks.

In one sense it seemed that the brinksmanship of Ian Paisley had carried the day, but yet the vibes from Stormont yesterday were very positive.

Dr Paisley and Gerry Adams finally sat down together for the first time and came to an agreement on establishing a power-sharing Executive.