Breakthrough on Stormont talks

A long-awaited meeting of the power-sharing executive will take place at Stormonttomorrow following a breakthrough in the peace process.

After a six-month impasse, the deadlock was broken yesterday at talks between Sinn Fein and theDemocratic Unionist Party. The two parties, which dominate the executive and the Northern Ireland Assembly, signalled major progress on transferring policing and justice powers to the Assembly, but no timetable for setting up the new ministry was set.

The executive will hold extra meetings to clear the backlog of business that has built up in recent months.