Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain signed an order Sunday restoring the power-sharing assembly, but there is still no deal on a new leadership.
Hardline Protestant leader Ian Paisley agreed Saturday to share power with the pro-Catholic Sinn Fein, but says he needs another six weeks to get ready.
Sinn Fein has not completely ruled out an extension. But Hain says Britain will not grant Northern Ireland more time. He says the parties themselves must agree on a new way forward.
If there is no deal for a Northern Ireland executive by midnight local time Monday (2300 UTC, 7:00pm EDT), the British government says it will dissolve the assembly, stop paying the lawmakers, and govern Northern Ireland directly from London.
The power-sharing government is part of the 1998 Good Friday Peace Accords. It was suspended in 2002 when Protestants accused the Irish Republican Army of spying, The charges were dropped in 2005. Protestants want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom while Catholics want to unify with Ireland. - VOA News
