Northern Ireland talks

British and Irish government ministers have held talks aimed at finding a way out of the political crisis in Northern Ireland.

It follows the British decision yesterday Friday to restore direct rule in the province with the aim of giving all parties more time to resolve their differences over disarming paramilitary groups.

The British Northern Ireland Minister, John Reid, and the Irish Foreign Minister, Brian Cowan, met at Hillsborough Castle outside Belfast to discuss ways to keep the negotiations going, despite the suspension of the the province's power-sharing assembly.

The BBC Belfast correspondent there says it's expected that a legal technicality will be used to resurrect the province's political institutions during the weekend and grant the parties a further six weeks to try to reach an agreement.

The Northern Ireland secretary said direct rule could be restored at any time.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service