The assembly speaker told MLAs sittings of the assembly "are not just another engagement in their diaries". The assembly speaker told MLAs sittings of the assembly "are not just another engagement ...

is the refusal to accept a nationalist first minister ... have. The assembly sitting came one day before thousands of public sector workers in Northern Ireland go on strike over pay and conditions.

Representatives from all parts of Northern Ireland sit in the assembly. They are called Members of the Legislative Assembly, or MLAs. We can vote for these politicians in regional elections.

The IRA was under intense pressure tonight to end all paramilitary activity as Northern Ireland's Assembly and power ... who will be stripped of his powers as First Minister, was philosophical ...