The dissident Ulster Unionist MP, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, has been appointed to a new "inner circle" of advisers to his party leader, Mr David Trimble. Relations between the two men were strained over recent months and Mr Donaldson's appointment has been interpreted as an attempt to ease internal divisions, Suzanne Breen writes.
Around a dozen people have been chosen to act as a new elite group of advisers. The group held its first meeting last weekend and is expected to meet every fortnight to decide on policy and strategy. It is believed the group's bottom line is that the Provisional IRA has to decommission before Sinn Fein can be let into government.
