Blair delays Belfast visit

LONDON: British Prime Minister Tony Blair postponed a trip to Northern Ireland Thursday, where he had been expected to unveil plans for a breakthrough in the province’s peace process, Downing Street said.

Blair and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern had been expected to use a summit in Belfast to announce a formula for restoring Northern Ireland’s suspended power-sharing government.

They also hoped to prompt a declaration by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) that it would end paramilitary activities for good.

Blair and Ahern had been expected to unveil their proposals at Hillsborough Castle outside Belfast around 2 pm (1300 GMT) — five years to the day after the signing of the peace accords to end three decades of sectarian strife between Protestants and Catholics in the British province..—AFP

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