Mr Trimble, for his part, goes into his annual party conference this weekend asserting that progress will be made, with or without Sinn Fein.

ECONOMIST: Northern Ireland

The Hizbullah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, tried to answer them in a conciliatory speech, asserting that despite its swift and violent takeover of Sunni districts in Beirut earlier this month, his Iranian-backed party had no intention of imposing its rule.

ECONOMIST: Lebanon