11.  He argued that the negotiators from eight participating parties soon would chart a compromise future for Northern Ireland that kept the predominantly Protestant province still firmly tied to Britain.

12.  He wants the eight participating parties to strike an agreement by Thursday night, but that deadline looks unlikely to be met.

13.  He wants the eight participating parties to strike an agreement on how Northern Ireland should be governed by Thursday night, but that deadline looks unlikely to be met.

14.  He said these transactions were carried out in the open market and had benefited all participating parties previously.

15.  If accepted by the participating parties, the plan would clear the first hurdle on the course to negotiating a peace settlement for divided Northern Ireland.

16.  The American talks chairman, former Sen. George Mitchell, and the other seven participating parties welcomed the proposals, but Sinn Fein labeled them inadequate.

17.  The British and Irish governments, which cosponsor the talks, presented a two-page plan for the eight participating parties to assess.

18.  The eight participating parties remain far apart on key issues, but all were taking the deadline seriously.

19.  The results become final after the participating parties have an opportunity to file objections.

20.  The talks stopped Tuesday with the eight participating parties still deadlocked over what they should even be talking about.