Northern Ireland's largest British unionist party, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), has agreed to end its boycott of the power-sharing administration after two long years. This breakthrough could lead to the restoration of the Belfast government within days, with the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein holding the position of the first minister for the first time.
The decision came after a marathon late-night meeting, where DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson announced that the party's executive had endorsed proposals to return to the government. He stated that agreements reached with the UK government in London 'provide a basis for our party to nominate members to the Northern Ireland Executive, thus seeing the restoration of the locally elected institutions.'
