Northern Ireland political party agrees to end 2-year boycott and restore the mothballed government

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Northern Ireland’s largest British unionist party says it has agreed to end a boycott that left the region’s people without a power-sharing administration for two years. After a late-night meeting, Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson said the party’s executive has backed proposals to return to the government. He said agreements reached with the U.K. government in London “provide a basis for our party to nominate members to the Northern Ireland Executive.” The breakthrough came after the U.K. government gave Northern Ireland politicians until Feb. 8 to restore the collapsed government or face new elections. The Belfast government could now be restored within days, with Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein holding the post of first minister for the first time.