North Ireland legislature set to resume work as deal ends deadlock

The EU and UK struck a deal that effectively leaves Northern Ireland in the EU's custom union and much of the single market to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland

Northern Irish power sharing is set to resume after its biggest political parties agreed a deal to break a three-year deadlock that paralysed decision making in the troubled region.

The nationalist pro-Irish Sinn Fein party agreed to re-enter the assembly and executive on Friday in Belfast, accepting proposals tabled by the UK and Irish governments. The pro-British Democratic Unionist Party has endorsed the plans to restart the institutions, which collapsed in February 2017 over a renewable energy initiative that spiralled far over-budget.

The assembly is expected to meet on Saturday afternoon with politicians electing a speaker and appointing executive ministers,