News in brief

By The Associated Press

Irish nationalist will lead Northern Ireland’s government

LONDON | An Irish nationalist has made history by becoming Northern Ireland’s first minister. Sinn Fein Vice President Michelle O’Neill was nominated Saturday as first minister as the government returned to work after a two-year boycott by unionists.

Under terms of the 1998 Good Friday peace accord, Northern Ireland’s two main communities — British unionists who want to stay in the U.K., and Irish nationalists who seek to unite with Ireland — share power.

The U.K. government agreed to further ease trade barriers this week, leading the unionists to return to government. O’Neill will share power with Emma Little-Pengelly, a deputy first minister from the Democratic Unionist Party.

Senegal’s leader postpones Feb. 25 presidential vote

DAKAR, Senegal | Senegalese President Macky Sall has postponed presidential elections scheduled for Feb. 25, citing controversies over the disqualification of some candidates and allegations of corruption in election-related cases.

Sall says he signed a decree repealing the law that convened the electoral body just as campaigning was set to begin in one of West Africa’s most stable democracies. He did not announce a new date for the vote.

He also said some of the 20 candidates cleared to run for the election were discovered to have dual nationality, which would disqualify them under the Senegalese constitution. The announcement is the latest in a series of controversies surrounding the crucial vote.

—From AP reports