Martin McGuinness resigns as deputy first minister of Northern Ireland
Source: The Guardian
Martin McGuinness, Northern Irelands deputy first minister, has resigned from office in protest over his power-sharing partners handling of a bungled green energy scheme.
McGuinnesss resignation means a new Northern Ireland assembly election is inevitable.
Under the complex rules of power-sharing in the region, if either the first minister or the deputy resigns the coalition government between unionists and nationalists falls.
The former chief negotiator for Sinn Féin during the peace process, who admitted to being an IRA commander at the Bloody Sunday tribunal, said he was leaving the post because of a refusal by the first minister, Arlene Foster, to stand down temporarily from her job.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jan/09/martin-mcguinness-to-resign-as-northern-ireland-deputy-first-minister
He is also said to have a health problem (nature unknown), which may mean he will resign as the leader of Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland soon.