Northern Ireland’s First Minister Hospitalised after Sudden Illness

Northern Ireland‘s First Minister Peter Robinson was recovering after an emergency operation on Monday, the hospital treating him said, with local media reporting that he had suffered a suspected heart attack.

Robinson’s British nationalist Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leads a power-sharing regional government with Irish nationalists Sinn Fein under the terms of a 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.

The DUP is currently at odds with Sinn Fein over a social welfare bill due to be submitted to the regional assembly this week, which several senior figures have said could lead to the collapse of the government.

Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital said in a statement that Robinson, 66, had undergone a procedure and was recovering.

Read more at Reuters