Politics (Page 419)

The Good Friday Agreement ended a conflict that claimed more than 3,500 lives between 1968 and 1998. It is estimated that one-third of the adult population in Northern Ireland has been directly affected by bereavement, physical injury or trauma. Peace agreements often now include provisions (such as truth commissions) toContinue Reading

Between 1820 and 1920, four million people emigrated from Ireland to the US. Many were fleeing hunger and destitution and so brought with them an “exile” nationalism – a conviction that they were forced to leave by British misgovernment and exploitation of Ireland. Little wonder, then, that the Irish diasporaContinue Reading

The US president, Joe Biden, is expected in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland next week to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. His visit will be one of historic symbolism and of personal significance, as an Irish Catholic president who has spoken proudly of hisContinue Reading

As the French and Chinese presidents, Emmanuel Macron and Xi Jinping, were discussing the need for more constructive international engagement to end the war in Ukraine, it emerged this week that Ukraine, too, was open to reconsidering its options. A top adviser to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, noted that KyivContinue Reading

A Lancashire MP who has been suspended after a lobbying ‘sting’ received five gifts from companies linked to the gambling industry including tickets to watch two England football games, the Brits and Wimbledon it has been revealed. Blackpool South MP Scott Benton has had the whip suspended by the ConservativeContinue Reading

The Tánaiste has rejected suggestions that US president Joe Biden’s visit represents a snubbing of Northern Ireland. Mr Biden is taking part in various events across the island of Ireland next week, with his visit beginning in Belfast to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. TheContinue Reading

The results of Finland’s parliamentary elections signal a tumultuous period ahead. This was to a certain degree foreseen by pre-election polls, which indicated that prime minister Sanna Marin’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) was about to lose to the opposition conservative National Coalition Party (Kok), led by Petteri Orpo. The finalContinue Reading

At a time of almost constant political upheaval across the UK in the last few years, sometimes it feels that nothing would surprise us. But the astonishing events that unfolded in Glasgow on the morning of April 5 managed to detonate that notion. At the end of the new firstContinue Reading