Ireland

Feuding parties and crumbling public services damaging public’s faith in Stormont, 28 years on from Good Friday agreementThe Good Friday agreement appeared over Northern Ireland like a sunburst – a miracle of political leadership that consigned the Troubles to history.Signed on 10 April 1998, it ushered in an era of peace that endures and is held up as a model for resolving conflicts around the world. Yet Northern Ireland will mark the agreement’s 28th anniversary on Friday with gloom. Continue reading...

Road and rail travel also disrupted across the UK before weather warnings lifted on SundayStorm Dave left thousands of homes across Wales and Northern Ireland without power and disrupted road and rail travel across the UK before high wind and snow warnings were lifted on Sunday morning.Winds of up to 93mph were recorded in Capel Curig in north Wales – 20mph higher than forecast – while the Met Office issued a yellow severe weather warning for heavy snow and blizzards across the Scottish Highlands, Argyll and the Western Isles on Saturday. Continue reading...

Petrol has risen 19% and diesel 35%, and in England the north has had the sharpest increasesFuel prices have risen faster in Northern Ireland than in any other UK region since the beginning of the Iran war.Analysis of official data shows that petrol has jumped by 19% in Northern Ireland since the end of February, and diesel is now 35% more expensive. The rises are among the largest in Europe. Continue reading...

Campaigners welcome Keir Starmer’s backing of ‘Philomena’s law’ to protect payments for those who accept compensationSurvivors of Ireland’s mother and baby homes can continue to receive benefits in the UK after Downing Street agreed to protect payments.Keir Starmer bowed to pressure from campaigners to back a bill known as Philomena’s law, which would ringfence survivors’ benefits if they accepted compensation from Dublin. Continue reading...