Essay: Belfast has more peace walls now than 25 years ago – removing them will be a complex challenge
In an article first published on The Conversation, TERESA GARCÍA ALCARAZ, of Queen’s University Belfast, says little progress has been made on removing the walls since a 2013 decision to have them all removed by this year…
Biden urges Northern Ireland leaders to seize “incredible economic opportunity”
Belfast, Northern Ireland, UKReuters US President Joe Biden urged Northern Irish political leaders to restore their power-sharing government with the promise that scores of major US corporations were ready to invest in the region as he marked the 25th anniversary of peace in Belfast. Biden, who is fiercely proud of his Irish heritage, spent just […]
Work to be done, PM Sunak says 25 years after Northern Irish peace deal
London, UK Reuters A quarter of century since the signing of a peace deal that largely ended violence in Northern Ireland, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said efforts had to be intensified to restore the power-sharing government central to the accord. Signed in Belfast on 10th April, 1998, the Good Friday agreement is considered one […]
Northern Ireland victims’ families feel justice further away then ever
Belfast, Northern IrelandReuters The Good Friday Agreement largely ended three decades of bloodshed in Northern Ireland, but for many relatives of the more than 3,600 people killed the peace accord has offered little closure over the past 25 years. In a short section, the deal said it was essential to address the suffering of victims […]
Reconciliation and community-building: Grassroots faith leaders navigate a Northern Ireland in flux
PETER SMITH, of Associated Press, reports on how faith leaders are continuing the work of bringing separated communities together…
Queen’s coffin arrives at Buckingham Palace as huge crowds line London route
London/Belfast, UKReuters King Charles III and members of the royal family received the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, after tens of thousands of people lined the streets in heavy rain to mark its arrival in the British capital. On a dark night, the well-lit hearse travelled slowly from […]
British Army killed innocent civilians in Belfast in 1971 – inquiry
Belfast, Northern IrelandReuters British soldiers unjustifiably shot or used disproportionate force in the deaths of nine of the 10 innocent people killed in a 1971 incident in Belfast that sparked an upsurge of violence during Northern Ireland’s “Troubles”, a judge-led inquiry found. A Catholic priest and a mother of eight who served soldiers tea were […]
Northern Irish leaders struggle to quell worst violence in years
Belfast, Northern IrelandReuters Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government put aside factional differences on Thursday to appeal for calm after more than a week of nightly violence partly fuelled by frustration among pro-British unionists over post-Brexit trade barriers. Hundreds of youths in the British province’s capital Belfast set a hijacked bus on fire and attacked police with […]
UK PM urges calm as Belfast protesters hijack bus, attack police
Belfast, UKReuters Crowds of youths in a pro-British area of Belfast set a hijacked bus on fire and attacked police with stones in the latest of a series of nightly outbreaks of violence that began last week. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “deeply concerned” by the violence, which has injured dozens of […]
‘Gay cake’ dispute referred to top European Court
LondonThomson Reuters Foundation A case involving a Northern Irish bakery that refused to make a cake with a pro-gay message for a customer has been referred to the European Court of Human Rights. Ashers Baking in Belfast was found guilty of discrimination in 2015 for refusing to make a cake for Gareth Lee iced with […]