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 […]
Northern Ireland amnesty law angers families who say they will be denied justice
London, UKReuters The British Government pushed ahead with plans to offer an amnesty to former soldiers and individuals involved in decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland as victims say the new law will deprive them of justice. Unresolved crimes from Northern Ireland’s three decades of confrontation between Irish nationalist militants, pro-British “loyalist” paramilitaries and […]
Belfast takes Sinn Fein’s historic election win in its stride
Belfast, Northern Ireland, UKReuters Irish nationalists in Belfast toasted Sinn Fein’s historic election victory on Sunday while pro-British neighbours quietly fumed, but there was little sign the weekend’s political earthquake was about to rock this once-troubled city. In a victory that would have been unimaginable a few decades ago, the former political wing of the […]
“Welcoming the stranger”: UK churches step up to help as refugees begin to enter the UK
GILLIAN MCDADE-HASTINGS reports on how UK churches are responding to the refugee crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine…
Ukraine response: Churches on both sides of the UK-Irish border step up to provide humanitarian aid to those fleeing the conflict
GILLIAN MCDADE-HASTINGS reports on how churches in the Northern Ireland and the neighbouring Republic of Ireland are responding to the war in Ukraine, cause of Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II…
Northern Ireland child abuse victims get formal government apology
London, UK AP The Northern Ireland Government issued a formal apology on Friday to people who were abused in orphanages and children’s homes, telling them that “the state let you down.” Ministers from all five political parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly read out apologies to survivors gathered at the Stormont government buildings near Belfast. […]
Ireland calls for justice on 50th anniversary of ‘Bloody Sunday’
Londonderry, Northern IrelandReuters Ireland on Sunday called on Britain to ensure justice for the families of 13 peaceful protesters shot dead by its soldiers on “Bloody Sunday” in 1972 as thousands marked the 50th anniversary of one of the defining days of the Northern Ireland conflict. The British Government in 2010 apologised for the “unjustified […]
‘Bloody Sunday’ still scars Northern Ireland 50 years on
Londonderry, Northern IrelandReuters Five decades after British soldiers killed 13 unarmed Catholic civil rights marchers on one of the defining days of the Northern Ireland conflict, relatives are still searching for the justice they believe is needed for a scarred society to heal. Family and friends of the 13 Catholics who died in Londonderry on […]
European court declines to take pro-gay marriage cake case
London, UKAP A top European court declined Thursday to rule in a high-profile discrimination case centered on an activist’s request to have a cake decorated with the Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie and the words “Support Gay Marriage”. The European Court of Human Rights said the case was inadmissible because activist Gareth Lee had […]
Northern Ireland police to probe abuse at church-run homes
London, UKAP Police in Northern Ireland on Wednesday announced an investigation into allegations of physical and sexual abuse at church-run institutions that housed unmarried women and their children. The announcement came a day after an independent panel recommended a public inquiry to examine human rights abuses in the homes, so-called Magdalene laundries and workhouses. Detective […]