Ireland and ex-top EU official disagree on UK trade deal timetable January 12, 2020 Ireland’s foreign minister has claimed a UK-EU trade deal will take more than a year to complete, putting him at odds with the European Commission’s former top civil servant. Boris Johnson has set a deadline of 31 December to thrash out a deal on the future trading agreement with the EU, after Britain leaves the [...]
Harry Dunn death: US rebuff extradition request for diplomat’s wife January 11, 2020 The US has rejected a formal extradition request from the UK for Anne Sacoolas who left the country last year following a crash which killed 19-year-old Harry Dunn. Sacoolas’s car hit motorcyclist Dunn outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in August, which resulted in his death. Sacoolas, 42, claimed diplomatic immunity – her husband is believed to [...]
Stormont: Sinn Féin agree deal to return to assembly in Northern Ireland January 11, 2020 Sinn Féin and the DUP will re-enter Stormont on Saturday after agreeing a deal to end a three-year deadlock. The devolved government will start up again today after nine months of talks. British and Irish governments published the draft proposals on Thursday, which have now been agreed by both major parties. Read more: Stormont: Northern Ireland secretary [...]
Iran admits ‘unintentionally’ shooting down Ukrainian plane January 11, 2020 Iran has accepted that it was responsible for shooting down a Ukrainian jet and killing all 176 people on board for the first time. President Hassan Rouhani said an investigation had found that “missiles [were] fired due to human error”. He said it was an “unforgivable mistake”. Read more: West blame Iran missile for shooting [...]
Carlos Ghosn warns the future of Nissan is ‘in doubt’ January 10, 2020 The former boss of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, has said the future of the Japanese company is in doubt. Ousted chief Ghosn said the car firm’s struggling results and drop in share price were a concern, days after accusing Nissan executives and the Japanese government of plotting against him. He also said that if Brexit affected [...]
Stormont talks: Northern Ireland secretary ‘holding the people to ransom’ with deal January 10, 2020 Northern Ireland secretary Julian Smith has been accused of “holding the people of Northern Ireland to ransom” by trade union Unison. Smith and Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney announced a draft Stormont deal on Thursday to restore Northern Ireland’s devolved government. Read more: Bridge over troubled waters: Boris backs Scotland to Northern Ireland bridge [...]
West blames Iran missile for plane crash as new video emerges January 10, 2020 Western leaders believe it is highly likely that a missile is to blame for the crash of a passenger jet over Iran that led to the death of all 176 people on board. Officials from the UK, USA, Canada and Australia have all agreed it is likely an Iranian missile was the cause of the [...]
This Veganuary, I’m trusting people to eat what they want January 10, 2020 Welcome to January, the month of new year’s resolutions. Dietary transformation has always been central to the post-Christmas madness — eating “better” is probably the most cliched resolution there is. But whereas this used to be framed primarily in terms of weight loss, with fads like intermittent fasting and protein shakes taking centre stage, in [...]
Government decision to scrap Erasmus scheme will harm UK’s bottom line January 10, 2020 The UK has always lagged behind its European neighbours in foreign language learning, and the vote this week to eradicate the Erasmus scheme will only slow that adoption further. For many, Erasmus was an opportunity to live and learn a new culture and language, free from class and income boundaries. The programme gave the UK’s [...]
Reinvigorating the regions is crucial for the whole of our country January 10, 2020 The Prime Minister had victory to savour on holiday in Mustique, and when he returned foreign policy was very much top of the agenda, with the escalating tensions between Iran and the US. But if Boris Johnson is to remain in power for a decade, he must not take his eye off the ball domestically [...]