Overrunning talks on forming a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland were scheduled to resume yesterday, but the two main parties have been sniping at each other rather than making any progress.
The parties missed a statutory deadline on Thursday to get a semi-autonomous government up and running in Belfast, but were given until tomorrow to sort out their remaining differences.
Negotiations between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein — which started three months ago — broke up on Friday without an agreement.
The power-sharing Northern Ireland Assembly is a cornerstone of the peace process that ended three decades of violent conflict in the country, broadly split between Protestant British unionists and Catholic Irish nationalists.
If no deal to install an executive is reached by tomorrow, the British government is to spell out the next steps.
The country could be fully governed from London or face an unwelcome second snap election.
British Prime Minister Theresa May telephoned Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Fein’s leader in Northern Ireland, and DUP leader Arlene Foster late on Friday.
“The prime minister recognized that constructive discussions had taken place between the parties and urged them both to come together reach a collective agreement so that devolved government could be restored in Northern Ireland,” a Downing Street spokeswoman said.
Sinn Fein negotiator John O’Dowd said the main sticking points concerned his party’s demands for official recognition of the Irish language, a bill of rights and same-sex marriage.
“We will stay here as long as there is a glimmer of hope that there will be success in these talks, but we are realists and we are experienced negotiators and we know there needs to be a step change in these talks,” O’Dowd said.
However, the DUP hit back, with negotiator Edwin Poots telling Sinn Fein to “get moving so we can get government back in place.”
“I think Sinn Fein can do the business very quickly, they know what’s required of them,” he said.
“Whilst we understand that Irish language is hugely important to Sinn Fein — health, education, jobs, the economy, infrastructure, the environment, agriculture — all of these issues are hugely important to us, hugely important to the public,” he said.
Tensions between the two main parties boiled over in January, with Irish republicans Sinn Fein pulling out of the executive, citing frustration with their unionist rivals.
That triggered a March 2 snap election, in which the conservative DUP saw its lead over socialists Sinn Fein slashed.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the