Author: News Desk

Rishi Sunak calls for Stormont return for Good Friday Agreement anniversary Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has praised the political leaders who shaped Northern Ireland’s Good Friday Agreement on its 25th anniversary, calling it “born of partnership between the British and Irish governments.”  The 1998 Good Friday Agreement ended Northern Ireland’s decades-long violent conflict known as the Troubles. Sunak called on Stormont politicians to “get on with the business of governance” and commended those who “took difficult decisions, accepted compromise, and showed leadership.” He also welcomed US President Joe Biden to Northern Ireland as part of the milestone date. Sunak said…

French Alps avalanche: 5 killed at Armancette glacier Five people have died and one remains missing following an avalanche in the French Alps. The incident occurred at the Armancette glacier near Mont Blanc in south-eastern France on Sunday, and it has since been confirmed that the deceased include two local tour guides. Others were injured and have been taken to a hospital. The avalanche was triggered by a slab of snow that detached from the top of the mountain. Mountain rescue teams, aided by search and rescue dogs, worked all day to locate those affected, and the search for the…

2 bodies found after Marseille building destroyed in explosion Two bodies have been found after an explosion destroyed a four-storey apartment building in the La Plaine neighbourhood of Marseille, France. Six people remain unaccounted for, while five from neighbouring buildings sustained minor injuries.  Approximately 200 people were evacuated from their homes, and a local gymnasium and two schools have been opened to accommodate them. The cause of the explosion is unclear, but investigators are considering the possibility of a gas leak. Rescue efforts continue, and a crane and lights are being used to aid them. Mayor of Marseille Benoit Payan…

British-Israeli sisters shot dead in West Bank named Two British-Israeli sisters, Maia and Rina Dee, were shot and killed in the occupied West Bank as they were travelling to Tiberias, while their mother, Leah, was critically injured in the same attack. The sisters were 20 and 15 respectively. Their father, Rabbi Leo Dee, said they were “wonderful, beautiful, smart and popular.” The family lives in the West Bank settlement of Efrat, and the sisters were volunteers for national service. The UK’s chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, said they were much loved in the Hendon and Radlett communities in the UK…

China jails prominent legal activists Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi Two prominent Chinese activists, lawyer Ding Jiaxi and legal scholar Xu Zhiyong, have been jailed for 12 and 14 years in prison respectively for subversion, after being held in detention for more than three years. Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong were both detained separately in 2019 and 2020 as part of a government crackdown on legal activists. In 2010, the activists co-founded the New Citizens’ Movement, which campaigns for civil rights and government transparency. They were first arrested in 2013 for their roles in protests calling for equal social and…

Today’s news summary – Paper Talk Monday’s newspapers feature a variety of headlines, with no one story dominating the papers. But one of the most popular being splashed includes updates on the contentious attack ad campaign launched by the Labour Party against Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Many of the front pages report on the royal family attending an Easter service and the King’s upcoming coronation. NHS chaos amid doctors’ Strikes   According to The Daily Telegraph, GP surgeries across England are cancelling routine appointments for up to a week to cope with the NHS junior doctors’ strike. NHS trusts have advised…

  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. Advertising Signed in Belfast on April 10, 1998, the Good Friday agreement is considered one of the most significant peace deals of the late 20th Century, seeking to end three decades of sectarian strife that killed more than 3,600 people. But peace has come under strain following Britain’s exit from the European Union and other political crises have overshadowed this week’s…

The new ambassador of Ukraine to Bulgaria – Olesya Ilashuk, who caused more than mixed reactions from politicians and has been criticised for her lack of diplomatic experience, was sworn in and presented with her diplomatic credentials to Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. At the end of last year, the media in Kyiv came out with a number of critical publications about the new ambassador. “Европейска правда” came out with the headline that she is “a sexologist with no experience in diplomacy”. A sexologist with no experience in diplomacy The publication notes that in the past Olesya Ilashuk presented herself as a “clinical psychologist, systemic family therapist, gestalt therapist, sexologist-consultant” as well…

  Emmanuel Macron, accompanied by top French business executives, concluded his trip to China on Friday with a visit to the southern city of Canton, where he met with more Chinese investors. With trade talks on the agenda, several deals between companies from both countries have already been sealed during the French president’s first visit to China since the Covid-19 pandemic. A French economist shares with FRANCE 24 her insight on the concerns surrounding trade ties between Paris and Beijing. Advertising Business is in the air as Airbus announced on Friday that it would deliver 50 helicopters to GDAT, one…

Northern Ireland was torn apart by three decades of violence between nationalist and unionist communities that ended with the Good Friday Agreement signed exactly 25 years ago on Monday.