Ireland

U.S. President Joe Biden has appeared to side with the EU as it launches legal action against Brexit Britain, backing its imposition of internal borders between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. “President Biden has been unequivocal in his support for the Good Friday Agreement which was a historic achievement and as he said on the campaign trail last year we need to ensure that it does not become a casualty of Brexit,” said a senior White House official on behalf of the anti-Brexit Democrat politician, in comments reported by the Belfast News Letter . “At the same time, the U.S. government has welcomed provisions in both the EU and UK trade and cooperation agreement as well as the Northern Ireland Protocol which we believe helps protect the aims of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement,” they added, more contentiously. “Certainly as the UK and the EU are implementing Brexit-related provisions, the administration encourages both sides to continue … [Read more...] about Biden Sides with EU Against Britain on Northern Ireland, Backs Internal UK Borders

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A Chesapeake blue crab was recently spotted on the shores of Ireland. Now Irish officials are trying to figure out how it got there. The National Biodiversity Data Centre in Waterford is trying to determine if it was a one-off occurrence or if there are more out there. Blue crabs are invasive to Ireland. READ MORE: Testing Remains Key Factor In Fighting COVID-19, Especially During Spring Break Local experts agree that the blue crab likely did not swim across the Atlantic. Have you spotted a Blue crab on our shores lately? If so, please report suspected sightings with photo if possible https://t.co/wFo52ArWsi Trying to find out if this was a one-off occurrence or are there more out there #ReportInvasives Don't release non-native species to the wild pic.twitter.com/UWZOJGNdro — Biodiversity Ireland (@BioDataCentre) March 9, 2021 Genine McClair, the Blue Crab Program Manager with Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources , said blue crabs … [Read more...] about Chesapeake Blue Crab Spotted Along Ireland Shore. How Local Experts Believe It Got There

Cars were set alight and masked people pelted a police van with petrol bombs Saturday, the second straight evening of disorder in pro-British parts of Northern Ireland amid rising post-Brexit tensions in the region. Many pro-British unionists fiercely oppose the new trade barriers introduced between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom as part of Britain's departure from the EU and have warned that their unease could lead to violence. Political leaders, including Britain's Northern Ireland minister, had appealed for calm earlier Saturday, but police said they were responding to reports of disorder in Newtownabbey on the northern outskirts of Belfast. A video posted on Twitter by the Police Federation for Northern Ireland showed four masked individuals flinging petrol bombs from close range at an armored police van, which they also kicked and punched. Fifteen officers were injured in the Sandy Row area of Belfast on Friday when a small local protest developed into … [Read more...] about Unrest Breaks Out in Northern Ireland for Second Straight Night

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) – Crowds from Protestant and Catholic communities hurled bricks, fireworks and gasoline bombs at police and each other overnight in Belfast, as a week of street violence escalated. Police and politicians tried Thursday to calm the volatile situation in Northern Ireland, where Britain´s exit from the European Union has unsettled an uneasy political balance. The focus of the violence, some of it committed by youths in their early teens, was a concrete “peace wall” in west Belfast that separates a British loyalist Protestant neighborhood from an Irish nationalist Catholic area. The two sides clashed across the wall, while nearby a city bus was hijacked and set on fire. Police Service of Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Constable Jonathan Roberts said several hundred people gathered on both sides of a gate in the wall, where “crowds … were committing serious criminal offenses, both attacking police and attacking each other.” Northern Ireland has seen … [Read more...] about Leaders Call for Calm After Days of Northern Ireland Violence

Northern Ireland political leaders from all sides united Thursday to call for calm after at least four nights of street violence prompted by Brexit-induced trade barriers between the region and the rest of Britain. The latest violence late Wednesday involved crowds of youths in the pro-British area of Belfast setting a hijacked bus on fire and throwing gasoline bombs, bricks and fireworks at police. Members of Northern Ireland’s legislative assembly returned early from their Easter break to address the violence. While politicians from all sides previously condemned the clashes, the nationalists and unionists who lead its compulsory power-sharing coalition initially blamed each other. But Thursday, there was a unified call for an end to the violence. Naomi Long, leader of the centrist Alliance Party, described the violence as "nothing short of disgraceful." First Minister of Northern Ireland Arlene Foster said bad actors seek to fill the "vacuum" when politics is "perceived to … [Read more...] about Northern Ireland Leaders Condemn Recent Violence