Northern irel

Theresa May has failed to rally Northern Ireland support behind her quest for a Brexit deal, as nationalist and unionist parties further entrenched their positions for and against the backstop as she ended a two-day visit to Belfast. The Democratic Unionist party (DUP) insisted on Wednesday that the prime minister should replace the backstop a day after May appeared to soften the government’s stance on the insurance provision to protect against a hard border. Westminster had voted to leave the European Union with “alternative arrangements” for the Irish border, Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, said after meeting May at Stormont. “It is welcome that the prime inister is travelling to Brussels to seek changes but she must stand strong and by the commitments she made to the House of Commons. That is her mandate and that is what I expect. The backstop would undermine the economic and constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom ... it is the main problem.” The … [Read more...] about Brexit: May departs Northern Ireland no closer to backstop deal

Northern Ireland endured heartbreak in Rotterdam as the Netherlands scored twice in stoppage time to snatch a 3-1 victory which leaves Euro 2020 qualification hopes hanging by a thread for Michael O’Neill’s side. Josh Magennis’s header had Northern Ireland dreaming of a victory that would have ranked among their greatest results but it all fell apart late on. Memphis Depay equalised five minutes after the Netherlands fell behind and then scored his second in the fourth minute of stoppage time after setting up Luuk de Jong for the second. Northern Ireland had battled bravely for 90 minutes and looked like they would be rewarded with a point that would have kept them firmly in the reckoning to reach the finals next summer. But instead they ended the night third in Group C, level on points with the Dutch and Germany, who have both played a game fewer and who will both face Northern Ireland next month. Topics Euro 2020 qualifying Netherlands Northern … [Read more...] about Northern Ireland hopes slip after Memphis Depay double for Netherlands

Northern Ireland goes to the polls on 12 December to elect 18 MPs to Westminster.Candidates running for election are listed below and are also available on the Electoral Office for NI website.Candidates listed alphabetically by surname.BELFAST EASTNaomi Long, Alliance PartyCarl McClean, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)Gavin Robinson, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)BELFAST NORTHNigel Dodds, DUPJohn Finucane, Sinn FéinNuala McAllister, Alliance PartyBELFAST SOUTHPaula Bradshaw, Alliance PartyClaire Hanna, Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)Michael Henderson, UUPEmma Little-Pengelly, DUPChris McHugh, AontúBELFAST WESTGerry Carroll, People Before ProfitMonica Digney, AontúPaul Doherty, SDLPDonnamarie Higgins, Alliance PartyPaul Maskey, Sinn FéinFrank McCoubrey, DUPEAST ANTRIMSteve Aiken, UUPDanny Donnelly, Alliance PartyOliver McMullan, Sinn FéinAngela Mulholland, SDLPPhilip Randle, Green Party NIAaron Rankin, NI ConservativesSammy Wilson, DUPEAST … [Read more...] about General Election 2019: Northern Ireland candidates

A new study covering 17 EU countries says that far more honeybees are dying in the UK and other parts of northern Europe than in Mediterranean countries. The European Commission says it is Europe's most comprehensive study so far of bee colony deaths.Winter mortality was especially high for bees in Belgium (33.6%) and the UK (29%) in 2012-13. But in spring-summer 2013 France was highest with 13.6%.Bumblebees and other wild bees were not studied, nor were pesticide impacts.The study, called Epilobee, described 10% as an acceptable threshold for bee colony mortality - and Greece, Italy and Spain were among the countries with rates below that threshold.The mortality percentages are national estimates based on representative samples. All 17 countries applied the same data collection standards, the report says.The survey covered almost 32,000 bee colonies. But there is also much concern about death rates among wild bees, which are vital pollinators too.Last year the EU introduced a ban on … [Read more...] about Northern Europe hit by most bee deaths – EU study

Fewer than half of Northern rail services ran on time over the last month, the firm's latest figures have shown.Just 45.4% of its trains arrived within a minute of their scheduled times between 11 October to 8 November.Outright cancellations were also at their highest level since July and August. A spokesman for Northern apologised and blamed "extreme weather" and rail infrastructure.Between 15 September and 12 October, Northern's figures showed 53.5% of Northern trains were on time, compared to 62.7% of services across the country.The latest data for Northern during October and November marks a significant fall since the summer, when 61% of Northern services arrived within a minute, matching the figures for the rest of the country.Cancellations for Northern are now at the highest level since late summer, with 5.2% of services abandoned, compared to 4.4% between July and August.Pressure group Railfuture said the news came as "no surprise"."What makes matters worse is when Northern … [Read more...] about Northern: Under half of train services run on time