Hot weather dries up swamp, uncovers ancient fort

 

An historical group in Northern Ireland was instrumental in helping to discover an ancient man-made island settlement near Lough Neagh.

The discovery was made by members of the Loup Historical Society.

Hot weather during lockdown dried up a swamp area in south Londonderry that had been concealing the man-made island, known as a crannog.

Archaeologists say it is potentially significant because it is made of stone, whereas most crannogs that have been found in Northern Ireland are made out of wood or clay.

Northern Ireland rocked by fears of new sectarian violence | DW News

 

Northern Ireland rocked by fears of new sectarian violence | DW News Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin has warned of a spiral back into sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland. Saturday marked the 23rd anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which ended the conflict known as The Troubles. But now violence is flaring again. A week of rioting has rocked the British province - and drawn in many young people.

Is peace at risk in Northern Ireland?

 

Pro-British loyalists have been rioting every day for a week, angry about post-Brexit issues.

The 1998 Good Friday Agreement brought peace to Northern Ireland – but the issues that divided the region have not gone away.

And now, in the aftermath of the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, the situation has worsened and threatens to derail that agreement.

Loyalist factions withdraw support for Good Friday Agreement over Brexit customs deal - BBC News

 

A group representing the main loyalist factions in Northern Ireland has said the creation of an EU customs border in the Brexit deal is undermining the union with Britain. It says that as a result it has withdrawn support for the Good Friday Peace Agreement.

Coronavirus in a devolved UK: Northern Ireland

The four nations of the UK have each had strikingly different responses to the coronavirus crisis. Devolution has meant different policies in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland - from easing lockdown, to whether masks and face coverings should be compulsory, to track and trace strategies.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland adjust lockdown rules

In Scotland the government has announced that all schoolchildren will be back in their classrooms full time from mid-August, as long as coronavirus cases continue to fall. Ministers in Scotland had planned to implement so-called “blended learning”, combining teaching at school and at home, but some parents said it would be too difficult for them to return to work.

16-Year-Old Belfast Teen Cuts All The Brexit Bullshit In Devastating Fashion

A party putting itself first before the country it is trying to govern," the Belfast teen said of the Conservatives and the Brexit fiasco embroiling the UK.

Appearing on the BBC program Question Time from Northern Ireland, a Belfast teen in the audience cut through all the nonsense surrounding the UK's disastrous decision to leave the EU, and laid the blame squarely at the feet of inept and cowardly politicians. 16-year-old Amelia's response has since gone viral and viewed millions of times around the world.

The kids are alright. It's the adults you have to watch.

Source: The New European

How Brexit could create a crisis at the Irish border

Northern Ireland is part of the UK, but because of a special power-sharing agreement, it has an open border with Republic of Ireland. This was designed as a compromise that ended 30 years of conflict and violence in Northern Ireland between Nationalist and Unionist paramilitaries. Today, Brexit means that the UK needs to close its borders and the issue of the Irish border is one of the hardest things to negotiate with the EU. Closing this border could undermine the compromise that kept the peace for 20 years.

The Reality T.V. Host Who Believes He's Diplomat Goes To Singapore

Tomorrow Donald Trump will become the first Oval Office occupant to meet directly with the leader of North Korea.  He and Kim-Jong un will sit down and begin the process of reaching an equitable agreement between the two countries.  Donald Trump and Kim-Jong un will hold a private meeting without aids or advisers.  Given Trump's penchant for agreeing to a deal, announcing said deal followed by reigning on the agreement reached the question must be asked. How will North Korea react when he does just that? 

Negotiations such as these are fraught with potential misunderstanding and disagreement over just what is meant by a certain phrase or clause.  These types of agreements take years to hammer out not days. The Good Friday Agreement is a perfect example. It took years of difficult negotiation before that treaty was agreed to.  Donald Trump believes it will be a matter of hours or perhaps days. Given his short to nonresistant attention span how long will it take before he starts lashing out on twitter and reverting to calling Kim-Jong un little rocket man?

Donald Trump shouldn't be allowed to negotiate on the nation state level as he's wholly incapable of understanding the situation nor does he care to learn.  He'll be remembered for behaving like George W. Bush, when after meeting Vladimir Putin announced that after  looking into his eyes he knew he'd met a willing partner searching for solutions to the worlds problems. How wrong he was.