- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.2% | 24.65 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
AZN | -0.16% | 77.35 | $ | |
BCC | 0.71% | 139.89 | $ | |
RIO | 0.05% | 69.735 | $ | |
GSK | 0.27% | 38.925 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.07% | 24.795 | $ | |
RELX | -0.47% | 46.075 | $ | |
NGG | -0.99% | 65.845 | $ | |
VOD | 0.4% | 9.699 | $ | |
BTI | 0.03% | 35.3 | $ | |
BCE | -0.18% | 33.65 | $ | |
JRI | -0.23% | 13.25 | $ | |
BP | 1.11% | 33.25 | $ |
UK urges N. Ireland parties to form a new government
UK Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis on Monday called on all parties in the province to form a new power-sharing government in Belfast, after historic elections and despite unresolved Brexit disputes.
All five main political parties were due to meet Lewis for talks at the devolved legislature in Belfast, on their first day back in the job since Sinn Fein won Thursday's vote.
The nationalists, formerly the political wing of the IRA, ended a century of dominance by pro-UK unionists to become the biggest party in Northern Ireland.
The win allows Sinn Fein to nominate the symbolic position of first minister but the DUP, which came second, said post-Brexit trading arrangements need to be addressed first before it joins a new executive.
Lewis urged "a stable and accountable devolved government" in Northern Ireland and said all parties should "fulfil their responsibilities and form an executive as soon as possible".
"We have to address the outstanding issues relating to the Northern Ireland Protocol and we want to do that by agreement with the EU, but as we have always made clear, we will not shy away from taking further steps if necessary," he added.
The Democratic Unionist Party collapsed the last assembly in February by withdrawing its first minister because of its opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The arrangement, signed as part the UK's exit from the European Union, provides sweeping checks on goods heading to Northern Ireland from the British mainland and keeps the province largely under European trading rules.
The DUP fears that by creating an effective border in the Irish Sea, Northern Ireland is being cast adrift from the rest of the UK and makes a united Ireland -- Sinn Fein's aim -- more likely.
Sinn Fein leader Michelle O'Neill, who is set to become first minister, tweeted that "the voters have spoken".
"No party can hold back progress. It's now time to get to work," she added as she arrived at the Stormont Assembly buildings.
Separate trading arrangements for Northern Ireland were agreed because the province has the UK's only land border with the EU.
Keeping the border open with neighbouring Ireland, an EU member, was mandated in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ended three decades of violence over British rule.
In Dublin, Irish prime minister Micheal Martin also urged the DUP to join the new executive and backed Brussels in its ongoing talks with London about the application of the protocol.
"I think the European Union has been flexible, has demonstrated flexibility, but every time up to now that the European Union has demonstrated flexibility, it hasn't been reciprocated," Martin told broadcaster RTE.
"I think the moment is now for both the EU and the UK... The British government wants to bring this to a conclusion."
Y.Nakamura--AMWN