Whatever last week was — half-assed coup or failed sparkling insurrection — the dread of impending apocalypse has dissipated
Gunmen struck at a British army base in one of Northern Ireland’s worst attacks since a 1998 peace deal on Saturday, killing two soldiers.
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/ 2 February 2009
Heavy snow disrupted air and rail travel in northern Europe on Monday, halting flights at Heathrow and bringing traffic in London to a standstill.
Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai vowed on Friday to lift his country out of the ”darkness” under President Robert Mugabe and voiced confidence he will win a run-off presidential poll. The comments came shortly after his party said Tsvangirai would go home on Saturday after more than a month away following disputed elections.
Northern Ireland’s largest Protestant party scrambled on Wednesday to secure a seamless transfer of power after its firebrand leader, Ian Paisley, announced his departure, drawing tributes from all sides. Paisley said on Tuesday he would step down as Democratic Unionist Party head in May.
Ireland struggled to a 23-20 World Cup warm-up win over Italy on Friday in a match that was crowned by two controversial tries in the dying minutes. Ireland, who had trailed 13-10 at the interval despite fielding a near full-strength side, had led 16-13 with three minutes left before Italy scored a try through Matteo Pratichetti, which they thought had won the game.
South Africa stand-in skipper Jacques Kallis said the way in which younger players had made their mark eased some of the pain involved in a 2-1 one-day international series defeat against India. Three close matches at Stormont ended on Sunday with India’s second successive six-wicket win, this time with four balls to spare.
Sachin Tendulkar became the first man to score 15 000 one-day international runs as India beat South Africa by six wickets in the second one-day international at Stormont in Belfast on Friday. Tendulkar top-scored with 93 as India finished on 227 for four with five balls to spare, and so levelled the three-match series at 1-1.
South Africa captain Jacques Kallis’s unbeaten 91 saw his side to a four-wicket win over India at Stormont in Belfast on Tuesday in the first of three one-day internationals. Kallis’s well-paced innings saw South Africa overhaul an India total of 242 for eight built around a third-wicket stand of 158 between Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
Sachin Tendulkar’s 99 was the centrepiece of India’s 242 for eight in the first one-day international against South Africa at Stormont here Tuesday. But India might have expected to finish with a higher total, having been 181 for two heading into the final 10 overs.
India have been struck down by illness on the eve of their opening one-day international against South Africa at Stormont on Tuesday and have had to call up reinforcements for their tour of the United Kingdom. India opened their tour with a nine-wicket win in a one-day international against Ireland on Saturday.
South Africa beat Ireland by 42 runs in a one-day international at Stormont on Sunday. Australian-born Alex Cusask took three wickets on his one-day international debut as Ireland held South Africa to 173 for four in a match reduced by rain to 31 overs per side.
Australian-born Alex Cusask took three wickets in his one-day international debut as Ireland held South Africa to 173 for four in a match reduced by rain to 31 overs in Stormont on Sunday. The 26-year-old all-rounder, recently qualified for his adopted country, took three for 15 in four overs to restrict the Proteas, who had been on course for a score in excess of 200.
Northern Ireland’s Protestant and Roman Catholic leaders, arch-foes during decades of bloodshed, launched a new power-sharing government in the British province on Tuesday aiming to put a final end to violence. Hard-line Protestant cleric Ian Paisley and Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness took a pledge of office as first minister and deputy first minister.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Tuesday that history would decide whether peace in Northern Ireland or the war in Iraq would be the outstanding part of his legacy. Blair, who is expected to announce his resignation plans this week, hailed the restoration of self-rule in Northern Ireland, which the province hopes will finally bury sectarian violence.
South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina, England, Australia and France recorded wins on the opening day of Division A action at the IRB Under-19 World Championship. South Africa — champions in 2005 — defeated newly-promoted Fiji 36-5 at Belfast Harlequins.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed a power-sharing deal reached on Monday by Northern Ireland’s main Protestant and Catholic political parties. ”This is a very important day for the people of Northern Ireland … In a sense everything we’ve done in the last 10 years has been a preparation for this moment,” he said.
The prospect of a first-ever meeting between rival Northern Irish leaders on Monday raised hopes for a last-ditch power-sharing deal in the province, albeit delayed, hours before a crunch deadline. Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain admitted the midnight Monday deadline [local time] could slip by a few weeks.
Britain and Ireland urged Northern Ireland’s politicians on Friday to agree to a power-sharing government after assembly elections in the province or face continued direct rule from London. The vote, widely viewed as a test of support for joint rule, was dominated by the Protestant pro-British Democratic Unionist Party and Catholic Sinn Fein.
Northern Ireland took a step towards restoring a government shared between Protestants and Catholics as it counted votes on Thursday from an election for a new provincial assembly. A strong showing for the main parties on both sides of the divide at Wednesday’s ballot could strengthen prospects for a return to sharing power.
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/ 24 November 2006
Northern Ireland’s Stormont Parliament buildings were evacuated on Friday after a man threw a package at security staff at the entrance to the building where politicians were meeting to discuss self-rule. The man, identified in media reports as notorious former Loyalist paramilitary Michael Stone, was wrestled to the ground by security staff and the building evacuated.
The Irish Republican Army’s (IRA) violent campaign in Northern Ireland is over, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Wednesday, following a report into paramilitary activity that raised hopes of reviving self-rule. Northern Ireland’s ceasefire watchdog, the Independent Monitoring Commission, said in the report that it believed the IRA was no longer engaged in terrorism.
Irish Republicans on Friday commemorated the 25th anniversary of the death of Bobby Sands, a member of the Irish Republican Army, who died in jail after a 66-day hunger strike. Sands has come to be considered a martyr by the Republican movement, whose quest for Irish reunification divided the Northern Irish community.
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/ 19 December 2005
The United Kingdom’s first gay couple to win legal recognition under a new British civil-partnership law drove past anti-homosexual protesters on Monday to make their marriage-style vows inside Belfast City Hall. Three homosexual couples were scheduled to sign the civil partnership register on Monday in Belfast City Hall.
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/ 4 December 2005
George Best’s son Calum thanked the ”amazing” people of Northern Ireland, returning the warmth shown to his football legend father during an emotionally-charged funeral for the province’s sporting idol. The 24-year-old said he had been greatly moved and strengthened by the tens of thousands of mourners who packed the rain-soaked streets of Belfast.
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/ 3 December 2005
George Best was to be buried on Saturday following a grandiose funeral expected to bring his native Belfast to a unified, bittersweet standstill. Best’s body was kept overnight in Protestant east Belfast at his family home, where after a private religious service it will be transported to the Stormont Parliamentary Building.
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/ 2 December 2005
To an accompanying lament of bagpipers, the body of soccer legend George Best returned home on Friday for a massive state-style funeral that is expected to bring Belfast to a standstill. The ceremony is expected to attract more than 100 000 along the streets of his native Protestant east Belfast.
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/ 28 September 2005
Participants at the World Toilet Summit, taking place this week in Northern Ireland, are shrugging off the sniggers to insist everyone must pay attention to the ”last taboo” of proper sanitation. ”We have been conditioned not to talk about it,” said Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organisation.
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/ 26 September 2005
Northern Ireland took a potentially historic step on Monday towards a lasting peace with the formal announcement that the paramilitary Irish Republican Army (IRA) has destroyed all its weapons. While long-awaited, the report marks a potential watershed in Northern Ireland’s long trek towards a lasting peace, which began more than a decade ago with an IRA ceasefire.
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/ 15 September 2005
One of the Protestant paramilitary groups implicated in three nights of rioting in Belfast called on Tuesday for an end to the violence, the worst Northern Ireland has seen in years. Sixty police officers and at least 10 civilians have been hurt in the clashes, which erupted over a ban on a Protestant parade through Roman Catholic areas of Belfast.
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/ 7 September 2005
England’s under-fire coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has received the backing of David Beckham, who is optimistic it will be third time lucky when England strive for glory in the 2006 World Cup finals. Eriksson has come in for heavy criticism in recent weeks after some inept performances.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) on Thursday ordered all its militants to end their armed campaign and adopt exclusively peaceful means to end British rule in Northern Ireland, the paramilitary group said in a historic statement. British Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed the statement as a "step of unparalleled magnitude".