Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Ireland's Leo Varadkar reassured by talks with Theresa May over DUP deal

Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar said he had been reassured by British prime minister Theresa May that her plan to form a government with support from a Northern Irish party would not destabilise power in the province.

May, who lost her parliamentary majority in a June 8 election, is seeking backing from the Democratic Unionist Party and its 10 lawmakers to get legislation through parliament, including the bills needed to enact Britain's divorce from the EU.


Some political leaders in Northern Ireland fear a tie-up between the two could unsettle politics in Britain's smallest province, where pro-British unionists share power with Irish nationalists following a 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of sectarian violence.

Varadkar, at a news conference with May in Downing Street, said both the British and Irish governments needed to be impartial actors in relation to Northern Ireland's power-sharing arrangements, which are currently stalled.

"I was very much reassured by what the prime minister had to say that the agreement, once it's reached, would be published so it would be there for everyone to see," he said.

"We spoke about the very important need for both governments to be impartial actors when it comes to Northern Ireland, and also that we are co-guarantors to the Good Friday Agreement and that any agreement that may exist between the Conservative Party and the DUP should not in any way impact on the Good Friday Agreement.

"I was very reassured by the prime minister (who) said to me today that that would be the case."

May, who said that talks with the DUP were ongoing, and Varadkar also reiterated that they wanted the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to be as seamless as possible once Britain has left the EU.

The border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member, will become the only land frontier between the UK and the EU after Britain exits the bloc in March 2019.

At a separate briefing in Belfast, Simon Hamilton, a senior DUP member of the Northern Irish Assembly, said discussions were ongoing in London. "They will take as long as they take," he told reporters, when asked if they could be completed by this week.

More For You

Piyush Goyal

Piyush Goyal recalled that in February, Narendra Modi and Donald Trump had instructed their trade ministers to conclude the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by November 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Trade talks with US moving forward positively, says Indian minister Goyal

INDIA’s commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that negotiations on the proposed trade agreement between India and the United States, which began in March, are progressing in a positive atmosphere and both sides are satisfied with the discussions.

He recalled that in February, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and US president Donald Trump had instructed their trade ministers to conclude the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by November 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less
West Midlands Police

West Midlands Police said they were called just before 08:30 BST on Tuesday, September 9, after the woman reported being attacked by two men near Tame Road. (Representational image: iStock)

Woman raped in racially aggravated attack in Oldbury

A WOMAN in her 20s was raped in Oldbury in what police are treating as a racially aggravated attack.

West Midlands Police said they were called just before 08:30 BST on Tuesday, September 9, after the woman reported being attacked by two men near Tame Road. Officers said the men made a racist remark during the incident.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tommy Robinson

The event, which Robinson has promoted for months, is being billed by him as the 'UK's biggest free speech festival.' (Photo: Getty Images)

London prepares for rival demonstrations, police deploy 1,600 officers

Highlights

  • More than 1,600 officers deployed across London on Saturday
  • Far-right activist Tommy Robinson to lead "Unite the Kingdom" march
  • Anti-racism groups to stage counter-protests in Whitehall
  • Police impose conditions on routes and timings of demonstrations

LONDON police will deploy more than 1,600 officers across the city on Saturday as rival demonstrations take place, including a rally organised by far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, and a counter-protest by anti-racism campaigners.

Keep ReadingShow less
Baiju Bhatt

At 40, Bhatt is the only person of Indian origin in this group, which includes figures such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. (Photo: Getty Images)

Baiju Bhatt named among youngest billionaires in US by Forbes

INDIAN-AMERICAN entrepreneur Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of the commission-free trading platform Robinhood, has been named among the 10 youngest billionaires in the United States in the 2025 Forbes 400 list.

At 40, Bhatt is the only person of Indian origin in this group, which includes figures such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. Forbes estimates his net worth at around USD 6–7 billion (£4.4–5.1 billion), primarily from his roughly 6 per cent ownership in Robinhood.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mandelson-Getty

Starmer dismissed Mandelson on Thursday after reading emails published by Bloomberg in which Mandelson defended Jeffrey Epstein following his 2008 conviction. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Minister says Mandelson should never have been appointed

A CABINET minister has said Peter Mandelson should not have been made UK ambassador to the US, as criticism mounted over prime minister Keir Starmer’s judgment in appointing him.

Douglas Alexander, the Scotland secretary, told the BBC that Mandelson’s appointment was seen as “high-risk, high-reward” but that newly revealed emails changed the situation.

Keep ReadingShow less