CategoryPolitics

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which wants Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, is obstructing the formation of a new administration. The DUP lost last week in the elections won by Republican Sinn Féin, but the Northern Ireland administration must consist of both unionists and Republicans. The country is facing a political crisis.

The Northern Irish go to the polls on Thursday for supposedly historic parliamentary elections. For the first time, the nationalist Sinn Féin party seems to be heading for the win, according to polls. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and has been ruled for years by the very conservative and evangelical Protestant party DUP.

In Northern Ireland, agriculture will have to reduce its stock of more than one million sheep and cattle if the country is to meet its new legally binding climate targets. This is according to a report by analyst KPMG commissioned by the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU).

Israel wants to help Europe become less dependent on Russian gas. The country is considering bringing additional gas to Europe through Egypt’s LNG terminal. There is also an agreement to lay a pipeline between Israel and Cyprus, Greece and Italy and a pipeline to Turkey is being considered.

Russian oligarchs and politicians can circumvent Western sanctions through fencing companies, including in the British Virgin Islands. This is according to research by the journalists consortium ICIJ. There are more than 11,000 mailbox companies and other screen constructions to Russia. It does so based on five past data breaches.

Ukrainian president Volodymir Zelensky has called on Cyprus and other countries of the European Union to close their ports to Russian ships. He did so in a video address to the Parliament of Cyprus.

One of the reasons why observers do not completely ignore an improvement in relations is that Turkey and Israel have a long history of cooperation. Turkey was the first Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel, and did so in March 1949. While the initial Turkish rapprochement was inspired by the desire to gain favor in Washington and gain support for its NATO membership, Ankara and Tel Aviv...

IGFA, the Irish umbrella organisation for grain and feed, is putting pressure on the Dublin government to come across the bridge with financial support for pig farming. The organization speaks of an ‘unprecedented crisis that requires immediate action’.