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Exports of Irish beef have resumed to China, with the first shipment from Ireland to Shanghai arriving yesterday. The trade has resumed after a ban on Irish beef was lifted in January. The ban had been imposed following the discovery of a single case of atypical BSE in this country in 2020. Coinciding with the first shipment, Bord Bia has relaunched a beef promotional campaign in China. Access for Irish beef to China was first granted in 2018, and the trade in 2019 was worth €40 million. …

The European Parliament has approved three climate laws that form the heart of EU efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030. […] The first law up for adoption was the updated version of the Emission Trading System (ETS) on industry, increasing industry emission-reduction targets to 62 percent by 2030. […] To keep EU industries competitive, a carbon border levy (CBAM) directed at goods coming into Europe was also adopted by a broad majority in parliament, making up the second leg of the so-called holy trinity. The levy will apply to imported steel, fertilizer, aluminum,...

If there is one thing consistent about Joe Biden, it is he penchant for embarrassing, awkward and sometimes insulting gaffes. His trip to Ireland has been filled with embarrassing moments that make America a laughing stock on the world stage. Whether he is telling banquet attendees to “lick the world”, reading end of quote off of his teleprompter or having his troubled son Hunter explain a simple child’s question, he is a disaster. On Wednesday, Biden spoke at an event in Dundalk, County Louth and mentioned Irish rugby player Rob Kearney. Kearney is a distant cousin of his and was...

BIDEN: "Let's go lick the world. Let's get it done." Comments made on 4/13/23

The Republic of Ireland has reported a increase in the number of abortions committed, but their government is still pushing to have even more in years to come. According to Minister of Health Stephen Donnelly, over 8,500 abortions were committed in Ireland in 2022. And he rejected claims that abortion isn’t sustainable, saying the demand for it continues to grow in the previously pro-life country. Dr. Deirdre Duffy led a team of researchers in a study, by government request, meant to determine the experiences of abortion staffers. Duffy complained that there aren’t enough abortionists in the country right now for...

The Marian shrine of Knock and St. Muredach’s Cathedral in County Mayo will both host U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday during his ongoing visit to Ireland. Announcing Biden’s visit to Knock, rector of the shrine Fr. Richard Gibbons noted that sacraments will be suspended in the parish 24 hours before the president’s arrival. No sacraments have been available in St. Muredach’s Cathedral this week as preparations are made for the U.S. leader’s speech on a road in front of the west Ireland church. “We are delighted to welcome President Joe Biden to Knock Shrine. This is a huge honour...

A security scare shadowed President Biden’s trip to Northern Island on Wednesday after a top-secret document containing the itinerary for his visit to Belfast and information about his protective detail was found in the street. A passerby discovered the police paper, which detailed where the president was staying in Northern Ireland as well as the phone numbers of the Police Service of Northern Ireland officers in his security detail, BBC Radio Ulster reported.

BELFAST — President Joe Biden arrives in Northern Ireland on Tuesday to salute the 25th anniversary of its U.S.-brokered peace accord. But it will be a hollow celebration. Power-sharing between British unionists and Irish nationalists, the central vision of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, is failing. Northern Ireland has for nearly a year had no elected government at Stormont, the grand parliament building overlooking Belfast

Former president Donald Trump warned of “World War III” as tensions around the world continue to escalate.“WORLD WAR lll,” Trump blasted out on Truth Social.The news comes amid news that French President Emmanuel Macron appeared to advocate a distancing of Europe from the U.S. in their continuing war between Russia and Ukraine and the crisis between China and Taiwan.Internet Entrepreneur Kim Dotcom reacted to Macron’s remarks saying it was a precursor to a “nuclear war.”“Now what? Europe says enough with Ukraine and sides with China on peace?” Kim Dotcom wrote.“Europe leaves the abusive relationship and the U.S. Govt turns into...

When we were children my mother would bring me and my sister to our local library every Saturday. We were allowed to take out two books of our own choosing (usually The Baby-sitters Club which my mother thought was cute, or one of the Sweet Valley High series, which she said was trash) and then the third book had to be what she deemed a classic: The Secret Garden, Tom’s Midnight Garden, A Little Princess and so on. When I turned 12 she took me down the steps from the children’s section of the library to the adult section and...

Paris (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview published Sunday that Europe must not be a "follower" of either the US or China on Taiwan, saying that the bloc risks entanglement in "crises that aren't ours". His comments risk riling Washington and highlight divisions in the European Union over how to approach China, as the US steps up confrontation with its closest rival and Beijing draws closer to Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine. "The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must be followers and adapt ourselves to the American rhythm...

Businesses in a number of service industries are calling for urgent measures to deal with a shortage of qualified staff. They say recruitment issues are preventing further expansion and causing knock-on consequences for customers. Difficulties are being experienced by many companies and small enterprises. A lack of available mechanics is leading to delays for those seeking service or repair work at many garages. Owners say the process to secure permits for non-EU residents is drawn out and cumbersome. They have called for a widening of the Critical Skills list, which allows those with necessary competences to live and work here....

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin was one of the youngest leaders on the global stage today. She was also a far-left narcissist and a national disaster. Sanna Marin was a hardliner on the Ukraine War. She says Ukraine represents Western values. Last week Ukraine arrested one of the top Orthodox priests in the country. Only government approved churches are allowed in Ukraine today – sort of like in China. Back in August video leaked of Sanna Marin partying with celebrity friends. She was urged to take a drug test after videos of her partying it up with her celebrity friends...

German defence minister Boris Pistorius has said that the NATO Nation won't send anymore military aid to Ukraine apart from the promised packages. ... [Video at link]

I wrote recently about Canada’s state broadcaster airing a program in which they introduced drag queens to nervous and awkward-looking children for the purpose of indoctrination — normalizing queer and transgender culture. That show was only one of scores of current examples that I could cite, including the inaugural episode of “Sharing Spaces” in which Daniel Radcliffe, presumably still attempting to escape his Harry Potter past since J.K. Rowling became a culture warrior fighting the transgender movement, grovels before a group of “transgender” and “non-binary” youth and begs them to help him understand.But the Dutch TV show “Gewoon Bloot” —...

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – Archbishop Dermot Farrell says “the growing diversity of Irish society” led to the transfer of a Catholic primary school in Dublin to a multi-denominational patron. The patronage of St. Enda’s Primary school will be transferred from the Carmelite Order, which has run the school since it was founded in 1894, to the City of Dublin Education and Training Board. Unlike in the United States, the government funds religious schools in Ireland, and about 96 percent of elementary schools in the country are under the patronage of a religious group, and approximately 90 percent of these schools...

The United States is now the biggest supplier of crude oil to the European Union. In December, 18% of the bloc’s crude imports came from America, EU data office Eurostat said Tuesday. That is a big turnaround. Russia was until recently the bloc’s top supplier of crude, accounting for as much as 31% of total imports until the end of January 2022, according to Eurostat. The US, meanwhile, came a distant second, with a maximum 13% share. But Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year led to an upheaval in Europe’s energy supplies. EU states slashed their imports of...

The white-colored humanoid “Garmi” does not look much different from a typical robot — it stands on a platform with wheels, and is equipped with a black screen on which two blue circles acting as eyes are attached. But retired German doctor Guenter Steinebach, 78, said: “For me, this robot is a dream.” Not only is Garmi able to perform diagnostics on patients, it can also provide care and treatment for them. Or at least, that is the plan. Garmi is a product of a new sector called geriatronics, a discipline that taps advanced technologies like robotics, IT and 3D...

The University of Helsinki announced Monday the institution will confer climate change activist Greta Thunberg with an honorary Doctorate of Theology. In its news release, the Finland-based university called the honorary degree its “highest recognition,” and 20-year-old Thunberg of Sweden is one of 30 individuals set to be honored as part of the school’s annual graduation ceremonies this May. The announcement came just one day before a Swedish court gave Thunberg and hundreds of other climate activists approval “to proceed with a class action lawsuit against the Swedish state for ‘insufficient climate policy,'” Reuters reported. “Thunberg, and 600 other young...

The French National Assembly rejected a vote of no-confidence against the Government of Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, in the aftermath of the massive weekend protests over the French government pension plan. This defeat of the motion means that the Prime Minister will not have to resign, and that Macron’s tyrannical pension overhaul will become law. This is one of the biggest political crisis endured by the 45-year-old French President. Macron invoked a controversial executive power to force through his deeply unpopular pension overhaul by decree, without a parliamentary vote. Among other rejected provisions, it raises the retirement...