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Relatives of those killed in a Loyalist massacre in Derry 50 years ago today will gather tonight to remember their loved ones. Charles Moore, Frank McCarron, Michael McGinley, Barney Kelly and Charlie McCafferty were shot dead as they enjoyed a drink in Annie's in the Top of the Hill area of Derry, just five days before Christmas in December 1972. There will be a special Remembrance Mass at 6pm this evening (Tuesday) at St Columb’s Church on Chapel Road. It was from this same church that some of the victims were laid to rest following Requiem Mass in the days...

Masked loyalists are seen after hijacking and setting a car on fire at the Cloughfern roundabout in Newtownabbey, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Saturday, April 3, 2021. Masked men threw petrol bombs and hijacked cars in the Loyalist area North of Belfast. Loyalists and unionists are angry about post-Brexit trading arrangements which they claim have created barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. (Peter Morrison/PA via AP) The disturbances followed unrest Friday and Saturday in unionist areas in and around Belfast and Londonderry, also known as Derry, that saw cars set on fire and projectiles and gasoline bombs hurled...

Michel Barnier has set Boris Johnson a midnight deadline to concede to EU demands and agree to a customs border in the Irish Sea or be left with nothing to take to the Commons.

Boris Johnson appears to be on the brink of reaching a Brexit deal after making major concessions to EU demands over the Irish border. A draft text of the agreement could now be published on Wednesday if Downing Street gives the final green light, according to senior EU and British sources. It is understood that the negotiating teams have agreed in principle that there will be a customs border down the Irish Sea. A similar arrangement was rejected by Theresa May as a deal that no British prime minister could accept. Johnson will still have to win over parliament –...

New York Times London-based reporter Ceylan Yeginsu reported on the abortion debate in Belfast under a flawlessly biased headline: “Can Northern Ireland Cling To Its Draconian Abortion Laws?” Which put in mind Barack Obama's condescending reference to working class Midwesterners who "cling to guns or religion." The online headline was also awful, albeit in a different way: "Climate of Fear: When Part of a Country Bans Abortion.” (“Bans abortion” is an odd way to describe a law that has been in place in Northern Ireland since 1861)(click "expand"): It was one of the warmest days of the year, and Ciara...

London (AFP) – A no-deal Brexit could lead to a united Ireland as more people in Northern Ireland would “come to question the Union” with Great Britain, Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar has said. His comments came after new British prime minister Boris Johnson said the current Brexit deal was unacceptable and set preparations for leaving the EU without an agreement as a “top priority” for his right-wing government. Tension around the withdrawal deal centres on the so-called Irish backstop — a mechanism designed to keep Northern Ireland in the bloc’s Single Market and prevent a customs border between it...

The impounding of two Northern Ireland fishing boats by the Irish Navy has been condemned as “quite outrageous” by the DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds. The boats, the Amity and the Boy Joseph, were detained in Dundalk Bay on Wednesday for allegedly breaching fishing regulations. They were fishing for crabs, lobsters and whelks when they were arrested. In a statement, the Department of Defence said the ships were detained for illegal fishing within the exclusive fishery limits of the State and for illegal entry into the limits. The two boats were escorted to Clogherhead in Co Louth by a fisheries...

Six police officers were injured and seven people were arrested during overnight clashes in east Belfast, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said. Rioting broke out following the Protestant “mini Twelfth” parade on Friday, a force spokeswoman said. Police vehicles were damaged and missiles were thrown at officers trying to quell the “significant disorder” in the Castlereagh Street and Albertbridge Road areas of the city. Officers used rubber bullets and a water cannon to try to disperse the crowds, finally bringing calm to the area in the early hours of Saturday. Six officers were hurt when youths threw by blocks...

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — Northern Ireland leaders condemned Irish nationalist rioters Tuesday who wounded 82 police officers during two nights of street clashes sparked by the province's annual parades by the British Protestant majority.