US president says Ireland trip ‘reinforced my sense of optimism about what can be done’
Joe Biden left Ireland in the early hours of Saturday vowing to run again for president, promising to formally announce his decision to run for a second presidential term “relatively soon”.
At the same time he spoke of his hope of an epoch of renewal in Northern Ireland, restating the “incredible” US investment opportunities that lay ahead if peace endures.
Continue reading...US president, whose son Beau Biden died of brain cancer in 2015, tearful after chance meeting with Fr Frank O’Grady in Co Mayo
Joe Biden broke down in tears on the final day of his four-day trip to Ireland after a chance meeting with the priest who gave his son Beau the last rites before he died in 2015.
Fr Richard Gibbons, parish priest and rector of Knock Shrine, said Fr Frank O’Grady – the chaplain who was by Beau Biden’s side as he died – had moved to Knock to work there, leading to an unplanned meeting with the president.
Continue reading...US president turned his farewell speech outside St Muredach’s cathedral in Ballina into a celebration of Irish and American values
Joe Biden has concluded his visit to Ireland with a passionate riverside address to tens of thousands of people at his ancestral town in County Mayo.
The US president turned his farewell speech outside St Muredach’s cathedral in Ballina on Friday night into a celebration of Irish and American values that appeared partly aimed at US voters.
Continue reading...US president praises emerging relationship with Ireland to taoiseach Leo Varadkar
Chris Philp, the policing minister, has published an article in the Telegraph today explaining the changes being introduced to the way that police record crimes in England and Wales. The changes are being introduced following recommendations from the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
Philp says:
Firstly, we are dropping the requirement for police to record some crimes twice or more, reintroducing the previous “principal offence” rule. This will remove multiple entries on the database which effectively re-record the same incident many times.
Accurate crime recording is vital, and these changes will better reflect victims’ experience. Recording crime does not equate to investigating crime and the police will continue to pursue all offences involved in the incident.
Accurate records of crime must be kept, and crimes will be recorded. These changes to the crime-recording rules will enable police to target and focus investigations and provide victims the service they deserve.
Ambulance response times for all types of emergencies have got longer, including for life-threatening illnesses and injuries, but remain below record levels.
Meanwhile around one in 10 people arriving at major A&E departments are having to wait more than 12 hours before being admitted, transferred or discharged – the first time data of this kind has been published.
Continue reading...White House edits transcript after US president referred to military force rather than New Zealand rugby team
The White House has corrected a gaffe by Joe Biden that confused New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team with the British military force known as the Black and Tans that terrorised Ireland.
An official transcript of the remarks released on Thursday crossed out “Black and Tans” and inserted “All Blacks” instead.
Continue reading...Lawsuit claims former fixer breached attorney-client privilege and unjustly enriched himself, among other allegations
Tennessee’s neighbor Kentucky is having its own reckoning with gun violence after a mass shooting in Louisville on Monday left five people dead.
But as the Washington Post reports, the partisan divide over what to do about these repeated acts of violence is as wide as ever in the solidly Republican state. The Post tuned into public events held by two freshman House representatives from the state, one the sole Democrat in its delegation, the other a Republican.
Continue reading...US president given rapturous welcome despite bad weather as he begins celebration of his Irish heritage
Joe Biden has started a three-day personal and political pilgrimage to the Republic of Ireland, receiving a rapturous welcome despite heavy wind and rain.
The US president flew into Dublin on Wednesday afternoon after concluding a politically charged visit to Northern Ireland. The taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, greeted Biden after he descended from Air Force One for an expected three-day celebration of the president’s Irish heritage.
Continue reading...Latest updates: US president is not ‘anti-British’ as DUP has claimed, says White House
Joe Biden is “not anti-British,” one of his most senior aides has said in response to accusations by the former Democratic Unionist party leader Arlene Foster that the US president “hates the UK”. (See 10.37am.)
Just hours after he arrived in Belfast, the purpose of Biden’s short visit to Northern Ireland was being questioned by unionists who have been boycotting power-sharing arrangements in Northern Ireland for more than a year meaning the territory has no devolved government.
I think the track record of of the president shows that he is not anti-British. The president has been very actively engaged throughout his career dating back to when he was a senator in the peace process in Northern Ireland and that involved engagement with leaders of all of Northern Ireland parties from both of the two main communities.
I think his message to the DUP and to all the political leaders is going to be … the continued strong support for seeing the peace process move forward here and the strong desire by this president to increase US investment in Northern Ireland to take advantage of the vast economic potential that that seems here, and to reiterate broad support for the returning of the devolved government in Northern Ireland.
He hates the United Kingdom, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.
I just think the fact he’s coming here won’t put any pressure on the DUP at all, quite the reverse actually, because he’s seen by so many people as just simply pro-republican and pro-nationalist.
Continue reading...Proposal expected to be unveiled on Wednesday would require at least 54% of new vehicles sold in US to be electric by 2030
The Biden administration will propose strict new automobile pollution limits requiring that all-electric vehicles account for as many as two of every three new vehicles sold in the US by 2032 in a plan that would transform the US auto industry.
Under the proposed regulation, expected to be released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday, greenhouse gas emissions for the 2027 through 2032 model years for passenger vehicles would be limited to even stricter levels than the auto industry agreed to in 2021.
Continue reading...‘Top secret’ document reportedly warned Kyiv faced shortfalls in troops and weaponry and suggested any gains would be modest
US intelligence reportedly warned in February that Ukraine might fail to amass sufficient troops and weaponry for its planned spring counter-offensive, and might fall “well short” of Kyiv’s goals for recapturing territory seized by Russia, according to one of a trove of leaked defence documents.
A document tagged as “top secret” quoted by the Washington Post said that Kyiv was facing significant “force generation and sustainment shortfalls” and was therefore only likely to achieve “modest territorial gains”. The document is a snapshot of the situation in early February, and it is unclear how far Ukraine, with the support of Nato member states, has been able to make up the shortfalls since then.
Continue reading...President expected to emphasise US’s commitment to ensuring peace in Northern Ireland as he begins visit to island of Ireland
Joe Biden will hold a meeting with Rishi Sunak in Belfast on Wednesday before a keynote speech in which he is expected to emphasise the US’s commitment to ensuring lasting peace and prosperity for Northern Ireland.
US officials said the president would be “underscoring the readiness of the United States to support Northern Ireland’s vast economic potential to the benefit of all communities” with the prospect of major investments if power-sharing is restored in Stormont.
Continue reading...Land Rover was monitoring a dissident republican parade commemorating the 1916 Rising
The British and Irish governments have condemned petrol bomb attacks on police in Derry on the eve of Joe Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland.
A small crowd threw petrol bombs and other missiles at a police Land Rover during a parade by dissident republicans in the Creggan area of the city on Monday. The vehicle briefly caught fire and was withdrawn.
Continue reading...The Wall Street Journal reporter was imprisoned by Russian authorities for espionage
The US state department has officially designated Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter imprisoned in Russia, as being wrongfully detained, signalling that Washington views the espionage charges against him as bogus and that he is being held as a hostage.
“Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin’s continued repression of independent voices in Russia and its ongoing war against the truth,” the state department spokesman, Vedant Patel, said in a statement announcing the designation. “The US government will provide all appropriate support to Mr Gershkovich and his family. We call for the Russian Federation to immediately release Mr Gershkovich.”
Continue reading...Judiciary committee will review supreme court justice’s undeclared luxury travel with Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow
Donald Trump is trying to prevent his former vice-president, Mike Pence, from testifying to the grand jury investigating the January 6 insurrection, NBC News reports:
Earlier this month, Pence decided to drop his legal challenge to the subpoena from special counsel Jack Smith, who is investigating the insurrection at the Capitol in addition to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the classified documents discovered at Mar-a-Lago.
Continue reading...News of invitation follows announcement that US president will visit Ireland and Northern Ireland next week
Joe Biden has accepted an invitation from King Charles III for a state visit, a White House spokesperson has said.
The invitation was made during a “friendly” 25 to 30 minute phone call in which Biden congratulated the king on his upcoming coronation, which the US president will not attend.
Continue reading...Former president to be arraigned on Tuesday in hush money case brought by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg
Donald Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba has made a prickly appearance on CNN’s This Morning, insisting that a mugshot of her boss, something usually required of all defendants when they are arraigned in New York district court, would be merely “theatrics”.
Habba told host Don Lemon:
Mugshots are for people so that you recognize who they are. He’s the most recognized face in the world, let alone the country, right now, so there’s no need for that.
I’m not in a deposition right now and I’m not going to continue this conversation.
Continue reading...Former New Jersey governor, who pledged his allegiance to Trump during 2016 election, says: ‘I can’t help him. No way’
Donald Trump’s expected indictment over his hush money payment to the adult film maker and actor Stormy Daniels may be delayed for a month, Politico reports, because of a scheduled hiatus for the grand jury in the case in Manhattan.
The site’s report is based on an anonymous source “familiar with the proceedings”.
Continue reading...Prime minister praises US president’s commitment to Israel but will not be swayed by ‘pressures from abroad’
Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed Joe Biden’s call to “walk away” from a proposed judicial overhaul that has led to massive protests across Israel, with the Israeli prime minister responding that he does not make decisions based on pressure from abroad.
Netanyahu on Monday delayed the proposal after large numbers of people spilled into the streets. The White House initially suggested Netanyahu should seek a compromise but the US president went further in taking questions from reporters on Tuesday. “I hope he walks away from it,” Biden said.
Continue reading...School shooting that left three children and three adults dead brought condolences from conservatives who oppose gun control
Joe Biden has commented on his ability to get gun control passed following Monday’s massacre at a Nashville elementary school, noting that he can only “plead with Congress” for action.
Biden spoke to reporters while on his way to Durham, North Carolina.
Continue reading...Charles and president likely to instead stage back-to-back visits to mark 25 years of Good Friday agreement
Hopes that Joe Biden’s landmark trip to Belfast next month will be rounded off by a meeting with King Charles are fading after the US president brought forward by a week his trip to celebrate 25 years of peace.
It now appears likely the king and the president will stage back-to-back visits in an echo of historic visits to Dublin by Barack Obama and the queen in 2011.
Continue reading...