
-
With tariff war, Trump also reshapes how US treats allies
-
Fernandez fires Chelsea into fourth as pressure mounts on Postecoglou
-
South Korea court to decide impeached president's fate
-
Penguin memes take flight after Trump tariffs remote island
-
E.T., no home: Original model of movie alien doesn't sell at auction
-
Italy's Brignone has surgery on broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Trump defiant as tariffs send world markets into panic
-
City officials vote to repair roof on home of MLB Rays
-
Rockets forward Brooks gets one-game NBA ban for technicals
-
Pentagon watchdog to probe defense chief over Signal chat row
-
US tariffs could push up inflation, slow growth: Fed official
-
New Bruce Springsteen music set for June 27 release
-
Tom Cruise pays tribute to Val Kilmer
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's tariffs list
-
Zuckerberg repeats Trump visits in bid to settle antitrust case
-
US fencer disqualified for not facing transgender rival
-
'Everyone worried' by Trump tariffs in France's champagne region
-
Italy's Brignone suffers broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Iyer blitz powers Kolkata to big IPL win over Hyderabad
-
Russian soprano Netrebko to return to London's Royal Opera House
-
French creche worker gets 25 years for killing baby with drain cleaner
-
UK avoids worst US tariffs post-Brexit, but no celebrations
-
Canada imposing 25% tariff on some US auto imports
-
Ruud wants 'fair share' of Grand Slam revenue for players
-
Lesotho, Africa's 'kingdom in the sky' jolted by Trump
-
Trump's trade math baffles economists
-
Gaza heritage and destruction on display in Paris
-
'Unprecedented crisis' in Africa healthcare: report
-
Pogacar gunning for blood and thunder in Tour of Flanders
-
Macron calls for suspension of investment in US until tariffs clarified
-
Wall St leads rout as world reels from Trump tariffs
-
Mullins gets perfect National boost with remarkable four-timer
-
Trump tariffs hammer global stocks, dollar and oil
-
Authors hold London protest against Meta for 'stealing' work to train AI
-
Tate Modern gifted 'extraordinary' work by US artist Joan Mitchell
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's new tariffs list
-
Tonali eager to lead Newcastle back into Champions League
-
Lesotho hardest hit as new US tariffs rattle Africa
-
Stellantis pausing some Canada, Mexico production over Trump auto tariffs
-
Rising odds asteroid that briefly threatened Earth will hit Moon
-
Italy reels from Brignone broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Is the Switch 2 worth the price? Reviews are mixed
-
Ancelotti’s tax trial wraps up in Spain with prosecutors seeking jail
-
Civilians act to bring aid to Myanmar earthquake victims
-
US trade gap narrows in February ahead of bulk of Trump tariffs
-
Stocks, dollar and oil sink as gold hits high on Trump tariffs
-
Countries eye trade talks as Trump tariff blitz roils markets
-
Arsenal defender Gabriel out for rest of the season
-
Trump says US to emerge 'stronger' as markets tumble over tariffs
-
Wiegman says Belgium games can aid England's women's Euros title defence

N.Ireland leader resigns over Brexit protocol
Northern Ireland's unionist chief minister quit on Thursday, forcing his nationalist deputy also to stand down and prompting calls for early elections in the tense province.
"Today marks the end of what has been the privilege of my lifetime," First Minister Paul Givan told reporters, as a new row broke about post-Brexit trade arrangements in the British territory.
Givan's departure had been anticipated, as the leader of his Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Jeffrey Donaldson, last year threatened to collapse the devolved government in Belfast in protest at the arrangements.
The so-called Northern Ireland Protocol is designed to prevent unchecked goods from the British mainland entering the European single market by the back door via neighbouring Ireland.
But the DUP and other pro-British unionist parties are implacably opposed to it, arguing that an effective Irish Sea border has weakened Northern Ireland's affiliation with the UK.
With Givan gone, his deputy Michelle O'Neill, from the pro-Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, is also forced to resign under the terms of a 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of sectarian violence.
The development comes not long before local elections in May that Sinn Fein looks poised to win, and critics have accused the DUP of growing increasingly desperate to shore up its own support.
- 'Enough' -
"We cannot stagger on for months without a functioning executive. Sinn Fein will not facilitate this," said the party's leader, Mary Lou McDonald.
"In the absence of a functioning executive, an early election must be called and the people must have their say," she told reporters.
Northern Ireland's upcoming polls are being keenly watched given Sinn Fein's lead in opinion polls, which could make it the biggest party by popular support in the whole island of Ireland.
It would also put the issue of a united Ireland back on the table, a century after Northern Ireland was carved out by Britain as a separate statelet in deference to its Protestant majority.
Other ministers in the devolved administration in Belfast can stay in place. But the executive is now unable to make any significant decisions, including on its budget.
The UK secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, described Givan's resignation as "extremely disappointing" and called for him to rethink.
"We must not return to a state of political deadlock and inertia," Lewis said, referring to previous rows that saw the executive suspended.
The DUP's Donaldson reaffirmed his position that the protocol was an "existential threat" to Northern Ireland's place in the UK, and was harming business.
"The longer the protocol remains, the more it will harm the Union itself. I think now is the moment when we say, 'enough'."
- 'Unhelpful' -
Edwin Poots, a DUP minister who holds the assembly's agriculture portfolio, triggered a fresh row about the protocol on Wednesday night by ordering a halt on port checks of goods from mainland Great Britain.
Poots' move -- branded a "stunt" by opponents -- came ahead of UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss's latest talks with European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic about reforming the protocol.
Brussels described the Poots directive as "unhelpful", saying it "creates further uncertainty and unpredictability for businesses and citizens in Northern Ireland".
A European Commission spokesperson said the border agreement was "the one and only solution" to safeguard the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
As part of that deal, an open land border was mandated between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland to the south.
Truss said she had had a "good discussion" about proposed changes to the protocol with Sefcovic.
"My priority remains maintaining peace and stability in Northern Ireland," Truss tweeted, adding that further talks were pencilled in for next week in London.
T.Bondarenko--BTB