International
Siege of Qatar – new adventure for Trump and Gulf allies
By Stephen Bell
On 5 June the governments of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt imposed a blockade upon the people of Qatar. Qatar’s sole land border, with Saudi Arabia, was closed. Air space over the blockading countries was denied to Qatari planes. Access on the sea, via UAE ports, was denied. Qatar imports 98 per cent of its foodstuff, mostly through the Saudi land route.
Uniting Ireland – an agreed future
The following speech by Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, with preceding extracts from the speech, sets out an agenda for Irish unity, which was previously published here by Sinn Féin.
DUP dawdles behind Tories into cul-de-sac
By Stephen Bell
At the time of writing, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Arlene Foster, has stated that: ‘Discussions are going well with the government and we hope soon to be able to bring this work to a successful conclusion’. Providing the essential number of MPs to maintain a minority Tory government gives a degree influence which the DUP probably did not anticipate.
Climate change has to be tackled – with or without Trump
By Fiona Edwards
At the beginning of June Donald Trump announced that the United States is withdrawing from the historic Paris Agreement on climate change which over 190 countries signed up to in 2016 – a decision that has been widely condemned both internationally and within the US itself.
Macron may have won, but he will fail
By Jane West
The French presidential elections ended with Macron sweeping into the Élysée Palace on 66 per cent of the vote, and Le Pen roundly defeated. But this is the beginning, not the end. Macron has no alternative to the politics of austerity that have destroyed the Socialist Party, and therefore he will fail. His popularity will be short-lived and the fight between the left and the far right as to which will succeed in hegemonising the increasing alienated French electorate will break out with renewed force.