HILLSBOROUGH, NORTHERN IRELAND // The prime ministers of Britain and Ireland unveiled a breakthrough agreement today that saves Northern Ireland's Catholic-Protestant unity government.
Both sides' negotiators gathered at Hillsborough Castle near Belfast to meet Gordon Brown of Britain and Brian Cowen of Ireland, who last week launched a personal mission to prevent the collapse of power-sharing, the central achievement of Northern Ireland's 1998 peace accord.
Mr Brown said the agreement was possible because of "a new spirit of mutual co-operation and respect." Mr Cowen, who joined him at a press conference with local Catholic and Protestant leaders, called the painstakingly negotiated deal "an essential step for peace, stability and security in Northern Ireland."
The breakthrough came at midnight following 10 days of round-the-clock talks, when the key Protestant party, the Democratic Unionists, announced their lawmakers' unanimous backing for the still-confidential deal on how Northern Ireland will take control of its justice system from Britain.
The major Irish Catholic party, Sinn Fein, had declared its support earlier. Democratic Unionist leader Peter Robinson, who leads the often-troubled government coalition formed in 2007, defended the marathon nature of the negotiations.
"Over recent weeks there may have been great frustration out in the community," Mr Robinson said. "But there would have been even greater frustration if we did a deal that collapsed. So it is far better that we spend the extra time and we get it right."
Mr Robinson said his party's lawmakers "have unanimously supported the way forward. ... This is a sound deal and one that I can recommend."
Sinn Fein - which precipitated the crisis by threatening to withdraw from the coalition - welcomed the Protestants' decision. "(This lets us) proceed on the basis of equality, fairness and partnership," said Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.
The accord chiefly charts a path for creating a new Justice Department in Belfast that will take control from Britain of the province's police and courts. Britain hopes to transfer justice powers to local hands April 12 before a British general election expected the following month.
The Democratic Unionists had blocked the Justice Department plans for two years, reflecting fears of permitting former Irish Republican Army commanders in Sinn Fein any role in overseeing law-and-order issues.
Alliance Party leader David Ford, whose party is currently shut out of power sharing, is expected to be appointed justice minister. Mr Ford said the public expected politicians to quickly establish the Justice Department and stop their squabbling. "After having had such a long delay, we should get agreement and implementation as fast as possible. There should be no excuse for lengthy delay," said Mr Ford.
Northern Ireland power sharing was designed to end a conflict that claimed 3,700 lives since the late 1960s.
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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NBA FINALS SO FAR
(Toronto lead 3-2 in best-of-seven series)
Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109
Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109
Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123
Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105
Game 5 Raptors 105 Warriors 106
Game 6 Thursday, at Oakland
Game 7 Sunday, at Toronto (if needed)
Company%20profile
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Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
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Schedule for show courts
Centre Court - from 4pm UAE time
Johanna Konta (6) v Donna Vekic
Andy Murray (1) v Dustin Brown
Rafael Nadal (4) v Donald Young
Court 1 - from 4pm UAE time
Kei Nishikori (9) v Sergiy Stakhovsky
Qiang Wang v Venus Williams (10)
Beatriz Haddad Maia v Simona Halep (2)
Court 2 - from 2.30pm
Heather Watson v Anastasija Sevastova (18)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12) v Simone Bolelli
Florian Mayer v Marin Cilic (7)
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
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Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations
Edited by Sarah Cleave, Comma Press
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
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The biog
Born: near Sialkot, Pakistan, 1981
Profession: Driver
Family: wife, son (11), daughter (8)
Favourite drink: chai karak
Favourite place in Dubai: The neighbourhood of Khawaneej. “When I see the old houses over there, near the date palms, I can be reminded of my old times. If I don’t go down I cannot recall my old times.”
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Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
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Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR
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How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
'Cheb%20Khaled'
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The specs
Price: From Dh529,000
Engine: 5-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 520hp
Torque: 625Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
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Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5