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Opinion

Robert Fisk: It's never good to swap people for bodies

Al-Jazeera – much praised by the now-dying US administration until it started reporting the truth about the American occupation of Iraq (at which point, you may recall, George Bush wanted to bomb it) – is back in hot water. And not, I fear, without reason.
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Inside Opinion

E Jane Dickson: Bachelor Boy Cliff Richard has played a blinder

Saturday, 6 September 2008

"News stops at the bedroom door." This is the enshrined view of the French media expressed this week by the satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîné in response to speculation about the unborn child of France's minister for justice, Rachida Dati. It is also, one suspects, French for "we don't know who the father is".
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Why we’re not flushed with success

Friday, 5 September 2008

Once again we had the coincidence of exceptionally heavy, prolonged rainfall with spring tides, and once again Belfast was flooded.
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Terrorists by any other name

Friday, 5 September 2008

Reporter Michael McHugh (Belfast Telegraph, August 26) writes of former ‘republican prisoners’ trying to get convictions overturned and hoping to get compensation from the British Government.
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Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy is still considering a response to the First Minister

Is there enough goodwill left to get Stormont running again?

Friday, 5 September 2008

A summer of stalemate has seen the |atmosphere sour at Stormont, according to Political Correspondent Noel McAdam, but progress should not prove impossible
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Rugby puts squeeze on fans

Friday, 5 September 2008

What is happening in Ulster rugby? Munster are about to open their new facility with a capacity of 26,000 and Leinster are currently able to accommodate 19,500 at the RDS.
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Economic crisis starts to bite

Friday, 5 September 2008

Chancellor Alistair Darling has said the economy is in its worst crisis in 60 years — and it will be profound and long-lasting.
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Billy, we’re sad to say goodbye

Friday, 5 September 2008

Billy Simpson’s swan song was beautifully sung (Belfast Telegraph, September 1).
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If you’ve finished posturing, can we get on with politics, please?

Friday, 5 September 2008

Maybe DUP leader Peter Robinson is starting to warm to Sinn Fein after all. In a statement in the wake of the Independent Monitoring Commission report which said that the IRA is now a spent force incapable, even if it wanted, of starting up a terrorist campaign again, Mr Robinson made it clear he is not entirely convinced that the Provos Army Council is totally redundant.
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Brian Rowan: The IRA is now sleeping and there’s no need to wake it up

Thursday, 4 September 2008

It would almost be like waking someone up to give them a sleeping tablet.”
Comments: 2

Policing comes first

Thursday, 4 September 2008

A negative vortex is once again beginning to develop in Northern Ireland.
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Rose is a victim of ageism

Thursday, 4 September 2008

Like many people, I read with sadness that popular newsreader Rose Neill is to leave the BBC (Belfast Telegraph, August 29).
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Evolution and the order of life

Thursday, 4 September 2008

Tom McIvor (Write Back, August 27) demonstrates a lack of understanding of evolution, biology and science in his attempt to undermine evolutionary thinking.
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For pagans God is a non-entity

Thursday, 4 September 2008

In Write Back recently, some within the Christian faith have attacked others who do not see or live life their way.
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Our power supply is at the mercy of Russia

Thursday, 4 September 2008

In the face of over-reliance on gas for electricity generation, the Utility Regulator, Iain Osborne (Belfast Telegraph, August 28), states that “over two-thirds of our electricity is generated from gas” and gas costs have increased by “95% over last year”. So what is the Regulator's answer?
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The original Good Friday Agreement of 1998 must be adhered to, says Sinn Fein.

Mitchel McLaughlin: Time for DUP to observe the foundations of Agreement

Thursday, 4 September 2008

As the two main Government parties are in dispute over the devolution of policing and justice powers, Sinn Fein’s Mitchel McLaughlin says the DUP must step up to its obligations under St Andrews.
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England manager Fabio Capello wants his players to eat less and has put them on a diet.

Claudia Winkleman: Why Fabio will have to stomach angry footballers

Thursday, 4 September 2008

So Fabio Capello has put the England football squad on a diet. He says they're a bit porky and a teeny bit too slow and that they need to eat less. No more extra-large bacon sandwiches with HP. No mammoth mountains of pasta and pesto with heaps of parmesan. And no toasted cheese sandwiches after training. The days of a massive fry-up before sticking on their football boots have gone.
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Viewpoint: Devolution deadlock must end

Thursday, 4 September 2008

Today the DUP and Sinn Fein will come face to face in the first of a series of meetings aimed at breaking the political impasse over the devolution of policing and justice powers to the power-sharing administration.
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Eamonn McCAnn, Belfast Telegraph

Eamonn McCann: How police power is crucial to Sinn Fein’s state of mind

Thursday, 4 September 2008

Suppose they gave a crisis and nobody came? Suppose Sinn Fein and the DUP told us to tremble because Stormont would collapse in the morning over the other side's attitude to policing, and everybody said, “Away o' that,” and went on about their business?
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Frances A. Burscough, Belfast Telegraph

Frances Burscough: Why I won’t miss smarmy Laurence off my TV screen

Thursday, 4 September 2008

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, the dandy decorator from Dulwich with big hair and an even bigger head, must be one of the most annoying ‘personalities’ on TV, don’t you think?
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I’m tired hearing about gays

Wednesday, 3 September 2008

The £80,000 funding for gay groups by the Office of First Minister/Deputy First Minister is nothing more than a sop after the outcry caused by the First Minister's wife.
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More opinion:

Day In a Page

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World in Pictures: September 2008

  • An anti-government supporter reacts to a speech by Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej at Government House Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008, in Bangkok, Thailand. In a live radio speech Samak vowed not to resign and to stay on to protect democracy.
  • People wade through flooded streets after Tropical Storm Hanna hit the area in Gonaives, Haiti, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008. Three storms have killed at least 126 people in Haiti in less than three weeks.
  • Parents of newly arrived freshmen students sleep in a gym at the Central China Normal University in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province Wednesday Sept. 3, 2008. The university opened its gym overnight to allow parents of freshmen students to accompany their children on their first day of school.

Stunning images from around the world

Heading Out In Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Nightlife in Pictures

In Pictures: Flooding Northern Ireland

  • A car abandoned on the Westlink Road is seen at the junction with the M1 Motorway in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008. Severe flooding swept across Northern Ireland Saturday after torrential rain.
  • This bike fan was unconcerned about the bad weather which led to the Ulster Grand Prix being cancelled
  • A bridge is swept away as the River Straid burst its banks at Nursery Road in Ballymena on Saturday afternoon

Wet and wild photographs from around Ulster

Family Notices

Olympics closing ceremony

  • A general view showing the Olympic flame during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China.
  • A general view showing the Olympic flame during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China
  • Performers are seen during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China

Spectacular show closes 2008 Games

Beach boy Bush at the Olympics

  • U.S. President George Bush watches a practice as U.S player Kerri Walsh warms up at the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008.
  • U.S. President George Bush watches as U.S. team of Misty May Treanor, left, and Kerri Walsh warm up at the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008.
  • President Bush gestures toward the back of Misty May Treanor as he visits the practice of the U.S. beach volleyball team the 2008 Summer Olympic games in Beijing, China Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008. At right is Treanor's teammate Kerri Walsh.

US President finds time for some volleyball fun

Entertainment

War in the Caucasus

  • Russian armored vehicles enter a tunnel, moving toward the border with Russia's North Ossetia, 70 km (43 miles) north of Tskhinvali, the Georgian breakaway province of South Ossetia's capital, on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008. Russia pulled the bulk of its troops and tanks from Georgia on Friday after a brief but intense war but built up its forces in and around two separatist regions and left other positions deeper in the former Soviet republic.
  • Smoke rises from a fire in the Georgian village of Kekhvi, some 15 km (9 miles) north of Tskhinvali, in Georgia's breakway province of South Ossetia on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008. Many ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia and Georgia have been looted and burned down after Russian troops entered Georgia.
  • Fire fighters extinguish a fire on a train carrying oil products after it hit a mine about 10 km (6 miles) east of Georgia's strategic central city of Gori on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008. Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said the blast hit near the end of the train and one third of its 30 tanker cars were on fire.

A conflict in pictures

Columnist Comments

david_healy

• David Healy: World Cup qualifying - here we go again

Ever since we lost to Spain and failed to qualify for Euro 2008, I’ve been waiting for the World Cup qualifiers to start.

robert_fisk

• Robert Fisk: It's never good to swap people for bodies

Al-Jazeera – much praised by the now-dying US administration until it started reporting the truth about the American occupation of Iraq (at which point, you may recall, George Bush wanted to bomb it) – is back in hot water. And not, I fear, without reason.

adrian_logan

• Adrian Logan: There’s no place like Tyrone for believing

The dream final is on. After yesterday’s thrilling All-Ireland semi-final, it’s Tyrone against Kerry in Croke Park in three weeks time.

laurence_white

• Laurence White: If you’ve finished posturing, can we get on with politics, please?

Maybe DUP leader Peter Robinson is starting to warm to Sinn Fein after all. In a statement in the wake of the Independent Monitoring Commission report which said that the IRA is now a spent force incapable, even if it wanted, of starting up a terrorist campaign again, Mr Robinson made it clear he is not entirely convinced that the Provos Army Council is totally redundant.

frances_burscough

• Frances Burscough: Why I won’t miss smarmy Laurence off my TV screen

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, the dandy decorator from Dulwich with big hair and an even bigger head, must be one of the most annoying ‘personalities’ on TV, don’t you think?

lindy_mcdowell

• Lindy McDowell: Why Gordon should put a cork in it

Not since the days of Oliver Cromwell have we had a dourer bunch at the helm of the ship of state. Not since the days of Nostradamus have we had to listen to more dire predictions. Gordon Brown’s government has become the political equivalent of a hen house that’s just got a whiff of a prowling fox.

pol_o_muiri

• Pól Ó Muirí: Going back to school teaches us all patience

In January people join gyms; in September they enrol in night classes. Yes, it is that time of year when you decide to challenge the brain and go to that evening class. The impetus varies.

ed_curran

• Ed Curran: Why is it always raining in Northern Ireland newsrooms?

Well, that was the summer that was. Or should I say: wasn't! I missed the worst of August thankfully through being on holiday in eat-your-heart-out, sun-kissed France, followed by the Olympics in Beijing.

billy_simpson

• Billy Simpson: Every swan has to sing sometime

A recent trip to the breathtaking North Antrim coast reminded our writer of growing up in the ‘best location in the world’

cooper_brown

• Victoria Brown: My husband has been kidnapped and sent to prison in Mexico

Recent readers of my husband Cooper's column will undoubtedly know that he was having some problems with the immigration authorities here in the United Kingdom.

Loadzajobs

Northern Ireland Troubles

In Pictures: The Northern Ireland Troubles

A Conflict in Pictures

Miss Universe

  • Miss Venezuela Dayana Mendoza is crowned Miss Universe 2008 on stage during the 57th Annual Miss Universe Competition at the Crown Convention Centre on July 14, 2008 in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
  • Miss Venezuela Dayana Mendoza one of the top 15 semi finalists performs on stage during the final of the 57th Annual Miss Universe Competition at the Crown Convention Centre on July 14, 2008 in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
  • Miss Vietnam Lam Thuy Nguyen one of the top 15 semi finalists performs on stage during the final of the 57th Annual Miss Universe Competition at the Crown Convention Centre on July 14, 2008 in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

Nha Trang, Vietnam


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