Northern Ireland

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/16522788

A man has appeared in court accused of stealing a packet of crisps worth £1.25.

Patrick McDonagh (37) of Erne Park, Kesh, appeared at Enniskillen Magistrate's Court on Thursday.

He is facing a single charge of theft, whereby he is accused of stealing crisps to the value of £1.25 from Lakeside Service Station on April 30 of this year.

Translation: "crisps" are what Americans call "chips".

The PSNI has said there is "no doubt" there is a loyalist paramilitary link to violence in Belfast in recent days.

Trouble erupted in the Sandy Row area of south Belfast last night for the second time in 72 hours.

The area, close to the city centre, is one where the Ulster Defence Association has a strong presence and influence.

More than 300 police officers in riot gear and a large number of armoured Land Rovers were deployed in the area last night.

A small crowd of rioters - most of them teenagers - attacked police with petrol bombs, chunks of masonry and other items.

They also again attacked a shop owned by a Syrian family that was virtually destroyed when set on fire on Saturday night following an anti immigration rally in the city centre.

...

The senior officer also said there was a degree of orchestration and organisation of last night's violence.

"I have no doubt there is a paramilitary element to this, but I am not in a position to say that it is this that is the main organiser or orchestrator of these events.

"However, we do keep an open mind to this and this will be part of our investigative strategy."

The PSNI has banned members of its riot squad from wearing emblems on uniforms after an officer was pictured with a patch similar to insignia used by a far-right militia group in the US.

The officer, who is s a member of the Tactical Support Group (TSG), was pictured wearing the distinctive patch while policing an anti-racism protest outside Belfast city hall on Saturday.

Just yards away far-right protesters holding both tricolours and union flag held a separate anti-immigration rally.

The controversial uniform patch appears to show a gladiator-style helmet and includes the Roman numeral for the number three.

In the past a similar symbol has been linked to the US and Canada based far right militia, the Three Percenters.

The group advocates gun ownership and resistance to the US government.

It has previously been reported that it is among the ‘most dangerous’ in north America.

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Chief Superintendent Amanda Ford said the wearing of emblems has now been halted.

“Having made enquiries into the wearing of emblems by our tactical support groups following on from images captured during disorder in Belfast on Saturday evening, we can confirm that some units have designed an emblem that represents their identification colour/number and these have been worn on their uniform during deployments.

“The designs were not based on any other groups or affiliations and were intended purely for the identification of each individual unit and for ease of reference for supervisors when units are working together.

“They were never intended to cause any offence.

“They do not comply with our uniform standards however and will not be worn again. "

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/13301154

The source of a mystery humming sound which has plagued people living in Omagh may now have been identified – but is not being made public.

People in the County Tyrone town first started to report a persistent humming that was keeping them them awake in the second half of last year.

A Fermanagh and Omagh District Council investigation has now ended.

John Boyle, the council’s director of community and wellbeing, said it had been “complex” but had been able to “hone in on a specific spot”.

Mr Boyle said the noise “wasn’t audible every night", and was linked to atmospheric conditions, making the investigation very difficult.

“We were able to hone in on a specific spot, and undertook a targeted screening exercise with a number of industrial businesses using equipment on a 24-hour basis," he said.

“However, a particular premises became the focus, and environmental health officers engaged with the management.

“While nothing was absolutely concluded, the noise did cease in a sense, but we will keep the complaint open and under review over the next number of months."

He told the council’s regeneration and community committee the council had received a total of 11 hum complaints.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/12553938

The “gunfluencer” turned Texas Republican congressional candidate Brandon Herrera posted to YouTube a video in which he wears a balaclava, fires an Armalite rifle, uses Irish stereotypes while joking about the IRA, and says he “fucking hate[s] the British.”

“I’m not doing it because I like or support the IRA,” says Herrera, now 28 and a candidate for the Republican nomination in Texas’ 23rd U.S. House district, in the video posted on March 17, 2023—St Patrick’s Day—and titled “The AR-180: The IRA’s Lucky Charm.”

“They were pretty heavily socialist. Of course they really hurt a lot of innocent people sometimes. I’m not doing this video because I like the IRA or I support them. I’m doing this video because I fucking hate the British.

“Guys, I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Mostly.”

...

Speaking to The Daily Beast, Aidan McQuade, from Northern Ireland and a former director of Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest human rights group, condemned Herrera for displaying “jaw-dropping stupidity” in his IRA-themed video.

“It is quite an achievement to make a video of which the anti-Irish stereotyping is the least offensive part,” McQuade said.

Other remarks by Herrera in the video include a promise to get “belligerently drunk” to celebrate St Patrick’s Day and, “The IRA [were] very famously unhappy for a certain group of folks going after their Lucky Charms,” a reference to famous ads for a U.S. breakfast cereal featuring a leprechaun character.

Over footage of a gun jamming, meanwhile, Herrera says: “This is why Ireland isn’t free.”

McQuade said: “From a historical perspective it is jaw-droppingly stupid to suggest that the course of the Troubles could have been changed with a more dependable Armalite.

“From a human perspective, Herrera’s attitude to violence seems that of an adolescent video-gamer blissfully ignorant of the trauma that war inflicts on a society, and the unending grief of victims’ devastated families.”

Archive

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/11812280

The High Court in Belfast on Monday morning ordered the "disapplication" of sections of the act as they undermine human rights protections guaranteed in the region under post-Brexit arrangements.

The Illegal Migration Act provides new powers for the government to detain and remove asylum seekers it deems to have arrived illegally in the UK. Central to the new laws is the scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Mr Justice Humphreys said aspects of the Illegal Migration Act were also incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Following Brexit, the UK and the EU agreed the Windsor Framework, which stipulates there can be no diminution of the rights provisions contained within the Good Friday peace agreement of 1998, even if they differ from the rest of the UK.

The judge found several elements of the Illegal Immigration Act cause a "significant" diminution of the rights enjoyed by asylum seekers in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

"I have found that there is a relevant diminution of right in each of the areas relied upon by the applicants," he said.

cross-posted from: https://fedinews.net/m/ImproveTheNews/t/6697

• Jeffrey Donaldson appeared in court on Wednesday, for the first time since his arrest in March over accusations of rape and sexual assault. Bloomberg
• According to prosecutors, the former leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is facing 11 sex offense charges, including one count of rape. MSN
• The allegations span from 1985 to 2006 and involve two alleged victims. Donaldson appeared in court with his wife Eleanor Donaldson, who has been charged with aiding and abetting rape and indecent assault, and two counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16. IrishCentral.com
• Neither Donaldson nor his wife entered pleas on Wednesday, and spoke only to confirm their names and affirm that they understood the charges. They were released on bail, with the court adjourned until May 22. Washington Post (LR: 2 CP: 5)
• Donaldson was arrested for "non-recent sexual offenses" on March 28, 2024. The DUP confirmed the following day that Donaldson had stepped down as leader and that he had been suspended from the party. BBC News (LR: 3 CP: 5)
• Donaldson was Northern Ireland's longest-serving parliamentary lawmaker — having first been elected in 1997 — and played a significant role brokering a deal with the British government over post-Brexit trade rules. Associated Press (LR: 3 CP: 5)

Narrative A:

• Donaldson has vigorously denied the allegations against him. The claims are awful, but he and his wife have not yet been convicted of the crimes they are accused of. Media outlets should avoid speculating on this case, as they could risk interfering with the trial and being in contempt of the court.
  BELFASTTELEGRAPH.CO.UK

Narrative B:

• The serious allegations of rape and sexual assault against Donaldson are not just upsetting in themselves, but they have also destabilized the politics of Northern Ireland. His arrest and subsequent charges have led to a leadership change within the DUP, highlighting the instability of the party. With the government in Northern Ireland just recently resuming, this abrupt change may cause unease amongst DUP supporters, which will make it difficult for the party to address urgent issues.
  ECONOMIST (LR: 2 CP: 5)

Nerd narrative:

• There's a 50% chance that the DUP will win at least 5 seats in the next UK general election, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
  METACULUS (LR: 3 CP: 3)

WTF Northern Ireland

The orchid has been spotted in areas of Sligo and Dublin before in the Republic of Ireland, but has never before been located in Northern Ireland, according to local botanists.The orchid has been spotted in areas of Sligo and Dublin before in the Republic of Ireland, but has never before been located in Northern Ireland, according to local botanists.

...

The BSBI recorder for County Down, Graham Day, said he was thrilled to hear of the find.

He said this was a significant discovery as it is most unusual for a new native species to turn up in your patch, especially an orchid.

Killard National Nature Reserve, which is the site of the discovery, is on the Killard Peninsula, where Strangford Lough meets the Irish Sea.

The nature reserve is a popular spot with local botanists, known for its wealth of orchid species and coastal plants.

Jake said that the site is extremely well-managed, with careful attention paid to grazing, and maybe that is the secret as to why the new species was able to colonise.