Northern Ireland

Theresa May rejects EU’s plan for Northern Ireland border, says will never agree to it

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– Theresa May rejects EU’s plan for Northern Ireland border, says will never agree to it:

British Prime Minister Theresa May says a European Union draft proposal for Northern Ireland’s border threatens the “constitutional integrity” of the UK, and that she will “never” agree to it

“The draft legal text the Commission have published would, if implemented, undermine the UK common market and threaten the constitutional integrity of the UK by creating a customs and regulatory border down the Irish Sea, and no UK prime minster could ever agree to it,” May said Wednesday at the weekly Prime Minister Question session in the British House of Commons.

May declared she will be making it clear to EU officials that her government will never sign up to the document: “I will be making it crystal clear to President Juncker and others that we will never do so.”

The EU’s draft withdrawal agreement includes a proposal to effectively keep Northern Ireland inside the bloc’s single market and customs union in order to ensure there will be no hard border with Ireland, an EU member state.

Read moreTheresa May rejects EU’s plan for Northern Ireland border, says will never agree to it

Northern Ireland Bans GM Crops to Keep Clean and Green Image

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– Northern Ireland Bans GM Crops to Keep Clean and Green Image:

Northern Ireland has joined Scotland, France, Greece and Latvia in announcing a full ban on GM crops under the new EU opt-out regulations. Environment Minister, Mark H Durkan announced Monday that he is prohibiting the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops in Northern Ireland.

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Northern Ireland: Coldest August Night On Record!

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– Ireland – Coldest August night on record (Ice Age Now, Aug 25, 2014):

Breaks record for the entire month of August.

A new record for the coldest August night was set on the night of 23rd/24th August for Northern Ireland.

The Met Office said temperatures plunged to a bone-chilling -1.9C (28.6F) at Katesbridge, Co Down, beating the previous record of -1.1C at Loughermore Forest in 1964.

Note: This wasn’t just the coldest in Katesbridge, it was the coldest on record across all of Northern Ireland.

Read moreNorthern Ireland: Coldest August Night On Record!

Northern Ireland: Deep Freeze And Sudden Thaw Cause Water Pipes To Burst, 36,000 People Without Water, Some For More Than A Week

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Members of the fire service fill tanks with water as people queue with empty bottles to collect water, as tens of thousands of homes and businesses are affected by severe water shortages caused by broken pipes, outside Avoniel leisure center in east Belfast, Northern Ireland, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2010. Frustration and fear of disease mounted in Northern Ireland Wednesday as tens of thousands of people coped with a severe water shortage after much of the supply drained away through broken pipes following a deep freeze and a sudden thaw. (AP Photo/PA, Paul Faith) UNITED KINGDOM OUT, NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE (Paul Faith – AP)

BELFAST, Northern Ireland — Frustration and fears of disease mounted in Northern Ireland on Wednesday as 36,000 people were left without water, some for more than a week, after a deep freeze and a sudden thaw caused aging pipes to burst.

With reservoirs running low, water supplies were cut off in many towns and cities, and residents turned to emergency water tankers and bottled water for their cooking, cleaning and drinking needs.

Scotland said it was sending 160,000 liters (42,000 gallons) of bottled water to help meet demand.

Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, called the situation “a grave crisis,” and said people had been let down by their water supplier.

The Northern Ireland government scheduled an emergency meeting for Thursday to discuss the crisis.

Doctors warned of potential disease outbreaks if water was not restored, but officials said it would take several days or more to bring back all service.

Read moreNorthern Ireland: Deep Freeze And Sudden Thaw Cause Water Pipes To Burst, 36,000 People Without Water, Some For More Than A Week