The substance of what they said was breathtaking enough, but the way they did it was even more phenomenal: they sat calmly side by side, exuding a sense of purpose and the intention of doing serious business together.
The picture of Belfast's two commanding political figures, flanked by their senior lieutenants, carried a subliminal but unambiguous message: after 3,700 deaths the Troubles are over and real politics can begin.
The two iconic figures from the opposite ends of the religious divide sat side by side at a joint press conference after the meeting, which was described by Tony Blair as a "remarkable coming together".
Sitting only a few feet apart, the Democratic Unionist Party leader and the Sinn Fein president announced their intention to resurrect Stormont by May 8, thus leaving Mr Blair with his Northern Ireland legacy.
Thirteen years after the IRA called its first ceasefire and 18 months after the terrorist organisation was finally judged to have decommissioned weapons, the men pledged that their parties would work together.
Hardened hacks, gathered around a television screen that was carrying live coverage of the first meeting between the Democratic Unionist leader and Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein president, were just getting over the shock of it when Mr Paisley said them again. “We have agreed with Sinn Fein.” Fourteen minutes past twelve.
To say that it was a surprise to see the two dinosaurs of Northern Ireland’s intractable argument sitting within handshaking distance of one another, each listening respectfully to what the other had to say, would be an understatement.
A report from the Commons education select committee singles out Catholic schools, which, it says, should be forced to make public their commitment to stop gay pupils being bullied. The Catholic church has refused to follow government guidelines urging schools to set up specific policies against homophobic bullying
Some schools try to tackle the problem by attempting to change the victim's behaviour when they should be tackling the bully, according to the report by the Commons education committee.
Failure to implement anti-bullying policies is leading to many problems, from general unhappiness to depression, self-harm or suicide.
Staff are increasingly being targeted by pupils with insults and violence in schoolyards, a damning report from the Commons Education Committee revealed last night.
And it's the parents' fault for not controlling the tearaways.
The report said: "Poor parenting and lack of discipline at home can lead to a lack of respect for other people, a lack of respect for difference and anti-social behaviour."
The Appeal Court ruling freed a young man jailed for rape after he had sex with a drunken student.
It also raised deep doubts over the Government's latest attempts to toughen rape laws.
Three senior judges were giving reasons for clearing a 25-year-old man of raping a student, aged 19, after both had been drinking heavily.
Sir Igor Judge, sitting with Lady Justice Hallett and Mrs Justice Gloster, said sex would amount to rape if the complainant had lost her capacity to choose as a result of drink.
"However, where the complainant has voluntarily consumed even substantial quantities of alcohol, but nevertheless remains capable of choosing whether or not to have intercourse, and in drink agrees to do so, this would not be rape," he said.
The judges could not set a level of alcohol consumption that would negate consent, they explained.
The same paper reports that
Cameron tells parents to regain control
In a wide-ranging speech aimed at provoking a national debate, the Conservative leader called for parents to have the courage to say "no" to their children when they were misbehaving or over-eating and also to intervene when other people's children were misbehaving, even if they were met by a volley of abuse.
Today's teenagers 'are less healthy than their parents' reports the Indy
Alcohol, tobacco, drugs, obesity and sexually transmitted diseases have replaced childhood infections of the past, such as tuberculosis and polio, and are exacting a greater toll. The difference is that the modern threats to teenagers' health are preventable.
The Guardian reports on the comments of the outgoing ambassador to Iraq
US envoy bows out with warning to Iraqis: 'Our patience is wearing thin'
The outgoing US ambassador to Iraq yesterday delivered a blunt farewell message to Iraq's leadership, saying the Bush administration's patience was wearing thin and urging them to stem the bloodshed.
Zalmay Khalilzad, who is due to leave today after 21 months in Iraq, said that despite encouraging results from the US-Iraqi security plan, which had reduced attacks by 25% in its first six weeks, "there is a lot more that needs to be done."
He said: "Success requires Iraq and Iraqi leaders to make the compromises necessary to reduce the sources of violence."
Mr Khalilzad also confirmed reports that US and Iraqi officials were talking to insurgent groups and tribes in the volatile Sunni areas in an attempt to draw them away from violence and isolate foreign jihadi groups such as al-Qaida.
The Mirror continues to lead on the Bob Woolmer murder
WANTED BY WOOLMER COPS
THREE fanatical Pakistani cricket supporters are wanted for questioning after Bob Woolmer's murder.
The men, described as "hangers-on", ran errands for their heroes before the World Cup game with Ireland.
They have not been seen since coach Bob, 58, was found strangled in his hotel in Jamaica.
Sources named them as Hamad Malik, thought to be from London, Erfan Chaudhary and Jundie Khan.
Police said: "We'd like to eliminate them from our inquiries."
The Times reports the same story
Woolmer police hunt three missing fans who met team
The latest twist came amid fevered and unsubstantiated rumours in Jamaica that closed-circuit television footage clearly shows two suspects entering the hotel corridor on Woolmer’s floor in the early hours of Sunday morning.
But detectives may have to wait some time before the CCTV images can be studied in detail. One police source said yesterday that the quality was very poor, and an expert may be needed to enhance the images before police can identify who was near the room.
The Sun asks
Iran kidnaps: Let mummy go
THE brave Royal Navy woman sailor being held hostage by Iran has a three-year-old daughter.
Leading Seaman Faye Turney, 26, was one of the drivers of the two boats swooped on by Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards on Friday.
Her little daughter Molly and husband Adam were at home last night desperately waiting for news of her plight.
Faye is being held with 14 other Navy hostages snatched by Iranian gunboats from a patrol in the Shaat-al-Arab waterway off Basra, Iraq.
Family of woman sailor abducted by Iranians speak of their distress says the Times
Leading Seaman Faye Turney, who has a three-year-old daughter Molly, was one of 15 British service personnel captured in the Gulf last week and now held at an unnamed location in Iran.
In a statement released by the Ministry of Defence, the family said: “While we understand the media interest in the ongoing incident involving Faye, this remains a very distressing time for us and our family. We are grateful for the support shown to us by all personnel involved and appreciate it, but would request that our privacy is respected.”
More Royal revelations on the front of the Sun this morning
WAHEY headlines the paper
STUNNING student Ana Ferreira told last night of the moment she was groped by Prince William.
The 18-year-old recalled: “I was a little bit drunk myself but felt something brush my breast.
“I thought it couldn’t be the future king — but now I’ve seen the picture it’s no wonder he has a smile on his face! He has big manly hands and certainly knows what to do with them.”
Ana, studying INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, went to Elements nightclub in Bournemouth, Dorset, to party to Latin tunes.
Wills, 24, was downing pints of Stella and shots of sambuca with Household Cavalry pals on his first night off since starting a tank commander course at Bovington, Dorset.
the Times reports on the
PC who racked up 18,000 Air Miles in Clubcard scam
A police officer who discovered a loophole in Tesco’s Clubcard loyalty scheme has been convicted of cheating his way to 18,000 Air Miles.
PC Shaun Pennicott faces losing his job after being convicted of “going equipped to cheat” when he repeatedly abused the supermarket’s self-service checkouts.
In two months the loyalty points he collected would have paid for six return flights between London and New York.
Tesco admitted yesterday that the loophole was still open. It would cost too much to close it but procedures were in place to alert the company if any of the 13 million families that use its loyalty scheme attempted to abuse it.
The Guardian finally runs on its front page with a story of
Secret wills of the royals - a tale of mistresses, jewels and cover-ups
A lawsuit challenging the secrecy around royal wills has unearthed an unexpected skeleton in the Windsor family cupboard. Like those of other royals, the will of Princess Margaret was sealed by a high court judge, Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, in 2002, with the backing of the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith. A Jersey accountant, Robert Brown, who claims to be the princess's illegitimate son by her lover Peter Townsend, is asking the court today to unseal it as he believes it may contain secret provision for him.
According to the report
At the centre of the controversy was Prince Francis, brother-in-law of the future king, George V. The prince was a notorious gambler and womaniser, and portraits show an imposing figure with a fine set of seducer's waxed moustaches.
He died suddenly at the age of 39, after catching pneumonia at Balmoral in the autumn of 1910. To the outrage of his royal relations, he turned out to have bequeathed prized family jewels to a mistress, Ellen Constance, the countess of Kilmorey, who was known as Nellie. There was also talk of an illegitimate child.
Afraid of the scandal this might cause, Francis's sister Mary, then the Duchess of York, succeeded in persuading a judge to ban public knowledge of the will. But a draft version of the document has now emerged in Ireland, in the family papers of the Earl of Kilmorey.
The jewels, known as the Cambridge emeralds, were quietly bought back from the countess by Mary for £10,000, the equivalent of more than £600,000 today. Mary wore them round her neck when her husband was crowned and she became Queen Consort the following year.
No comments:
Post a Comment