- Glamorgan approach Hollywood's Reynolds and McElhenney over Hundred investment
- League Cup still 'significant' for Man Utd boss Ten Hag
- Brazil's farmers fret over fires and drought
- Top Biden aide says US economy at 'turning point'
- US military says withdrawal from Niger is complete
- Bayern set sights on dream home Champions League final
- Toll hits 17 as Storm Boris lashes central Europe
- Hamas chief says ready for 'long war' in Gaza
- Suspect in Trump assassination attempt charged with gun crimes
- Iran's new president vows to ensure morality police don't 'bother' women
- Australia put teenage quick Beardman on standby for England ODIs
- Americans, Swiss snatch lifeline in Louis Vuitton Cup
- Trump blames Biden and Harris 'rhetoric' for assassination bids
- Ex-BBC anchor avoids jail over 'repugnant' images of children
- Brentford forward Wissa out for 'a couple of months'
- Titanic shipbuilder sinks back into trouble
- Where in the world is closest to becoming a '15-minute city'?
- Russia evacuates border villages in Kursk region
- US election in newly volatile territory after Trump alleged assassination bid
- France probes online threats against Afghan taekwondo fighter
- Sinner hires Djokovic's ex-fitness coach after dope test row
- Swifties raise $40k in wake of Trump post hating on star
- Fear and tears as Storm Boris wrecks Czech town
- Penpix of candidates to succeed Bach as IOC President
- Azerbaijan Grand Prix - three things we learned
- AC Milan midfielder Bennacer out for four months
- British politics and fashion collide at London Fashion Week
- French YouTuber hits peak with Everest documentary
- Athletics legend Coe vies with six rivals for IOC presidency
- Bellingham, Tchouameni back for Madrid's Champions League opener
- Stock markets diverge before Fed as China woes weigh
- French jihadist linked to Charlie Hebdo attackers goes on trial
- Bombshell as France's Breton slams door on EU commission
- African players in Europe: Wissa 22-second goal in vain
- Storm Boris unleashes central Europe flooding, toll hits 11
- Man City fight to avoid severe sanctions as 'trial of the century' begins
- UK PM Starmer meets Italy's Meloni for illegal immigration talks
- Van Dijk urges Liverpool to hit back after 'unacceptable' Forest loss
- Ex-BBC anchor Huw Edwards to be sentenced over indecent child images
- France's Breton quits EU Commission in reappointment row
- Violence, threats hang over Trump-Harris race after turbulent weekend
- Sho-what? Japan celebrates little heard-of Emmys winner
- Tito Jackson, member of the Jackson 5, dies at 70
- Hong Kong man faces jail over 'seditious' T-shirt
- EU to name new defence tsar - but is the job a dud?
- Vietnam puts typhoon losses at $1.6 billion
- Europe's EV troubles bubble up at Brussels Audi factory
- Germany expands border controls to curb migrant arrivals
- 'Disappeared completely': melting glaciers worry Central Asia
- Villa return to Champions League primed to ruffle feathers again
RBGPF | 8.3% | 62.16 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0.46% | 6.59 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.32% | 25.03 | $ | |
NGG | 0.93% | 70.25 | $ | |
BCC | -0.56% | 135.1 | $ | |
SCS | 1.78% | 14.04 | $ | |
RIO | 1.03% | 63.2 | $ | |
VOD | 1.6% | 10.335 | $ | |
AZN | 0.94% | 79.015 | $ | |
RELX | 0.8% | 48.095 | $ | |
GSK | 1.18% | 43.525 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.16% | 25.06 | $ | |
BCE | -0.55% | 34.475 | $ | |
JRI | 0.69% | 13.282 | $ | |
BTI | 0.52% | 39.375 | $ | |
BP | 1.32% | 32.265 | $ |
Ireland and UK to 'reset' relations as Starmer begins Dublin visit
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday began the first visit by a British leader to Ireland in five years, vowing to "reset" damaged post-Brexit relations between the two nations.
The visit, described by Downing Street as a "historic moment for UK-Ireland relations", signals a further warming in bilateral ties that had frayed under the UK's previous Conservative government.
Irish counterpart Simon Harris welcomed Starmer to Dublin, with the pair shaking hands and posing for photographs before heading for talks.
"Today we're Dublin to flesh out what a reset actually looks like... in a practical sense for our citizens on both islands," Harris said at the beginning of the talks.
"And I certainly know that it has to be embedded in things like peace, prosperity, mutual respect and friendship."
Starmer added that the reset was "really important to me and my government".
"(It) can be meaningful. It can be deep," he said.
Both leaders stressed the importance of their joint roles as guardians of the Good Friday Agreement, the landmark peace accord brokered in 1998 that ended decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.
Boosting economic growth was also due to be high on the agenda, as well as the joint response to international crises, where Harris said the two leaders "were aligned in so many ways".
Harris, who became taioseach (prime minister) in April, was the first international leader hosted by Starmer in the UK after his landslide election win in July.
The pair chatted over pints of Ireland's national drink, Guinness, at the British prime minister's country residence, Chequers, northwest of London, before a larger meeting of European leaders.
- Shift in tone -
The focus on "resetting" Anglo-Irish relations marks a notable shift in language after the last few years saw tensions rise between Dublin and London.
Britons narrowly voted to exit the European Union in a referendum in 2016 and the country finally left the bloc in 2020 after years of political division and stalemate.
Conservative former prime minister Boris Johnson's hard break from the EU was widely seen as destabilising relations between EU member Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.
Since taking power, Starmer has moved to begin the repeal of a law granting conditional immunity to perpetrators of crimes during Northern Ireland's decades of sectarian violence.
The move has been fiercely opposed by relatives of those who lost their lives in "The Troubles".
During Saturday's encounter, the leaders were expected to reaffirm the Good Friday Agreement and their commitment to reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
Starmer was also scheduled to meet Irish business leaders in Dublin and encourage enhanced bilateral trade and investment.
The two leaders were expected to confirm that they are seeking a more formal post-EU mode of engagement that Harris said "will mean working on a joint plan to bring about a step-change in ambition and engagement", according to Irish broadcaster RTE.
Starmer and Harris were to attend the Ireland versus England Nations' League football match on Saturday evening.
F.Moura--PC