Scottish National Party members of parliament would back a new Brexit referendum if it were put to them, party leader Nicola Sturgeon has said. Campaigners have been pressing for a fresh vote on whatever exit plans result from talks with EU leaders. Ms Sturgeon said SNP MPs would oppose anything short of staying in the single market and customs union.
Facebook is facing a potential £1.2bn fine for a data breach which allowed hackers to access the personal information of 50 million users. The Irish Data Protection Commission (IDPC), the lead supervising authority for Facebook in the EU, officially opened its investigation this week after the social media giant admitted hackers could have accessed the accounts of millions of users through a “vulnerability” last Friday.
Unworkable”, “unacceptable”, “impasse”, are some of the words used to describe Brexit talks between Britain and the European Union do little to temper concerns that the two are heading for a chaotic divorce. But behind the scenes, both sides are preparing concessions as part of what one British official called “a constructive dialogue” that could yet lead to a deal.
The families of two men shot dead on Bloody Sunday, January 1972, have been awarded a combined £700,000 in compensation. The family of Gerard McKinney, a 35-year-old father-of-eight, who was shot dead at Abbey Park in Londonderry, were awarded £625,000. Michael McDaid, 20, was killed near a barricade in Rossville Street. His family received £75,000.
Prime Minister Theresa May appealed directly to fellow European Union leaders on Wednesday to drop “unacceptable” Brexit demands that she said could rip Britain apart, urging the bloc to respond in kind to her “serious and workable” plan.
Apple has paid the Irish government €14.3bn (£12.7bn), money that the European Commission ruled the tech giant owed due to illegal tax breaks. Ireland's Finance ministry said the payment was a significant milestone, although Dublin insists Apple was not given any special tax treatment. In 2016 the Commission ruled the below 1% effective tax rate the firm paid in Ireland amounted to illegal state aid.
Pope Francis has begged forgiveness for members of the Catholic Church's hierarchy who kept quiet about clerical child sex abuse. He was ending a two-day visit to the Republic of Ireland by celebrating a Mass at Dublin's Phoenix Park.
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney has warned that the UK cannot afford to leave the EU without a deal. Speaking to the Today Program Mr Coveney described talk of the UK crashing out of the EU as bravado.
Theresa May’s government is more focused on its “internal negotiation” than talks on addressing the Irish border issue, Sinn Fein’s vice president has claimed. Michelle O’Neill said any return of physical infrastructure at the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after Brexit would be a security threat and have “serious implications” for business.
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has warned the UK there will be no Brexit deal without agreement on the Irish border. On a visit to Dublin, Mr Juncker said fellow EU member states would not let Ireland be “isolated” on the impasse, insisting the demand for a resolution was a Europe-wide demand.