A year is a long time in politics

Irish News political correspondent John Manley on key questions facing Northern Ireland in 2026

Irish News, January 6th, 2026

1) CAN SINN FÉIN DELIVER ANYTHING?

SINN Féin’s current Stormont strategy is difficult to read. The party seems only partially engaged, cautious and constrained by a fear that its actions will reflect badly in the south. Sinn Féin is focused on a handful of big ticket items which it hopes to bring to fruition in this mandate, yet to date all have faltered. The next 12 months will be critical for the development of the A5 and Casement Park, and what the party hope will be the eventual delivery of its much-hyped Good Jobs Bill.

2) WILL THERE BE MORE DUP/TUV INTRA-UNIONIST BATTLES?

NOTHING unnerves a hardline unionist more than being labelled a ‘Lundy’, which is one of the main reasons power-sharing can never prosper. Spooked by polling which shows it losing out to the TUV, the DUP is determined not to be outflanked on the right by the party once regarded as a one-man band, which is now more of a power trio. Gone is the DUP bonhomie with Sinn Féin that characterised the weeks after the institutions’ 2024 restoration, replaced by culture wars and increased aggression in the assembly.

3 ) WHAT LIES IN STORE FOR THE NEW UUP LEADER?

BY this time next month we’ll likely know the identity of the new Ulster Unionist leader. With slim pickings available (a problem not solely for the UUP), it looks like it’ll be either Robbie Butler or Jon Burrows. Neither is expected to significantly revitalise the party’s electoral prospects and while there may be much talk of unionist unity or re-alignment, it’s likely the current drift will continue well beyond the 2027 assembly election.

4) WILL THERE BE AN ALLIANCE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE?

FIVE years ago Naomi Long couldn’t put a foot wrong. Her party was on the rise, representing a growing pro-EU middle ground. For the first time ever Alliance now has two seats at the executive table yet is finding delivery difficult. As its opinion poll ratings slip, Mrs Long isn’t coming across as the safe pair of hands she once was and there’s no shortage of talented young pretenders waiting in the wings. A leadership challenge, or change, looks inevitable but not before the next assembly election.

5) WILL THE SMALL LEFT-WING PARTIES GROW?

RECENT polling has shown support for both People Before Profit and the Greens is on the rise. Both these smaller parties were in the ascendant a decade ago but lost momentum among the increasingly polarised post-Brexit politics. Growing disillusionment with Sinn Féin will be to the advantage of PBP though without a candidate of previous MLA Eamonn McCann’s stature, an additional Stormont seat is unlikely. Similarly, the Greens may prove a suitable home for disenchanted Alliance voters but gaining an assembly seat under the current voting system will prove challenging.

6) WILL LOUGH NEAGH CONTINUE TO DIE?

WHILE there appears to be a will in some quarters to tackle the agricultural pollution that extends well beyond Ireland’s largest fresh water body, the way is being blocked by vested interests with political support from unionists. Meanwhile, the failure to invest in wastewater infrastructure not only exacerbates the problem but gives cover to those defending environmental damage in the name of modest economic gain. Addressing pollution requires political courage which has so far been absent.

7) WHAT’S THE PROSPECTS OF STORMONT RAISING ITS OWN REVENUE?

DESPITE lauding its then Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald in February 2024 for securing extra money from the Treasury, Sinn Féin never stops telling us that the north is underfunded. The British government insists there’ll be no extra money, which means we either do things differently or lurch from one financial crisis to the next. Our current Finance Minister John O’Dowd appears to favour the latter and discounts any agency in changing things. Never has so much political capital been squandered by cowardice.

8) IS THE NI EXECUTIVE SUSTAINABLE?

THE public’s expectations of delivery by Stormont are so low that if it were to fall no-one would notice any real difference. However, there’s lots of career politicians – and some journalists – who rely on the devolved institutions for their livelihood, meaning there’s a reluctance to bite off the hand that feeds. In the past decade both Sinn Féin and the DUP have used their veto to collapse the institutions but achieved very little on the back of it. Alliance may feel forced to throw the head up before the mandate is out but the ‘big two’ are now wary of backlash from any such stunt.

9) WILL THE NEW LANGUAGE COMMISSIONERS MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE?

MANY unionists feared the sky would fall in once an Irish language commissioner was put in place, while nationalists were seemingly nonplussed by the appointment of an Ulster Scots/British identity counterpart. Both appointees – Pól Deeds and Lee Reynolds – are measured, intelligent individuals who are not expected to use their roles for overtly political purposes but rather for the promotion of cultural endeavour. Don’t expect a sudden surge in the visibility of Irish or Ulster Scots but hope that over time both can be normalised and respected.

Many unionists feared the sky would fall in once an Irish language commissioner was put in place

10) WILL THERE BE A BORDER POLL ANY TIME SOON?

WE are now more than halfway through the so-called decade of opportunities that was supposed to deliver a border poll at its conclusion. Only the most optimistic – or deluded? – nationalist would suggest there’ll be a unity referendum this side of 2030 but that doesn’t mean the issue has fallen off the agenda. A sympathetic, proactive government in Dublin would make a huge difference to the dynamic but a Stormont that delivers rather than interminally postures would also make the Republic’s establishment more amenable to embracing the concept of unity. Meanwhile, unionists who choose to look the other way are ultimately in for a rude awakening.

REVEALED: STORMONT MEETING MINUTES AT TIME OF PROBE INTO POLICE WATCHDOG

GARRETT HARGAN, Belfast Telegraph, January 6th, 2026

The minutes of a private meeting between the First and Deputy First Ministers and PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher have revealed he told them of “concerns” about the “return and independence” of the Police Ombudsman amid a live investigation into Marie Anderson.

During the meeting at Parliament Buildings, Mr Boutcher said he was “seeking legal advice” after concerns had been raised with him.

Mrs Anderson was under investigation in relation to events arising from a reported domestic incident in Holywood, Co Down, in September 2023.

A man was arrested at the time and subsequently cautioned.

In October of the same year, the PSNI called in an outside force — West Midlands Police — to investigate the matter over a potential conflict of interest due to Mrs Anderson's role as the police watchdog.

In her role as Ombudsman, Mrs Anderson was responsible for overseeing investigations into police conduct and holding officers to account.

The comments were made by Mr Boutcher in January 2025, months before a file was submitted to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS).

Minutes from the meeting show the Chief Constable “indicated that he had concerns raised with him regarding the Police Ombudsman's return and independence and was seeking legal advice”.

Further notes show that Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly felt uncomfortable with the subject being raised.

The minutes state: “FM and DFM indicated that they could not discuss this and that he should follow the appropriate process via DoJ [Department of Justice].”

The PSNI refused to confirm who had raised concerns with Mr Boutcher.

In response to numerous questions about the appropriateness of raising the matter while the investigation was ongoing, a PSNI spokesperson said: “This was a private meeting and we will not be making any comment.” In September 2024, an initial police file was submitted to the PPS to enable early consideration of the evidence in relation to the Ombudsman.

An issue relating to the conclusion of a police interview process was resolved in May 2025, following which a full police investigation file was submitted to the PPS on June 9, 2025, reporting Mrs Anderson for potential offences of perverting the course of justice and misconduct in public office.

Unionist parties called on Mrs Anderson to step aside, and, a week later, on June 17, she announced she would be taking a leave of absence.

In a statement, Mrs Anderson said that although she had decided to retire in December, which would have allowed her to fulfil commitments to delivering the outcomes of investigations to a number of bereaved families, it had “become increasingly clear that current commentary is detracting from the focus of that work”. Mrs Anderson added: “I am extremely grateful to those families who put their trust in me, and it is their interests which are at the heart of my decision today to take a temporary leave of absence with immediate effect.”

No prosecution

In October 2025, the PPS took a decision not to prosecute Mrs Anderson.

After careful consideration of a file, it was concluded by prosecutors that there was “no reasonable prospect of conviction for any criminal offence”.

Later that month, the Police Ombudsman's Office said Mrs Anderson was to return to work.

She said: “I am grateful to my staff, who continued to work diligently in my absence, and I am returning to complete work on a number of reports ahead of my retirement.”

In response to the minutes detailing an intervention by Mr Boutcher, the Ombudsman's office said: “The Police Ombudsman's decision to retire was made in June last year and Mrs Anderson retired on December 31, 2025.

“The Executive Office is responsible for the appointment of a new Police Ombudsman and that recruitment process began in November 2025.

“It would not be appropriate for the office to comment on any matters raised at private meetings between the Chief Constable and the First and Deputy First Ministers.”

Woman in court for allegedly handing out a knuckle duster

ALAN ERWIN, Irish News, January 6th, 2026

CAMPAIGNER Stephen Baker joined his partner at court yesterday where she is facing prosecution for allegedly distributing a knuckle duster at an anti-immigration protest.

Robyn Barnes (38), of Solway Street in east Belfast, was charged at the city’s magistrates’ court with possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

She faces a further count of selling or distributing a weapon, namely a knuckle duster.

Both charges relate to an incident at Donegall Square North in Belfast on November 8.

An Ulster branch of the so-called ‘Pink Ladies’ group handed out pink knuckle dusters at an anti-immigration protest outside City Hall on that date.

Charges were read out, but no further details about the alleged circumstances were disclosed during the brief hearing.

District Judge Steven Keown adjourned proceedings until February 9, with Barnes released on continuing bail.

Baker (45), also of Solway Street, faces similar charges in connection with the same incident.

He appeared before Belfast Magistrates’ Court in December, where he was also charged with possessing an offensive weapon, a knuckle duster, and distributing an offensive weapon.

The Pink Ladies Ulster Woman First Northern Ireland, which aims to “protect the rights of women and children”, organised the November 8 protest.

It is the latest in a network of similarly named groups, which are coordinated via social media, which have sprung up in Britain.

The group’s badge contains a Northern Ireland flag along with the slogan ‘Ulster Women First’.

It was reported that those in attendance at the rally were provided with pink “safety bags for women”, which included torches, make-up, whistles, as well as pink knuckle dusters.

At the time, a PSNI spokesperson said officers were in attendance at the rally and were “reviewing evidence gathered”.

It has been reported The Pink Ladies are planning another rally at Belfast City Hall on January 17.

‘Take down your Union Jacks, you’re nothing but a lot of Irish b******s’

Paul Ainsworth looks back at a largely forgotten UDA report carried out after two innocent Protestant men were killed by the Parachute Regiment in the Shankill area of Belfast in September 1972

Irish News, January 6th, 2026

MEMBERS of the Parachute Regiment called people on Belfast’s Shankill Road “Irish b******s” during an outbreak of violence in the early days of the Troubles that led to two men being shot dead, and a deep local distrust of the regiment.

While the Ballymurphy Massacre in 1971 and Bloody Sunday in January of the following year have been seared into the public consciousness thanks to the infamous British Army regiment’s callousness, the three days of trouble in the staunchly unionist Shankill area from September 6-8 1972 have been largely overlooked.

The Shankill Disturbances, as they would later become known, left a legacy that would see mention of the paras in the beating blue heart of loyalist Ulster raise hackles as much as talk of the hated Provisional IRA.

The disturbances, which began with street confrontations and rioting, saw two local Protestant men, 49-year-old Robert Ritchie McKinnie and 50-year-old Robert Johnston, killed by paratroopers’ bullets at the height of the disorder.

The army would claim 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment troops in a vehicle patrol were confronted by a mob of UDA men armed with batons on September 7, before local youths threw stones and bottles.

As the paras advanced, initially shooting baton rounds, the army claimed they came under gunfire, forcing the soldiers to return fire with live rounds.

This exchange led to the two deaths, and the injuring of another two people, the army said initially.

However, no less a leading figure than the late Rev Ian Paisley decried the “brutality” of the regiment in the aftermath of the shootings, while high profile UDA boss Tommy Herron warned that the paras “will never again be accepted in any loyalist area”, adding: “They only foster trouble.”

The UDA’s postmortem of the incidents was compiled into a report featuring eyewitness accounts and a judgement that would damn the regiment in the Shankill for a generation.

The loyalist paramilitary group at the time of the disturbances was officially less than a year old, with its genesis in the Shankill area itself, formed out of local “defence organisations”.

UDA impunity

It operated with impunity, and by the time of the Shankill disturbances had already murdered dozens of Catholics in sectarian attacks, and also several Protestants.

Ritchie McKinnie, pictured with his wife Ina, was killed by paratroopers during The Shankill Disturbances in September 1972. Robert Johnston, below, was also shot dead

The UDA would not be proscribed by the British government until 1992.

With its grip on the Shankill firmly established by the time of the disturbances, the UDA felt it was best placed to carry out its own investigation into the events that would lead to fatal shootings.

Its report, The Shankill Disturbances, was a series of eyewitness accounts “compiled by an Ulster Defence Association Press Team”, and published following an unofficial enquiry held at the Shankill’s West Belfast Orange Hall.

This was in the absence of an official public enquiry that had been demanded by Ian Paisley among others, but denied.

The report opens by noting the “speed” with which the army released details of their version of events, adding: “Only once before were the army so quick to make a statement. That was after the 13 deaths of Bloody Sunday.”

So raw was the anger over what had occurred that the UDA said if “allegations of brutality and murder” against the paras were backed by the enquiry findings, “then the government would have good grounds for withdrawing the Parachute Regiment from Northern Ireland”, avoiding the risk of their actions tainting the relationship between unionists and the rest of the British Army.

The UDA was also appalled at Shankill residents being “accused of un-British behaviour” by the army and government in the immediate aftermath of the disturbances, and sought to set the record straight with its probe.

The paras began their provocative behaviour on September 6, the report states, attacking civilians in “sorties” into the Shankill’s warren of streets as rioting raged.

This included the shooting of a 17-year-old boy in the face with a rubber bullet as he walked to the shop for a loaf of bread.

A witness said paras were heard that night calling locals “Orange b******s” as they crouched near a pub, while another man claimed he returned from a party in the early hours of September 7 to be confronted and assaulted by the soldiers in his own kitchen, who called him a “Protestant b*****d” and accused him of being among those stoning them hours before.

A boy was also shot in the leg with a live round as he stood in a “peaceful crowd” at Tennent Street on September 7, while others were injured with baton rounds.

On the evening of Thursday September 7, the day of the killings, a paratrooper allegedly struck a pensioner in the face with the butt of his rifle as he stood at the door of his friend’s house.

WWII veteran abused

Another elderly local with a “long record of military service” and who took part in the Normandy Landings in the Second World War found his years given to the British armed forces mattered little to a paratrooper who appeared in his hall and told him “get back inside you, f*****g Irish b*****d”, before kicking him and prodding the man with his rifle barrel. His wife was also attacked by the soldier, the UDA report states.

Another woman was allegedly told by a para: “You are not fit to live under the Union Jack.”

Describing the escalating tension, the report continues: “There were many incidents of paratroopers firing rubber bullets indiscriminately and firing them in situations where there was no trouble in an effort to provoke the local residents.”

It was also suggested some paras fired live rounds from smaller “private” handguns in order to avoid later scrutiny from army chiefs.

As for the killings, the first official army statement claimed Mr Johnston was a gunman who had first shot at the soldiers.

Although, the UDA report states Mr Johnston was a harmless local with some learning difficulties, who had been walking home after a drink at a pub according to witnesses, when a para was seen dropping to a knee and firing the shot that killed him.

Witnesses, some of whom believed he was drunk, claim the only provocation before the shot was Mr Johnston shouting at the soldiers at the end of the street, about how he had ran about the area as a child in “bare feet”, and when locals ran to his aid, they were forced back by the paras, who again hurled abuse at them.

UDA leader Tommy Herron, pictured during a 1973 interview, warned that the paras “will never again be accepted in any loyalist area” after the disturbances in 1972.

Factory manager killed

Mr McKinnie – a father-of-four and a factory manager – was also claimed by the army at first to have been killed in an exchange of gunfire, but the UDA insisted he was not a member of their organisation.

He was driving in the Matchett Street area with his brother, visiting from Canada, when they passed a UDA checkpoint before their car was shot at.

Mr McKinnie’s brother Tom described a “blinding flash” and feeling as if his ears were “blown out”, while the victim fell into his lap as the car stalled, saying he had been shot.

“We were just innocent people having a look round for old times sake”, Tom stated in the unofficial enquiry.

Another witness said shortly before the shooting, paras had been confronted with youths throwing bottles and stones, with one soldier shouting: “Take down your Union Jacks, you’re nothing but a lot of Irish b******s.”

UDA men at a barricade on the Shankill Road in Belfast in June 1972, three months before the killing of two local men by paratroopers

The witness added that “at no time” did he see any civilians shooting at the soldiers and “in my opinion this man was deliberately murdered by the army”.

The paras were seen to withdraw from the area in haste after the second fatal shot, a move the report states cast doubt on claims Mr McKinnie had been a gunman, with the soldiers realising they had made a grave error.

The following day, as locals protested against the army violence outside Tennent Street RUC Station, a 65-year-old woman was struck in the face with a rifle butt by a para who arrived on the scene with colleagues in three jeeps.

One of the soldiers also allegedly aimed a gun at a woman protester, daring her to come towards him.

Inquest found killings unjustified

An inquest later found the killings to be unjustified, and the Ministry of Defence also later admitted the two men were innocent civilians, but the rift between the Parachute Regiment and the people of the Shankill would remain for decades to come.

During the Bloody Sunday Inquiry in 2010, a claim emerged that the para responsible for the killing of Mr McKinnie had once told a journalist that the shooting had been “an enjoyable experience and one which greatly enhanced my standing within the battalion”.

In 2017, a Historical Enquiries Team report given to Mr McKinnie’s daughter said her father was “a totally innocent man”.

2025 was a significant and painful year in regards to the legacy of the Parachute Regiment in the north, with the acquittal of Soldier F in October at the climax of his trial for the murder of two people – and five counts of attempted murder – on Bloody Sunday.

The UDA’s report into the Shankill disturbances on 1972 compared the army’s quick statement in the aftermath of the killings to that in the immediate wake of Bloody Sunday in Derry

Following the decision to charge Soldier F in 2019, many loyalist areas in the north hung banners showing solidarity for him, but displays of support were noticeably absent in the Shankill, where memories of 1972 remained.

However, in April a Parachute Regiment flag was seen flying on the road at a memorial to the victims of the IRA’s attack on the Bayardo Bar in 1975.

Troubles researcher and author, Gareth Mulvenna, says the Shankill has always had “something of a maverick labour-orientated streak running through it”.

“If the people of the Shankill felt they were getting a raw deal, they would speak up. This continued in the 1970s when Hugh Smyth, who was involved in the inquiry following the 1972 murders of McKinnie and Johnston, was elected as a councillor for the area.”

“If the people of the Shankill felt they were getting a raw deal, they would speak up. This continued in the 1970s when Hugh Smyth, who was involved in the inquiry following the 1972 murders of McKinnie and Johnston, was elected as a councillor for the area

Troubles researcher and author Gareth Mulvenna

Mr Mulvenna, author of the book Tartan Gangs and Paramilitaries, said the seeds of the events of September 1972 were planted two years earlier “when Linfield supporters returning from a match got into an altercation with the RUC Special Patrol Group and military police when one supporter who was deaf and non-verbal was arrested for allegedly using offensive language towards the authorities.

“This made an already hostile crowd incredulous and led to a weekend of rioting on the Shankill which included locals stealing a military loud hailer and riot shields before attacking the 1st Battalion, King’s Regiment who were billeted at the old Milanda Bakery building on Snugville Street.”

After 24 hours of rioting, the King’s Regiment withdrew and the Parachute Regiment were sent in.

“While many of the loyalists took this as the signal to back off, a number engaged in hand to hand fighting with the Paras,” said Mr Mulvenna.

“Ironically it was during this period that some locals demanded that the Royal Military Police and King’s Regiment be withdrawn from the Shankill and policing of the area taken over by the Parachute Regiment.”

And he added: “After Bloody Sunday, some loyalist militants might have been pleased with what they regarded as firm action against subversives, yet the experiences outlined above predate January 1972 and there can be little doubt that loyalists were concerned by the propensity of the Paras for unbridled violence in compact, built-up streets in communities like the Shankill.”

Clickbait politics won’t save Lough Neagh, or anything else

Pro Fide et Patria, Irish News, January 6th, 2026

THE slow suffocation of Lough Neagh has become a symbol of something deeper than environmental failure. Each summer bloom of blue-green algae is also a reminder of political drift – of problems long debated and then allowed to worsen while responsibility is endlessly deferred.

Environment Minister Andrew Muir’s warning that some politicians are engaged in a “deliberate attempt to undermine the science and evidence” around the lough is therefore deeply unsettling.

“The science is clear, even if its implications are uncomfortable. Decades of nutrient overload, from wastewater, septic tanks and agriculture, compounded by climate change, mean recovery will take decades. There are no quick fixes

Lough Neagh is not a case study in some textbook. It supplies 40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water and sustains a fishing industry that has already suffered grievously. To dismiss peer-reviewed research as “magical figures” is not healthy scepticism; it is wilful ignorance masquerading as scrutiny.

The science is clear, even if its implications are uncomfortable. Decades of nutrient overload, from wastewater, septic tanks and agriculture, compounded by climate change, mean recovery will take decades. There are no quick fixes. Any serious response requires difficult decisions. The alternative is continued ecological decline.

What makes this moment particularly troubling is the wider context in which these debates are taking place. Mr Muir has also warned Stormont is increasingly consumed by “performative actions” and a fixation on “clicks on TikTok” rather than sustained scrutiny of ministers and policy.

That observation will ring true with the public. When environmental crises are reduced to viral point-scoring, evidence becomes collateral damage.

The impasse over an independent environmental protection agency illustrates the problem. Northern Ireland remains the only part of the UK without such a body. Questions around funding and regulatory overlap deserve examination, but opposition without a credible alternative looks like obstruction.

That a single party can block progress on a basic pillar of governance exposes a system ill-suited to long-term challenges.

If progress now comes via a private member’s Bill, it will underline how fragile collective decision-making has become. It will also raise uncomfortable questions about whether Stormont, as currently structured, can deliver consistent legislation rather than electoral soundbites.

Mr Muir’s warning that the Good Friday Agreement institutions are in the “last chance saloon” should not be dismissed. Environmental degradation and institutional fragility are linked by a common failure to prioritise delivery over performance.

Lough Neagh will not be rescued by denial, nor will Stormont be respected by theatrics. Serious scrutiny and political courage are no longer optional.

Minister will not disclose Co Down roadworks’ cost

JOHN MANLEY, Irish News, January 6th, 2026

INFRASTRUCTURE Minister Liz Kimmins has been accused of shielding her department from “embarrassment” by refusing to reveal the bill for Co Down roadworks that have been in place for more than two years.

The Sinn Féin minister declined to disclose the costs on the basis the information is “commercially sensitive” and “may potentially undermine the legitimate interests of the department and its contractors”.

The B27 road over the Mournes that connects Hilltown with Kilkeel and Newcastle has been reduced to a single lane since November 2023.

The roadworks and associated traffic controls were put in place at Shannon Park on the outskirts of Hilltown after a landslide.

In a written assembly question, South Down MLA Colin McGrath asked Ms Kimmins to detail the cost of the roadworks to date.

The minister said she recognised the inconvenience caused but declined to reveal the cost of the works.

“The requested financial information is considered commercially sensitive,” Ms Kimmins said.

“Disclosure of such data could enable others, particularly economic competitors, to identify commercial rates and costs associated with these works, which may potentially undermine the legitimate economic interests of the department and its contractors.

“It is hoped that work will commence early in the new year and will take eight to ten weeks.”

Mr McGrath said: “This road has been closed for more than two years and people living in this area are entitled to clear answers about why such an unacceptable delay has been allowed to drag on.

“The continued closure has disrupted daily life for local residents.”

When did Sinn Féin accept that Maduro’s regime was ‘flawed’?

MÁIRÍA CAHILL, Irish News, January 6th, 2026

FLU and pneumonia meant that I missed most of Christmas. So you can forgive me for believing I was hallucinating when I awoke on Saturday to news that American President Donald Trump had kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

I don’t know why I was surprised. The unstable world order we’ve become accustomed to is degenerating into farce, with real-life consequences for millions.

I am not an expert in Venezuelan or American politics. Few people here are.

It doesn’t take a genius, however, to work out that one egomaniac had given orders to abduct another egomaniac dictator in a ruthless Houdini like swoop.

Trump’s approval ratings have been sliding recently amid the chaotic release of the Epstein files, rising inflation, and health care spending. The Economist’s January poll put him at 39%; The New York Times at 42%.

Maduro’s show-hearing in a New York court might increase Trump’s favourability on American soil, but he is ripping up the international rulebook, leaving citizens worldwide in a state of vulnerable limbo.

The 2025 Democracy Perception Index shows China is now more popular globally than the US, which ranks behind Israel and its own violent regime.

Against that backdrop, Trump chest thumped and described Saturday’s escapade as “one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might”.

His machismo will appeal to those who prefer brawn over brain governing. For anyone who believes in democracy, international cooperation, and not plucking politicians from their countries like some hypermasculine claw machine game, it is horrifying.

That you’d struggle to find anyone reaching for a hankie for Maduro – save for a ragtag bundle of socialists still clinging to Chávez’s dream – is not the point. If he survives the notorious Brooklyn jail he has been placed in (stranger things have happened), he and his wife Cilia Flores face a lengthy indictment in the American court system, circumventing the United Nations Security Council and any semblance of a fair hearing in an international court.

The precedent is chilling and will not end without so-called collateral damage – ordinary citizens paying the price once again for greedy men on power trips. Iraq and their non-existent weapons of mass destruction, anyone? That disaster left a vacuum into which civil unrest erupted, and which the coalition mishandled so badly that it allowed Isis to flourish.

Sinn Féin has been among those to condemn US attacks on Venezuela and the detention of President Nicolás Maduro

Meanwhile, Trump could not be clearer in his administration’s intention to control Venezuelan oil reserves. Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, whom America clearly considers more malleable than their arrestee, is already being framed as a pragmatic partner. On Sunday, The New York Times described her as “an economic troubleshooter who orchestrated the country’s shift from corrupt socialism to similarly corrupt laissez-faire capitalism”. Oh dear.

International politics always impacts what passes for local politics here, particularly when it comes to sticking our northern nebs in.

The DUP’s Jonathan Buckley was straight in with a studded tackle against Sinn Féin, calling them “the lapdogs and fanboys of global terrorism”, citing the party’s attendance at Maduro’s inauguration and asking: “Should we expect a @sinnfeinireland Maduro vigil?”

It was overly dramatic, perhaps, so it is important to state the facts.

Sinn Fein defends trip

In 2019, Mary Lou McDonald defended her party’s decision to send Conor Murphy and others to the “democratically elected” Venezuelan president’s inauguration. She was “very glad that two Sinn Féin representatives were in attendance”.

This, despite widespread criticism of his administration. Over seven million people fled the country after 2015 as Maduro consolidated power amid a deepening crisis. As poverty ripped through Venezuela, photographs of Maduro dining on steak did nothing for his socialist image. The election that installed him was boycotted by opposition leaders, some of whom were exiled, imprisoned, or barred from standing. A Sunday Times editorial called McDonald’s remarks “bizarre and troubling”.

That is perhaps why Sinn Féin’s scathing weekend statement condemning Trump also referred to the party’s “several concerns” about the “flaws of the Venezuelan government”.

The party should explain when these concerns developed, as they were not cited when Sinn Féin’s Chris Hazzard issued a statement in November condemning America’s security escalation in the Caribbean Sea. Nor were they mentioned when he tweeted in 2018: “I attended a preelection briefing with President Maduro last night in Miraflores Palace; it’s clear that this election will be a watershed for the Bolivarian Republic.” Or when he tweeted Maduro himself in 2014: “Venceremos Compañero!! #UnityInStruggle #BolivarianRevolution.”

Such clarifications are important. If Sinn Féin now accepts that Maduro’s government is “flawed”, then it owes voters an honest account of when that realisation dawned, and why it took his abduction by a superpower to prompt even a hint of recalibration. Political judgement is vital, but sorely lacking in today’s world amid conflicted interests. For Ireland, it is crucial to uphold.

Anyone who doubts that need only look towards America’s debasement of political norms.

What once should have been unthinkable is now just another item to add to the list for a man who consolidates power by dealing in weapon

Kingsmill victim’s sister hopes gunmen think of the lives they took 50 years ago

REBECCA BLACK, Irish News, January 6th, 2026

THE sister of a man killed at Kingsmill has said she hopes the gunmen think of him and the other lives they took 50 years ago as the families gathered to remember them.

The sole survivor of the Kingsmill massacre, Alan Black, and relatives of the 10 men killed in an ambush in Co Armagh on January 5 1976 took part in a service at the roadside close to Whitecross yesterday.

Ulster Unionist Party MLA Doug Beattie also attended, while Secretary of State Hilary Benn and Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said they were thinking of the families in statements.

The 10 Protestants were killed the day after six men from two Catholic families were murdered in what has been described as 24 hours of evil.

On January 4 the UVF’s Glenanne Gang shot brothers John Martin Reavey (24), and Brian Reavey (22), who lived near Kingsmill.

A third brother, Anthony (17), died several weeks later from his injuries.

Minutes after the Reaveys were attacked the UVF gang burst in on a reunion of the O’Dowd family and killed brothers Barry (24), and Declan (19), and their uncle Joe (61).

No-one has ever been convicted over the killings.

The service at the roadside at Kingsmill heard calls for justice, describing those families as having “suffered terribly”.

Floral tributes were laid at the memorial at the site of the killings during the remembrance service.

May Quinn, whose brother Robert Walker was killed at Kingsmill, said they feel they know nothing more than what they knew at the time 50 years on.

“It’s all swept under the carpet, I don’t know if we’ll get justice, we didn’t at the time, we didn’t at the inquest,” she said.

“But someday somebody might think we should get justice and let us have it.

“I hope the ones that did it, that are living, think of us that are here today, and think of what they did that night, and know that not a member of our family, and I’m the last of them, there were five of us, would touch another person.

“My brother had 19 bullet holes in him, even when they got them on the ground, they finished them off.

“They are not finished with yet, the ones who did it. God is the final judge, and he’ll judge them, not me.”

Benn’s comments

Mr Benn said his thoughts were with all the families.

“My thoughts today are with the victims and the families of the Kingsmill massacre, and with the Reavey and O’Dowd families, in marking 50 years since these horrific killings which caused such deep pain and suffering,” he said in a post on the social media network X.

Ms McEntee said her thoughts this week are with all the victims’ families and with Mr Black.

Clockwise from top left: Joseph Lemmon, Walter Chapman, John Bryans, Kenneth Worton, Robert Walker, Robert Freeburn, Robert Chambers, John McConville, James McWhirter and Reginald Chapman Mr Black, who was shot 18 times at Kingsmill, recalled talking to Anthony Reavey in hospital as they were being treated for their injuries.

“It remains deeply regrettable that no one has been held responsible for these attacks to date and I would like to commend the victims’ families for their unwavering courage and determination in their quest for truth and justice,” she said.

“I call on anyone with information relating to the attacks to contact the authorities.”

Earlier, Mr Black said all the community in Bessbrook remained close despite the sectarian horror.

“That 24 hours was a sin against humanity, the evil that was perpetrated against the O’Dowds, the Reaveys, and then to us, the only way you can describe it is evil,” he told the BBC.

“But if they thought for one moment that it had the potential to destroy community relations here in Bessbrook – which were always excellent – the opposite became true.

“There were Catholic neighbours that rallied around me, rallied around the other families.

“So if the intention was to drive a rift between the people in Bessbrook, it just did not work and I’m so proud of that, I really am.

“In other scenarios it may have put a rift between the people, but it didn’t and that holds true to this day.”

“ I hope the ones that did it, that are living, think of us that are here today, and think of what they did that night, and know that not a member of our family, and I’m the last of them, there were five of us, would touch another person

“Anthony was shot in the legs so he was in a wheelchair, he would wheel himself in and we would talk,” he said.

“We never talked about his brothers, we never talked about what happened at Kingsmill.

“I think it was too close to both of us, but I think we had an empathy that we were two of a kind.

“He was a lovely young lad, he had his whole life in front of him.”

He added that Anthony’s death weeks later felt like a “sledgehammer blow because we were two of a kind”.

The Kingsmill massacre came as the textile workers were returning from work.

Republican gunmen posing as British soldiers stopped their minibus and ordered them off.

The killers asked the occupants of the bus what their religion was and the only Catholic was ordered to run away.

The gunmen, who had hidden in hedges, forced the 11 remaining men to line up outside the van before opening fire. Only Mr Black survived.

He said a religious service to remember the victims on Sunday had been very emotional.

“It’s a weird feeling, having all the relatives around me yesterday, and all being supportive of me, but I’m sure it has crossed their mind, why could that not have been my husband, or my son, or grandad, but they’ve been wonderful to me,” he said.

“It worried me at the beginning, I had to get away, I went to Scotland for a couple of years, me and my family, because my head was all over the place.

“And then when I come home, I was sort of worried about the reaction from the families, because I didn’t know whether they would resent me or not because I was still alive and their family member wasn’t.

“The opposite was true. Everyone welcomed me back to Bessbrook, they were so supportive of me down through the years.”

In 2024 a coroner described the massacre as an “overtly sectarian attack by the IRA” but did not name individuals suspected of involvement.

A watchdog report in April last year identified a series of failings in the original police investigation, including a “wholly insufficient” deployment of resources.

The 10 men who died were Robert Chambers (18), John Bryans (50), Reginald Chapman (29), Walter Chapman (35), Robert Freeburn (58), Joseph Lemmon (49), John McConville (20), James McWhirter (63), Robert Walker (46) and Kenneth Worton (24).

Queen's Irish society wants new language policy ahead of anniversary

BRETT CAMPBELL, Belfast Telegraph, January 6th, 2026

CALL TO VOLUNTARILY INSTALL BILINGUAL SIGNS AS PROTESTANT FOUNDER CELEBRATED

Queen's University Belfast is facing calls to voluntarily implement a robust Irish language policy including bilingual signs on campus before it is “forced”.

It comes as An Cumann Gaelach prepares to celebrate its 120th anniversary and the life of its Protestant founder William Mac Arthur during a three-day festival.

The university's third longest running society, established on January 30, 1906, has been in talks with QUB since April.

Campaigns officer Eoghan Ó Conghaile (21) is frustrated by the lack of progress since the consultation began, but hopeful that change is on the horizon following the appointment of Northern Ireland's first Irish language commissioner.

“There is no special provision or protection for this language,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.

“We're campaigning for a comprehensive Irish language policy.

“We want visibility on campus, physical manifestations of equality — Irish and English together reflected in corporate identity.

“The commissioner is going to come forward with proposals in line with international best practice.

“Our city council was able to be proactive before being told that they must do it. We will continue to put the pressure on Queen's to understand that this is a positive progressive step and is the norm across Europe. The university should take the jump before it is pushed, it needs to choose to change rather then wait until it is forced.”

Belfast City Council agreed to adopt a new draft Irish language policy in October which will lead to more widespread usage across the city and increased promotion of Irish in public life.

The DUP branded the ratification of the measures — which include a high-level implementation plan to be rolled out over the next two years and a new bilingual corporate identity and logo — as “madness” claiming it was “divisive”.

It came within months of QUB's Young Unionists society expressing fears that the university could become “a cold house for unionists” if the campaign for dual-language signs succeeds and called for leaders to ensure Queen's is “a neutral and shared space”.

But Eoghan has invited anyone who feels threatened to attend one of An Cumann Gaelach's events which revolve around language, and not politics.

“This is a land that's rich with history — a language cannot create tension, it brings people together,” he said.

“I would urge anyone with questions or concerns, positive or negative, to get involved during this festival at the end of January to see.”

Celebrations begin on January 23rd

The three-day celebration will begin on January 23 with a discussion panel included in the busy schedule.

It seeks to build on the success of Féile Mhic Artúir which has become the most anticipated event on campus.

The annual fixture was set up to honour the legacy of William Mac Artúir who established the society while studying medicine before going on the serve in the British Army as a Lieutenant General.

“This society was founded by a unionist and every year we celebrate that, but this year we are marking 120 years since William Mac Artúir saw the importance of protecting and reserving the Irish language and culture.

“The plan is still being finalised but there will be discussions, lots of music on campus and a concert night.

“We acknowledge that Protestants played a big hand in preserving Irish — I mean even former NI prime minister Terence O'Neill, a staunch unionist, valued Irish.

“Modern day opposition is rooted in ignorance. That's why we have our campaign for visibility to create opportunity for people who maybe haven't interacted with Irish before.

“It changes perceptions and breaks down barriers ensuring the Irish language is openly available to everyone.”

Membership of An Cumann Gaelach has more than doubled in the past two years with around 250 students currently signed. That mirrors a 227% surge in the number of Irish learners at Queen's.

Eoghan attributes increased interest to increased visibility through dual signage and cultural forces including Belfast rap trio Kneecap.

But the politics and Irish student also believes it's a ripple effect of the Good Friday Agreement and the decision to release prisoners as part of the peace deal.

“The Irish language thrived in the Jailtacht community and those people, who educated themselves politically and linguistically, were released from prison — they had a great hand in starting primary and secondary education in the Irish language,” Eoghan said.

“I started primary in 2008 in a class of 30 and that was the biggest at that point. At secondary in 2016 my year group was the first batch of over 100.

“That has continued to grow.”

Queen's University Belfast refused to comment directly on whether it plans to implement a policy and erect dual signage on campus.

A spokesperson insisted the university is “always keen to listen and engage with our student body” and has had several meetings with An Cumann Gaelach.

They added: “We look forward to continued positive engagement with the Irish Language Commissioner and the Commissioner for the Ulster Scots and Ulster British tradition in the coming weeks and months.”

'We've no faith in PSNI tackling paramilitaries who murdered Glenn'

BRETT CAMPBELL, Belfast Telegraph, January 6th, 2025

QUINN FAMILY BACKS PROBE INTO KILLING, BUT CRITICISES LACK OF ACTION AGAINST UDA GANG

The brother of a terminally-ill Carrickfergus man beaten to death by the South East Antrim UDA says he has “no confidence” in how the PSNI is policing paramilitaries.

Six years on from the brutal killing of Glenn Quinn (right), his brother Martin (56) has criticised the lack of local police action against paramilitary gangs in the area.

“We have confidence in the investigation team itself, but we certainly have no confidence in the local policing commanders and how they deal with the people who murdered Glenn and members of South East Antrim UDA,” he said.

Martin added: “If local policing was more proactive they could get more evidence — if not for Glenn's murder, in relation to criminality linked to the South East Antrim UDA.”

The PSNI said it continues to investigate the “senseless murder”.

Martin Quinn (56) said that while his family has faith in the investigation team, they do not have faith in the police officers tasked with keeping criminals off the streets in Carrickfergus.

“We get very little information back from the police,” he said.

“It is our hope that things are going on behind the scenes. The Chief Constable made a promise that there would be an effort against the individuals involved. We have faith in that promise and that faith remains.

“We have confidence in the investigation team itself, but we certainly have no confidence in the local policing commanders and how they deal with the people who murdered Glenn and members of South East Antrim UDA.”

Martin was referring to a commitment made by Jon Boutcher in 2023 that all available resources would be directed at bringing Glenn's killers to justice.

The 47-year-old was savagely beaten to death in his ground-floor flat in Ashleigh Park by members of the South East Antrim UDA. His battered body was discovered on January 4, 2020.

Police failed to notify the terminally-ill victim of a threat against him before the killing, and instead of tasking out-of-hours resources to further research that threat, duty inspectors only advised giving “passing attention” to the address.

PSNI failings

A Police Ombudsman probe found Mr Quinn was denied the chance to take precautions which could have saved his life due to PSNI failings.

Two duty inspectors — known as police officer B and police officer G — were singled out for criticism in the final report.

The now-retired officer B did not co-operate with the Ombudsman, who recommended officer G be disciplined. However, such a move was rejected by the PSNI which decided the individual had no case to answer.

Warning that Carrickfergus has become the “murder capital of Northern Ireland” with at least seven unsolved killings, Martin criticised the lack of local police action against paramilitary gangs in the area.

“We know exactly who murdered Glenn and the individuals involved,” the grieving brother said.

“So do the police. But knowing it and proving it are two different things. If local policing was more proactive they could get more evidence — if not for Glenn's murder, in relation to criminality linked to the South East Antrim UDA.”

Martin and his 81-year-old mother Ellen were notified by police in 2022 of a threat against them unless they left their hometown of Carrickfergus.

They have continued to face intimidation at the hands of SEA UDA with the most recent threat made six months ago.

“That's part and parcel of our fight for justice,” Martin said.

“But they are wasting their time. We will not let it go under any circumstances

“The fight goes on for us. We will never back off no matter how many threats they make and the strongest of us all is my mum — she will never give up.”

The family have erected banners featuring Glenn's image around the town in a bid to encourage people to come forward with information, keep his memory alive and keep the pressure on the killers who remain at large.

“Remember me, Glenn Quinn,” it reads. “Murdered by cowards. We all know who they are!”

Martin said his family have taken the initiative when it comes to appealing for information. “The people who did this have no conscience — but Glenn's photo will haunt them for the rest of their days.

“The people who killed him sat with their families this Christmas having fun. We couldn't do that because there was an empty chair. They have blood on their hands that they can never wash off.”

Detective Inspector Kelly, from the PSNI's Major Investigation Team, said police were committed to giving the family the justice they deserve.

He said: “We still believe there are people out there who know what happened and who is responsible for Glenn's murder. Glenn was a much loved member of the local community and the conscience of those with information to share must weigh heavily on them.

“Our request to those people remains the same, please come forward and share any information you have.

“Help up bring those responsible to justice.”

Anyone with information can contact detectives on 101 or the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

A £40,000 reward is available to help bring the killers to justice.

As Europe prepares for war maybe we're better off telling ourselves or the aliens will save us

Malachi O’Doherty, Belfast Telegraph, January 6th, 2026

Europe is preparing for war and there has been a recent increase in UFO sightings. Therefore, it is obvious that the aliens are coming.

Well, that's what some people think. Actually, you'd think that in the current remilitarising climate, strange lights in the sky probably had something to do with that widespread rearmament.

But no. For some people, it can only be aliens.

Yet life exists on a planet that is like an oasis in a vast cosmic desert. There is nothing in sight but rubble, lumps of rock with toxic atmospheres or massive balls of gas, but we persist in imagining, despite the lack of any evidence, that there are intelligent beings out there, keeping an eye on us. Simple physics tells us that if there is intelligent life in the universe, it is so far away that it will never reach us.

And still, our amazing gift for distracting ourselves from the problems in front of us continues to enliven our imaginations.

At an individual, personal level, this would be seen as psychotic. If Russian troops were kicking in your back door and you were wondering if they might be from the Pleiades, you would obviously be mad.

But maybe the lights in the sky are not from Russia, though five most certainly were that stalked Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky's plane as it came into land in Dublin last month.

A war in Europe is being fought with drones, but lots of people get drones for Christmas presents. Photographers use them.

Cinema and television have been transformed by aerial shots from drones; so much so that pre-drone drama looks boring and two-dimensional, which it is.

So maybe we can relax a little. Maybe the Russians are not monitoring us as busily as we are monitoring each other with our toys.

But they are certainly monitoring us more closely than the Venusians are.

And it probably suits them very well that we delude ourselves that we are of more interest to beings beyond the stars.

Which we should be, if there are any beings there, because our lovely blue planet seems to be about as rare in the known universe as pearls on the beach at Helen's Bay. Which is not to say that there aren't any there, but if you'd rather spend your day looking for them than doing something useful, that's your business.

It was one of the predictions of George Orwell that power would delight in us being distracted from what it was up to. And we are so gullible.

When I was young, to be left wing was to be a socialist. It was to be concerned with the distribution of wealth and conditions of employment.

Today, to be left is to be woke. It is to be more concerned with trans rights than with the right to protest or the depletion of the trade unions.

And to be right wing, which was to be concerned with the expansion and defence of capitalism, is now about keeping out migrants — despite business needing them — and scoffing at gays.

The more extreme right is telling us that our freedoms are threatened by those who urge us to take vaccines. And, of course, much media discourse encourages all that discussion. You would think that they were in on a plot to delude us, to distract us from what is of practical importance, from what might stabilise human comfort on the blue planet, which is the only one we have got or are ever likely to have.

Ironically, it is those media which are most dependable which are most derided as deceivers and propagandists.

Simple statement of fact: Europe is preparing for war with Russia within five years.

General Fabien Mandon, head of the French armed forces, said in November, “We have to accept losing our children.” The French should expect that the children playing in the park today will be dying in the battlefields tomorrow.

Britain's spy chief, Blaise Metreweli, said two weeks ago that the country is already “in a space between peace and war”. And Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of Nato, said, “We must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great grandparents endured.” (I've lifted those quotes from an article in the current issue of The Economist).

There is ordinary human folly behind this. Russia took on more than it could handle, but can't afford to back down, so it must push ahead.

And, of course, there is nothing you or I can do about that.

We can watch the global drama unfold, marvel at the unlikely emergence of tyrants and buffoons who grew up, as we did, through a period of relative stability and faith in human progress.

Maybe we are better off persuading ourselves that the worst could never happen or anticipating that God or the aliens will save us from ourselves.