‘I've never walked down this side': sisters living in the shadow of Belfast peace wall
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RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Mexico transfers 26 more cartel members to US
Mexico has sent more than two dozen suspected cartel members to the US, amid rising pressure from President Donald Trump on Mexico to dismantle the country's powerful drug organisations. Authorities shipped 26 prisoners wanted in the US for ties to drug-trafficking groups, Mexico's attorney general's office and security ministry said in a joint statement. Mexico said the US Department of Justice had requested their extradition and that it would not seek the death penalty for the accused cartel members. The transfer is the second of its kind this year. In February, Mexican authorities sent 29 alleged cartel leaders to the US, sparking a debate about the political and legal grounds for such a move. That Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum permitting yet another large-scale extradition of Mexican nationals underscores the balancing act she faces to appease Mr Trump while also avoiding unilateral US military action in Mexico. In a statement, the US Embassy said among those extradited were key figures in the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, which are Mexico's two dominant-organised crime groups. "This transfer is yet another example of what is possible when two governments unite against violence and impunity," US Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said in a statement. "These fugitives will now face justice in American courts, and the citizens of both our nations will be safer." Mr Trump has tied tariffs on Mexico to the deadly fentanyl trade, claiming the country hasn't tackled drug cartels aggressively enough. Last week, he directed the Pentagon to prepare operations against Mexican drug gangs that have been designated global terrorist organisations. Ms Sheinbaum has said the US and Mexico are nearing a security agreement to expand cooperation in the fight against cartels. However, she has flatly rejected suggestions by the Trump administration that it could carry out unilateral military operations in Mexico.
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
A letter from Michael O'Leary: ‘MetroLink is a mad, bad project'
Sir, – Unbelievable!! Only an Irish Times columnist (with no known experience in transport) could waste her half-page column, slagging off Dermot Desmond and myself for criticising the Dublin MetroLink, without once mentioning the projected cost of approximately €20 billion!! Being criticised by Irish Times columnists is always a great compliment. In what crazy country could we seriously consider wasting approximately €20 billion of taxpayer money on a railway line, serving a narrow strip of the north Dublin population from Swords to St Stephen's Green, all of whom are well served currently by bus connections? The cost/benefit of this insanity has never been published, because it cannot be justified. Dermot Desmond's transport view should carry significant weight, given his very successful rescue, redevelopment and sale of London City Airport for approximately $1 billion in 2006. My own, (less?) humble view is based on almost 40 years' experience of growing, what is now the world's largest passenger airline. READ MORE But sadly we are both guilty of 'being rich', so therefore dismissed by The Irish Times 'experts', who know so much more about transport. I wouldn't quibble with a MetroLink from Swords to St Stephen's Green if it was free, but there are far better uses of taxpayer funds, than this white elephant. Muddled thinking, free of any cost/benefit analysis, such as that displayed by Justine McCarthy, is how you deliver a children's hospital (which should have cost €200 million) at a final cost of €2.5 billion and rising. My criticism of the MetroLink is based on the fact, that very few passengers at Dublin Airport will ever use it. It takes passengers into St Stephen's Green, so some small minority of inbound visitors might use it, but the vast majority of Irish originating passengers, who need to get to Dublin Airport early in the morning, or are travelling to/from outside the D2 / D4 area, won't use it. Dublin Airport is just 9km from the centre of the city, and is well served by competitively priced bus connections, which takes passengers to the city centre, and to points all over Ireland at low fares. These passengers won't switch to a €20 billion metro. Your columnist claims that I 'opposed the second terminal at Dublin Airport in 2010. I didn't. Dublin needed a second terminal l and I offered to build it on the North Apron for just €200 million, as Ryanair had proposed. I simply pointed out that the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), wasted €2 billion, building Terminal 2 in the wrong place (a cul-de-sac) and with no ability to future expand. Now that the second runway has opened on the north apron, the chronic congestion in the T2 cul-de-sac bedevils the T2 airlines on a daily basis. I note Ms McCarthy failed to offer her opinion on the Dublin Airport second runway (a project which I also supported), yet which the airlines and our passengers are prevented from using, by a 2007 (Road Traffic) Planning restriction. We elected a new government last November which promised to remove this cap 'as soon as possible', which would enable the airlines at Dublin to grow traffic, new routes, tourism and jobs. Sadly, eight months later the Government has failed to take any action to scrap this cap. More inexcusable delay and inaction from our political class. To summarise, both I and Dermot Desmond believe, wasting €20 billion on a Dublin Airport metro, is an unjustifiable waste of scarce taxpayer funds. I object because the majority of Dublin Airport passengers won't ever use this vastly overpriced service. Dermot correctly suggests that Al and electric road transport will solve the problem at a fraction of this €20 billion over the next decade. The fact that an unqualified Irish Times columnist considers that 'two rich men' are wrong, only renews my faith that this MetroLink is a mad, bad project. Add some more buses to service the citizens of Swords, Ballymun, Collins Avenue, and Glasnevin, and The Irish Times could save Irish taxpayers (me included!) about €19.9 billion rather than squandering these funds, as we have on the world's most expensive, and least efficient, Children's Hospital. If the next time Ms McCarthy wants to offer an opinion on government transport projects, perhaps she could address the cost benefit of the project, rather than slagging off two successful – albeit opinionated – business people. We won't always be right, but we will be right, far more often than the misguided, anti-business Irish Times 'chatterati'. – Yours, etc, MICHAEL O'LEARY. Chief Executive, Ryanair, Dublin.
The Irish Sun
6 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Crafty Ukrainian soldiers develop Mad Max-style truck with huge spikes to defend against deadly Russian drones
The truck was seen yesterday north of front line city Donetsk THORN IN VLAD'S SIDE Crafty Ukrainian soldiers develop Mad Max-style truck with huge spikes to defend against deadly Russian drones CRAFTY Ukrainian soldiers have developed a vehicle fitted with huge spikes to defend against Russian drones. The Mad Max-style truck has been equipped with the cage contraption to block the enemy's deadly devices. Advertisement 5 Ukrainian soldiers have developed a vehicle fitted with huge spikes to defend against Russian drones Credit: Getty 5 The truck is equipped with a cage contraption to block the enemy's deadly devices Credit: AP 5 The truck was seen north of front line city Donetsk Credit: Reuters This makeshift armour is fitted to what looks to be a US-made Humvee. It was seen yesterday north of front line city Donetsk, where fierce fighting between President Volodymyr Zelensky's Ukrainian military and invading Russian troops continues. It is now almost completely deserted, with most residents fleeing the onslaught from Vladimir Putin's war machine. Meanwhile, a giant paint plant in Yaroslavl, Russia — making special coatings for protection of military equipment — was pictured engulfed in flames yesterday following an attack by Ukraine. Advertisement Russia has also been bulking up its vehicles with the protective add-ons, so much so in some cases that it is impossible to tell what the vehicle even is. Last month, combat footage showed what observers identified as a Russian tank shielded by a large cage, significant amounts of netting, and some other material. President Trump floated the idea of a territorial exchange as part of a potential deal, a proposal Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has firmly rejected. He said: "There is nothing to talk about. This violates our Constitution. Advertisement "This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine." 5 A paint plant in Yaroslavl, Russia - making special coatings for protection of military equipment - pictured engulfed in flames Credit: East2West 5 President Trump has floated the idea of a territorial exchange as part of a potential deal, a proposal President Zelensky has rejected Credit: Getty
