Latest news with #BerniceHarrison
Irish Times
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
How will Pakistan respond to India's missile attack?
India has conducted what it has described as 'precision strikes' in neighbouring Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, days after it blamed Islamabad for a deadly attack on the Indian side of the contested region that killed 26 people. At least 26 civilians were killed and 46 injured by the Indian strikes, according to Pakistani officials. The Indian government claimed that nine non-military targets had been hit, in what it called 'Operation Sindoor'. The military operation by India represents yet another bloody chapter in the decades-long simmering conflict over Kashmir, often called the Switzerland of India because of its lakes, forests and snow-capped mountains. READ MORE The contested nature of the territory means that Kashmir is one of the most militarised zones in the world. To understand what happened this week – and why – it's necessary to look back to 1947 when Pakistan and India became independent from Britain and when both claimed Kashmir. Shashank Joshi, defence Eeditor with The Economist magazine, explains the background and explores the fears of further hostilities in one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.
Irish Times
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Blackout in Spain and Portugal: Why did the lights go out?
On Monday, the unthinkable happened: Spain and Portugal experienced an electricity blackout . Just after midday the lights went out , wifi went down, trains stopped, airports closed, ATMs froze and everyday life for millions of citizens ground to a halt. Both countries quickly ruled out the possibility that the outage was caused by a cyberattack . Human error was also discounted. Critics of Spain's ambitious green energy policy were quick to lay the blame on renewables. Nuclear power proponents suggested the outage was the inevitable result of moving away from nuclear. READ MORE Power started to be restored on Monday evening , and by Tuesday morning the Spanish government reported that more than 90 per cent of supply had returned, w ith a similar percentage restored in Portugal. By midday Red Eléctrica, the company that manages Spain's power grid, reported that supply was back to normal. The costs are now being counted; the CEOE employers' association estimating the economic cost at about €1.6 billion. Self-employed workers may have lost as much as €1.3 billion, according to the ATA workers' association. But what caused the blackout? And how is it possible that days later the authorities still don't know for sure? Contributor to The Irish Times Guy Hedgecoe was on a train in Madrid when the blackout began. He tells In the News what happened next and explores the reasons and reactions to the unprecedented outage that has shaken confidence in the energy supply. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.
Irish Times
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Kneecap: will ‘moral outrage' over controversial comments halt the rappers' rise?
For Kneecap's growing fan base, the band's support of Palestine as they performed at the Coachella music festival in California last month didn't raise a ripple of surprise. The Belfast-based rappers who sing mostly in Irish have been consistent in their vocal opposition to Israel's response to the October 7th Hamas attack. But an American backlash coincided with UK police investigations into comments made by members of the group during concerts. One appeared to be shouting 'up Hamas, up Hizbullah'. READ MORE Footage from another concert appeared to show one of the group shouting 'the only good Tory is a dead Tory' and 'Kill your local MP'. Kneecap have since apologised to the families of two murdered British MPs. But they also insist the controversy has been manufactured in retaliation against their pro-Palestine stance and to distract from the real story of what's happening in Gaza. Media columnist Hugh Linehan looks at the controversies surrounding Kneecap, how they have responded and whether they are right to argue this is not a story worth covering. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.
Irish Times
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
What is a woman? The UK Supreme Court ruling
On April 16th, the Supreme Court in London ruled unanimously that 'the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex'. The ruling came in response to a legal dispute between the activist group For Women Scotland and the Scottish government over whether trans people with gender recognition certificates (GRC) identifying their gender as female were considered as having the sex of a woman. For Women Scotland had argued that the sex-based protections in the Act should only apply to people born female and that sex is 'immutable biological state'. The judgment, which ran to more than 80 pages, found that 'the concept of sex is binary' – there is a female and a male. READ MORE It went on to say that the legislation gives transgender people 'protection, not only against discrimination through the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, but also against direct discrimination, indirect discrimination and harassment in substance in their acquired gender'. The judgment has come as a blow to the transgender community, particularly to transwomen who fear it will marginalise them further. Irish Times London correspondent Mark Paul explains the ruling and its implications. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan and John Casey.
