The deal reached with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) was slammed by opposition parties as political bribery, amid concerns about its impact on the province’s delicate peace process. Under the terms of the agreement, Northern Ireland will receive an extra £1 billion (1.1 billion euros, $1.3 billion) from the state over two years. On Twitter, Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon said “any sense of fairness sacrificed on the altar of grubby DUP deal to let PM cling to power”. London’s neutrality is key to the fragile balance in Northern Ireland. If the parties cannot come to an agreement by Thursday, Northern Ireland may be returned to direct rule from London.

Source: Dhaka Tribune June 27, 2017 04:30 UTC