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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 11 april 2018

N. Ireland marks 20 years of

peace deal as Brexit casts shadow

By JILL LAWLESS cal leadership." But two decades on, one
LONDON (AP) — Former Mitchell was attending a of the peace deal's main
U.S. President Bill Clinton conference at Queen's achievements — a Prot-
and ex-British Prime Minis- University Belfast alongside estant-Catholic power-
ter Tony Blair were in Belfast Clinton, Blair, former Irish sharing government for
Tuesday to mark the 20th Prime Minister Bertie Ahern Northern Ireland — is in
anniversary of Northern Ire- and other architects of the limbo. The administration
land's peace accord, as agreement. collapsed in January 2017
Brexit casts a shadow over The deal, signed on April 10, and attempts to restore it
the deal's future. 1998, largely ended three have faltered over the issue
Former U.S. Sen. George decades of sectarian vio- of protections for the Irish Former Prime Minister Tony Blair stands during an interview about
the Good Friday agreement on the eve of its 20th anniversary, in
Mitchell, who headed the lence in which more than language — a sign of the London, Monday, April 9, 2018.
talks that produced the 3,000 people died. Over cultural and political issues Associated Press
1998 Good Friday Agree- the following years the that still separate Northern
ment, said that while chal- Irish Republican Army and Ireland's British unionists and Ireland and the Republic ture, but it is unclear how
lenges remain, "Northern other paramilitary groups Irish nationalists. of Ireland. After Brexit next that will be achieved.
Ireland today is unrecog- renounced violence and Britain's impending depar- year, it will be the only land The EU has proposed a
nizable to the Northern Ire- destroyed their stockpiles ture from the European frontier between the United "backstop solution" that
land of two decades ago." of weapons, and the British Union threatens another Kingdom and the EU. Both would keep Northern Ire-
He said "new challenges military dismantled its bases product of the peace pro- sides say there should be land within EU's tariff-free
emerge" but could be met and checkpoints in North- cess, the all-but invisible no return to customs posts customs union while the
"through courageous politi- ern Ireland. border between Northern or other border infrastruc- rest of the U.K. leaves it.q

Magnitude 4.7 quake hits temblor-prone central Italy

By COLLEEN BARRY no deaths, and was felt in "We have few remaining
MILAN (AP) — A magnitude the neighboring regions of inhabitable homes, and if
4.7 quake shook residents Umbria and Lazio. they are damaged we will
and structures early Tues- The October 2016 quakes, have even more people
day in a region of central It- including one registering displaced by earthquakes,"
aly that had been struck by 6.1 in magnitude, came he said. Just 120 residences
a series of powerful quakes two months after a dead- in Muccia have remained
in 2016. No deaths or inju- ly quake killed some 300 inhabitable after the 2016
ries were reported. to the south in Amatrice, quakes, and more than half
Mayors in towns affected meaning many vulnerable of the town's 920 residents
did, however, report some structures in the mountain- continue to live in emer-
damage from the temblor, ous, quake-prone had gency housing, according
which struck just before been rendered uninhab- to the news agency ANSA.
dawn, and said that checks itable. That was cited by Baroni said that the Tues-
were under way. Schools in civil protection officials as day temblor was the stron-
some towns were closed for a key reason that the most gest since October 2016
the day, while a local train powerful quake in nearly 40 A view of a damaged bell tower of the 17th century Santa Ma- even if the area remains
line was reopened after be- years didn't cause loss of ria di Varano' church after an earthquake, in Muccia, near seismically active with fre-
ing closed temporarily. The life. Macerata, central Italy, April 10, 2018. quent smaller quakes, in-
quake struck near the town The mayor of the town of Associated Press cluding one in January. “In
of Macerata in the Marche Muccia in Macerata prov- the end, people are begin-
region, which is still recover- ince, Mario Baroni, where partial collapse of a 17th was to ascertain any dam- ning to live with quakes. But
ing from powerful quakes in the quake was centered, century bell tower that had age to homes that had re- the uncertainty is creating
October 2016 that caused told Sky News24 that the been damaged in 2016. mained inhabitable after a sense of anxiety and wor-
widespread damage but temblor had caused the He said the main concern the 2016 quakes. ry,” Baroli said.q