Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 13 February 2018
UK, Irish leaders seek to break Northern Ireland stalemate
LONDON (AP) — The Brit- politicians “to make one
ish and Irish prime minis- final push for the sake of
ters met political leaders in the people of Northern Ire-
Belfast on Monday, as the land.”
two main parties in North- “There is the basis of an
ern Ireland edged closer agreement, and it should
to unlocking a political be possible to see an ex-
stalemate that has left the ecutive up and running
region of 1.8 million people in Northern Ireland very
without a government for soon,” she said.
more than a year. Northern Ireland’s Catho-
British Prime Minister There- lic-Protestant power-shar-
sa May and her Irish coun- ing government has been
terpart, Leo Varadkar, held suspended since January
talks with the main parties 2017, when it broke down
in Northern Ireland’s col- amid a scandal over a
lapsed power-sharing ad- botched green-energy
ministration: the pro-British project. The rift soon wid-
Democratic Unionist Party ened to broader cultural
and the Irish nationalists of and political issues, with
Sinn Fein. Sinn Fein demands for Irish-
“We’re very hopeful that language protections seen
those two parties will be as the main sticking point.
able to come to an agree- After a day in which Sinn
meeting with Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar after they held crunch talks at Stormont with the
ment this week,” Varadkar Fein and the DUP met the region’s political leaders in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Monday Feb. 12, 2018.
said. visiting leaders, but not
May said she’d urged the each other, both said that
Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May speaks outside Stormont House in Belfast, following a bilateral
(Niall Carson/PA via AP)
progress had been made. lieve we are close to an
“Good progress has been agreement,” adding: “We
made and we will contin- are not exactly there just
ue to work towards more yet.”
progress,” said DUP leader “This is now a decisive
Arlene Foster. phase of the process,” she
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou said. “This is the week for
McDonald said “we be- decision time.”q
Oxfam’s deputy chief executive
resigns over 2010 Haiti scandal
By DANICA KIRKA thing it knows about the
Associated Press Haiti allegations. Still, it’s
LONDON (AP) — Oxfam’s unclear whether the resig-
deputy chief executive re- nation and the apology will
signed Monday, saying she quell the scandal, which
took “full responsibility” for first emerged when the
failing to act immediately Times of London reported
in the sexual misconduct last week that seven former
scandal involving the char- Oxfam staff members who
ity’s workers in Haiti follow- worked in Haiti faced mis-
ing the 2010 earthquake. conduct allegations that
Penny Lawrence, Ox- included using prostitutes
fam program director at and downloading pornog-
the time, said she was raphy. Lawrence said Mon-
“ashamed that this hap- day that the allegations of
pened on my watch.” sexual misconduct were
At an emergency meeting first raised about some
Monday with British gov- Oxfam staff in an earlier
ernment officials, Oxfam’s mission in Chad. “It is now
leaders “also made a full clear that these allegations
and unqualified apology” — involving the use of pros-
and spoke of a “deep titutes and which related
sense of disgrace and to behavior of both the
shame,” said British Devel- country director and mem-
opment Secretary Penny bers of his team in Chad
Mordaunt. Oxfam chief ex- — were raised before he
ecutive Mark Goldring and moved to Haiti,” she said.
trustee chairwoman Caro- Mordaunt said the charity
line Thomson were at the had agreed to provide full
meeting. Mordaunt had details about the perpetra-
threatened to pull public tors to their home countries
funding from Oxfam unless so they can face possible
the charity revealed every- prosecution. q