Police charged two Belfast men in connection with the knife slaying of a Catholic civilian, the first breakthrough in an IRA-linked case that has overshadowed Northern Ireland's peace process for months.
Police said the two men, who were arrested Wednesday, were set to be arraigned yesterday in Belfast Crown Court for their alleged roles in killing Robert McCartney, 33, and seriously wounding his friend Brendan Devine outside a Belfast pub on Jan. 30.
The Irish Republican Army initially denied involvement. But after facing public pressure from McCartney's five sisters and fiancee, the group admitted its members committed the attack.
Since then, members of the IRA and its allied Sinn Fein party have faced continued criticism internationally for allegedly covering up evidence and refusing to cooperate with the police investigation.
Police said a 49-year-old man would face a charge of murdering McCartney, while a 36-year-old man would be charged with the attempted murder of Devine.
The two men are the first to face charges in the case. They were among a dozen suspects that had been arrested previously and released without charge after refusing to answer questions.
Witnesses say an IRA unit initially attacked Devine inside the pub, then targeted McCartney when he pulled his friend, bleeding from a neck wound, outside. The gang stabbed McCartney in the neck and stomach and clubbed him in the head with iron bars, then went back inside the pub to mop up blood and other forensic evidence.
They also allegedly took a tape from a surveillance camera and warned witnesses not to talk to police.
The McCartney sisters, who have taken their campaign to the White House and the EU Parliament, said they were initially stunned, then overcome with joy -- but emphasized that their mission for justice still had a long way to go.
"We hope it will lead to further arrests, because there were more than two people involved. We still have a long way to go in terms of a trial and convictions," said Catherine McCartney. "We are happy this has happened, but we know it is by no means over."
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
UNREST: The authorities in Turkey arrested 13 Turkish journalists in five days, deported a BBC correspondent and on Thursday arrested a reporter from Sweden Waving flags and chanting slogans, many hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators on Saturday rallied in Istanbul, Turkey, in defence of democracy after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu which sparked Turkey’s worst street unrest in more than a decade. Under a cloudless blue sky, vast crowds gathered in Maltepe on the Asian side of Turkey’s biggest city on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr celebration which started yesterday, marking the end of Ramadan. Ozgur Ozel, chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which organized the rally, said there were 2.2 million people in the crowd, but
The US government has banned US government personnel in China, as well as family members and contractors with security clearances, from any romantic or sexual relationships with Chinese citizens, The Associated Press (AP) has learned. Four people with direct knowledge of the matter told the AP about the policy, which was put into effect by departing US ambassador Nicholas Burns in January shortly before he left China. The people would speak only on condition of anonymity to discuss details of a confidential directive. Although some US agencies already had strict rules on such relationships, a blanket “nonfraternization” policy, as it is known, has
OPTIONS: Asked if one potential avenue to a third term was having J.D. Vance run for the top job and then pass the baton to him, Trump said: ‘That’s one,’ among others US President Donald Trump on Sunday that “I’m not joking” about trying to serve a third term, the clearest indication he is considering ways to breach a constitutional barrier against continuing to lead the country after his second term ends at the beginning of 2029. “There are methods which you could do it,” Trump said in a telephone interview with NBC News from Mar-a-Lago, his private club. He elaborated later to reporters on Air Force One from Florida to Washington that “I have had more people ask me to have a third term, which in a way is a fourth term
RSS