DUBLIN: Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams, a pivotal figure in the political life of Ireland for almost 50 years, said on Saturday he will step down as party leader and complete a generational shift in the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Reviled by many as the face of the IRA during its campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland, Adams reinvented himself as a peacemaker in the troubled region and then as a populist opposition parliamentarian in the Irish Republic.
Adams said he would be replaced as party president, a position he has held since 1983, at a party conference next year. He would also not stand for reelection to the Irish parliament.
“Republicanism has never been stronger... But leadership means knowing when it is time for change. That time is now,” Adams said in an emotional speech to a packed party conference.
Adams stayed on stage as the 2,500-strong crowd, some in tears, gave him a standing ovation and sang a traditional Irish song about the road home, followed by the national anthem.
Adams will almost certainly hand over to a successor with no direct involvement in the decades of conflict in Northern Ireland, a prospect that would make Sinn Fein a more palatable coalition partner in the Irish Republic where it has never been in power.
Deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald, an English literature graduate from Trinity College Dublin who has been at the forefront of a new breed of Sinn Fein politicians transforming the party’s image, is the clear favorite to take over.
That would mean the left-wing party being led on both sides of the Irish border by women in their 40s after Michelle O’Neill succeeded Martin McGuinness as leader in Northern Ireland shortly before the former IRA commander’s death in March.
Adams, who will turn 70 next October, has always denied membership of the IRA but accusations from former IRA fighters that he was involved in its campaign of killings have dogged him throughout his career.
Adams was a key figure in the nationalist movement throughout the three decades of violence between Catholic militants seeking a united Ireland, mainly Protestant militants who wanted to maintain Northern Ireland’s position as a part of Britain, and the British army.
3,600 died in the conflict, many at the hands of the IRA.
As head of the political wing of the IRA during its bombing campaigns in 1980s Britain, Adams was a pariah and banned from speaking on British airwaves, forcing television stations to dub his voice with that of an actor.
He and his party emerged from the political cold in October 1997 when he shook hands with Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair at their first meeting. A year later, he helped win skeptical elements in the IRA to the Good Friday peace deal, which largely ended the violence.
Since the peace deal Adams and McGuinness turned Sinn Fein from a fringe party into the dominant Irish nationalist party in Northern Ireland and the third largest party in south of the border.
While its anti-austerity platform led to a six-fold increase in its number of seats in the Republic — 23 out of 158 — suspicion of Sinn Fein’s role in the Northern Ireland troubles still runs deep and the far larger ruling Fine Gael and or main opposition Fianna Fail have ruled out governing alongside them.
Analysts say a change of leader could help open the way to Sinn Fein entering government in Dublin for the first time.
“Under a new Sinn Fein leader I think anything is possible,” said David Farrell, politics professor at University College Dublin.
A new Sinn Fein leader will also take over responsibility for rescuing power-sharing devolved government in Northern Ireland and avoid a return to full direct rule from London for the first time in decade.
Power-sharing collapsed after Sinn Fein withdrew in January saying the Democratic Unionist Party was not treating it as an equal partner and a series of talks have failed to break the impasse.
Gerry Adams to step down as Sinn Fein leader after 34 years
Gerry Adams to step down as Sinn Fein leader after 34 years
Harvard loses another $450 million in grants in escalating battle with Trump administration
Harvard has faced escalating sanctions from the White House after becoming the first US university to openly defy the government’s demands to limit pro-Palestinian activism
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration is cutting another $450 million in grants to Harvard University a day after the Ivy League school pushed back against government allegations that it’s a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism.
In a letter to Harvard on Tuesday, a federal antisemitism task force said Harvard will lose grants from eight federal agencies in addition to $2.2 billion that was previously frozen by the Trump administration.
The letter said Harvard has become a “breeding ground for virtue signaling and discrimination” and faces a “steep, uphill battle” to reclaim its legacy as a place of academic excellence.
“There is a dark problem on Harvard’s campus, and by prioritizing appeasement over accountability, institutional leaders have forfeited the school’s claim to taxpayer support,” the letter said.
It was signed by officials at the Education Department, Health and Human Services and the General Services Administration.
University officials did not immediately provide comment on the letter.
Harvard has faced escalating sanctions from the White House after becoming the first US university to openly defy the government’s demands to limit pro-Palestinian activism and end diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
Trump, a Republican, has said he wants Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status, and the Department of Homeland Security has threatened to revoke the school’s eligibility to host foreign students.
Last week, the Education Department said Harvard will receive no new federal grants until it meets the government’s demands.
The Trump administration has demanded Harvard make broad leadership changes, revise its admissions policies and audit its faculty and student body to ensure the campus is home to many viewpoints.
The demands are part of a pressure campaign targeting several other high-profile universities. The administration has cut off money to colleges including Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University, seeking compliance with Trump’s agenda.
Harvard is suing to block the federal funding freeze.
Harvard President Alan Garber disputed the government’s allegations in a Monday letter, saying Harvard is nonpartisan and has taken steps to root out antisemitism on campus. He insisted that Harvard is in compliance with the law, calling the federal sanctions an “unlawful attempt to control fundamental aspects of our university’s operations.”
The government’s letter on Tuesday said Harvard has repeatedly failed to address racial discrimination and antisemitism on campus. It cited the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision striking down Harvard’s use of race in the admissions process, along with a recent internal report at Harvard detailing cases of antisemitic harassment.
___ Collin Binkley has covered Harvard for nearly a decade — most of the time living half a mile from its campus.
Bulgarian parliament rejects president’s euro referendum proposal
- Kiselova said it did not comply with several articles of the Bulgarian constitution
- The constitutional court has previously rejected a petition for a referendum on joining the euro
The constitutional court has previously rejected a petition for a referendum on joining the euro
SOFIA: The speaker of the Bulgarian national assembly Nataliya Kiselova has dismissed President Rumen Radev’s proposal for a national referendum on adopting the euro, saying it violated the constitution, the BTA news agency reported on Tuesday.
On Monday, Radev had suggested a referendum on Bulgaria’s plans to adopt the euro next year with the question: “Do you agree that Bulgaria should introduce the single European currency ‘euro’ in 2026?” His proposal was criticized by the government, with one minister saying it was an attempt to sabotage its efforts to join the single currency.
Sending back the proposal, Kiselova said it did not comply with several articles of the Bulgarian constitution and related European Union treaties, and was inconsistent with rulings from the country’s constitutional court.
The constitutional court has previously rejected a petition for a referendum on joining the euro.
The government aims to adopt the euro next January, pending confirmation from the European Commission and the European Central Bank in June that all membership criteria have been met.
Economists say that Bulgaria, whose lev currency has long been pegged to the euro, would attract more foreign investment if it adopted the single currency and would secure credit ratings upgrades that could cut its debt financing costs.
However, Bulgarians are split on the euro’s adoption, with concerns that it might lead to price hikes, similar to what occurred in Croatia when it switched to the euro in 2023.
Germany’s Merz: EU to tighten sanctions on Russia if no progress on Ukraine this week
- Merz said EU leaders had agreed with Zelensky that he could take part in talks with Russia
- “I believe more compromise and more concessions are no longer reasonable“
BERLIN: The European Union is ready to impose tougher sanctions on Russia if progress on ending the war in Ukraine is not made this week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday, adding a new package of sanctions was prepared.
“We are waiting for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s agreement and we agree that if there is no real progress this week, we want to work together at European level for a significant tightening of sanctions,” Merz said at a news conference with his Greek counterpart.
“We will be looking at other areas, such as the energy sector and also the financial market,” he said.
Merz said EU leaders had agreed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he could take part in talks with Russia in Istanbul this week on the condition that Russian bombardment and attacks on civilians in Ukraine must stop.
While saying he admired Zelensky’s willingness to compromise if it could help a ceasefire, Merz added:
“I believe more compromise and more concessions are no longer reasonable,” said Merz.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the EU must be at the center of any peace settlement.
Putin ‘doesn’t dare’ meet Zelensky in Istanbul: EU’s Kallas
- The meeting set for Thursday in Istanbul would be the first direct negotiations
- Zelensky has urged Putin to personally attend the talks
COPENHAGEN: The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Tuesday she didn’t think Russian President Vladimir Putin would turn up for talks in Turkiye this week with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The meeting set for Thursday in Istanbul would be the first direct negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian officials since the early months of Moscow’s invasion in 2022.
Zelensky has urged Putin to personally attend the talks that the Kremlin leader himself suggested, but Moscow has so far declined to respond to the invitation.
“I think it’s a good move if they sit down,” Kallas told a democracy conference in Copenhagen, adding: “But I don’t think he dares, Putin.”
“It has been over two months since Ukraine agreed to an unconditional ceasefire,” she said.
“Russia is clearly playing games, trying to find time, hoping that time is on their side. We haven’t seen any good efforts or good signs from their side.”
Ukraine said Tuesday that a Putin no-show would be a clear sign that Moscow is not serious about peace.
“If Vladimir Putin refuses to come to Turkiye, it will be the final signal that Russia does not want to end this war, that Russia is not willing and not ready for any negotiations,” Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said in a statement.
How Western aid cuts deepen Afghan women’s crisis
- Foreign aid empowers Afghan women through funding, training, market access
- Entrepreneurs say sudden cuts force women-led businesses to close
KABUL: Afghan women entrepreneurs who have carved out spaces of independence for themselves and others, despite sweeping Taliban restrictions, are facing the collapse of their businesses as Western donors abruptly cut the aid they once pledged.
The rights of Afghan women have been curtailed since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021.
Barred from secondary schools and higher education, restricted in public places and not allowed to take up most of the jobs, women have been turning to private entrepreneurship to empower themselves and others.
Aid from Western countries, which have been pressuring the Taliban to uphold women’s rights, has been especially vital in sustaining these female-led initiatives.
The sudden reduction in funding, which started with massive US aid cuts since January, has already affected Afghan healthcare and essential services and is now taking a toll on the very group the West once vowed to support.
“Women’s economic activities have been severely affected by the reduction in international aid. Reduced financial support has led to fewer training and development opportunities, and in some cases international partners that previously provided resources or markets have suspended or ceased their activities,” Behnaz Saljoqi, head of the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industries in Herat, told Arab News.
International humanitarian aid has played a key role in empowering women entrepreneurs by providing not only direct support but also training, networking opportunities, microfinance, access to foreign markets, and sponsorship for exhibitions.
“This support not only helped women acquire technical and managerial skills, but also gain greater confidence to participate in the labor market and society. Without this support, many women would not even consider starting a business,” Saljoqi said.
“If the situation continues or worsens, the working environment for women will become increasingly difficult … The empowerment process that began in previous years will be reversed.”
Bahar Anwari, who runs Bahar Canvas Art Gallery in Kabul, is already observing a decline in her business as her usual customers — women — are no longer placing orders.
“With the reduction of development projects, things changed in the country,” she said.
“The purchasing power of people, especially women, has become very low. Employment opportunities became scarce, and most women lost their jobs, and poverty is growing every day. We will have to shut down our workshops and sit at home doing nothing.”
For Afghan women entrepreneurs, doing business means not only helping to sustain their own households but also contributing to society and creating opportunities for others like them.
International support has played a key role in making it possible.
“Women in Afghanistan largely depend on financial support from family and international organizations. While establishing my company, I also received some funds from a development organization, without which it would have been very difficult to set up the business,” said Parisa Elhami, director of fashion brand Watan Collection.
“Being in business as a woman gave me the strength and confidence to maintain my social standing despite the limitations. Business allowed me to be independent and provide employment opportunities for other women.”
The foreign aid cuts, especially from Afghanistan’s main donor, the US — which invaded the country in 2001 and spent billions of dollars on two decades of military and development operations — have already disrupted basic services such as healthcare, education, and food distribution.
Women, whose social role US humanitarian agencies earlier promoted, face losing their place in society, together with the collapsing businesses.
“The presence of women in economic and social spheres is vital. It not only contributes to economic growth, but also contributes to social justice and the overall progress of society,” Elhami told Arab News.
“The decline in international aid, especially from the US, has forced many women-run companies to close or reduce their staff … If the economic situation and global aid levels continue at the same pace or worse, the future of women’s business will be seriously threatened. Many businesses will disappear and women’s access to economic, health and educational opportunities will be severely limited.”
