despite political tensions in northern ireland. my guest is us congressman richard neal, a democrat and co chair of the friends of ireland caucus group. to what extent is the wider us uk relationship tied to the situation in northern ireland? congressman richard neal in springfield, massachusetts, welcome to hardtalk. pleased to be with you. well, it s a pleasure to have you on the show. what doesjoe biden s determination to be on the island of ireland to mark this 25th anniversary of the good friday agreement, what does it tell us about the priority he puts on doing what he can to maintaining the solidity of the peace there? well, i think it s a historic anniversary and i think america served as an honest broker through the negotiations and they were able through, i think, strategy and patience to bring about a successful conclusion to the agreement, recalling that before the agreement, there were 30,000 british soldiers in an area the size of our state of connecticut. there
here s your latest sports news. so often the tennis clay court season is associated with rafa nadal dominating the headlines, but the spaniard was a notable absentee on monday as the monte carlo masters got underway. he s been ruled out with a hip injury and he s not the only one missing. world number two carlos alcaraz is also out because of injury; is also out because of injury, whilst world number 1a cameron norrie may have wished he hadn t bothered after a surprise first round defeat. jim lumsden rounds up the best of the action on day one. an upset impossibility when his surface broken by the number 33 for the first time of this and it looked like when francisco strolled through the first set, number 11 was always up against the momentum stayed with the argentinian who took the second set to wrap up victory in an hour and 12 minutes. next up is a meeting with martello who made light work of the american, 22nd of the world, the italian galloped throughthe first set and th
including details of training and weaponry for ukraine. and the new super mario film breaks box office records despite a series of terrible reviews. hello and welcome to the programme. preparations are in place in belfast to welcome the us presidentjoe biden on tuesday to mark 25 years since the signing of the northern ireland good friday agreement. the historic peace deal was signed by the then british prime minister, tony blair, and irish prime minister, bertie ahern. the agreement played a major part in bringing to an end, 30 years of conflict known as the troubles. the current british prime minister rishi sunak says efforts must be intensified in northern ireland, to restore the power sharing government that was central to the deal. it collapsed in the fall out from brexit, and now the political deadlock and security concerns are threatening to overshadow the historic milestone. our ireland correspondent, chris page is at stormont, home of the northern ireland assembl
including details of training and weaponry for ukraine. and the new super mario film breaks box office records, despite a series of terrible reviews. hello and welcome to the programme. preparations are in place in belfast to welcome the us presidentjoe biden on tuesday to mark 25 years since the signing of the northern ireland good friday agreement. the historic peace deal was signed by the then british prime minister, tony blair and irish prime minister, bertie ahern. the agreement played a major part in bringing to an end, 30 years of conflict, known as the troubles. the current british prime minister rishi sunak says efforts must be intensified in northern ireland, to restore the power sharing government that was central to the deal. it collapsed in the fall out from brexit, and now the political deadlock and security concerns are threatening to to overshadow the historic milestone. our ireland correspondent, chris page is at stormont, home of the northern ireland assembl
this seems like paradise, but behind all the beauty and the luxury lodges lies a very real and looming threat, and that s climate change, which is literally washing these stunning coral islands off the map. as soon as they realise i m from the maldives, they re like, oh, when is it sinking? i got to get there before it sinks. the maldives needs solutions, and it needs them fast. our islands are eroding at an alarming rate. we depend solely on our coral reefs for income, for protection, and for our survival, as well. i travel across the islands to meet some inspirational people with exciting ideas. seeing the radical new ways to bring coral reefs back to life, and a completely new, sustainable way of reclaiming much needed land. this is extreme conservation. ..the maldives. the maldives is located about 500km south of india, in the pacific ocean. it s made up of almost 1,200 islands that sit within these circular formations called atolls. and it s these low lying islands th