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 were 106 military installations, there was a ro
hello and welcome. we begin in northern ireland where final preparations are being put in place forjoe biden s visit to mark the anniversary of the signing of the good friday agreement. the white house says the us president is very excited for his trip, which will also take him to the republic of ireland, where he has his ancestral roots. he lands in belfast later today, from where charlotte gallagher sent this report. the us president is coming to town. belfast is really gearing up at the moment for the arrival of us presidentjoe biden. with his presidentialjet, air force 1, tonight. this building is the location forjoe biden s main public event in this trip isn tjust main public event in this trip isn t just about celebrating the good friday agreement and the good friday agreement and the 25th anniversary. it s looking forward to the future of northern ireland and many of the people studying here are part of the generation that don t remember the troubles or perhaps weren t
ukraine says 174,000 square kilometres that s roughly the same area as syria has been contaminated by landmines since russia s full scale invasion. most have been found in the north eastern kharkiv region, and it s feared it will take decades to clear them completely. 0ur ukraine correspondent james waterhouse brought us this report. it reflects the size of the battlefield. now, typically, mines are used by armies to protect their positions or force their enemy into areas where they will suffer casualties. but the reality is, in areas where the russians initially advanced, where they ve then occupied territory for a number of months and then were subsequently forced out in ukrainian counter offensives, these areas are where the issue of land mines is the most acute. and these are also areas where people are looking to continue their lives and live in incredibly challenging conditions. we ve been to the eastern town of balakliya. this is what you call a scratching of the s
in england have started a four day strike that threatens to bring the worst disruption in the history of the health service. it runs all the way through to saturday morning, and could mean the cancellation of 350,000 appointments and operations. the doctors union is in a row with the government over pay forjunior doctors, with the british medical association sticking to its demand of a 35% pay rise and the government refusing to negotiate until what it sees as a more reasonable pay demand is met. catherine burns reports. what do we want? pay rise! how do we get it? strike! this winter, we ve got used to seeing nhs staff waving banners on picket lines. we re now into the fifth month of industrial action, but this walk out byjunior doctors in england is bigger in scale than anything that s come before. the bma is being accused of picking dates to maximise disruption. their view is industrial action is meant to cause some disturbance. we ve been open and honest and transparent
and around the world. i m samantha simmonds. we begin here in england, where thousands ofjunior doctors have started a four day strike that threatens to bring the worst disruption in the history of the health service. it runs all the way through to saturday morning, and could mean the cancellation of 350,000 appointments and operations. the doctors union is in a row with the government over pay forjunior doctors, with the british medical association sticking to its demand of a 35% pay rise and the government refusing to negotiate until what it sees as a more reasonable pay demand is met. what do we want? pay rise! how do we get it? strike! this winter, we ve got used to seeing nhs staff waving banners on picket lines. we re now into the fifth month of industrial action, but this walk out byjunior doctors in england is bigger in scale than anything that s come before. a four day strike from this morning through to saturday morning. rbma is being accused of picking dates to ma