Three long days of counting in the General Election finished late on Monday night when the final two seats were declared in the constituency of Cavan-Monaghan. Fianna Fail was the clear winner of the election, securing 48 of the Dail parliament’s 174 seats. Sinn Fein took 39 and Fine Gael 38. Labour and the Social Democrats both won 11 seats; People Before Profit-Solidarity took three; Aontu secured two; and the Green Party retained only one of its 12 seats. Independents and others accounted for 21 seats. The return of a Fianna Fail/Fine Gael-led coalition is now highly likely. However, their combined seat total of 86 leaves them just short of the 88 needed for a majority in the Dail. While the two centrist parties that have dominated Irish politics for a century could look to strike a deal with one of the Dail’s smaller centre-left parties, such as the Social Democrats or Labour, a more straightforward route to a majority could be achieved by securing the support of several independent TDs. For Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin and current taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris, wooing like-minded independents would be likely to involve fewer policy concessions, and financial commitments, than would be required to convince another party to join the government benches. Longford-Westmeath independent TD Kevin “Boxer” Moran, who served in a Fine Gael-led minority government between 2017 and 2020, expressed his willingness to listen to offers to join the new coalition in Dublin. “Look, my door’s open,” he told RTE. “Someone knocks, I’m always there to open it.” Marian Harkin, an independent TD for Sligo-Leitrim, expressed her desire to participate in government as she noted that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael were within “shouting distance” of an overall majority. “That means they will be looking for support, and I certainly will be one of those people who will be speaking to them and talking to them and negotiating with them, and I’m looking forward to doing that, because that was the reason that I ran in the first place,” she said. Meanwhile, the Social Democrats and Irish Labour Party both appear cautious about the prospect of an alliance with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. They will no doubt be mindful of the experience of the Green Party, the junior partner in the last mandate. The Greens experienced near wipeout in the election, retaining only one of their 12 seats. Sinn Fein appears to currently have no realistic route to government, given Fianna Fail and Fine Gael’s ongoing refusal to share power with the party. Despite the odds being stacked against her party, Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald contacted the leaders of the Social Democrats and Labour on Monday to discuss options. Earlier, Fianna Fail deputy leader and outgoing Finance Minister Jack Chambers predicted that a new coalition government would not be in place before Christmas. Mr Chambers said planned talks about forming an administration required “time and space” to ensure that any new government will be “coherent and stable”. After an inconclusive outcome to the 2020 election, it took five months for Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Greens to strike the last coalition deal. Mr Chambers said he did not believe it would take that long this time, as he noted the Covid-19 pandemic was a factor in 2020, but he also made clear it would not be a swift process. He said he agreed with analysis that there was no prospect of a deal before Christmas. “I don’t expect a government to be formed in mid-December, when the Dail is due to meet on December 18, probably a Ceann Comhairle (speaker) can be elected, and there’ll have to be time and space taken to make sure we can form a coherent, stable government,” he told RTE. “I don’t think it should take five months like it did the last time – Covid obviously complicated that. But I think all political parties need to take the time to see what’s possible and try and form a stable government for the Irish people.” Fine Gael minister of state Peter Burke said members of his parliamentary party would have to meet to consider their options before giving Mr Harris a mandate to negotiate a new programme for government with Fianna Fail. “It’s important that we have a strong, stable, viable government, whatever form that may be, to ensure that we can meet the challenges of our society, meet the challenges in terms of the economic changes that are potentially going to happen,” he told RTE. Despite being set to emerge with the most seats, it has not been all good news for Fianna Fail. The party’s outgoing Health Minister Stephen Donnelly became one of the biggest casualties of the election when he lost his seat in Wicklow in the early hours of Monday morning. Mr Donnelly was always predicted to face a fight in the constituency after boundary changes saw it reduced from five to four seats. If it is to be a reprise of the Fianna Fail/Fine Gael governing partnership of the last mandate, one of the major questions is around the position of taoiseach and whether the parties will once again take turns to hold the Irish premiership during the lifetime of the new government. The outcome in 2020 saw the parties enter a coalition on the basis that the holder of the premier position would be exchanged midway through the term. Fianna Fail leader Mr Martin took the role for the first half of the mandate, with Leo Varadkar taking over in December 2022. Current Fine Gael leader Mr Harris succeeded Mr Varadkar as taoiseach when he resigned from the role earlier this year. However, this time Fianna Fail has significantly increased its seat lead over Fine Gael, compared with the last election when there were only three seats between the parties. The size of the disparity in party numbers is likely to draw focus on the rotating taoiseach arrangement, raising questions as to whether it will be re-run in the next coalition and, if it is, on what terms. On Sunday, Simon Coveney, a former deputy leader of Fine Gael, said a coalition that did not repeat the rotating taoiseach arrangement in some fashion would be a “difficult proposition” for his party. Meanwhile, Fine Gael minister Paschal Donohoe said he would be making the case for Mr Harris to have another opportunity to serve as taoiseach. On Monday, Mr Chambers said while his party would expect to lead the government it would approach the issue of rotating the taoiseach’s role on the basis of “mutual respect” with Fine Gael. “I think the context of discussions and negotiations will be driven by mutual respect, and that’s the glue that will drive a programme for government and that’s the context in which we’ll engage,” he said. On Monday, Labour leader Ivana Bacik reiterated her party’s determination to forge an alliance with fellow centre-left parties with the intention of having a unified approach to the prospect of entering government. Asked if Labour was prepared to go into government with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael on its own, she told RTE: “No, not at this stage. We are absolutely not willing to do that. “We want to ensure there’s the largest number of TDs who share our vision and our values who want to deliver change on the same basis that we do.” The Social Democrats have been non-committal about any potential arrangement with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, and have restated a series of red lines they would need to achieve before considering taking a place in government. Leader Holly Cairns, who gave birth to a daughter on polling day on Friday, said in a statement: “The party is in a very strong position to play an important role in the next Dail. In what position, government or opposition, remains to be seen.” Fianna Fail secured the most first preference votes in Friday’s proportional representation election, taking 21.9% to Fine Gael’s 20.8%. Sinn Fein came in third on 19%. While Sinn Fein’s vote share represented a marked improvement on its disappointing showing in June’s local elections in Ireland, it is still significantly down on the 24.5% poll-topping share it secured in the 2020 general election. The final breakdown of first preferences also flipped the result of Friday night’s exit poll, which suggested Sinn Fein was in front on 21.1%, with Fine Gael on 21% and Fianna Fail on 19.5%.Push to salvage climate talks after poor nations bristle at cash
NoneEnabling lower cost EVs through electric motor development
Environment Don't miss out on the headlines from Environment. Followed categories will be added to My News. The last time Melbourne footballer Troy Broadbridge said goodbye to his best man Chris Lamb was at the international departure gates at Melbourne airport. Broadbridge, 24, was about to go on his honeymoon to Thailand in December, 2004. Lamb, a Demons teammate, was heading to Europe for a white Christmas to meet up with his girlfriend. “We were at the airport the day after the wedding and we were able to have a beer,” Lamb said this week. “It was his moment, he was going on his honeymoon. We’d said goodbye but then he walked back over and said: ‘I’ll see you in a year.’” Troy Broadbridge was about to go on his honeymoon to Thailand in December, 2004. Broadbridge had cemented his role on the half back flank in Melbourne’s senior team. Lamb flew to Denmark, Broadbridge and his new wife Trisha headed to Phi Phi Island. On a cold Boxing Day morning in Denmark, Lamb was watching the news. “We were looking at the TV, it was in Danish so we couldn’t understand it, but we just saw these pictures of the tsunami,” Lamb said. “Then we thought, has anyone heard from Broady?” There were many people asking the same question as the devastation caused by the world’s deadliest tsunami came into focus. A 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck in the ocean off Sumatra, Indonesia, on Boxing Day 2004. Picture: ADH/Stefan Trappe A 9.1 magnitude earthquake in the ocean off Sumatra, Indonesia, at 7.59am on Boxing Day, killed an estimated 230,000 people in 15 countries, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Broadbridge was one of those killed. Lamb struggled with returning to Australia for his friend’s funeral in Melbourne. “I thought maybe if I didn’t go home then I could think that it didn’t really happen,” he said. Broadbridge had been married eight days before he died and also just cemented his role on the half back flank in Melbourne’s senior team after coming off the rookie list in 1998. “His life was really taking off,” Lamb said. Trisha survived the tsunami and was named Young Australian of The Year in 2006 for her charity work on Phi Phi Island, dedicated to Broadbridge. Lamb also assisted in some of that work in 2005. Chris Lamb was devastated after hearing about Broadbridge’s death. Lamb first met Broadbridge at Football Park in Adelaide while playing a practice game in 1999. They bonded as some of the youngest players on Melbourne’s AFL list, and that Broadbridge, who moved across from Adelaide, and Lamb, who was from Wodonga, both had to make new friends in a new town. They shared the ups and downs of fighting for a senior place in an AFL team. But Lamb said that Broadbridge was always thinking of others. “He was so positive about life, his shoulder would pop out and he knew that would mean weeks or months out of football but there was never any ‘Woe is me,’” he said. “I’m not just reminiscing and adding a bit of mayo, he was just that kind of guy. “He would be injured and he would be the first one to text you and ask you how you were going.” Lamb still keeps in touch with Broadbridge’s parents, Pam, a tireless volunteer, and Wayne, a former Port Adelaide footballer. They see each other every year when Wayne presents Melbourne’s VFL best and fairest award, which is named after Broadbridge. Trisha, Broadbridge’s partner, survived the tsunami and was named Young Australian of The Year in 2006 for her charity work on Phi Phi Island. This year, Lamb took his sons to Adelaide to watch the Western Bulldogs, the team he follows, play there. Lamb’s eldest son Ben has the middle name of Troy, in a nod to his best mate. “Wayne was showing him around, saying this is where Troy used to play,” he said. Broadbridge played 40 AFL games with the Demons. His last game of football was in the VFL grand final in 2004, lining up alongside Lamb on the half back line for Melbourne’s reserves team at the time, Sandringham. Broadbridge was a last-minute call up after a player had become ill on the day. Sandringham won by four points, with reports from the time highlighting Lamb’s late mark on the goal line, denying Port Melbourne the lead in the dying moments. Lamb shied away from that moment, instead focusing on the joy he felt playing alongside Broadbridge in his final game. He has a photograph of the two of them, sitting on the turf, drinking in the moment that still hangs on the wall in his lounge room, keeping that memory alive. More Coverage Weather warnings: How Boxing Day tsunami changed the world David Mills 'You don't want to go there': What I saw after Boxing Day tsunami Sarah Blake Join the conversation Add your comment to this story To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout More related stories Environment Weather warnings: How Boxing Day tsunami changed the world The Boxing Day tsunami caused catastrophic devastation and there were unexpected ways in which it changed the world. See how in these harrowing before and after photos. Read more National Warning as crazy bushfire ‘out-of-control’ A major warning has been issued over an out-of-control bushfire burning through thousands of hectares of land - all ahead of a scorcher weekend in Australia. Read more
T he man charged with implementing Donald Trump ’s ambitions for what he calls the “largest deportation operation in American history” spent the week of Christmas and Hanukkah previewing his agenda. Trump and his “border czar” Tom Homan are likely to face a volley of lawsuits and legal obstacles from city and state officials. Homan, in turn, has threatened to prosecute them if they don’t “get the hell out of the way.” Throughout his 2024 campaign, Trump pledged to arrest, detain and deport people living in the country without legal permission as part of his “day one” agenda. The president-elect promises to deploy federal, state and local law enforcement into immigrant communities he says are “poisoning the blood of the country,” relying on stories of violent crime to support a brutal crackdown that could impact millions of families. Homan is signaling a return to family detentions and breaking up families with U.S. citizen children, who could be forced into “halfway houses,” with U.S. military assistance, and with “no price tag” for a years-long project that will rely on more funding from Congress. Trump is also expected to try to end birthright citizenship and block newborns from receiving citizen-affirming documents, likely triggering legal battles and a Supreme Court fight. Human rights groups are urging President Joe Biden’s administration to take immediate action to shut down problematic detention centers, open legal pathways for millions of undocumented immigrants, and add permanent protections for immigrants with temporary legal status. “The public may have voted in the abstract for more enforcement, but I don’t think they voted for more family separation or unnecessary cruelty to children,” ACLU immigrants’ rights attorney Lee Gerlent told The Independent. “Yet repeated statements from the incoming administration suggest that’s what we are looking at, despite the fact that the horrific damage to children from [Trump’s first administration] is still not undone and may never be,” he said. “We’re going to need to construct family facilities,” Homan told The Washington Post . “We need to show the American people we can do this and not be inhumane about it ... We can’t lose the faith of the American people.” Homan said the administration will look to construct “soft-sided” tent facilities that have similarly been used to detain people on the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump and Homan have repeatedly said that even U.S. citizen children of non-citizen parents are expected to be detained and deported along with their families, and that it will be up to families whether to be deported together or remain separated. “Here’s the issue,” Homan told the newspaper. “You knew you were in the country illegally and chose to have a child. So you put your family in that position.” Homan told NBC News that the administration will “end catch-and-release — and that includes family units, too,” referencing a phrase to describe immigrants who are released from detention while awaiting immigration court proceedings. The Biden administration ended family detention in 2021 with the closure of ICE “residential centers” that housed roughly 3,000 beds in dorm-like facilities. There are roughly 4 million mixed-status immigrant families in the United States. “As far as U.S. children, that’s going to be a difficult situation because we’re not going to change your U.S. citizenship,” Homan told NewsNation in a recent interview. “Which means they’re going to be put in a halfway house or they can stay at home and wait for the officers to get the travel arrangements and come back and get the family. You know the best thing to do for a family is to self-deport themselves.” Trump is expected to declare a national emergency on immigration when he enters office to deploy U.S. military assets to work with state and local law enforcement on immigration policing. The former president declared a national emergency for U.S.-Mexico border wall construction in his first term in an attempt to bypass a standoff with Congress. Biden rescinded that order shortly after he entered office in 2021. Trump also intends to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 , which would give the president unprecedented ability to target foreigners for removal, without a hearing or due process, based solely on their place of birth or citizenship. During the first and second World Wars, the federal government turned to the law to detain and restrict German, Austro-Hungarian and Italian immigrants, and infamously used the law for the shameful internment of Japanese Americans, now widely seen as a stain on America’s 20th century history. The largely abandoned law states that the president may order the arrests and removal of non-citizens during times of “declared war” or during an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” by “any foreign nation or government,” but Trump and right-wing legal groups are expected to try to interpret the law more broadly by expanding the definition of “invasion” and “predatory incursion” to mean border crossings, and for drug cartels or criminal gangs to be considered a “foreign nation or government.” “I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, then kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible,” Trump said in remarks from Madison Square Garden. Trump’s administration is expected to rescind a 2011 policy limiting deportation arrests in sensitive locations like schools, hospitals and places of worship, or at events like funerals, weddings and public demonstrations. Homan has also threatened to prosecute Democratic officials in cities with so-called “sanctuary” policies that limit cooperation with federal law enforcement agencies to protect immigrant populations from unjust arrests, detentions or deportations . “No more sanctuary cities,” Trump declared at a campaign event in North Carolina in September. “As soon as I take office, we will immediately surge federal law enforcement to every city that is failing, which is a lot of them, to turn over criminal aliens.” The administration is also expected to return to making workplace arrests. “Worksite operations have to happen,” Homan told Fox & Friends last month. A group of workers sued the Trump administration in 2018 after an immigration raid at a Tennessee facility, and a federal court approved a $1 million settlement that included some legal protections for workers. Both Trump and Homan have said money is no object when it comes to their agenda. “It’s not a question of a price tag,” Trump said last month . “We have no choice. When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries, and now they’re going to go back to those countries because they’re not staying here. There is no price tag.” Homan admitted to NewsNation that the operation “would be expensive,” but “it’s going to save taxpayers a lot of money in the long run.” “Right now, we’re spending billions of dollars on free airline tickets, free hotel rooms, free medical care, free meals, the education system,” he said. “We need funding. We obviously need to buy more detention beds because everybody we arrest, we have to detain to work on those removal efforts and get travel documents, get flight arrangements. So we need more detention beds.” Homan told CNN that means adding at least 100,000 beds, more than doubling the 40,000 detention beds already allocated in ICE funding. He also wants to boost the number of ICE agents. “They’re not going to be out arresting people, but they can be a force multiplier in doing things we need to do that doesn’t require a badge and a gun,” he said. Using the full force of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to identify, detain and deport millions of people living in the country without legal permission could cost more than $967 billion over 10 years, according to the American Immigration Council. Undocumented immigrants paid federal, state, and local taxes of $8,889 per person in 2022, the group found. For every 1 million undocumented immigrants, public services receive $8.9 billion in tax revenue. Those immigrants, despite paying into government services like healthcare and Social Security, are not eligible for them. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reported Trump’s plans would eliminate 22 percent of American farmworkers, 15 percent of construction workers, eight percent of service workers, eight percent of manufacturing workers and six percent of transportation workers.SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Even when Penn State quarterback Drew Allar gets some praise, it's usually a backhanded compliment. They say he's a good game manager and stays within himself, or that he doesn't try to do too much. They mention he might not be flashy, but he gives the team a chance to win. And here's the thing about Penn State since Allar stepped under center: The Nittany Lions have won games. A lot of them. Sometimes that's hard to remember considering the lukewarm reception he often gets from fans. “I get it — we have a really passionate fan base and they're a huge part of our success,” Allar said Sunday at College Football Playoff quarterfinals media day. “For us, we always want to go out there every drive and end with a touchdown, so when we don't do that, there's nobody more frustrated than us.” The polarizing Allar is having a solid season by just about any standard, completing more than 68% of his passes for 3,021 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions while leading the sixth-seeded Nittany Lions to a 12-2 record and a spot in the Fiesta Bowl for Tuesday's game against No. 3 seed Boise State. But in a college football world filled with high-scoring, explosive offenses, Allar's no-frills performances often are the object of ire. The Penn State offense is a run-first bunch , led by the talented combo of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. “If we had a nickel for every time there was a Monday morning quarterback saying some BS stuff, we'd all be pretty rich,” offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki said. “I think part of being a quarterback, especially at Penn State but really anywhere, is how you respond to and manage criticism.” The 20-year-old Allar has made strides in that department after a trying 2023 season that finished with a 10-3 record. He says that's largely because once fall camp started back in August, he logged off the social media platform X. Allar said negative online experiences wore on him last year, and his phone number was leaked a few times, which added to the stress. He finally realized that controlling outside narratives was impossible, so the best course of action was to eliminate a needless distraction. “I’ve been more mentally free, as much as that sounds crazy,” Allar said. “I think that’s been a huge difference for me this year.” The biggest criticism of Allar — and really Penn State as a whole during the 11-year James Franklin era — is that he isn't capable of winning the big games. He's 0-2 against rival Ohio State and threw a late interception against Oregon in the Big Ten title game earlier this month, which sealed the Ducks' 45-37 victory . He wasn't great in the CFP's first round, either, completing just 13 of 22 passes for 127 yards as Penn State muscled past SMU 38-10 on a cold, blustery day to advance to the Fiesta Bowl. But the quarterback is confident a better performance — aided by a game that will be played in comfortable temperatures in a domed stadium — is coming. “For me, I just have to execute those (easy) throws early in the game and get our guys into rhythm,” Allar said. “Get them involved early as much as I can and that allows us to stay on the field longer, call more plays and open up our offense more. That will help us a ton, building the momentum throughout the game.” Allar might be a favorite punching bag for a section of the Penn State fan base, but that's not the case in his own locker room. Star tight end Tyler Warren praised his quarterback's ability to avoid sacks, saying that the 6-foot-5, 238-pounder brings a toughness that resonates with teammates. “He’s a football player,” Warren said. “He plays quarterback, but when you watch him play and the energy he brings and the way he runs the ball, he’s just a football player and that fires up our offense.” Now Allar and Penn State have a chance to silence critics who say that the Nittany Lions don't show up in big games. Not that he's worried about what other people think. “I think it's a skill at the end of the day — blocking out the outside noise," Allar said. "Focusing on you and the process and being honest with yourself, both good and bad.” ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football Copyright 2024 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. 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