Jeffery Donaldson, the leader of the DUP, has been threatening to collapse the institutions, by removing executive ministers if article 16 is not triggered by the British government. A threat that he has now backed down on after assurances from the Brexit Secretary that she will suspend aspects of the post-Brexit deal if agreement with the EU cannot be reached.
President Amdala Hamdok, the face of the civilian component of a military-run government in Sudan, who has falsely promised to guide the country’s “transition to democracy”, resigned on 2 January. He claims the ongoing political stalemate between the civilian and military components of the government since the military coup of October 25, 2021, led to his decision.
In this “post-lockdown” economy most of the developed world is facing the worst labour shortages since the late 1990s. Workers are facing rapidly rising inflation and huge increases in the cost of living beginning to bite into workers’ pay; along with a continuation of over eighteen months of exhausting pandemic working conditions, some outright dangerous. In the face of these crises, workers are increasingly moving to challenge their bosses and are becoming galvanised, at least at a workplace level, to demand increased wages and better working conditions.
From December 2021, Firmus energy implemented a 38% rise in the cost of gas across their “Ten Towns” network area. This follows a 35% hike in October and the previous 18% hike, earlier in 2021, meaning the company practically doubled prices in a single calendar year.
