China must and will be united.
Chinese president Xi Jinping said unification with Taiwan was inevitable.
While such situations can be very challenging for many people, today across Ireland there are also glimmers of hope. Up and down the island, neighbours are looking out for neighbours. Ordinary people, community and church groups are caring for those in need. People of good intent are stepping up to the mark and giving positive leadership on the ground, working for the common good.
Part of the new year message from Methodist, Presbyterian, Church of Ireland, and Catholic Church leaders.
My appeal is this: get your act together and then tell us what it is you want…
European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker’s message to the European Union.
It’s soul destroying.
Bernadette Dillon, a secretary at a primary school in Co Clare, on the struggle facing school secretaries over Christmas, who aren’t paid for this time and must claim the dole.
I’m sure I would have been exposed to that quite a bit, but she just protected me from all that. I wasn’t unaware that there were people in the industry who abused their power, or who were seedy or untrustworthy. But because of her I was never a victim and I’m very, very thankful. I didn’t leave home at 19 all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed – I hadn’t been wrapped in cotton wool – but I had been protected.
Irish actress Saoirse Ronan spoke to Harpers Bazaar about her mother’s influence on her career.
It’s very intimidating when you sit in a room of the girls you’re going to be racing against and they’re all getting ready and you’re trying to think what they’re doing. ‘Should I be doing that?’ And trying to concentrate on your own stuff. I’ve definitely gotten a lot better at that, but it’s still nerve-wracking. It’s trying to channel those nerves into something that’s going to help you in the race, turning it into positive energy, and that’s what I’ve really been working on this year.
Sligo swimmer Mona McSharry on the challenges faced becoming one of the top athletes in the country.
Despite the fact that many people with ME are housebound, or even bed-bound it is not recognised as a disability. My current very real challenge is that I need support to meet my most basic needs, such as showering, having food prepared, having my household chores done and to occasionally leave my house, including to go to GP or hospital appointments. In short, I need help to live.
Corina Duyn wrote about how the HSE doesn’t recognise her illness, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), as a disability.
US President Donald Trump’s new year tweet.
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