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GuardianSep 27Preview

Tense standoff over loyalist march in Portadown as protesters block route

Sinn Féin leaders join those on streets opposing decision to allow Garvaghy Road parade for first time since 1998Portadown march: latest updatesHundreds of protesters spent the day blocking the route of a hugely contentious parade in Northern Ireland after a court gave late-night clearance for the Orange Order to march on a historically significant road for the first time in nearly 30 years.The loyalist Drumcree parade along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown was given the go-ahead by the Parades Commission for the first time since 1998, a decision denounced by Sinn Féin as “madness”. Continue reading...

Mark Brown, Lisa O’Carroll and Shane HarrisonNorthern IrelandArmagh

GuardianSep 25Preview

The Guardian view on Trump and Xi: a show of friendship, but no real attempt to address the tensions | Editorial

The Chinese leader’s visit to Washington appears to have done nothing to shift the stalemate in bilateral relations Within days, two high-profile Chinese visitors will arrive in the US – envoys of friendship, as Xi Jinping described them when he met Donald Trump at the White House this week. The giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, will be hosted at Atlanta zoo. Beijing dispatched the first panda pair to the US in 1972 following President Richard Nixon’s landmark visit to China. It uses the animals to indicate satisfaction or displeasure with other nations. But it also charges heftily for their lease: reportedly, around $1m a year per pair. Americans’ views of China have warmed from a pandemic nadir, but are unlikely to be shifted much by two animals, however charming. These days they are more of a token gesture than a striking symbol.It is telling that the announcement was one of the

EditorialDonald TrumpXi Jinping

Al JazeeraSep 27Preview

Strait of Hormuz tensions linger as Iran and US move further from a deal

There are fears of renewed fighting between the US and Iran, after President Trump rejected a deal.

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