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I was shocked to hear about the failure of the Sinn Féin group on Belfast City Council to back a motion tabled at the monthly council meeting last night which asked councillors to support the suffering of the people of Burma and their democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.The images are fresh in our memories of the brave people of Burma standing up to the brutal regime there. It's only right that the people of the world back their struggle for justice, democracy and freedom. Sinn Féin, however, appears to disagree.SDLP councillor Carmel Hanna had asked the Belfast councillors to agree that it would be a fitting tribute to Aung San Suu Kyi to consider offering her the Freedom of the City of Belfast. The proposal was supported by UUP, Alliance and...

Politics in the north can get a bit dry, but some colour was added to the campaign today when SDLP Assembly Election candidates Alban Maginness, Marietta Farrell, and Carmel Hanna handed out Valentine's Day cards to members of the public in Belfast city centre which were emblazoned with the message that it's time to kiss direct rule goodbye. As far as I could gather, the point of the event was not to go on the pull, but rather to put the message out that it's time to send the British direct rule ministers packing back to London and give the SDLP a strong mandate for progress and delivery on the 7th March.Lagan Valley assembly candidate Marietta Farrell commented: "The future under direct rule is a bleak and an expensive one. Water charges, rates, a high cost of living and low grade...