“British politicians, Labour and Tory, have always found that ambition very difficult,” Mr Johnson said.
“It is hard to make it cohere with our particular traditions of independent parliamentary and legal systems that go back centuries.”
Asked about the foreign secretary’s remarks, Mr Juncker replied: “Some in the British political society are against the truth, pretending that I am a stupid, stubborn federalist, that I am in favour of a European superstate.
“I am strictly against a European superstate. We are not the United States of America, we are the European Union, which is a rich body because we have these 27, or 28, nations.
“The European Union cannot be built against the European nations, so this is total nonsense.”
Analysis by OP’S NEWS
As Boris Johnson spoke, the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker was holding a press conference in Brussels, completely by coincidence.
He was in typically jolly mood, joking about the drinks EU leaders order at European summits. But the laughing stopped when a British journalist asked him about the foreign secretary’s suggestion that there was a plan to build an EU superstate.
“Total nonsense,” said President Juncker, who complained that the British political class always misrepresents him.
But he had just spoken about plans for a bigger EU budget and his dream of a directly-elected president of the EU, which some might say made Boris Johnson’s point for him.
The foreign secretary’s speech has been noted in Brussels – particularly his reference to organic carrots – but negotiators are waiting for the UK to adopt a formal position about its post-Brexit relationship with the European Union.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionMaëlys de Araujo attended the wedding with her parents
The remains of a nine-year-old girl who disappeared in the French Alps last August have been found, officials say.
Nordahl Lelandais, a 34-year-old former soldier, has admitted killing Maëlys de Araujo “involuntarily”, without giving details.
He agreed to co-operate with the police after a trace of her blood was found in his car.
The girl went missing during a wedding in Pont-de-Beauvoisin, north of Grenoble.
Nordahl Lelandais said he “got rid of the body” and offered his apologies to the girl’s parents, said Grenoble prosecutor Jean-Yves Coquillat.
He had previously admitted that Maëlys was in his car on the night she disappeared.
A wedding guest
Maëlys was last seen in the early hours of 27 August in the children’s area at the wedding venue, where Mr Lelandais was also a guest.
After her disappearance, police questioned all 180 guests, and identified inconsistencies in Mr Lelandais’ statements.
He was charged a week later, after police discovered DNA belonging to Maëlys on the dashboard of his car.
Since then, Mr Lelandais has maintained his innocence, claiming that although the girl may have been in his car, that did not prove his guilt.
He was also reported to have spent hours cleaning his car the next day with powerful detergents – something he said he was doing to prepare it for sale.
According to French media reports, Mr Lelandais changed his approach after evidence of blood in his car boot was revealed. He then asked to speak with magistrates and led them to the location of the girl’s remains.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionFrench police block off a road near the Chartreuse regional park during Wednesday’s search
A prosecutor, quoted in the French press, said that after Maëlys’ death, her body was taken to a location near Mr Lelandais’ home. He apparently returned to the wedding for some time, before later recovering the remains and burying them in the Chartreuse mountains.
The search for her body took police an entire day, involving sniffer dogs working in the mountain snow.
The police investigation into Mr Lelandais’ involvement included mining his computer and phone for information.
Those trawls revealed that, in the aftermath of the disappearance of 23-year-old soldier Arthur Noyer in April 2017, Mr Lelandais searched the internet for “human body decomposition”.
Mr Noyer’s skull was found by a walker on 7 September in Montmelian, 16km (10 miles) from Chambéry. Mr Lelandais lived with his parents, 30km from Chambéry.
He admitted being in the area where Mr Noyer disappeared but denied any involvement in the killing. He was charged in that case in December.
Mr Lelandais has been questioned about a number of other missing persons in the region.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionAustralian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is facing intense scrutiny
Australia’s deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, was briefly evicted from office last year over a dual citizenship eligibility saga. Now, two months after Mr Joyce’s return, a fresh scandal threatens to oust him again.
Mr Joyce is facing damaging political questions arising from his relationship – which began as an extramarital affair – with a staffer who once served in his office.
The scandal has dominated national attention since a photo of the ex-staffer, Vikki Campion, was featured on the front page of Sydney’s Daily Telegraph last Wednesday, showing her pregnant with Mr Joyce’s child.
Immediately it sparked debate about justifications for publishing the image. In Australia, the private lives of politicians are largely kept out of the public eye.
But arguments for the story’s public interest quickly emerged.
Why is Mr Joyce in political trouble?
At first, Mr Joyce, leader of junior coalition party the Nationals, was accused of hypocrisy. One criticism focused on his reasons for opposing same-sex marriage before it was legalised by Australia.
During that debate, the conservative politician argued the previous marriage definition had “stood the test of time”. However, he also acknowledged that many such unions failed.
“I’ll acknowledge that I’m currently separated, so that’s on the record,” he told parliament in December.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionMr Joyce strongly denies that he has broken ministerial rules
He also faced criticism that he may have disingenuously represented his family life to voters during his campaign to win a by-election last year. Had he lost, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull would no longer have a parliamentary majority.
Other revelations, including that Mr Joyce was now living rent-free in a businessman’s property, have also drawn criticism; he had recently encouraged Australians to move away from expensive cities.
But the greatest worry for Mr Joyce is the intense discussion over whether he has broken any rules.
That debate concerns how Ms Campion, a former journalist turned media adviser, came to take up two jobs with his senior colleagues last year.
Ms Campion left Mr Joyce’s office last April to take up a post with Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matthew Canavan.
Political opponents have questioned whether the unadvertised positions, reported by local media to be well paid, may be evidence that Mr Joyce breached a ministerial code of conduct.
Media captionMr Joyce famously took on Johnny Depp and Amber Heard over a quarantine issue – prompting this apology video
Under the code, partners and relatives of ministers cannot be given jobs with other ministers or executive officials without Mr Turnbull’s permission – which was not sought for Ms Campion.
Both Mr Joyce and Mr Turnbull have denied that Ms Campion was the deputy prime minister’s partner at the time of the appointments. The government has said she was “eminently qualified”.
“It is without a shadow of a doubt that Vikki Campion is my partner now,” Mr Joyce said on Tuesday.
“But when she worked in my office, she was not my partner. When she worked in Matt Canavan’s office, she was not my partner. And Damian Drum was not a minister.”
In a short press briefing, Mr Joyce also apologised to his estranged wife Natalie Joyce, their four daughters, and Ms Campion, for enduring a “searing personal experience”.
Last week, Mrs Joyce described the situation as devastating: “For my girls, who are affected by the family breakdown, and for me as a wife of 24 years, who placed my own career on hold to support Barnaby through his political life.”
She said in a statement that she believed the affair had been “going on for many months and started when [Ms Campion] was a paid employee”.
Can he continue?
Mr Joyce has established prominent profile, and popularity among constituents, during a parliamentary career that began in 2004.
As agriculture minister in 2015, Mr Joyce famously gave US actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard an ultimatum to remove their dogs, Pistol and Boo, from Australia, over a breach of quarantine regulations.
Mr Joyce explained that Australia had “strict biosecurity requirements for good reasons”. Later, when the dogs were removed, he tweeted just two words: “Dogs gone”.
The unusual saga, like the tweet, in part reflected Mr Joyce’s no-nonsense, straight-talking style – traits for which he is well known. But it also promoted effectively the Nationals’ core focus on regional issues.
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott once described Mr Joyce as the nation’s best “retail politician”.
However, his standing has been diminished in the last week, according to public statements by prominent former Nationals.
Mr Joyce’s current colleagues appear split over his future. In the end, it may be up to them to decide.
Image copyrightFACEBOOKImage captionLizette Andrea Cuesta “fought like a soldier”, said the man who found her
A US teenager stabbed and left for dead on the side of a road used her last breath to implicate her alleged killers, police say.
Lizette Andrea Cuesta was found soaked in blood by UPS delivery drivers before dawn on Monday in a California town 50 miles (80km) east of San Francisco.
The 19-year-old’s injuries were so severe the delivery employees initially thought she was missing an arm.
Police used Ms Cuesta’s dying account to arrest a couple.
Image copyrightALAMEDA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICEImage captionDaniel Lee Benjamin Gross, and Melissa Jill Leonardo are engaged, according to Facebook
Daniel Lee Benjamin Gross, 19, and Melissa Jill Leonardo, 25, appeared in court on Wednesday afternoon to be formally charged with murder.
Ms Cuesta had crawled nearly 330ft (100m) so that passing motorists could see her by the hilly roadside near Livermore, say police.
Investigators were able to measure the distance by the blood trail she left behind.
They said Ms Cuesta had been repeatedly stabbed and thrown from a car.
Image copyrightALAMEDA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICEImage captionThe roadside near where Ms Cuesta was found
Sgt Ray Kelly, of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, told the San Francisco Chronicle the victim had given police a “compelling account”.
“Her internal fortitude to stay alive and to fight is pretty remarkable,” Sgt Kelly told the Chronicle.
“This young woman clung to life when she was left for dead and was able to live for another couple hours and get us that information.”
Ms Cuesta was airlifted to hospital, where she died a short time later.
Investigators believe she willingly got into the car with Mr Gross and Ms Leonardo.
Image copyrightFACEBOOKImage captionDaniel Lee Benjamin Gross in a Facebook photo
Sgt Kelly said the victim was a friend of the couple, who are being held in the Santa Rita Jail.
Mr Gross and Ms Leonardo’s Facebook pages indicate they are engaged.
Media captionMorgan Tsvangirai was best known for challenging Robert Mugabe
Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has died in South Africa, a senior official in his MDC party has said.
Mr Tsvangirai, 65, a former prime minister, had reportedly been suffering from colon cancer.
“He died this evening. The family communicated this to me,” MDC vice president Elias Mudzuri told Reuters.
Mr Tsvangirai’s career was marked by a long political struggle against former President Robert Mugabe.
He had been beaten and imprisoned numerous times.
Announcing Mr Tsvangirai’s death, Mr Mudzuri said on Twitter that the MDC had “lost our icon and fighter for democracy”.
Mr Tsvangirai founded the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) in 2000, repeatedly challenging Mr Mugabe during the ex-president’s long grip on power.
Brave and charismatic
By OP’S NEWS
Morgan Tsvangirai was an incredibly brave man who risked his life to stand up to the authoritarian rule of Robert Mugabe.
He did not succeed in ousting Mr Mugabe – due to the intimidation of his supporters and some blatant rigging – but he did at least live to see the downfall of his long-time rival.
Although he was obviously very sick, he even travelled home from South Africa, where he was being treated, for the occasion.
But in purely political terms, Mr Mugabe always managed to get the better of the charismatic former union leader – especially when he was prime minister and they were supposedly sharing power.
Some of his ex-comrades in the MDC, which he founded, accused him of dictatorial tendencies and the party split several times.
Now, the MDC will have the formidable task of trying to unite and mount a credible challenge to Mr Mugabe’s successor Emmerson Mnangagwa in this year’s elections.
In the 2008 election, Mr Tsvangirai gained the most votes in the first round but not enough to win outright.
Before the second round of voting, Mr Mugabe’s security forces carried out a campaign of violence against opposition supporters, and Mr Tsvangirai withdrew.
Mr Mugabe was declared the winner, but an international outcry over allegations of violence and vote-rigging led to a power sharing agreement in which Mr Tsvangirai would serve as prime minister.
Mr Tsvangirai ran against Mr Mugabe again in 2013 but lost by a landslide.
The MDC is said to be divided over who should lead it into elections later this year against the governing Zanu-PF party, led by Mr Mugabe’s successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionA Syrian Civil Defence member carries a baby from the scene of an air strike in the Eastern Ghouta on 7 February
One in every six children are now living in a global conflict zone, a new report by Save the Children claims.
Children are at more risk from armed conflict now than at any other time in the last 20 years, the charity says.
Its new analysis found more than 357 million children were living in a conflict zone – an increase of 75% from the 200 million of 1995.
Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia were ranked as the most dangerous places for children.
In general, children in the Middle East were most likely to live in a conflict zone, where two in every five lived within 50km of the site of a battle or other fatal attack. Africa was ranked second, at one in five.
Just under half of at-risk children – some 165 million – were classified as living in “high-intensity” conflict zones.
Those children are at risk of all six of what the United Nations calls “grave violations”:
killing and maiming
recruitment and use of children
sexual violence
abduction
attacks on schools and hospitals
denial of humanitarian access
Save the Children used UN and other research data in its report, but criticised “huge gaps” in the scope of data recorded by forces at war with one another.
Despite its concerns, it said there was still a 300% increase in the number of children killed and maimed since 2010, according to a record of incidents verified by the UN.
Part of the reason for the increase in the number of children living in dangerous areas is due to an “increasing trend” of urban warfare in towns and cities, it said, plus a recent trend of long and complicated armed conflicts.
Deliberate humanitarian blockades by extremist groups and long-term sieges in countries such as Yemen and Syria are also to blame.
“Siege tactics and starvation tactics are also increasingly being used as a weapon of war against civilians, to try to force an armed group or whole community to surrender,” the report says.
Attacks on hospitals and schools, it said, have become the “new normal”.
Media captionCampaigners are covering their eyes in solidarity with baby Karim
Save the Children says that despite improved international legal standards to protect children, “increasingly brutal tactics are being utilised” by actors around the world.
That includes the use of recruitment child soldiers, and sexual violence against children – which it says is largely unknown because of a reluctance to report sexual abuse.
And while the use of some weapons known to have killed and maimed children – such as chemical weapons, landmines and cluster bombs – has reduced, other threats remain.
It cited the use of child suicide bombers and the widespread continued use of weapons like barrel bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which kill soldiers and civilians indiscriminately.
In addition to the risk of injury or death, children in affected regions often lack basic sanitation, education, and suffer from malnutrition.
“Children are suffering things that no child ever should; from sexual violence to being used as suicide bombers,” CEO Helle Thorning Schmidt said. “Their homes, schools and playgrounds have become battlefields.”
“Crimes like this against children are the darkest kind of abuse imaginable, and are a flagrant violation of international law,” she added, calling on world leaders to do more.
The report, titled The War on Children, is based on research carried out by Save the Children and the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), looking at trends in international violence from 1995-2016.
Data from 2017 is incomplete, so recent escalations such in places such as Myanmar are not fully reflected.
The report was released ahead of the influential Munich Security Conference, which begins on Friday and which the charity says is an opportunity for global leaders to agree on measures to protect children.
Media captionMr Zuma said he was resigning “with immediate effect”
South Africa’s embattled President Jacob Zuma has resigned after intense pressure from his own party.
In a televised statement he said he was quitting with immediate effect but said he disagreed with his ANC party’s decision.
The ANC had told him to step down or face a vote of no confidence in parliament.
The 75-year-old has been facing calls to give way to Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, the ANC’s new leader.
Mr Zuma, who has been in power since 2009, faces numerous allegations of corruption.
Earlier on Wednesday, police swooped on the Johannesburg home of the powerful and wealthy Gupta family with whom Mr Zuma has close ties.
How did Mr Zuma announce his resignation?
He began his speech by laughing and joking with members of the press, asking them why they looked so serious.
After paying tribute to those whom he had worked with over the years, Mr Zuma said that violence and division within the ANC had influenced his decision to step down.
“No life should be lost in my name and also the ANC should never be divided in my name. I have therefore come to the decision to resign as president of the republic with immediate effect,” he said.
“Even though I disagree with the decision of the leadership of my organisation, I have always been a disciplined member of the ANC.
“As I leave I will continue to serve the people of South Africa as well as the ANC, the organisation I have served… all of my life.”
‘A very painful moment’
Analysis by OP’S NEWS
The resignation of president Jacob Zuma marks the end of an era. An era of one corruption allegation after another. An era of divisions, infighting and public squabbles. There are many people who are celebrating now, and not just from the opposition benches.
Some of President Zuma’s fiercest political foes came from his own ANC party. Comrades who fought white minority rule in the same trenches as he did, could not wait to see his back. He is gone now.
There is a renewed sense of hope as Cyril Ramaphosa is taking over the reins of Africa’s most industrialised economy. Some will miss him though, pointing to achievements like announcing free fees for higher education.
The ANC’s Jesse Duarte summed up the mood for many supporters of Mr Zuma’s when she said “this is a very painful moment”.
The ANC (African National Congress) issued a statement saying Mr Zuma’s resignation provided “certainty to the people of South Africa”.
Deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte told reporters: “President Zuma remains a principled member of the ANC. The ANC wants to salute the outstanding contribution he has made.”
Mr Zuma, a former member of the ANC’s military wing in the days of apartheid, rose through the ranks of the party to become president. He led the country for more than a third of its time after apartheid.
But he leaves office with several scandals hanging over him, and with South Africa’s economy in dire straits.
Media captionThe rise and fall of Jacob Zuma
What led up to Zuma’s resignation?
A meeting of the ANC’s National Executive Committee had announced its decision to recall Mr Zuma on Tuesday and gave him until the end of Wednesday to resign.
ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu then announced a parliamentary motion of no-confidence for Thursday, with Mr Ramaphosa sworn in as president as soon as possible after that.
Mr Zuma’s resignation capped a day of fast-moving events.
It began with early morning police raids and arrests at the Johannesburg home of his close associates, the wealthy, Indian-born Gupta family.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionThe Gupta family’s walled compound in Johannesburg was sealed off during the police raid
The Guptas have been accused of using their close friendship with the president to wield enormous political influence. Both parties deny all allegations of wrongdoing.
Mr Zuma made no reference to the raid when he held a lengthy, unannounced, interview with national broadcaster SABC hours later.
But he said he had done nothing wrong and saw no reason to stand down.
Jacob Zuma’s life in seven key dates
April 1942: Born into poverty in northern KwaZulu-Natal, he is raised by his widowed mother and receives no formal schooling
1959: Joins the ANC. He becomes an active member of its military wing in 1962
August 1963: Aged 21, he is convicted of conspiring to overthrow the apartheid government and imprisoned on Robben Island, alongside Nelson Mandela, for 10 years
March 1990: After a period in exile, he returns to South Africa when a ban on the ANC is lifted – he is elected to chair the party four years later
June 1999: Five years after apartheid ends, he becomes deputy president of South Africa – he loses the position in 2005 after being implicated in a fraud trial
April 2009: Two weeks after corruption charges are dropped, Mr Zuma becomes president of South Africa
October 2017: The Supreme Court of Appeal rules he must face 18 counts of corruption, fraud, racketeering and money laundering
What happens next?
Media captionWho is Cyril Ramaphosa?
As deputy president, as well as ANC leader, Mr Ramaphosa is likely to step in.
But it is thought that he would not seek to remain as president, preferring to get his own mandate at next year’s presidential elections.
The ANC, as the party in government, would then nominate a candidate to serve until then, and parliament would take a vote within 30 days.
Mr Ramaphosa was already the overwhelming favourite to win the 2019 election, one which Mr Zuma was barred from competing in, having served two terms.
Media captionAndrew Harding reports on allegations of high-level corruption in South Africa involving a British PR company
Media captionStudents describe fleeing school as shots rang out
At least 17 people have been killed in a mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, police say.
The suspect has been named as Nikolaus Cruz, 19, and is a former student at the school who had been expelled.
Cruz, who was armed with “multiple magazines”, began the shooting spree outside the school before opening fire inside, according to officials.
It is one of the deadliest school shootings since 20 children were killed at a Connecticut school in 2012.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters that Cruz had used a rifle and opened fire outside the school where three people were killed. He then entered the building and killed 12 people.
Two people later died after being taken to hospital.
“It’s catastrophic. There really are no words,” Sheriff Israel tweeted later.
Dr Evan Boyar of Broward Health told reporters late on Wednesday that 17 people had been taken to area hospitals.
Media captionHow US mass shootings are getting worse
He added Cruz was among those treated and was released into police custody. Three people remained in a critical condition and three others were in stable condition, he said.
How it unfolded
Earlier on Wednesday, the local public school district tweeted that “students and staff heard what sounded like gunfire” shortly before dismissal at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Police and SWAT team members began clearing students from the high school in Parkland, about an hour north of Miami, as parents and ambulances gathered outside.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionVideo footage from the scene showed students being evacuated in small groups
Cruz was taken into custody without incident about an hour after he left the high school, according to police.
Several witnesses inside the building at the time told news outlets that the fire alarm had been set off as the shooting began.
Students told US media they hid under desks, in closets or barricaded doors as loud shots rang out.
Eyewitness accounts
One student evacuated from the school told CBS that Miami students had thought it was a drill.
“We already had one earlier this morning… and then we heard gunshots; some students thought it was not that serious.”
Image copyrightEPAImage captionStudents were reunited with parents at a nearby “staging area” in Coral Springs
Another student, Bailey Vosberg, said: “I heard what sounded like fireworks and I looked at my friend and he asked me if I heard that.”
“Immediately, I knew. I didn’t say anything to him, I just hopped over the fence and I went straight to the road that our school is located on – and as I got there there was just Swat cars and police units, police vehicles just flying by, helicopters over the top of us.”
Congressman Ted Deutch, the district’s representative, tweeted: “I’m sick about this news from home. Just spoke with the sheriff. This is devastating.”
He said it was an “incredible school in my district – great teachers and staff, involved parents and amazing kids. Spoke with the kids there just a few weeks back.”
How does it compare with previous school shootings?
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionBaaba Maal has been an Oxfam global ambassador since 2012
Pressure on Oxfam has been growing after allegations first arose last week about its handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by its aid workers in Haiti.
The charity, which denies covering up the behaviour of its staff following an earthquake in the country in 2010, is being investigated by the Charity Commission.
Oxfam said it would co-operate with the inquiry and recognised it was in the public interest to be “transparent and accountable” and that lessons are learned.
It comes as Cafod, an international development charity, said it has sacked an employee implicated in claims sexually exploitation in Haiti.
The charity said the man had applied for the job in 2014.
References were provided from his previous employers and from somebody the worker said was a former line manager from Oxfam, Cafod added.
Media captionSexual misconduct “happens at every agency”, says an ex-UN aid worker
He was dismissed on Wednesday when Oxfam confirmed claims he was among its ex-workers who had been accused of sexual misconduct.
Cafod said it was “committed to a zero-tolerance approach to misconduct” and the employee’s failure to disclose the circumstances of his departure from Oxfam were in breach of its code of behaviour.
The charity has also reviewed two historical cases of sexual misconduct allegations against other employees. One yielded no evidence and one saw a staff member dismissed.
In other developments:
International aid group Doctors Without Borders said it handled 24 cases of harassment or sexual abuse last year
Organisations including Marks & Spencer and the Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Award say they are considering their association with the charity
International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt spoke to the National Crime Agency (NCA) about the Oxfam case.
Oxfam said it sacked its country director in Haiti, Damien Berrendorf, last year, following allegations of “mismanagement” and “inappropriate behaviour” which were reported through its own whistleblowing line. The charity said the dismissal was not related to sexual misconduct nor the 2011 case.
Image captionLan Mercado took up her post as Oxfam’s Asia regional director in 2016
Ms Mercado said the scale of misconduct was “not comparable” to that in Haiti and while it had been dealt with internally “according to specified policies”, it would be wrong to say the incidents were covered up.
But she said alerting the authorities and other charities about allegations was a “practice that we need to start”.
Media captionTheresa May’s visit distracted from Stormont talks, says the DUP’s Simon Hamilton
Mrs O’Neill, Sinn Féin’s leader at Stormont, said her party had “reached an accommodation with the leadership of the DUP” but claimed that the DUP then “failed to close” on it.
She added that Sinn Féin was in contact with both the UK and Irish governments and would set out its “considered position” on Thursday.
‘No one-sided deal’
In her statement, Mrs Foster called on the UK government to set a budget and start making policy decisions for Northern Ireland.
The DUP leader said that “significant gaps” remained in the discussions between the region’s two biggest parties.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionTalks between the DUP and Sinn Féin had not resulted in a “balanced package”, said Arlene Foster
“We do not have a fair and balanced package,” she added, saying that Sinn Féin’s demand for legislation to give the Irish language official status in Northern Ireland was a key dividing issue.
“I respect the Irish language and those who speak it but in a shared society this cannot be a one-way street,” she added.
“Respect for the unionist and British identity has not been reciprocated.”
The DUP would continue to aim for a restoration of devolution, she said, but it would “not accept a one-sided deal”.
Image copyrightPRESS EYEImage captionKaren Bradley said the UK government would have to take decisions for Northern Ireland
After the DUP and Sinn Féin blamed each other for the failure of the talks, the Northern Ireland secretary signalled that a deal remained possible.
“I believe the basis for an accommodation still exists,” said Karen Bradley.
“We will continue to work with everyone to make sure we deliver this.”
But Mrs Bradley added that the UK government would “need to consider practical steps” in the “continued absence” of devolution.
She said “challenging decisions” would have to be taken and added that she intends to update MPs in Parliament next week.
Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar tweeted that he regretted the DUP’s statement and that “power sharing and working together are the only way forward”.
Sinn Féin came out and said there would be no deal unless it included one of those.
We understand both parties met on Wednesday morning and quickly realised there was going to be no middle ground on an Irish language act.
Then it was a matter of who was going to pull the plug first.
Reporters were waiting in Stormont’s Great Hall and we all thought we would hear from Sinn Féin first.
Then the statement from Mrs Foster popped up on Twitter, making it very clear that this phase of negotiations was over.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said he was “disappointed” and “angry” at the failure of the talks, and claimed it had left the Good Friday Agreement “in peril”.
He said the Stormont parties must resist a return to direct rule from Westminster, with “the DUP having the whip hand”.
Under an agreement struck last summer, the Conservative government relies on the DUP’s support to stay in power at Westminster.
Image copyrightPRESS EYEImage captionColum Eastwood said the SDLP would resist a return to direct rule from Westminster
Mr Eastwood said the parties must “not allow this moment to be the destruction of all that we have achieved”.
“We can’t allow this British government, or this DUP to think that they’re going to govern Northern Ireland on their own – that cannot be allowed to happen,” the SDLP leader said.
Robin Swann, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), described the talks process as a “shambles”.
He said: “What I think we need to know, and what Northern Ireland clearly needs to know, is the door to devolution now firmly closed?”
Mr Swann called on the Northern Ireland secretary to provide clarity on whether it was the end of the talks or whether more negotiations were planned.
Image captionRobin Swann questioned whether the talks breakdown meant devolution was finished
The leader of Alliance Party, Naomi Long, said there was “no prospect of a deal and no process in place that could lead to a deal”.
“We are in a very precarious situation at this point in time, we are essentially in uncharted territory,” she added.
Hopes of an imminent deal had been “falsely raised” over the weekend, she said, and “now we have seen them dashed yet again”.
‘PMs caused distraction’
Speculation of a breakthrough mounted over the weekend, as both the UK and Irish leaders prepared to travel to Stormont to help seal a deal.
Image copyrightLEO VARADKARImage captionThe visits by the UK and Irish PMs on Monday failed to secure a breakthrough
Former DUP minister Simon Hamilton described their visit as “a bit of a distraction”.
“I don’t think it was entirely helpful in getting us to a successful conclusion,” he told a press conference on Wednesday.
Northern Ireland has been run by civil servants since the power-sharing executive made up of the DUP and Sinn Féin collapsed in January last year.
The then deputy first minister Martin McGuinness pulled Sinn Féin out of the coalition after a bitter split between the governing parties.
Londonderry Chamber of Commerce President, Jennifer McKeever said the lack of a deal was “disappointing and frustrating”.
“The collapse of the latest round of talks will come as another body blow for businesses in the North West which are facing the greatest economic challenge of our generation,” she said.
“Thirteen months is too long to be without devolved government and the lack of leadership from Stormont in the Brexit negotiations has been particularly frustrating for the business community,” she added.
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