"The Equality Commission is a toothless body, which is not delivering the equality agenda promised under the Good Friday Agreement," says Sinn Féin's Paul Butler. Free article

Patrick Yu has become the atest memebr of the Six-County Human Rights Commissin to resign his position. In a letyter to Secretary of State Pau Murphy, Yu said he could not continue because he had been forced to conclude that the commission had adopted a position that undermined aspects of the Good Friday Agreement as well as existing human rights protection measures and current equality protections. That and other concerns had led him to the conclusion that the HRC could not fulfil its mandate. Free article

Hospitals are in crisis, cutbacks in education and services for people with disabilities are taking effect, unemployment is on the rise and the economy is on the slide but until 30 September Fianna Fáil and the PDs will not have to answer to the Dáil for their misgovernment. The FF/PD majority in the Dáil last week voted to adjourn until well after the children are back in school. Free article

Sinn Féin in County Monaghan have, since the spectacular local election results in 1999, held almost all of the senior council positions in authorities across the county. This continued in June as AGM elections returned a Sinn Féin cathaoirleach in Monaghan Town and An Meara Bhaile in Castleblayney. Free article

I don't believe working class politics has been forgotten in the debates around the national question or sovereignty, but I do believe that the social and economic debate has been adversely affected by division and conflict in our society. As long as political representatives are identified with one side or other of the sovereignty debate, it will be difficult for people to affiliate or identify with parties on their social and economic policies alone. The legacy of imperialism overshadows attempts to appeal to voters based on social policies because the question of allegiance will invariably influence voters' decisions. Free article

A 28-year-old Catholic man is lucky to be alive following a vicious sectarian attack carried out by a loyalist gang who targeted him as he walked along the Cloyfin Road near to Coleraine County Derry at around 4.30pm on Wednesday 2 July. Free article

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams on Sunday met former US President Bill Clinton in Derry for around 30 minutes. The Sinn Féin leader expressed his concern about the failure of the British government thus far to publicly set a definite date for the Assembly elections. Free article

The Robert Emmet Association has announced that Bastille Day will be celebrated in Dublin for the first time since 1803 as part of the Emmet Bicentenary celebrations. Details were outlined by the Lord Mayor of Dublin and the French Ambassador, Mr Gabriel de Bellescize, at the Mansion House on Tuesday 8 July. Free article

Members of Ógra Shinn Féin from throughout the north gathered in south Armagh for a weekend campout on Slieve Gullion mountain to monitor the level of British Army activity in the area. On Sunday, two members of Ógra Shinn Féin - Barry McNally from Carrickmore and Barry McColgan from Omagh - attended a Sinn Féin conference held in Slieve Gullion Courtyard to report back with the results of their survey. Free article

Coiste na nIarchimí, the umbrella organisation for republican ex-prisoner groups, held a very successful summer school in Tí Chulainn, Mullaghbawn, 25-28 June last. The Scoil Samhraidh, entitled, A Nation Once Again? People, Territory & Institutions, attracted a diverse audience including several unionists, two of whom are members of the Ulster Unionist Party's Unionist Council. Steven King, of the Ulster Unionists was also due to address the gathering but had to offer his apologies at the last minute due to the ongoing difficulties within his party at the time. Free article

Sinn Féin Chairperson Mitchel McLaughlin last Thursday visited a number of council areas around the North that presently have Sinn Féin mayors, deputy mayors and chairpersons. Free article

At Luxembourg on 26 June, the Agricultural Ministers of the 15 EU member states agreed an amended version of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform proposals. Some of the original Commission proposals were rejected in full. Among them was degression, which would have seen a progressive reduction in the payments going to farmers so that they could be used for 'future market requirements'. Changes were also made to the proposal on modulation, which reduces the annual percentage decrease in the funds taken from farmers and diverted towards rural development measures. Member states will also now have greater control of the modulated funds than was originally proposed. Free article