The Sunday Subject – March 5, 2023

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak traveled to Northern Ireland to rally support for the new Brexit deal.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Northern Ireland’s largest pro-Britain party, has yet to announce support for the deal. The “Windsor Framework,” agreed this week with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, simplifies border controls required by the treaty protocol that created the east-west border in the Irish Sea. It allows goods from Britain not likely bound for the EU to pass through a “green” lane, eliminating unnecessary customs checks.

Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress won Nigeria’s presidential election.

Opposition parties rejected the result, calling the election a sham. International observers raised concern over polling stations not opening or opening late, and flaws in the electronic-voting system.

The situation in Bakhmut is becoming “more and more difficult,” said Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president.

Russia has been trying to capture the eastern Ukrainian city for months. Besieged by Russian forces, fighting has intensified in recent weeks. If captured, Bakhmut would be Russia’s first major gain in more than half a year.