Collapse of RHI scheme a matter of “deep regret” for Arlene Foster. The former First Minister reaffirmed her belief that she holds no personal responsibility for the collapse of the scheme that led to the shutdown of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing Executive in January 2017. Her comments came as she appeared at the public inquiry into the scheme, where she noted that the fallout from it was a matter of “deep regret for (her) politically and personally.” Foster was the Minister at Stormont’s Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) when it set up the flawed green energy scheme in 2012, and her role allowed for the scheme to be signed off. After it emerged that her former special adviser, Andrew Crawford, did not read key reports on the potential impact of the scheme, and that minutes did not record key moments of the decision-making process, the chairman of the inquiry, Sir Patrick Coghlin, put it to Mrs Foster that she ran a “dysfunctional department.” Both Mrs Foster and Dr Crawford are scheduled to reappear before the inquiry this week.

United States “locked and loaded” in the event of any new chemical attacks. President Trump has warned Syria’s government the US is prepared to strike again if it carries out further chemical attacks. The warning came after the US, UK and France struck three Syrian sites in response to a suspected deadly chemical attack in the town of Douma a week ago. Syria denies any chemical use and says that the attack was fabricated by rebels. A UN Security Council vote brought by Syria’s ally, Russia, to condemn the US-led strikes was rejected. The wave of strikes represents the most noteworthy attack against President Bashar al-Assad’s government by Western powers in seven years of Syria’s civil war. While Western powers have supported rebels from early on in the war, they have not intervened against Syria directly. As UK Prime Minister Theresa May has held responsible Russian impediment for the need to launch military strikes, saying they left “no practicable alternative.” She will address Parliament tomorrow, where Opposition MPs are likely to voice concerns at the lack of parliamentary approval for the intervention.

Anti-Orbán demonstration takes place in Budapest. Tens of thousands of people have demonstrated in Budapest against the re-elected right-wing government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Opponents of Mr Orbán flooded the capital on Saturday to protest at what they say is an unfair electoral system. A similar percentage of people attended a pro-Orbán demonstration last month. The protests come just six days after the governing Fidesz party won two-thirds of the parliamentary seats with half of the national vote. Mr Orbán is a strong Eurosceptic who campaigned on an anti-immigration platform. Democracy activists in other countries are putting pressure on EU leaders to publicly criticise Mr Orbán’s approach.

Trump lawyer Michael Cohen under criminal investigation. Prosecutors say they are focusing on Mr Cohen’s business dealings rather than his work as a lawyer. The filing was in response to efforts by Cohen’s own lawyer to stop prosecutors reviewing material seized from his office on Monday. His legal team argues that the papers are covered by attorney-client privilege; President Trump condemned the office raid, calling it “disgraceful” and “an attack on our country.” Government prosecutors also said they believed Mr Cohen had “a low volume of potentially privileged communication” because he seems to only have one client – the President himself. “It is neither apparent that Cohen, in his capacity as an attorney, has many, or any, attorney-client relationships other than with President Donald Trump,” the filing said.

Contracts revoked for Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding. In a joint statement on Saturday, the IRFU and Ulster said the decision would take “immediate effect.” The pair had been cleared of rape charges earlier this month, but there had been controversy over messages they had exchanged. “In arriving at this decision, the Irish Rugby Football Union and Ulster Rugby acknowledge our responsibility and commitment to the core values of the game: Respect, inclusivity and integrity,” the statement said. “It has been agreed, as part of this commitment, to conduct an in-depth review of existing structures and educational programmes, within the game in Ireland, and to ensure the importance of these core values is clearly understood, supported and practised at every level of the game.”

Also published on Medium.