Irish Examiner view: Opinion polls’ great irony

Sinn Féin may be told be electorate to delay reunification

The aftermath of a rocket attack in Kabul. Record numbers of civilians have been killed since international forces began to leave in May allowing the Taliban to launch another bloody offensive

Comparisons can be unsettling if they highlight unwelcome possibilities. The people of Afghanistan, as they have so often been in the past, are in a grim situation. Record numbers of civilians have been killed since international forces began to leave in May allowing the Taliban to launch another bloody offensive and renew the cycle of near-permanent violence.

It is hard not to fear that something similar might happen on this island should similar circumstances present themselves - a possibility not so far-fetched as it might appear as Boris Johnson and his party barely hide their comtempt for Northern Ireland's communities.