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Death of Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness makes headline around the world

Front pages across the UK took different perspectives on the death of Martin McGuinness yesterday
Front pages across the UK took different perspectives on the death of Martin McGuinness yesterday Front pages across the UK took different perspectives on the death of Martin McGuinness yesterday

THE death of former deputy first minister Martin McGuinness made headlines around the world.

In the UK, all the major newspapers included the Derry man’s death on their front pages, however they were divided between maligning his IRA past and praising his political career.

The Guardian, Telegraph and The Times all featured images of Martin McGuinness’s coffin being carried through Derry’s Bogside draped in a tricolour.

"Former IRA leader turned politician dies at 66", read The Guardian's headline, while The I's was "The killer who turned to peace".

While some focused on his transformation from paramilitary leader to statesman, both the Daily Mail and The Sun devoted their front pages heavily to the former.

The Daily Mail’s featured two images of the aftermath of separate IRA bomb attacks, the Guildford Pub in 1974 and the Enniskillen bombing in 1987. However the Irish version of the newspaper carried a black of white image of Mr McGuinness in a suit on its front page, with the simple headline: 'Martin McGuinness 1950-2017'

Connecting yesterday’s news that former soldier Dennis Hutchings is to stand trial for a 1974 shooting in the north with Martin McGuinness’s passing, The Sun’s headline read "As McGuinness Dies… Soldier’s Ordeal. UNFORGIVEN".

Numerous Scottish dailies also featured front page coverage of the Sinn Féin politician's death.

The Scotsman ran with the image of the former deputy first minister’s coffin being carried through the streets of Derry followed by a crowd of mourners, with the heading "Crowds turn out to pay their respects to McGuinness".

Contrastingly, The Scottish Daily Mail’s front page featured a side article with the headline "Victim’s left furious at tributes to ex-IRA chief McGuinness".

UK broadcasts of the nightly news on Channel 4 and the BBC also featured lengthy segments on the death of Sinn Fein’s former leader in the north.

Tony Blair’s former press secretary Alastair Campbell spoke at length on the Channel 4 broadcast about his meetings with Martin McGuinness during negotiations at Downing Street prior to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

Mr McGuinness’s death was also featured in newspapers in the US, his life reflected on in lengthy obituaries in renowned publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post.

A column in The Boston Globe was also dedicated to the life of the former IRA commander, entitled "The Redemption of Martin McGuinness".

Major cable news networks in the states also devoted extensive airtime to the Derry man’s death, including CNN and NBC.

Elsewhere across the globe, Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera ran a video package chronicling Martin McGuinness’s journey from paramilitary commander to deputy first minister, as did Paris-based news network France 24.