National News
Labour pains
by New Worker correspondent
A GROUP of some 90 workers – about a quarter of the entire workforce – are being balloted for industrial action after their cruel, hard-hearted employer announced that it was making them redundant because it is in serious financial difficulty due to a change of management alienating many of its customers.
This is the Labour Party – an organisation founded in 1900, which for a while sought “to secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof”.
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One door opens…
by New Worker correspondent
THE BATTLE of the refuse collectors of the south London borough of Bexley to secure decent wages from their private-contractor employer has long featured on these pages, so it is good to report that a deal has been reached and collections will resume whilst the deal with Serco is ratified.
Unite’s regional officer, Tabusam Ahmed, welcomed the settlement but warned: “Until this deal is enacted in full, however, strikes are being suspended not cancelled, and our members retain the option to return to the picket line if they need to do so.”
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Scottish Political News
by our Scottish political affairs correspondent
THE GREENS in England may be facing an uncertain future in a row over transgender rights that forced their co-leader to step down last month. But north of the border their buddies have chalked up another victory in a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish nationalists that has propelled the Greens for the first time into government at a national level.
Nicola Sturgeon said the agreement would make it “impossible” for the UK government to refuse a second independence referendum. The Scottish National Party leader said the agreement was based on a “spirit of co-operation and consensus building” that “recognises that business as usual is not good enough” and would ultimately deliver a “greener, fairer independent Scotland”.
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At the ballot box
by our Scottish political affairs correspondent
Like Ireland and Australia, Scottish local elections are conducted under the Single Transferable Vote system, which allows people to rank candidates in order of preference.
A clutch of five council by-elections have taken place this month to enable us to take the pulse of the nation.
First off was the West Lothian ward of East Livingstone and East Calder, where the death of a long-serving Labour councillor caused a contest that saw the SNP take the seat. Labour came third behind the Tories, who did unusually well.
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Raab faces flak over Afghan rout
by Oleg Burunov
FOREIGN Secretary Dominic Raab defied a Downing Street order last week to return from his holiday in the Mediterranean to grapple with the events in Afghanistan, the Daily Mail claims, citing unnamed sources. According to these insiders, there was “much gnashing of teeth” after the foreign secretary postponed his return until the early hours of Monday morning.
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Afghans protest in London
by New Worker correspondent
THOUSANDS of protesters, mainly from the Afghan community in Britain, marched through central London last weekend to call for an end to Pakistani interference in their country and “immediate action” from the international community to stop the Taliban.
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Remembering Roger Casement
by Joe Dwyer
ON SUNDAY 8th August, Irish republicans gathered outside Pentonville Prison in Islington, London, to mark the 105th Anniversary of the execution of Roger Casement – the only 1916 rebel leader to be executed outside of Ireland.
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International News
Expo strengthens China-Arab unity
by Huaxia
IN ANCIENT times, vast deserts and arduous journeys failed to stop Arab and Chinese merchants from striking deals with one another. Today, China and the Arabs continue to expand economic and trade co-operation whilst jointly fighting the raging pandemic, setting a positive example of overcoming difficulties together.
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New US war games in Israel
CP Israel
THE ISRAELI Air Force (IAF) has completed its first ærial exercise with the US Air Force Central Command, simulating various operational scenarios in Israel’s skies. During the drill, dubbed ‘Desert Eagle’, the IAF’s 133rd Squadron trained alongside the US Air Force’s 494th Squadron at the Ovda airbase in southern Israel in August.
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China tackles Delta scourge
Xinhua
PEOPLE’S China could become first country to control a Delta outbreak. China scored a victory with its stringent zero-COVID‑19 approach, as no new locally transmitted COVID‑19 cases were reported on Monday nationwide for the first time since July, and it “could become the world’s first country to control a major Delta outbreak”, CNN reported on Monday.
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Features
Protecting our beautiful blue planet
by John Maryon
YURI GAGARIN was amazed as he observed the natural wonders of the Earth from the Soviet spacecraft Vostok 1 on 12th April 1961. The world’s first cosmonaut said: “Orbiting the Earth in the spaceship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, not destroy it.”
Pollution and the depletion of natural resources affect our quality of life but the greatest threat to all life on Earth comes from global warming caused by a build-up of greenhouse gases. The most important are Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide and Fluorinated Hydrocarbon gases in addition to the presence of water vapour. These gases allow sunlight to pass through but have far less transparency to infra-red radiation reflected back from the Earth’s surface. This greenhouse effect could develop into a runaway form such as is believed to have destroyed the environment on Venus causing the oceans to boil away.
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Climate Change Red Alert: Do we have what it takes?
by Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
FOR THOSE who deny everything and wish to sweep the warnings of the scientists under the carpet, label them as alarmists, bury their heads in the sand and make derisory remarks about global warming when there is a cold winter, I have a saying that I often use: if it makes you feel great, go for it. The trouble is that this attitude is not going to change anything. Everyone has the right to an opinion; the value of the opinion, depending on the gravitas of the person who expounds it, is what counts.
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Marxism inspires youth of China
by Hu Yuwei and Huang Lanlan
“HOW CAN a Western ideology like Marxism can take roots and grow in an Eastern country and make the second largest economy even more prosperous than the Western country where it originated? There must be scientific and magical answers.” This is how 18-year-old Wang Yijin interprets her ambitions in studying Marxism. Wang made national headlines in July for grabbing an offer of Marxism studies at China’s prestigious Peking University (PKU) after giving up an offer of a full scholarship from Hong Kong University.
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Yet another act of aggression
by Ed Newman
LAST YEAR, from April to December, the telecommunications sector in Cuba suffered losses of more than $65 million due to the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the USA six decades ago.
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