National News
Sleepwalking into a trap of their own construction
by Mark Blacklock ,Global Times
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claimed in the Westminster parliament last week that the RAF’s interception of Iranian drones and missiles launched against Israel at the weekend was part of the British commitment to “supporting stability and security”.
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Smoke filled rooms…
by New Worker correspondent
Workers have voted by 86 per cent on a 93 per cent turnout in favour of industrial action including pickets and full strike action against their bosses next Tuesday and on the 4th June. The bosses are accused of workplace bullying and harassment and failures to follow agreed policies and procedures “designed to create a better workplace culture”.
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Don’t bank on Barclays!
by Theo Russell
Last Saturday 70 people protested in support of the people of Gaza in Camden Town, north London, marching to Barclays Bank in Tottenham Court Road to call for the bank to end its financing of the Israeli war machine. For the second time the Zionists and their far-right (EDL) and fascist (English Patriots, I was told) friends staged a counter-protest and this time outnumbered us about three to one. Some pro-American Iranian monarchists were with the Zionists waving the old Iranian flag of the hated Shah who fled the country after he was overthrown in 1979. But the Palestine solidarity activists stood their ground and received lots of support from passersby – unlike the other side.
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Scottish Political News
by our Scottish political affairs correspondent
The parliamentary recesses are over and normal political warfare resumes. Scottish politics closely resembles Westminster in that the ruling parties energetically knock bits out of each other, much to the amusement of the assembled ranks of the opposition. For the SNP this warfare is compounded with scuffles with their Green allies.
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International News
No justice, no jeans: Unions fight for Levi’s workers
by Cameron Harrison, People’s World (USA)
“Workers’ rights are violated overseas, they are making a fraction of what American workers m a k e, and it’s important to shed light on this struggle because an injury to one is an injury to all,” Chicago Federation of Labor Secretary-Treasurer Don Villar said just hours before a major multi-union demonstration in central Chicago last week.
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The trail of war
by Guillermo Alvarado , Radio Havana Cuba
The American House of Representatives has finally approved a bulky military aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, which was held up for almost a year in the twists and turns of legislative negotiations between Democrats and Republicans.
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West wields big stick of sanctions against Iran again
by an Observer Global Times
After Israel bombed the Iranian embassy, resulting in 16 deaths, the Americans actively worked to prevent the UN from condemning Israel. Yet, following Iran’s relatively restrained retaliation against Israel, with no deaths caused, the United States and the European Union are eager to impose a new round of sanctions on Iran. The double standards of the West are glaringly obvious.
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Russia knocks out Kharkov Tower
by Ilya Tsukanov
Russia knocked out a vital Ukrainian communications hub when it brought the Kharkov Television Tower down with a precision cruise missile on Monday. Ukrainian officials called it an act of meaningless “terror” against Kharkov’s civilian population. In reality, it’s going to become a massive headache for Ukraine’s military, says veteran defence observer Viktor Litovkin.
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What rights – what morals?
by Elson Concepción Pérez , Granma
Perhaps one day, when there is no longer an American veto on the UN Security Council, and when the world council itself demands morality and example from those who have set out to judge the inhabitants of planet Earth, the issue of human rights will cease to be an instrument used by the imperialists to justify their own crimes.
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Features
Russian Micronuclear Stations: How It All Began
by Dimitri Kosyrev , Sputnik
The final decision is to be expected before 1st July. That’s when we’ll know if Russia is going to produce mass micronuclear stations for export and its own use. But what exactly is micro, when you talk about atomic power stations?
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New Horizons for Belt and Road
by John Frederick
President Xi Jinping’s bold proposals, made in 2013, to launch the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) have resulted in a dramatic new chapter covering international trade, investment and cooperation. Those early intrepid travellers who made the long journey between Europe and Asia carrying eagerly sought after goods along the Great Silk Road could never have imagined the impact and extent of today’s BRI. Massive Chinese investment along with technology transfer is starting to have a major impact across Eurasia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East with new airports, shipping ports, bridges, power stations, roads and railways. Over 400,000 new jobs have been created in developing regions and 40 million people lifted from poverty. BRI offers the opportunity for free and independent nations to escape the poverty trap and to develop without the threatening demands, sanctions and trade embargoes that are used to enforce the hegemony of American imperialism.
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Speak of the Devil…
Review by Ben Soton
The original three Omen films, with their dramatic music and gory accidents based around the Anti-Christ figure Damien came to an end with The Final Conflict in 1981. These films are of course based on the premise of religious belief but whatever your views on the matter I have always found them compulsive viewing. There was of course a 2006 rehash, which unlike most remakes was a success.
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