VIJAY PRASHAD looks at the web of militias and drug-trafficking gangs that emerged in the Sweida region through the Syrian civil war, and how they relate to recent clashes and Israel’s intervention

CONTINUOUS cuts to local councils have become the norm for well over a decade now. Our local high streets lie empty, council-run services continue to be liquidated into the hands of private monopolies and public transport has been decimated. These cuts are a conscious choice.
At a national level, the Scottish government does have the power to allocate crucial funds away from the private enterprises and back into the council-run services. They have made the conscious choice not to.
Locally, it is the officers of the council who establish budgets based on cost-cutting. Councillors should be playing a vital role in opposing budgets which see services and facilities liquidated. Many councillors across Scotland have failed in this duty to their constituents, most notably in Lanarkshire.

Our unions need to make a firm stand against so-called ‘defence spending’: the boss class say there’s no magic money tree — and there should be no magic mushroom cloud either, argues NATHAN HENNEBRY

Our unions need to make a firm stand against so-called ‘defence spending’: the boss class say there’s no magic money tree — and there should be no magic mushroom cloud either, argues NATHAN HENNEBRY

Tackling poverty in Scotland cannot happen without properly funded public services. Unison is leading the debate

