The proxy war in Ukraine is heading to a denouement with the US and Russia dividing the spoils while the European powers stand bewildered by events they have been wilfully blind to, says KEVIN OVENDEN
Alstom shoots itself in the foot (both actually)
BILL GREENSHIELDS looks at the background of the threat to engineering jobs in Derby's Alstom plant
One can only imagine what would happen if 2.2 million Palestinian refugees were pushed into Jordan, Egypt and other Arab countries, per Trump’s proposal, writes RAMZY BAROUD
This is the most anti-migrant government in decades, argues RAVISHAAN RAHEL MUTHIAH
VICTOR GROSSMAN reports, with a little chuckle, on how US readiness to work with Russia, not just on peace for Ukraine, has thrown a spanner into the German electoral machine
SOLOMON HUGHES probes the finances of a phoney ‘charity’ pushing the free schools and academies agenda
Freedom now for former PM Mir-Hossein Mousavi and other political prisoners
VIJAY PRASHAD examines why in 2018 Washington started to take an increasingly belligerent stance towards ‘near peer rivals’ – Russa and China – with far-reaching geopolitical effects
ONCE again the future of railway engineering in Derby – and the whole of Britain – is under threat, as Alstom, the current transnational corporation (TNC) owners of this vital national asset, set about slashing 1,300 workers from its 2,000-strong workforce, making future operations unviable.
But a public community campaign has been launched by the Derby People’s Assembly to back up trade union efforts to prevent the job losses and potential closure. A People’s Assembly petition – supported by the trades unions’ social media – has attracted 1,500 signatures in just a few days and continues to pick up momentum. https://chng.it/xBK9wjp8zK
Back in 2011 the industry faced a very similar threat when the then owners, Bombardier – another TNC – took a similar position when the Tory government placed a contract for trains with its TNC rival, Siemens.
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BILL GREENSHIELDS warns of impending cuts at the Alstom train works in Derby and says the spirit of the successful 2011 fight over Bombardier needs to be rekindled