As Colombia approaches presidential elections next year, the US decision to decertify the country in the war on drugs plays into the hands of its allies on the political right, writes NICK MacWILLIAM
Pay ambulance staff a decent wage
PAUL DONOVAN calls for outsourced Ambulance Care Assistants' pay to match the minimum level of NHS wages
[Ian Taylor / Creative Commons] 
The move against alleged PKK members that sparked outrage as a community centre in north London was raided last year has now come to trial, writes TONY BURKE, but in the meantime, the peace process abroad has changed the situation almost entirely
A new report points a way to overcome complacent framing of climate issues, ‘by sparking a wider public reckoning with climate realities,’ and reconnecting with working-class people. IAN SINCLAIR reports
We cannot understand today’s world without understanding the rise of China – and we cannot understand China without understanding how it was shaped by the second world war, writes JENNY CLEGG
NICK WRIGHT reports from Italy, where 80 cities saw Gaza strikes as unions paralysed transport and massive crowds clashed with police in Milan — but France is also kicking off, and Westminster, in a very different way, is facing a crisis of legitimacy too
Escalating anti-China rhetoric from the West has a clear purpose – to manufacture consent for the new cold war, and potentially a hot one, argues CARLOS MARTINEZ
THE NHS came to the rescue of so many during the Covid pandemic — everyone clapped to show appreciation. One group of workers applauded, little-known to the public, were the Ambulance Care Assistants (ACA).
These brave people move patients to and from the hospitals. There are many such cases, including people unable to move or suffering with dementia, where there is a need for mental and physical toughness among ACAs, who witness trauma on a daily basis.
The challenge of the work involved was illustrated in actor, writer and ACA Marissa Landy’s excellent play, Non-Emergency.
More from this author
PAUL DONOVAN recommends three new books that explore the human relationship with nature
PAUL DONOVAN recommends an excellent stage adaptation of Stephen King’s classic portrayal of the the injustice of the US prison system
Labour councillor PAUL DONOVAN wonders why the right-wing party gets so much more media attention than it seems to merit
