New research into mutations in sperm helps us better understand why they occur, while debunking a few myths in the process, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
Marinaleda: the communist village that still withstands capitalism
For four decades a Spanish village and its remarkable mayor have expropriated and collectivised land, running their socialist project as a giant co-operative, where everyone toils in common for the same wage – and it's working, reports SEAN MELEADY
CAROL WILCOX argues for the proper implementation of the land value tax, which could see unused plots sold off and landlords priced out of landlordism, potentially resolving the housing and planning crises
The ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was based on evidence of a pattern of violence and hatred targeting Arabs and Muslims, two communities that have a large population in Birmingham — overturning the ban was tacit acceptance of the genocidal ideology the fans espouse, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
LINDA PENTZ GUNTER reports from the one of 2,700 protests against the Trump government’s power grabs, on a day when seven million people defied fear-mongering in a outpouring of joy and hope in what might be the biggest protest in US history
Our trust makes 3,200 home visits caring for 227 patients despite 198 Israeli checkpoints around Bethlehem; this compassion which transcends boundaries has lessons for the debate on end-of-life care in Britain too, writes FATHER GEOFF BOTTOMS
There is no chance of defending and renewing an NHS which is still savagely undermined by having to pay mark-ups of up to 23,000 per cent to Big Pharma — let’s take control of pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution, writes DREW GILCHRIST
LEFT-WING political parties are doing better in Spain than in much of Europe, with the PSOE (socialists) emerging as the largest party in the last two general elections. In 2019, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez retained power by doing a deal with the more left-wing Unidas Podemos alliance and Catalan nationalists.
However Spain is still very much part of the international capitalist system. That is apart from one Andalusian village.
Marinaleda is 70 miles east of Seville and has a long history of Roman and Arab occupations as well as banditry during the 19th century. During the civil war in the 1930s the Republican-supporting mayor was assassinated by Franco’s fascists along with his son and 30 other residents. By the 1960s emigration, both internally to Catalonia and internationally to France and Switzerland, became epidemic in the poor agricultural region.
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A new campaign in Sunderland aims to build a community-designed monument honouring those who fought for liberty and freedom in Spain, writes ROB MacDONALD, artist and creator of Solidarity Park Catalunya
CHRIS MOSS is gripped by the account of a city that is point of embarkation for conquest and adventure, and arrival stage for dreamers and despots
JACK YOUD explains why local activists and trade unionists are raising funds to honour the city’s volunteers who fought for liberty in Spain
