How Britain can avert a human rights disaster
A case in Sri Lanka demonstrates that leaving justice in the hands of politicians cannot be countenanced.The Commonwealth – the 54 ostensibly democratic nations formerly known as “the British...
View ArticleSavings levy of up to 10 per cent imposed in Cyprus
Chancellor says Brits in Cyprus on military or government service will be protected from the levy.People are rushing to withdraw their savings from the bank in Cyprus after an EU/IMF bailout agreed on...
View ArticleAlexis Tsipras of Syriza: be daring, Ed Miliband
Greece's opposition leader on meeting with Labour officials, and his views on the "self-destructive" Cyprus bailout.Alexis Tsipras, leader of the Greek left-wing movement Syriza, has revealed that he...
View Article“It’s the occupation, stupid”: what went wrong in Iraq
Ten years on, James Rodgers reflects on the invasion and occupation of Iraq. There could have been no hope of escape. This was the human cost of taking on Saddam Hussein: violent death. Even though...
View ArticleThe Rochdale Red Cross worker who continues to haunt Sri Lanka
Travelling to Sri Lanka to try and find out about his constituent's murder, Simon Danczuk learned that when politicians are implicated, justice is kicked into the long grass. It was in the basement of...
View ArticleHistoric moment as Pakistan's elected civilian government completes full five...
There are still challenges to be overcome, but merely surviving is something of an achievement. This weekend saw a historic moment for Pakistan, as a democratically elected civilian government...
View ArticleLabor isn’t working
The party's historic machinery – its support from the trade union movement and its factional networks – is collapsing.It’s Monday morning and news radio and TV is playing the Pet Shop Boys’ 1993 hit...
View Article22 March 1958: Barbara Castle, Father Hooper and justice in South Africa
From our correspondence.22 March 1958Sir, - Among the many letters I have received arising out of my recent articles on South Africa there is one from Father Hooper, which I feel I must share with your...
View ArticleManoeuvres and rallies as Pakistan's election campaign heats up
It's set to be a tight race, and nothing - not even assassination - is beyond the realms of possibility. Pakistan has finally set an election date. If all goes according to plan – which is far from...
View ArticleFrom Russia with love, to Cyprus with cash
Perhaps the Russian oligarchs’ days of hassle-free, tax-free, risk-free banking are finally over...Brits may not have known that much about Cyprus before this past week, but if you thought its only...
View ArticleThe looting of bank deposits, a whiff of regulation and self-hating Mail readers
Peter Wilby's "First Thoughts" column.The deal to bail out the Cypriot banks by imposing a levy on all bank deposits unravelled almost as soon as it was made. The ultimate nightmare loomed: a run on...
View ArticleAre black feminists too defensive about violence in our communities?
The desire to avoid the racism that characterises some debates about rape and FGM abroad can lead us to make untenable comparisons with Britain, argues Rahila Gupta. Why are black feminists often so...
View ArticleWhy Allende had to die
Sedition in Santiago.Forty years have passed since the Chilean president Salvador Allende died in La Moneda Palace in Santiago, attempting to defend himself with an AK-47 he had been given by Fidel...
View ArticleLapland's Sami people: how do you decide who is indigenous and who isn't?
The Arctic spring.Far above the Arctic Circle, at the northern limits of Scandinavia, live one of Europe’s last indigenous peoples, the Sami. They are, or for the most part were, a seminomadic group,...
View ArticleThe elephant and the lone star
The message from Barack Obama’s victory in the 2012 election was that Latino America holds the balance of power. But in Texas, it seems — despite Bush’s best efforts — that hasn’t yet sunk in to...
View Article12 April 1968: “The country has lost not just Dr King but the King”
Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated forty-five years ago today. Here, Alan Brien reports from a grief-stricken New York.The only cheerful faces I have seen here since the assassination of Martin...
View ArticleThe inconsistency of Femen’s imperialist "one size fits all" attitude
You cannot dismiss the aims of Femen altogether - they are a group of women looking to change society - but Bim Adewunmi fears the execution of their protests leaves much to be desired. There was a...
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Romania: The old country
One in six Romanians now lives abroad. How has this wave of emigration transformed their nation? Photography by Petrut Calinescu.Philip Maughan writes: More interesting than the tabloid speculation...
View ArticlePakistan Calling: Still hope at the end of the line
DFID and British Council reports underline the existential crisis Pakistan is facing, but its people are rallying to save the nation. Salman Shaheen looks at Pakistan Calling, a new RSA project seeking...
View ArticleFrom heart attacks to maternal care: the human cost of austerity in Greece
Austerity has caused more than just tear gas usage to rise - heart attacks have spiked in the republic. In Greece, austerity has caused more than just tear gas usage to rise. Heart attacks have spiked...
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