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Diplomatic Chess, Ukraine The Pawn

May 17, 2025 Patrick Lawrence, Consortium News. , , , , , , ,
As was universally expected, little came out of Istanbul this week, where Ukrainian and Russian delegations met with the ostensible purpose of exploring a negotiated settlement of the proxy war the U.S. provoked three years ago. It is an odd state of affairs when even the people doing the talking did not anticipate anything useful to emerge from their talking. After less than two hours of negotiation, the two sides agreed only to future talks on subsidiary questions: a prisoner exchange and a 30–day ceasefire — a ceasefire Kiev and its Western backers refused for years but are now desperate to implement.

Arsenal FC Face Legal Action For Firing Staff Over Pro-Palestine Posts

May 17, 2025 Hamsa Yusuf, Mondoweiss. , , , ,
Arsenal Football Club is facing legal action after sacking long-serving kit-man Mark Bonnick after he expressed solidarity with Palestine on social media. With assistance from the European Legal Support Centre (ELSC), 61-year-old Bonnick has filed a legal claim for unfair dismissal. A lifelong Arsenal supporter, he had officially worked at the club for 12 years, and an additional 10 years as a contractor, amounting to 22 years of service, before being abruptly sacked on Christmas Eve 2024. His dismissal followed a coordinated online smear campaign by pro-Israel Twitter accounts that accused him of antisemitism for posts opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Mark’s dismissal is part of a wider crackdown on lawful political expression and a disturbing pattern of political purges in the workplace.

Anti-Austerity March To Oppose Labour Government Cuts

May 17, 2025 Ana Vracar, People's Dispatch. , , ,
Trade unions and campaigns focused on housing, welfare, and health rights are uniting for a mass demonstration against a new wave of austerity in Britain, set for June 7. Under the umbrella of the People’s Assembly, the groups will march to demand that the Labour government fund public services, prioritize workers over big business, and stop targeting disabled people. Their announcement comes shortly after the Labour Party suffered significant losses to the far right in local elections, leaving party leaders scrambling to regain support. “Attacking those with the least is easy,” the People’s Assembly stated, referring to Labour’s decisions to cut winter fuel support for the elderly, maintain the two-child cap, and reduce assistance for people with disabilities.

Palestine Action Target Elbit’s Accountants And Investors

May 15, 2025 Palestine Action. , , , , , , ,
In the early hours of Wednesday 14th May, activists from Palestine Action targeted Edwards Accountants in Birmingham and JP Morgan at Victoria Embankment in London. Both firms were covered in red paint, and the front glass doors of JP Morgan were completely shattered. Both firms directly enable the operations of Israel’s biggest weapons producer, Elbit Systems. Edwards Accountants are the listed accountants for Elbit Systems UK and its subsidiaries, whilst JP Morgan hold Elbit shares worth over $22million in the Israeli weapons maker. On 12th May, financial reports showed JP Morgan had reduced their investment in Elbit Systems by over 53%.

Rights Groups Call On United Kingdom To End All Arms Sales To Israel

May 13, 2025 Areeb Ullah, Middle East Eye. , , , , , ,
Rights groups and charities gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday to support a legal challenge against the UK government's continuing export of F-35 fighter jet parts for use by Israel. Holding Palestinian flags and signs calling on the government to “stop arming Israel”, dozens of campaigners joined the lawyers leading the case to demand an end to all UK arms exports to the country as its war in Gaza enters its 20th month with more than 52,000 Palestinians killed. Groups present at the protest included Palestinian rights group Al-Haq, which bought forward the current case with the support of the Global Action Legal Network (GLAN), Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam.

Retrofit For The Future Campaign Takes Demands To The Heart Of Government

May 12, 2025 Hannah Sharland, The Canary. , , ,
In March, a coalition of groups launched the vital new ‘Retrofit For the Future’ campaign – and already, it’s making waves. Notably, the coalition has secured a meeting with a key minister inside the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) to demand the government put renters’ and workers’ rights at the heart of a green and just transition in the housing sector. Fuel Poverty Action, ACORN, Greener Jobs Alliance, Medact, and the Peace & Justice Project, among others, set the ball rolling on a retrofit revolution that calls for housing fit for the future. In particular, the campaign demands that the government direct its attention to retrofit-upgrading and improving existing homes. It argues that doing so is a key to tackling both the climate emergency and the housing crisis.

Mass Solidarity Picket Backs Striking Bin Workers In Birmingham

May 11, 2025 Ana Vračar, People's Dispatch. , , , , , ,
In a mass demonstration of solidarity, trade union activists from across Britain blocked the entrance of a Birmingham waste depot as part of an ongoing dispute between the city’s refuse collectors and the Labour-led council. Birmingham’s bin workers, many of whom are members of the trade union Unite, have been taking intermittent action against planned pay cuts since the beginning of this year – and have spent the past two months on strike. As part of an extreme austerity agenda, the city council is planning to downgrade at least one section of the workforce. This proposal has raised concerns not only about workers’ income but also about health and safety conditions.

RMT Launches Campaign To #Endrailoutsourcing Amid Shocking Practices

May 10, 2025 The Canary. , , ,
The National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers (RMT) has launched a campaign to end outsourcing on the railways. It has branded the practice as a vehicle for systemic racism, low pay, and poor service standards across the network. A new RMT report, How Outsourcing Embeds Systemic Racism on the Railway, exposes how rail companies have trapped thousands of rail workers – predominantly from Black and racially minoritised communities – in outsourced roles with no pensions, no training, and no pathway to progression. Key findings from the RMT reveal: 58% of outsourced cleaners and caterers are from Black or racially minoritised backgrounds. This is despite making up only 25% of directly employed train operator staff.

From Failing To Prepare To Preparing To Fail?

May 5, 2025 Rupert Read and Ed Jarvis, Resilience. , , ,
The recent Climate Change Committee report on the UK government’s lack of preparedness for climate breakdown reveals negligence at a historic scale. The report lays bare years of successive Governments’ failure to prepare the UK for the breakdown that is now upon us, with far worse to come. From heat exposure to rising flood risk to national infrastructure, homes and harvests, countless lives and livelihoods are at severe risk. Conservative estimates project impact to the UK economy into hundreds of billions, before 2050. Faced with these stark facts, can any of us still believe that the government is primed to simply come and save us? Awareness is dawning among UK communities that it’s down to all of us to respond to the dangerous climate change we’re experiencing here and now.

Student Unions Overwhelmingly Vote For ‘Fossil Free Careers’

May 3, 2025 The Canary. , , , , ,
Students’ unions at two universities have voted overwhelmingly to boycott fossil fuel recruiters. Non-profit People & Planet coordinated the successful student-led Fossil Free Careers campaigns at University College London (UCL) and the University of Bath. Students there are demanding that their institutions end oil, gas, and mining industry recruitment on their campuses for good. As a result of student campaigning by the Bath People & Planet Society and the UCL Climate Action Society, UCL and Bath Students’ Unions are now mandated to actively campaign for their universities’ careers services to implement an ethical careers policy that excludes oil, gas, and mining companies from recruiting on campus.

Yemen Warns United Kingdom After Attacks On Sanaa

May 1, 2025 News Desk, The Cradle. , , ,
The Yemeni government issued a statement on 30 April warning the UK against its continued participation in the US campaign of deadly airstrikes against Yemen that began last month. “In a display of typical British arrogance, the UK Ministry of Defense announced participation in a joint military operation with the US enemy against our country, targeting areas south of Sanaa … The Government affirms that the British enemy must carefully consider the consequences of its involvement and be prepared to face the repercussions,” the Sanaa government said.

Rousing Finish To The RAF Lakenheath Peace Camp

April 28, 2025 The Canary. , , ,
Seven people were arrested during a blockade that closed the main gate of RAF Lakenheath on Saturday 26 April, during peaceful protests in opposition to any return of US nuclear weapons to the Suffolk air base. 250 people from across the country – as well as international delegates – participated in the demonstration and blockade, which marked the final day of the Lakenheath Alliance for Peace peace camp. There has been a continuous presence of campaigners outside the main gate of the base since 14 April, as well as events highlighting Lakenheath’s role in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, the role of the military in climate breakdown, and NATO’s nuclear network in Europe.

Thousands March For Welsh Independence; Who Can Blame Them?

April 27, 2025 The Canary. , , ,
Over 6,000 people marched through the streets of Barry on Saturday 26 April, calling for Welsh independence. The March for Independence, organised by YesCymru and AUOBCymru, brought people together from across the country in a powerful show of unity and hope for a better future. Since 2019, thousands have taken part in independence marches across Wales – in places like Caernarfon, Merthyr, Wrexham, Bangor, Swansea, Carmarthen and Cardiff – and now Barry, Wales’s largest town, has made its mark on that journey. Barry has a proud political legacy, including a key role in the Cymru Fydd movement for Welsh self-government in the 1890s. Saturday’s march built on that tradition, with a new generation taking up the call for change.

As US Threatens To Privatize Amtrak, UK Begins To Renationalize Rail

April 22, 2025 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. , , , , ,
While the Trump Administration and billionaire advisor Elon Musk are talking about privatizing passenger rail here in the USA, in the UK, they’re going in the opposite direction. Next month, on May 25, the British will begin nationalizing passenger rail after decades of failed privatization, which began in 1994 (see write-up from the British House of Commons). Amtrak referenced the UK’s experiment with privatization in a March 2025 analysis explaining why privatization is a bad idea (see Amtrak FAQ here). On this side of the Atlantic, Amtrak had its best year ever for ridership and revenue. Some of its ridership growth is due to an increasing number of long-haul commuters, especially commuters from Philadelphia to New York City.

UK Activists Challenging Return Of US Nuclear Weapons With Encampment

April 20, 2025 Colonel (Ret) Ann Wright, Popular Resistance. , , ,
In anticipation of U.S. nuclear weapons returning to U.K. soil after their removal 18 years ago, activists from around the world are gathering at the Lakenheath Peace Camp from April 14-25, 2025 with a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week vigil at the main entrance of RAF Lakenheath. Organized by Lakenheath Alliance for Peace and a coalition of many groups, the 11 day encampment with specific events each day will culminate in a peace conference on April 24, 2025 and a blockade of the air base on April 25, 2025. The peace conference is titled “Analysing and Resisting US Nuclear Expansion” and will feature well-known speakers who will focus on topics from global militarism to the arms trade, with a detailed focus on the dangers of nuclear weapons.
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