Charges brought against the murderers of Dea-John Reid
On Monday (31 April 2021) at 07:30pm, Dea-John Reid, 14, was found with a stab wound on College Road in Birmingham. Police in the area have said that Dea-John died from a stab wound to the chest area. The stabbing appeared to take place following a racially-charged fight outside a McDonalds where the local police sighted seven suspects running away from the fast food establishment. So far, four men and two children have been arrested by West Midlands police in connection to the murder. Two of the men and a 13 year old boy have been released with no further action to be taken by the police.
Workers worldwide block Israeli ships in solidarity
Following apartheid Israel’s massacre in the besieged Gaza strip last month, the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions and all other notable Palestinian trade unions have urged fellow workers around the world to refuse to handle Israeli goods and build Israeli weapons. Dock workers in Livorno and South Africa took heed of this call last month when they refused to offload cargo from a ship owned by the Israeli company ‘ZIM’, the eleventh largest shipping company in the world.
‘Keep up the pressure for Palestine’ – Communists urge
The Communist Party of Britain has welcomed the upsurge in mass demonstrations around the world in solidarity with the Palestinian people. But the Party’s International Secretary John Foster called for the protests to continue and even escalate, to put pressure on national governments to force Israel to the negotiating table with Palestinian representatives. “Persuasion having failed over recent decades, sanctions against the Israeli state are necessary in order to bring such talks about”, he told the CP Political Committee on Wednesday evening (2 June 2021).
Gary Smith elected General Secretary of GMB
Gary Smith has been elected General Secretary of the GMB Union with a resounding 50.18% of the vote, in a three-horse race (3 June 2021). This election happened against the backdrop of the former General Secretary Tim Roach being allowed to retire on full pension after allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denies.
More than half of UK adults fully vaccinated … but Britain isn’t out of the woods yet
As of Thursday (3 June 2021), 26,422,303 people across the UK have received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, also confirmed that three quarters of UK adults have had their first jab. One of the few achievements in an otherwise disastrous response from the UK Government over the last 15 months.
Communist parties meet in ‘World Symposium’
More than 150 representatives of Communist and workers’ parties participated in a World Symposium organised online by the Communist Party of China (CPC) last week (27 May 2021). The meeting began with a message of greetings from Chinese President and CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping. He told the international guests that “Marxism sheds light in a scientific way on the laws governing the development of human society, showing the way forward to emancipation and stimulating the advance of civilisation.”
Tory government under pressure to back Biden’s global tax plan
The UK government is facing pressure to support a global minimum corporation tax proposed by US President Joe Biden, and to push for this at the upcoming G7 summit. The proposed tax would take on the big multinationals, and crack down on the shifting of profits to offshore havens.
China introduces ‘three-child-policy’ to stave off demographic cliff-edge
China’s attempt to divert a demographic disaster took another important step yesterday with a host of new announcements regarding family planning.
Irish-Palestinian solidarity on full display following Dáil motion
The motion makes the Republic of Ireland the first EU member state to phrase Israeli actions using the term “de facto annexation.” These actions, however, were similarly addressed in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which states that Israel’s settlement activity constitutes a “flagrant violation” of international law and has “no legal validity”.
Private renters fear the prospect of homelessness
Ministers are being alerted to the fact that nearly two million private renters fear they will be powerless to find another property if they are evicted, following the end of the eviction ban. The government is being confronted with appeals for emergency legislation to broaden the permanent protection for those struggling to pay rent as a consequence of the Covid pandemic and the wider issues caused by capitalism, with the ban set to end this week. There have been estimates of a £2.2 billion bill, councils are additionally predicting the homelessness crisis to deepen if the government does not respond in the approaching months.
