With the death of Pope Francis, the world loses not only a church leader but also a moral compass

PEACE and goodwill to all peoples have never really been part of imperialism’s offer. Indeed, ever since the emergence of monopoly capitalism around 150 years ago, there has probably never been a Christmas where there has not been fighting in one part of the world or another.
Britain will have been involved more often than not, and nearly always for no good reason. But there can have been no years since the end of the second world war as bloody as 2024, with war being waged on as many fronts with further conflicts brazenly threatened.
It is hardly surprising that most people are regarding the dawning of 2025 with a sense of foreboding.

Incredibly, US Republican states are systematically dismantling child labour protections, with children transformed back into the cheap, disposable workers of the Dickens era, reports ANDREW MURRAY

