TUC general secretary PAUL NOWAK speaks to the Morning Star’s Berny Torre about the increasing frustration the trade union movement feels at a government that promised change, but has been too slow to bring it about
The European Union prefers corporate profits over the health of people across the world
By showing reluctance on the patent waiver for Covid-19 related products after the majority of its population is vaccinated, the EU has once taken the side of Big Pharma and perpetuated ‘vaccine apartheid,’ writes ABDUL RAHMAN
Namibia President Hage G Geingob, second left, is welcomed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and French President Emmanuel Macron during the EU Africa summit at the European Council
DIANE ABBOTT exposes the misconceptions, rumours and downright lies perpetrated around immigration issues
With 12,000 fewer teachers since 2010 and dwindling resources, Scotland’s schools desperately need investment to support diverse learners rather than empty promises from politicians, writes ANDREA BRADLEY
Reversing outsourcing is the pre-election promise the government must honour, says Unison general secretary CHRISTINA McANEA
EMAN ABU ZAYED reminisces about the perilous time her family and neighbours endured in northern Gaza and how they were forced, in fear of their lives, to flee south
The EIS president who defended Marxist politics in the 1980s fought Thatcherite educational policies while organising Teachers for Peace rallies and ensuring Morning Star circulation in Scotland’s pit villages and factories, writes JOHN FOSTER
AS THE summit between the African Union and European Union (EU-AU summit) came to a close on February 18, the EU’s dedication to ensuring equitable access to Covid-19 products remained murky.
While Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, stated that the two unions had had a very constructive discussion on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) waiver, the meeting resulted in little more than a tepid statement and a new deadline for reaching an agreement on intellectual property rights during the pandemic. Von der Leyen also stated: “We share the same goal. We have different ways to reach that goal.”
In reality, it would seem the AU and the EU have very different goals. While delegates from different African countries made a point of supporting a suspension of intellectual property rights on key Covid-19 products, EU politicians continue to focus their energies on postponing the TRIPS waiver as much as possible and protecting the profits of pharmaceutical companies based in the global North.
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ABDUL RAHMAN reports on the Kamandang joint military drill involving the US, Philippines and allies, fuelling concerns from China and North Korea over increasing US intervention in the Asia-Pacific region
