Labour’s persistent failure to address its electorate’s salient concerns is behind the protest vote, asserts DIANE ABBOTT
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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
Washington’s lawless behaviour towards countries in the region it considers its ‘back yard’ should be condemned by all law-abiding people, says LUKE DANIELS
In part I of a serialisation of his new book, JOHN McINALLY takes a look at the early days of organising government workers
Colombia’s success in controlling the drug trade should be recognised and its sovereignty respected, argues Dr GLORY SAAVEDRA
The shadow lord chancellor has recently made a name for himself as an rabid hater of immigration – but there are exceptions to every rule, says SOLOMON HUGHES
Plaid Cymru’s front-bench spokesman on health and social services MABON AP GWYNFOR, in a two-part series, analyses the Caerphilly by-election and the wider political scene in Wales ahead of the 2026 Senedd election
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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