SOLOMON HUGHES recommends Sunjeev Sahota’s recent novel set in a trade union election campaign for its fresh approach to what unites and divides workers, but wishes the union backdrop was truer to life
THE US negotiators attempting to secure a temporary ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, alongside mediators from Egypt and Qatar, appear to have one goal in mind: to secure the credit for this still elusive but eventual alleged triumph exclusively for the Washington government.
The emphasis on scoring political points over humanitarian priorities has resulted in the mediators presenting what longtime Israeli hostage negotiator and peace activist Gershon Baskin describes as “a very bad deal” that is destined to fail.
“The mediators want the deal more than Israel and Hamas do,” Baskin said in an interview with a US radio programme, Here and Now.
Starmer’s decision to recognise Palestine only as long as Israel continues to massacre its inhabitants has been met with outrage, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER



