How modern slavery, in China and elsewhere, undermines the fight against existential threats

By Erik English Since 2014, the Chinese Communist Party has perpetuated human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region under the guise of anti-terrorism and anti-extremism—subjecting them to forced labor, mass detention, and land transfers. Now, a new report reveals that some Chinese pharmaceutical products made using forced labor in… Read More How modern slavery, in China and elsewhere, undermines the fight against existential threats

Crude capitalism: How oil greases the wheels of the world market

New book exposes the power of oil – from colonialism, to post-Soviet Russia, to the current climate crisis Adam Hanieh Nearly four decades ago, a large team of scientists from around the world launched a major global research programme called the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP). Their goal was to study the connection between human activities and… Read More Crude capitalism: How oil greases the wheels of the world market

Who keeps Europe’s wealthy west going? Underpaid, invisible migrants from its east – and I went undercover to find them

I took on three of the jobs shunned by western workers. Our mini-series reveals the hidden lives of those with no choice Saša Uhlová Migration statistics don’t tell us much about the people who leave their own countries and loved ones to work in poorly paid and physically demanding jobs. A lot of the time,… Read More Who keeps Europe’s wealthy west going? Underpaid, invisible migrants from its east – and I went undercover to find them

Elon Musk and his tech bros-in-arms are winning the global battle for the truth

Carole Cadwalladr It was a breaking news alert to lift the spirits and make the heart sing. A tech billionaire arrested as he stepped off his private jet and detained by the French authorities. Happy days! Because while the UK police have been charging individuals who incited violence online during this summer’s riots, the man who helped to fuel… Read More Elon Musk and his tech bros-in-arms are winning the global battle for the truth

Google has an illegal monopoly on search, US judge finds

“The court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta By David Shepardson and Mike Scarcella WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. judge ruled on Monday that Google violated antitrust law, spending billions of dollars to create an illegal monopoly and become… Read More Google has an illegal monopoly on search, US judge finds

105 people killed; national curfew imposed in Bangladesh after student protesters storm prison

Army to be deployed to keep order after demonstrators free hundreds of prisoners and country is hit by serious unrest Hannah Ellis-Petersen The Bangladeshi government has declared a national curfew and announced plans to deploy the army to tackle the country’s worst unrest in a decade, after student protesters stormed a prison and freed hundreds… Read More 105 people killed; national curfew imposed in Bangladesh after student protesters storm prison

Two die and thousands hurt in crackdown on Bangladesh student protests

The situation was further inflamed by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, who referred to the students protesting using the derogatory slur “Razakars”, meaning those who betrayed the nation by collaborating with the enemy, Pakistan, during the war of independence in 1971. “If the grandchildren of freedom fighters don’t receive quota benefits, should the grandchildren of… Read More Two die and thousands hurt in crackdown on Bangladesh student protests

Things are not going to get better as long as oligarchs rule the roost in our democracies

The history of many centuries, including our own, shows that the default state of politics is not redistribution and general welfare, but a spiral of accumulation by the very rich, the extreme exploitation of labour, the seizure of common resources and exaction of rent for their use, extortion, coercion and violence. Normal is a society in which… Read More Things are not going to get better as long as oligarchs rule the roost in our democracies