Green Party deputy leader MOTHIN ALI, who will speak at the International Anti-War Conference in London on June 20, says Britain needs to rethink its priorities – and its allies
Latest editorial
Celebrating Cosmonauts’ Day in troubled times
On April 12 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, followed in 1963 by Valentina Tereshkova, who became the first woman in space. COLIN TURBETT looks at this remarkable Soviet achievement and tells the story of the first intrepid cosmic explorers
A 1959 Soviet postcard linking space success with the October Revolution; and how this paper’s predecessor the Daily Worker covered Uri Gagarin’s space flight
From Global Counsel to Arden, SOLOMON HUGHES finds firms linked to discredited politicians are still calling the shots in Britain
KEVIN COURTNEY explains why Reform UK is no friend to workers or trade unions, but just another party of the super-rich
EMMA DENT COAD explains why she is stepping down from the council after 20 years and how the legacy of the fire still haunts the area
While international attention focuses on ceasefire frameworks, Israel is openly advancing plans for a permanent expansion of its control over Gaza, writes RAMZY BAROUD
Researchers PAUL HOLDEN and JESSICA MURRAY are calling for whistleblowers and documentary records to uncover how Labour Together helped build the parliamentary majority that now dominates the Labour Party
THE Soviet space programme of the 1950s and 1960s may have had some military association, but its chief designer, the brilliant Sergei Korolev, had no interest in weapons developments and devoted his life to the pursuit of space travel and exploration for the sake of peaceful human advancement and the prestige of the USSR.
It is worth reminding ourselves of that fact as we celebrate Cosmonaut’s Day — a day set aside to admire the remarkable achievements of the Soviet pioneers and their successes in the 1950s and early 1960s years of the space race with the US.
The date, April 12, is that of Yuri Gagarin’s first 108-minute human flight into space in 1961. Tonight, I will be presenting on this topic to a Society For Co-operation In Russian & Soviet Studies online gathering (details below) and for doing so have already been subject of a call to boycott my books due to a false assertion that I must by implication support the Russians in the war in Ukraine.
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