Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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The far-right and Italian spooks spied on our rescue missions
DARIUSH BEIGUI and HENDRIK SIMON, former members of the NGO rescue ship Iuventa, tell Ben Cowles how Matteo Salvini and the Italian secret services tried to criminalise them for saving lives at sea
Hendrik Simon (left) and Dariush Beiui (right) on both sides the Iuventa
[Paul Louis Wagner and Moritz Richter]
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
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NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
IT’S normal now for the NGO refugee rescue ships operating in the Mediterranean to expect to be met with outright hostility by the European Union and the Italian and Maltese governments.
There were several cases last year when Italy and Malta blocked charity rescue ships — like the Alan Kurdi, Sea Watch 3, Ocean Viking, Open Arms, Mare Juno and others — from disembarking the rescued in their ports for weeks.
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