Born on this day in 1931, the heroic revolutionary faces a dangerous new wave of White House aggression. We must treat his birthday as a rallying cry to resist the illegal siege of Cuba, writes ROGER McKENZIE
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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
RAMZY BAROUD decries the rats of Gaza, the rodent and human type. Both abound as profiteering from tragedy reaches obscene levels
When gas company bosses gorged on assets, the GMB union fought back with the help of a 20-stone saddleback sow. MAT COWARD tells the story
JOHN REES looks at why the June 20 international anti-war conference is such a vital initiative
ROGER McKENZIE highlights how health workers in DRC are struggling to contain a deadly Ebola outbreak in a region already suffering conflict, aid cuts and a legacy of imperialist degradation
Associate Professor BUI QUANG TUAN explains how modernisation and growth are helping to unlock new foreign investment in the Vietnamese economy
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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