Politics

By Elsa Buchanan As US and EU leaders outline the finishing touches on their Russian economic sanctions, experts say Putin needs to be integrated to the debate, not economically quarantined The European Union and the US have finally imposed punitive economic sanctions on Russia in response to Moscow's continued support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. But as EU members are giving themselves big pats on the back – these are the most extensive EU sanctions imposed on Russia since the...

Buying British Food and EU-US trade deal: Why you can’t have both, Mr Cameron By Elsa Buchanan David Cameron’s reshuffled government should be applauded for outlining a £400 million plan last week to boost the central government to buy fresh, locally sourced, seasonal British food. "Our long-term economic plan is all about backing the do-ers and the hard-workers – and no one does more or works as hard in Britain today than our farmers. By opening up these contracts, we...

  By J T Coombes @GMagnaCarta "The thinking that created the problem is quite incapable of solving it." Albert Einstein Compulsion is inherent within the human condition, often pushing us to extreme and destructive behaviour that is beyond comprehension. It is stimulated by many things, including the derivatives of harmless aspects of Nature. A poppy is a beautiful flower until turned into opium, grape and grain are nutritional foods until distilled into alcohol. Both then fuel the destructive compulsions of...

  By Elsa Buchanan The European Union has added more to its dangling bunch of carrots with a renewed offer of its Special Privileged Partnership (SPP) - a form of enhanced trilateral agreements - promising unparalleled support for Israel and the Palestinians if a peace accord is signed. But while the EU has successfully used greater political and trade ties to promote peace in the Balkans in the past, experts warn the member states’ offer is ill-timed, widely overlooked, and...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor David Ward, a Liberal Democrat MP, has been forced to apologise after suggesting on Twitter, that he would consider firing rockets into Israel if he lived in Gaza, again highlighting the dangers of elected officials using social media. Originally he refused to say sorry and he faced losing the party whip.  On Tuesday, Mr Ward was accused of inciting violence after he tweeted: "The big question is - if I lived in Gaza would I...

By Lock Bailey It surprises me very little that there is nearly no heard outcry in the United States on the recent war-crimes committed by Israel against the civilians in Gaza. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon “urged” Israel along with “many regional and world leaders together” to refrain from killing civilians in Gaza. Over three-quarters of the casualties, approximately 77% of the now over 500 killed and over 2,000 injured, are civilians. Outcry around the world against Israel’s military barrage...

By Max J Freeman  There is a feeling of underlying angst amongst the protesters, almost as though they are not willing something to happen, but they can sense today London is a boiling pot, which may just yet turn into a police kettle.  I am glad, for the moment, that I heeded my partners advice, and did not bring my child with me to today’s protest against Israeli incursions into Gaza over the last couple of weeks. But I need...

By Elsa Buchanan The United States’ choice to take a more passive role in the Gaza conflict and delegate the responsibility of leading a ceasefire to Egypt is a blunder from the Obama administration, a leading academic has warned. But the US Secretary of State John Kerry appeared to express a growing frustration over the number of Palestinian civilians killed in Israel's offensive in Gaza, which reached 500 on Monday evening. Unfortunately for the Obama administration, Kerry’s comments made for...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor The threat of a real war with Russia still hangs in the air, but one academic believes a cyber-attack is a more likely scenario. A silent, but digitally destructive scenario, which could cause chaos across the globe, adversely affecting the UK. Cyberwarfare is politically motivated hacking to conduct sabotage and espionage. It is a form of information warfare sometimes seen as analogous to conventional warfare. Professor Mike Jackson – computer security expert at Birmingham City...