News

Today the International Monetary Fund -IMF-dramatically issued a statement that could have easily been levelled at itself many times in the way it dealt with African and Latin American countries. In the statement it said the bailout deal  European union members forced upon Greece is 'totally unsustainable and will cripple the state and its people for many years.

The Greek Eurozone Crisis is not the first case of a crippling economy to be saddled with debt after debt that keeps it shackled and burdened by a debt it cannot pay back to wealthy nations. 

Early Thursday morning, the South Carolina House of Representatives voted to remove the Confederate flag from the state’s capitol grounds. After 13 hours of debate, the vote passed 93-27. The bill was signed later on Thursday by South Carolina’s Republican Governor Nikki Haley, and the flag is set to be taken down at 10:00ET on Friday. This decision follows weeks of debate surrounding the meaning of the Southern emblem. Historically, the flag has been seen as a symbol of Southern heritage and history, with its origin dating back to the American Civil War.

After a high-profile public campaign the British Film Institute (BFI) have confirmed that they will be granting lottery funding for the wider distribution of the film ‘Dear White People’ in UK cinemas. This decision follows a month long joint campaign by Black Activists Rising Against Cuts (BARAC) UK and The New Black Film Collective to challenge the institutional racism in the UK film industry at large.

It follows, recent success last year, that saw the closing down of the highly offensive Human Zoo exhibition held by the prestigious, London Barbican.

On Tuesday, 7 July, the State Senate is expected to give final approval to the proposed bill to remove the flag, flag pole and its surrounding fence from the State House grounds and move them to the Confederate Relic Room. The bill will now go through the State House of Representatives for another vote that could take as early as Wednesday. One of the victims from the Charleston shooting last month was State Senator Clementa Pinckney.

Patchwork and Operation Black Vote will jointly host perhaps, one of the only Labour leadership hustings that will be focused on  Black and minority ethnic communities and all young people.

This unique event will be held at one of the country’s global business consultants, KPMG. The audience will put the four candidates through their paces. 

Here is an introduction and snap shot to those seeking to lead the Labour Party:

Liz Kendall

Julia O'Connell Davidson and Joel Quirk have embarked on a series of articles for the Open-democracy’s series, ‘Beyond Trafficking and slavery’. In this fascinating piece the two academics brilliantly illustrate how the present discourse on modern slavery conveniently ignores the uncomfortable truth of race and racism. Understanding the problem ensures Governments and campaigning organisations have the solutions. This article is an important contribution to that debate.

As London once again comes together to remember those loved ones who were tragically injured or lost their lives, we’ll listen and read about the stories from that sombre day.  Here we give you Lee Jasper’s story, then a senior advisor in Mayor Livingstone’s office who was thrust into a position he never wants to repeat again. Here’s his moving story of the 7th July 2005.

This past week, the BBC Radio 4 programme Woman’s Hour revealed its 2015 Power List – a ranking of the most influential women in the UK. The programme’s editor, Alice Feinstein, stated that the goal of this year’s list was to identify women who are working outside of traditional power structures in order to make an impact in British society.