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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A licence to cover up murder and torture
The Australian Crompvoets report into ‘psychopathic’ behaviour of special forces abroad has a stark warning for Britain as it considers the Overseas Operations Bill, says SOLOMON HUGHES
Defence Minister Johnny Mercer
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
DEFENCE MINISTER Johnny Mercer is currently trying to push the Overseas Operations Bill through Parliament.
The Bill would make it much harder to prosecute British soldiers for crimes committed while on active service abroad, especially five years after the event.
Many Conservative and military figures object to the Bill, because they think exempting soldiers from, for example, prosecutions for torture, would damage the reputation of the army itself.
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