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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How the public has been left paying for RBS’s crimes
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
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
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
LAST month a Telegraph headline said: “Government closer to selling RBS stake after bank agrees ‘milestone’ £3.6bn US fine.”
In May, the Royal Bank of Scotland agreed with the US Department of Justice to settle lawsuits accusing the bankers of selling products linked to risky mortgages in the US between 2005 and 2007.
These were the dodgy financial products at the centre of the banking crisis, so it seems RBS is admitting responsibility for an economic fraud that has caused deep misery for millions.
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