BRIEFING
Food businesses failing to protect the environment
IN the run up to COP28, a new report on the state of the nation’s food industry finds UK retail and food service sectors are failing to take action on key environmental measures Despite the UK National Food Strategy recommending a 30 per cent reduction in meat...
Lower-income countries have paid $2.7tn in interest since 1970
LOWER-INCOME countries have been forced to pay out $2.7 trillion in interest payments to creditors since 1970, according to new a new report by Debt Justice. Western creditors have received the vast majority (82 per cent) of these interest payments, making returns of...
UAE refuses to release dissidents or engage with human rights groups
THE United Arab Emirates has ignored calls from international civil society to demonstrate it respects human rights ahead of the COP28 climate change conference, says Amnesty International. The hosts of COP28 – which begins this week - have refused to release...
Disproportionate use of PAVA spray in prisons ‘normalised’
THE disproportionate use of PAVA incapacitant spray on Black, Black British and Muslim prisoners is now so firmly established that it has become normalised, according to a new analysis published by the Prison Reform Trust. The briefing reveals that since PAVA spray...
Food banks struggle to cope with harrowing levels of need
INDEPENDENT food banks cannot see how they will get through this winter, as yet more people are forced to turn to charity to feed themselves and their families, says the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN). Measures in the Autumn Statement do not provide the help...
COMMENTARY
‘Slow dusk’: remembering with integrity
REMEMBRANCE-TIDE is over and now, the space for further reflection. A time to stand back from the division and anger engendered by the former Home Secretary and to consider what it may mean in these harrowing, divisive and contentious times to remember the dead of so...
Work, health, and the questions we should be asking
IT IS the Conservative way to frame structural and economic problems as a failure of individuals. This allows the rich and powerful to abdicate responsibility, whilst all the pressure and blame is placed on people who have neither money nor power, and very little...
David Cameron and the collapse of (the big) society
AS David Cameron returned to government, political commentators were almost unanimous in the view that the most notable policy or event with which he was associated was Brexit. That seems to me to be a rather privileged view. Without underestimating the very damaging...
Israel, Palestine and the West: international law and human worth
AMIDST an alarming escalation of violence in the Middle East, the legality and morality of actions by governments or quasi-governmental bodies has been a key issue. This includes Western states, especially the USA but also the UK. With deepening tragedy and...
Justice, mercy, humility: a timeless response to the horror of modern war
MICAH the prophet: “Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly.” A focus for this time of renewed war and suffering. It may seem far too inward-looking in such terrible days to be dwelling on the challenge which the situation in Gaza poses to the pacifist/non-violent...
MEDIA
UPDATES
From lockdown to musical strength
INTERNATIONALLY renowned virtuoso South Indian violinist Jyotsna Srikanth stops by in Edinburgh on her 2023-24 tour on Friday 17th November, showcasing an extraordinary blend of ragas presented in contemporary style and blended with keyboards, electronics and...
Simone Weil: The spiritual vision in her life and work
OUR director, Simon Barrow, will be chairing an online forum looking at the spiritual vision of the compelling early twentieth century French philosopher, mystic and political activist Simone Weil. This will take place from 19:00 to 21:00 (UK time) on Wednesday 27th...
Solas Festival focuses on ‘Kindling Hope’
KINDLING HOPE is the broad theme of the Solas Festival 2023, which gathers in Errol Park, Perthshire, Scotland, this weekend, running from 4pm on Friday 16 June through to 6pm on Sunday 18 June. Once again, Ekklesia is delighted to be a sponsor of this exciting and...