Tribune – Comment, news and reviews from Britain's democratic left

The Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, last week issued what has become one of his customary trademark warnings by announcing that Russia will start to build offensive weapons to counter American global aggression.

The Government is under pressure to set up a new independent watchdog to police British companies abusing human rights abroad. The call comes from the anti-poverty charity War on Want as MPs and peers criticised ministers’ failure to tackle firms which commit human rights violations around the world.

A new report by Consumer Focus, the statutory body campaigning for a fair deal for consumers, says a million of the poorest people in Britain could be lifted out of financial exclusion by a new, simple and easy to use bank account at the Post Office.

Burma’s military leader Than Shwe has announced that the country will hold its first democratic election for two decades later this year – and urged people to make what he called the “correct choices” when they come to put their marks on the ballot paper.

Workers Uniting, which describes itself as “the world’s first global union” and is a partnership between Unite in Britain and United Steelworkers in North America, has launched an investigation into preferred private bidders in the National Health Service.

The TUC is calling on the Government to give agency workers proper protection from exploitation and equal treatment on pay, holidays and working hours in its response to the draft Agency Worker Regulations which seek to implement the EU Temporary Agency Worker Directive into British law.