The United States is set to host the Summit of the Americas on 8–10 June in Los Angeles. Despite purporting to promote cooperation and sovereignty, the summit – along with its parent institution, the Organisation of American States – are instruments of US power. Red Alert no.

Julian Assange, journalist and co-founder of Wikileaks, helped bring to light the torture and atrocities committed by the United States during its so-called War on Terror. Now the United States wants to imprison Assange for 175 years for obtaining and publishing this classified information. Red Alert no. 13 explains why we must stand up against this attack on journalism and fight to free Julian Assange.

There is nothing more obscene than the existence of hunger, the terrible indignity of working hard but being without the means for sustenance. While 1 in 8 people in the world go hungry, one third of all food produced is either lost during processing and transportation or it is wasted. As we approach World Food Day on 16 October, Red Alert no. 12 explores why hunger persists, explains the campaign to end hunger, and sets forward a path towards creating a just food and distribution system that could finally eliminate world hunger.

As the earth’s triple environmental emergencies of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution worsen, drastic measures need to be taken that place greater responsibility on those who generate the crisis, from the US military to the G20. Themed ‘Ecosystem Restoration’ to emphasise how the capitalist system has eroded the earth’s capacity to sustain life, World Environment Day on 5 June is an alarm bell demanding an end to cannibalising the planet, in defence of life over profit.

In our Red Alert no.10, we look at the need for a people’s vaccine.