Newsletter

African liberation struggles not only won independence in their own countries; they also defeated Estado Novo colonialism, which spurred the Carnation Revolution 50 years ago.

Against the terrain of Brazil’s wretched social hierarchies, the Landless Workers' Movement (MST) of Brazil seeks to deepen its solidarity with Palestine. This newsletter and our April dossier look at the MST's tactics and organisational methods – such as solidarity – forty years since its foundation.

From Israel’s bombing of Iran’s embassy in Damascus to Ecuador’s raid on the Mexican embassy in Quito, leaders feel emboldened by the impunity granted by the Global North to disregard diplomatic norms and respect.

Amid the intensifying water crisis that plagues billions of people across the world, Israel is using water as a weapon in its war against Palestinians by denying access and destroying infrastructure.

Jared Kushner joins the chorus calling for Israel to expand its occupation to Gaza's waterfront through forced displacement, but, if history is any judge, Palestinians will remain.

8 March was not always International Women’s Day, nor has such a day always existed. This date became fixed to our calendars through decades of struggle – led by communist women.

In the face of looming famine, Biden’s promise to build a ‘temporary pier’ to allow aid into Gaza is hollow, undermined by his country’s complicity in Israel’s genocide against Palestine.

Amidst the genocide against Palestinians and the war in Congo, human beings cling to hope. Saleem, in Rafah, dreams beyond the present, of Red Books Day and a brighter future.

On 20 February, as killings in Gaza reached nearly 30,000 and the US government attempts to send $14 billion in military aid to Israel, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield vetoed a resolution brought by Algeria for a ceasefire in Gaza. Amar Benjama was asked to delay the resolution, but his country refused. ‘Silence is not a viable option’, he said. ‘Now it is the time for action and the time for truth’. Since 1988, 27 of the 33 vetoes the US has exercised have been in defence of Israel’s actions against Palestinians.

In December 2023, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development released a report showing that, since 2018, literacy in reading and mathematics had declined amongst the world’s students. Importantly, they noted that the decline could ‘only partially be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic’. Both teacher and parent support has declined over the past fifty years because of the same social process: austerity regimes have been imposed on most societies in the world. But many, such as the People’s Science Movement in Karnataka, India, continue to find innovative ways to bring scientific learning to millions of children.

As the second anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war nears, public support for the war has reached an all-time low. Nonetheless, NATO is escalating tensions along Russia’s border with a four-month military exercise involving 90,000 troops from 32 countries. For the Global North, it is not the Ukrainian people’s wellbeing that matters but the geostrategic necessity to ‘weaken’ Russia and China. In reality, there will be no military triumph in Ukraine, which is why the war must end and negotiations commenced.

This February marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution, when Hugo Chávez took office in 1999. In 2024, Venezuela will hold its sixth general election since that time. Already the US has begun to delegitimise the vote and destabilise the country with the reimposition of sanctions. Such measures are illegal as they are imposed unilaterally, in contravention of the UN Charter. As one US official recently stated, Washington believes it is ‘the police of the world’.