The way of life of the vast majority of humanity is now wholly dependent on petroleum: in effect we eat it, wear it, get carried around by it, communicate through it, sit on it and medicate ourselves with it. Oil has the virtue of being a dense and transportable energy source. It is not so difficult to substitute for oil in applications such as electricity generation, although the renewable energy capture systems themselves are made and maintained by burning oil.
Approximately fifty citizens’ assemblies now convene worldwide each year, addressing the long-term, complex issues that elected governments are structurally least suited to handle: climate change, urban planning, health policy, infrastructure, and democratic reform itself.
"The Motorcycle Diaries" traces the journey that helped shape Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s political consciousness, from a young medical student travelling across South America to a revolutionary committed to transforming society. Pon Chandran examines Guevara’s encounters with poverty, Indigenous communities, exploited workers and social exclusion, and the development of his Pan-Latin American outlook. The article then follows the emergence of foco theory and its application during the Cuban Revolution, before examining its failures in the Congo and Bolivia. It considers the strategic limitations of relying on small guerrilla groups to generate revolutionary movements and places Che’s legacy within the wider history of Latin American revolutionary politics.
Last week, millions of people around the world were subjected to record-breaking heatwaves. At least 25 deaths in the U.S. from this heat dome were reported. The French government also counted over 2,000 excess deaths during the June heatwaves. At the same time, this past weekend, a devastating super typhoon hit the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, leaving islands like Rota, where 2,000 people live, without running water and most buildings impacted.
The United States has launched an all-out assault on the International Criminal Court (ICC). In the past few weeks alone, the Trump administration has vowed to eradicate the top court, pressured countries to withdraw from it, and has attacked progressive political leaders like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani who seek to carry out its mandates.
These attacks are jarring, but they are not new, are not only about Israel, and are not just coming from Republicans.
The pardon of Washington's ally Juan Orlando Hernández amid an uptick in the US war on drugs signals that trafficking is forgivable, even pardonable, in an ally. Sovereignty is the only unforgivable crime.
Vijay Prashad examines how Iran is seeking to reshape the framework of Middle Eastern diplomacy, moving the discussion beyond its nuclear programme toward a broader debate over regional security, foreign military deployments, sanctions and maritime access. The emerging Iran-Oman discussions over the Strait of Hormuz illustrate this shift, while the Iran-Saudi rapprochement and growing regional diplomacy involving China, Pakistan and other states point to a less exclusively US-led regional order. The article argues that lasting stability will require negotiations involving all major security concerns rather than arrangements that place the burden of compliance primarily on one country. Iran’s strategy is changing the terms of the debate.
In August 2026, the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki mark 81 years. Eighty-one years later, we still face the possibility that nuclear weapons could be used again. Eighty-one years later, survivors continue to live with the physical and psychological consequences of radiation exposure. Eighty-one years later, existing nuclear arsenals are far more powerful and destructive than the bombs dropped in 1945, and the humanitarian consequences of any future nuclear detonation would be catastrophic.
Unlike the Zionist claim that "Israel has a right to exist," my assertion is rooted in international law. Of course, given Israel’s propensity for violating such laws, it’s no surprise they’re still claiming a right that has no basis in reality.
This article examines how debt, financial dependence, military alliances, and technological control continue to shape power relations across Asia long after formal colonial rule. Drawing on discussions at the Hands Off Asia conference in Colombo, it explores perspectives from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Thailand on economic sovereignty, democratic struggles, and the enduring impact of international financial institutions and geopolitical competition. The authors argue that political independence alone cannot secure genuine sovereignty without control over economic policy, resources, technology, and democratic participation. The article situates these debates within broader movements seeking alternative paths for Asia’s future.
Thriving, highly self-sufficient communities, run by cooperative, conscientious, self-governing citizens living very frugally, should be the vision the Transition Towns movement illustrates and promotes as a global solution to the polycrisis. Yet this does not seem to be the movement’s central driving motivation.
MESC denounced the unjustified withholding of two shipments of aid destined for Cuba, sent from Catalonia and Madrid, by decision of two international shipping companies, fearful of being sanctioned from the United States government.
by Preetham George Kuryan, Dr Rashmi Rai & Dr Kuryan George
India’s expanding digital health infrastructure and insurance-based care have improved administrative reach, but they have also intensified pressures on healthcare workers. This article argues that an excessive focus on metrics, surveillance and standardized targets is eroding clinical autonomy, meaningful patient care and workforce wellbeing. Drawing on the experiences of doctors, community health officers and ASHA workers, the authors contend that sustainable healthcare requires balancing efficiency with empathy, fair labour practices and professional judgment. They call for reforms that value frontline workers, reduce administrative burdens and place human dignity at the centre of India’s public health system.
Morales, who is in hiding in Cochabamba, claims that the arrest warrant is an act of political persecution by the right-wing government of Rodrigo Paz.
The fossil fuel industry may not have struck the match, but the climate crisis they drove has loaded our landscapes with tinder,” said an environmental activist.
President Daniel Noboa governs Ecuador with increasingly authoritarian methods. Elected in 2023 and reelected in 2025, he has concentrated power in the executive branch, clashed with the Constitutional Court, abused states of emergency, and turned the justice system into a tool against his opponents. Analysts and human rights organizations describe a drift toward a dictatorial edge: a leader who preserves the forms of democracy while eroding its substance.
Fertility rates are falling across much of the world, with most countries now below or approaching replacement levels. This article examines the demographic shift through the lens of capitalism, gender relations, and changing social priorities. Drawing on research by Claudia Goldin, Julia M. Puaschunder, and others, it argues that declining fertility cannot be explained by economic costs or women’s empowerment alone. It explores how workplace demands, unequal domestic responsibilities, and market-driven lifestyles shape reproductive choices, and considers the implications for ageing societies, labour markets, and countries such as India that face demographic transition before sustained economic prosperity.
The resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is presented as the first achievement of a wider democratic movement led by the Cockroach Janata Party, with support from students, youth, civil society and citizens. The article argues that meaningful change cannot end with a minister’s departure but must continue through institutional reforms, public accountability and constitutional dialogue. It reflects on the historical role of student movements in shaping democratic change and contends that lasting success will depend on whether this moment strengthens democratic institutions, protects peaceful dissent and encourages governments to respond to public concerns with transparency and responsibility.
17 hours 15 minutes ago
Produce less. Distribute it fairly. Create a greener world for all.
