It is an understatement to say that relations between the US and North Korea are very tense.
The US government continues to threaten to further tighten economic sanctions on North Korea, and launch a military attack to destroy the country鈥檚 missiles and nuclear weapons infrastructure.聽For its part, the North says it will respond to any attack with its own strikes against US bases in the region and even the US itself.
The United Socialist Party of Venezuela鈥檚 (PSUV) victory in the October 15 elections for state governors is a major blow to the country鈥檚 right-wing opposition, as well as to its backers in Washington and Europe.
The victory also marks a significant step forward in the struggle to defend the gains of the almost two decade-long pro-poor Bolivarian Revolution, spearheaded by late former President Hugo Chavez.
Advocates of LGBT rights and religious freedom denounced President Donald Trump as he became the first sitting president to address the Values Voter Summit on October 13.
In his speech, Trump assured his supporters that 鈥淛udeo-Christian religious values鈥 would be protected by his administration.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which classifies the Family Research Council (FRC), one of the groups behind the summit, as a hate group, tweeted that 鈥渟peaking to anti-Muslim, anti-LGBT groups, Pres. Trump says he is proud to be among so many friends鈥.
As the Nobel Committee announced聽on October 6 in Oslo that聽聽the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons had won the Nobel Peace Prize. At the same time,聽US President Donald Trump is expected to 鈥渄ecertify鈥 the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal next week. spoke聽with Tim Wright, the Asia-Pacific director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. The full transcript follows the video.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his business mates have wasted no time in coat-tailing US President Donald Trump and renewing their threat to cut the company tax rate.
Trump announced a plan on September 27 to slash the US corporate tax rate from 35% to 20%, at an estimated cost to the national budget of US$2 trillion over 10 years. He did not give any details, but it will be a massive public hand-out to big business. Meanwhile, Trump and the Republicans continue to seek to undermine health insurance for the poor.
Puerto Rico is facing a huge humanitarian crisis after being hit by two super-strong hurricanes. It suffered a glancing blow by Irma and then a direct hit by Maria, both storms greatly strengthened by warmer ocean water caused by climate change.
The crisis is still unfolding weeks after Maria hit. The full picture and extent of the damage will not be known for some time.
One year ago, Colin Kaepernick, then-quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers National Football League team, refused to stand for the US national anthem, famously kneeling instead. He was alone in his protest.
Over the weekend of September 23-24, tens of millions of football fans watched on TV as 200 mostly Black players knelt or raised their fists while the national anthem was sung. The rest of their teams stood in solidarity with their right to protest, arm-in-arm. In some cases, entire teams stayed in the locker room while the anthem played.
US President Donald Trump made the unprecedented threat to 鈥渢otally destroy鈥 North Korea, not in a tweet or off the cuff remark, but in a written speech before the United Nations General Assembly on September 20. No other leader of a country has ever stood before the UN and openly stated its intention to destroy another country.聽
Coupled with Trump鈥檚 earlier threat to rain down 鈥渇ire and fury鈥 on North Korea, this threat must be seen as one that at least includes the possibility of a nuclear attack.
With the Venezuelan right-wing opposition in disarray after failing to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro through violent protest, and divided in the face of the upcoming October 15 regional elections, the frontline of the battle for Venezuela鈥檚 future has shifted outside its borders.
鈥淭he US is doing the same thing as it did with the economic blockade on Cuba, to try and suffocate the Venezuelan economy鈥 explained Williams Camacaro, a long-time Venezuelan grassroots activist based in New York.
Speaking to 麻豆传媒 Weekly in Caracas, Camacaro said 鈥淭he sanctions will cause a lot of difficulties for Venezuela鈥, but 鈥渢he reality is that a lot of time has passed since [the blockade was first imposed on Cuba]. Many things have changed.鈥
The unthinkable possibility of nuclear war is once again in the headlines after US officials reacted with shrill threats to the North Korean government claim to have tested its most powerful nuclear bomb yet.
This is the latest escalation in a game of nuclear chicken, with calculated provocations on all sides. But to judge from the mainstream media, it is only North Korea鈥檚 Kim Jung-un who is driving the world to the brink of a nightmare.
This is false.
At the press conference to announce his run for president last year, Donald Trump referred to Mexican immigrants as 鈥渄rug dealers, criminals, rapists鈥 who must be stopped by 鈥渂uilding a wall鈥.
Since taking office, Trump has continued to reiterate that message through policy initiatives designed to further degrade the quality of life for undocumented workers and their families. The overtly racist targeting of migrant and immigrant people by Trump has excited the far-right, and emboldened their efforts to organise, mobilise on a national scale, and terrorise working class communities of colour.聽
But Trump and a re-energised far right did not appear in a vacuum.