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When the past is offered as a future: Iran and the politics of exhaustion
Iran’s latest wave of protests has been shaped by decades of economic suffocation, political foreclosure and ideological exhaustion. Under the combined weight of imperial pressure and authoritarian rule, the promise of sovereignty has collapsed, and nostalgia offers no way out.
Cities that shake: How urban heat may be nudging earthquakes
Urban heat doesn’t stop at the surface. As concrete warms the ground beneath cities, scientists say it may subtly alter stresses on shallow faults — with implications for small earthquakes and urban resilience.
From Roosevelt to World War II: How America became a global power
The American century was born out of economic collapse and global war. From the Panama Canal to Hiroshima, crisis after crisis propelled the United States into unrivalled political, military and economic dominance.
The conflict in Sudan has pushed maternal and child health in South Darfur past the emergency threshold
Acute malnutrition now affects a third of children in the region while maternal mortality has spiked by 50 per cent. As infrastructure collapses, the crisis requires not just aid, but the same mass solidarity and political will directed at other global conflicts.
The Security Council is holding the United Nations hostage
Designed for a world that no longer exists, the UN Security Council entrenches unilateralism and shields nuclear powers from accountability. Without curbing veto power and elevating the General Assembly, collective security remains unattainable.
Mainstream cinema demands that women who choose each other must also choose death — and calls it a happy ending
From Thelma & Louise to The Children’s Hour, films that edge toward lesbian love repeatedly resolve it through death. When women’s desire becomes explicit, mainstream cinema reveals the limits of the “happy ending.
Caravaggio’s Annunciation trades the dramatic light of his Roman period for a softer, more introspective spirituality
Painted during his Maltese exile, the canvas achieves a complex balance where traditional symbols fade into shadow. By focusing solely on the Archangel’s gesture, the artist moves beyond technical showmanship to reveal the essence of a private, divine promise.
Greenland is no small price for Europe to learn the empire has no allies, only assets
Any US attempt to seize Greenland would constitute a crime, yet Europe’s reliance on the American empire has left it powerless to defend even its own sovereignty.
Israel and its supporters deliberately foment hate and division in our society
When Israel’s abuses become impossible to justify, its defenders pivot to demonising Muslims instead. Leaked polling suggests this isn’t spontaneous racism, but a calculated messaging strategy.
Trump's Venezuelan coup that no one dares to condemn
Barely a few days into 2026, Trump orders the abduction of Nicolás Maduro. We live in a less safe world than we did in 2025, courtesy of the so called Western bastions of ‘international law’ and ‘human rights’.
COP 30 was a minacious charade
A literal fire at the venue served as a grim metaphor for a summit that produced little more than a marketing brochure. By sidestepping the meat and fossil fuel industries, the conference effectively surrendered to the 'might is right' mentality while the 1.5°C target slips out of reach.
UN peacekeeping missions have betrayed their humanitarian mandate to become the armed enforcers of foreign resource extraction
Behind the veneer of impartiality, blue helmets in the DRC and Haiti have enabled the plunder of cobalt and gold while inflicting cholera and abuse on the populations they claim to save.
‘Booming out the propaganda narrative’: UK media alarm over Russian spy ship misrepresents Law of the Sea
The British government is self-evidently lying about a Russian ship being in 'UK waters', and shining lasers into pilots' eyes. So why is every media outlet's defence correspondent echoing these lies?
A domestic army in pictures: Inside the far-right art of ICE's recruitment ads
ICE’s new recruitment posters deliberately echo 1940s wartime propaganda, and the message is clear: we are at war with immigrant
A world of paper promises: The betrayal of women from Gaza to Sudan
International agreements promised to protect them from violence, hunger, and inequality. But in the world's most brutal war zones, those promises are worthless, forcing millions of women to survive in a system designed to ignore them.
Revolution without borders: Why some uprisings spread and others do not
Anger can ignite revolt, but only organisation sustains it. Without vision, unity and plans for governance, revolutions collapse or repeat the tyranny they resist. The chance to prove otherwise may be closer than we think.
Rivers of the air: How atmospheric rivers shape weather, water and climate
Long, invisible streams of moisture called atmospheric rivers transport immense volumes of water vapour around the planet. They nourish ecosystems and refill reservoirs—but in a warming world, they’re also becoming more intense, destructive and unpredictable.
They called him 'Osama bin Mamdani'. New York called him mayor
Despite a campaign of vicious Islamophobic smears, 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani has made history. And his victory ushers in a new progressive era for a city hungry for change.
'The world loses a Dick': Cheney's obituary
The former US vice-president's death closes a career marked by war, torture and ruthless power.
The mirror and the light: Caravaggio and the enigma of Narcissus
When Narcissus emerged from obscurity in 1913, it reignited fascination with a timeless myth and the men who painted its tragedy. Whether born of Caravaggio's brush or not, it reveals the myth's core - the moment when reflection turns to obsession and beauty gives way to loss.
