Europe
Syriza jails Syrian swimmer Sara Mardini for helping refugees in Greece
By Kumaran Ira, 10 September 2018
This blatant attempt to criminalize humanitarian aid to refugees is a devastating exposure of the European Union and Greece’s Syriza government.
Grand Coalition adopts plan for historic rearmament of German military forces
By Johannes Stern, 10 September 2018
Behind the backs of the population, the Grand Coalition of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats is planning a massive arms drive.
Podemos proposes to “co-govern” with Spain’s Socialist Party government
By Alejandro López, 10 September 2018
Podemos is signaling to the banks that it will try to stabilize the current pro-austerity government, with which it has at most minor differences.
German Secret Service denies neo-Nazi violence in Chemnitz
By Johannes Stern, 10 September 2018
After thousands of neo-Nazis rampaged through the East German city of Chemnitz late last month, dominant sections of the German state and political establishment have come to the defence of the fascists.
UK “identifies” Russian agents in attempted Skripal assassination
By Robert Stevens, 7 September 2018
The government’s narrative, supplied by the same security services that faked “evidence” of Iraqi “weapons of mass destruction,” cannot be taken at face value.
May stakes out Britain’s imperialist ambitions in Africa
By Jean Shaoul, 7 September 2018
While aid has always been about Britain’s geo-strategic interests, in future it will be used not to alleviate poverty, but to boost Britain’s business interests.
Saxony’s minister president declares solidarity with far-right protests in Chemnitz
By Johannes Stern, 7 September 2018
Kretschmer called for a strong state, the intensification of the hardline anti-refugee policy, and the downplaying of the attacks on journalists, immigrants and the left.
German Left Party leader launches right-wing nationalist movement
By Ulrich Rippert, 7 September 2018
On Tuesday, Left Party leader Sahra Wagenknecht publicly presented the movement “Stand Up" in Berlin.
French ministers resign as Macron government plunges in polls
By Francis Dubois, 7 September 2018
Hostility to President Macron’s agenda is spreading among not only among workers, but also broad sections of small business.
Leader of breakaway republic in Ukraine assassinated
By Andrea Peters, 7 September 2018
The 42-year-old head of the Russian-backed rebel state in eastern Ukraine died in an explosion at a café in Donetsk last Friday.
Retreat by Corbynites on anti-Semitism definition emboldens UK right wing
By Robert Stevens and Chris Marsden, 6 September 2018
Once again, Corbyn and his immediate coterie have capitulated in the hope of appeasing their critics and maintaining party unity.
070 French government minsters resign
6 September 2018
Chemnitz and the call for a stronger state
By Peter Schwarz, 6 September 2018
After the recent right-wing extremist marches in Chemnitz, representatives of all Bundestag (parliamentary) parties are calling for the state to intervene.
Seventy thousand attend “Rock against the right wing” in Chemnitz, Germany
By our reporters, 5 September 2018
The concert in Chemnitz held under the motto “We are more” showed the massive opposition to right-wing extremism and fascism on the part of workers and youth.
The Socialist Equality Party and the anti-Corbyn coup plot: A reply to a reader
By Chris Marsden, 5 September 2018
The SEP does not cede leadership to Corbyn, nor stand aside from a political fight that is pitching tens of thousands of workers and youth against a rightist cabal of pro-austerity and pro-war criminals.
Turkish lira crisis renews fears of Italian banking system collapse
By Allison Smith, 5 September 2018
Italy’s largest banks are heavily exposed to Turkey’s economy through nearly €20 billion in loans, many of which are going into default.
The fight against fascism in Germany requires a socialist perspective
By the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei, 4 September 2018
Moral outrage is not enough to stop the fascist mob: it is necessary to understand the political roots of its resurgence.
UK: Momentum’s Jon Lansman aids witch-hunt against Corbyn, joins Blairites at Jewish Labour Movement event
By Paul Mitchell, 4 September 2018
Momentum leader Jon Lansman joined pro-Zionist and pro-Blairite figures to issue a blatant apologia for their campaign to blackguard the left as anti-Semitic.
Ha’aretz joins witch-hunt against UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
By Jean Shaoul, 4 September 2018
Ha’aretz aims to silence and criminalise any signs of growing left-wing sentiment expressed in the support for Corbyn’s minimalist reforms.
Why are French media obsessed with Ecology Minister Hulot’s resignation?
By Francis Dubois, 4 September 2018
While the media endlessly discuss the crisis of the government, their obsession with Hulot obscures the deep unpopularity of Macron’s policies of austerity and war.
“In Germany, of all places, we should know better”
Tens of thousands protest across Germany against neo-Nazi violence in Chemnitz
By our reporters, 3 September 2018
Following a neo-Nazi rampage in Chemnitz last Sunday and Monday, tens of thousands have demonstrated across Germany against the far right.
IMF pushes for more social cuts in Ukraine
By Jason Melanovski, 3 September 2018
Amid growing strikes of miners and other workers, the IMF is using the corruption of the Ukrainian oligarchy to push for social cuts.
Fascist rampage in Germany exposes ties between right-wing extremists and the state
By Johannes Stern, 1 September 2018
After neo-Nazis rioted on Sunday and Monday in the East German city of Chemnitz, more details have come to light about the close coordination between the right-wing extremists, the police and the state apparatus.
Podemos joins cover-up of Spanish army brass’ hailing of Franco dictatorship
By Alejandro Lopez and Alex Lantier, 1 September 2018
The concern of Podemos is to keep the exposure of the generals’ fascist sympathies from undermining the “humanitarian” pretenses of NATO imperialist wars.
Reject the anti-Semitism slurs against Jeremy Corbyn! Drive out the Labour Party right wing!
By Chris Marsden, 31 August 2018
The lying campaign to paint Corbyn as an anti-Semite aims to discredit socialism in the hope of preventing any challenge by the working class to austerity and war.
French, British boats clash over English Channel scallops amid Brexit crisis
By Alex Lantier, 31 August 2018
The clash highlighted how unexpected conflicts could erupt over Britain’s exit from the EU amid the relentless stoking of nationalism on both sides of the Channel.
IMF pushes for more social cuts in Ukraine
By Jason Melanovski, 31 August 2018
Amid growing strikes of miners and other workers, the IMF is using the corruption of the Ukrainian oligarchy to push for social cuts.
Alex Salmond resigns from Scottish National Party
By Julie Hyland, 31 August 2018
Salmond led the SNP for more than 20 years and is identified as the key figure in the push for Scotland’s independence from the UK.
Fifty years since the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia: Part four
The split with the OCI and the degeneration of the WRP
By Clara Weiss, 31 August 2018
The intervention by the Pabloite International Secretariat in Eastern Europe in 1968-1985 was facilitated by the degeneration of the British Workers Revolutionary Party.
Arsène Tchakarian (1916-2018): the Manouchian Group’s resistance struggle
Part 2: Who betrayed the Manouchian Group?
By Francis Dubois and Alex Lantier, 31 August 2018
There is no doubt that the Stalinists’ decision to sacrifice the Manouchian Group was bound up with their genocidal onslaught against Trotskyism and the Left Opposition.
Italy’s far-right interior minister charged with kidnapping
By Marianne Arens, 30 August 2018
The state attorney in Agrigento is investigating Italy’s interior minister and chairman of the Lega (League), Matteo Salvini, on charges of deprivation of liberty, illegal detention and abuse of office.
Who is to blame for the neo-Nazi rampage in Chemnitz, Germany?
By Johannes Stern, 30 August 2018
Over 7,000 neo-Nazis marched through the streets of Chemnitz, attacking people they accused of being foreigners, chanting fascist slogans and giving Nazi salutes.
Fifty years since the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia: Part three
The intervention of the Pabloites
By Clara Weiss, 30 August 2018
The Pabloite International Secretariat intervened aggressively in Eastern Europe and especially Czechoslovakia in 1968 in order to disorient the opposition to Stalinism within the working class and intelligentsia.
Mélenchon’s Unsubmissive France opens summer school with overtures to right-wing parties
By Francis Dubois, 30 August 2018
Mélenchon’s invitation of right-wing parties to his summer school marks another milestone in the right-wing trajectory of the middle-class pseudo-left.
Who is Unsubmissive France’s “Comrade Policeman” Alexandre Langlois?
By Anthony Torres, 30 August 2018
An intelligence agent who read some Marx while in an agency that set up provocations against strikers, Langlois was ideally placed to join the populist pseudo-left.
Arsène Tchakarian (1916–2018): The Manouchian Group’s resistance struggle
Part 1: The political origins and military record of the resistance fighters
By Francis Dubois and Alex Lantier, 30 August 2018
Arsène Tchakarian, the last remaining survivor of the famed Manouchian Group of the French Resistance, died on August 4, 2018, at the age of 101.
German Foreign Minister Maas sees Europe setting “red lines” for US conduct
By Ulrich Rippert and Peter Schwarz, 29 August 2018
More clearly than government officials have done so far, Maas describes the US as a major obstacle to a new German drive to become a world power again.
Fifty years since the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia: Part two
The Prague Spring
By Clara Weiss, 29 August 2018
On August 20-21, 1968, tens of thousands of troops of the Warsaw Pact states invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the “Prague Spring” and stifle a nascent movement of the working class. This is the second part of a four-part series.
Neo-Nazi mob rampages through East German city of Chemnitz
By Johannes Stern, 28 August 2018
Recent events suggest that the far-right demonstrations were closely coordinated with, or even instigated by, the security authorities.
French government announces plan to undermine pension system
By Francis Dubois, 28 August 2018
While giving tens of billions of euros in tax cuts to the super-rich, President Macron is slashing pensions, eliminating social rights established more than 70 years ago.
The German army’s new policy doctrine: Preparing for World War III
By Johannes Stern, 28 August 2018
The grand coalition and the entire German ruling elite are planning the massive rearmament of the army in preparation for major military operations.
UK: Northamptonshire County Council and the obliteration of local authority services provision
By Paul Bond, 28 August 2018
The council is “reviewing” how to reduce the number of children who are taken into care , cut support for those with learning disabilities and introduce fees or charges for services.
Fifty years since the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia: Part one
Establishment of a deformed workers’ state in Czechoslovakia
By Clara Weiss, 28 August 2018
On August 20-21, 1968, tens of thousands of troops of the Warsaw Pact states invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the “Prague Spring” and stifle a nascent movement of the working class. This is the first part of a four-part series.
Growing links between German right-wing extremists, police and state government in Saxony
By Sven Heymann, 27 August 2018
The media and establishment politicians are playing down the recent events in Dresden, or openly defending the actions of the police.
German government and police unite with far-right to clamp down on press freedom in Dresden
By Peter Schwarz, 25 August 2018
The grand coalition of the CDU, CSU and SPD has largely adopted the AfD’s policies, and is going out of its way to praise the right-wing extremist party.
UK foreign secretary uses US visit to support Boris Johnson replacing Theresa May as prime minister
By Robert Stevens, 25 August 2018
For the hard Brexit faction, the future of May’s premiership is understood in terms of days and weeks—with Johnson’s leadership challenge gathering pace.
Nearly 90,000 retail jobs lost in UK in 12 months
By Barry Mason, 25 August 2018
Retailers are shifting employees from secure full-time contracts to less secure ones with “less rigidity and more flexibility.”
Manila moves toward major arms purchase from Russia
By Joseph Santolan, 25 August 2018
The Pentagon, which has been systematically escalating military tensions with Russia, has not taken kindly to Washington’s former colony improving relations with Moscow.
Amazon Prime Day produces 209 percent increase in UK health and safety complaints
By Steve James, 24 August 2018
Prime Day saw strikes at Amazon warehouses in Germany and Spain and a work to rule in Poland.
Russian Duma presses ahead with pension reform in face of overwhelming popular opposition
By Clara Weiss, 24 August 2018
While 90 percent of the population opposes the reform, the Duma debate was dominated by its proponents.
How the secret service and the far-right AfD control German politics
By Peter Schwarz, 24 August 2018
Meetings between secret service chief Hans-Georg Maaßen and senior AfD members make clear that the decision to target the Socialist Equality Party (SGP) is part of a right-wing conspiracy in the state apparatus.
Musicians’ group calls for shutdown of the German secret service
By Dietmar Henning, 23 August 2018
On Tuesday, the musicians group’ “Lebenslaute” concluded a two-day protest against the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), as the German secret service is called.
Russian Duma presses ahead with pension reform in face of overwhelming popular opposition
By Clara Weiss, 23 August 2018
While 90 percent of the population opposes the reform, the Duma debate was dominated by its proponents.
UK Labour leader Corbyn silent on Afghanistan troop deployment
By Paul Mitchell, 23 August 2018
May’s announcement is a servile response to the demands of Trump, who has reversed his election promise to reduce US involvement in Afghanistan.
Spanish Socialist Party government’s progressive veneer cracks
By Paul Mitchell, 23 August 2018
The PSOE’s programme is austerity for the working class and militarism in the service of Spain’s geo-strategic ambitions.
Death toll rises from Greek forest fires
By John Vassilopoulos, 23 August 2018
Fire victims have demonstrated outside parliament to protest inadequate assistance from the Syriza government.
Greek Prime Minister Tsipras claims social cuts over as Syriza prepares more austerity
By Alex Lantier, 22 August 2018
Tsipras’ speech hailing the expiration of the decade-long European Union bailout scheme for Greece was a pack of lies from start to finish.
As Greece exits bailout, EU demands further austerity
By Robert Stevens, 21 August 2018
The conclusion of the bailout is a vote of confidence from financial markets that the pseudo-left Syriza government will continue looting the people to pay off the banks.
German federal and regional governments extend refugee camp system nationwide
By Marianne Arens, 21 August 2018
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann claims that the camps are “not detention facilities,” and that “no one is imprisoned,” but that is a lie.
UK: Boris Johnson gathers support for pro-Brexit Tory leadership challenge
By Robert Stevens, 21 August 2018
Johnson’s anti-burqa comments and the leadership ambitions that informed them were spurred on by effusive support from Trump and his former adviser, Steve Bannon.
UK: Momentum’s Jon Lansman takes his place alongside anti-Corbyn witch-hunters
By Julie Hyland, 20 August 2018
Whatever the progressive sentiments of those who signed up to the project, the Momentum network was from the very start aimed at controlling and ultimately sabotaging any genuine challenge to the right.
London: Ecuador embassy vigil marks six years since Julian Assange granted asylum
By Paul Mitchell, 18 August 2018
If forced out, Assange faces arrest by British police and imprisonment on bail infringement charges relating to a case dropped by Sweden over a year ago.
UK: Westminster “terror incident” remains unclear
By Paul Bond, 18 August 2018
While the authorities are not yet able to confirm that the incident was a terrorist attack, it will be used to intensify policing powers and surveillance across the capital.
At least 35 killed in Italy bridge collapse
By Allison Smith, 15 August 2018
The death toll has reached 35, with at least seven seriously injured and 440 forced to evacuate their homes following a gas leak.
German Social Democrats launch xenophobic campaign about child benefits
By Christopher Lehmann, 14 August 2018
On the “Tagesthemen” TV news program, the SPD mayor ranted against EU nationals who were allegedly flocking to Germany to fraudulently obtain social welfare payments.
Scotland: Protests force Serco to halt asylum seeker evictions
By Steve James, 14 August 2018
Serco wrote to Glasgow City Council of its intention to evict “former Asylum Seekers who do not wish to engage in voluntary return, and who the Home Office have determined have no legal right to remain in the UK.”
UK government warned of dangers of flammable cladding three years before Grenfell fire
By Tom Pearce, 14 August 2018
The warnings are further evidence of the vast criminality committed at Grenfell by the political and corporate elite.
Unsubmissive France summer school: Mélenchon invites the right wing
By Anthony Torres, 14 August 2018
Mélenchon’s attempts to ally with the political right must serve as a warning to workers that he plans to carry out a violently anti-worker policy.
Workers and youth in UK speak out against continued persecution of Julian Assange
By our reporters, 13 August 2018
August 16 will mark six years since WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange was granted political asylum by the Ecuadorian government.
UK National Health Service pay deal fuels growing rebellion against unions
By Ajanta Silva, 13 August 2018
More than 1,000 health workers signed a petition calling for the current leadership of the Royal College of Nursing to stand down.
Ryanair faces largest pilots’ strike in its history
By Marianne Arens, 9 August 2018
On Friday, simultaneous strikes against Ryanair will take place in several European countries. While workers’ anger has grown, the unions are doing everything to isolate the strike.
UK: Boris Johnson makes anti-Muslim pitch for Tory Party leadership
By Julie Hyland, 9 August 2018
In publishing his views, Johnson is counting on the fetid anti-migrant atmosphere being whipped up by all political parties.
Podemos backs state cover-up in Barcelona terror attack
By Alex Lantier, 9 August 2018
The pseudo-left party is demanding that the Spanish king be allowed to lead this year’s remembrance ceremony.
German government plans reintroduction of military conscription
By Noah Windstein, 9 August 2018
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party conference is scheduled to adopt a decision to reintroduce military service.
Defend the Student Council! Stop the right-wing conspiracy at Berlin’s Humboldt University
By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality and Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei, 9 August 2018
The IYSSE and SGP condemn the attack by university President Sabine Kunst against the Student Council at Humboldt University and her complicity with the far-right Alternative for Germany.
The Ryanair strike and the resurgence of international class struggle
By Robert Stevens, 8 August 2018
The class struggle is reaching a higher stage of development, posing strategic issues before every section of the international working class.
UK: Haringey Development Vehicle scheme scrapped, but social cleansing threat remains
By Paul Bond, 8 August 2018
The scheme would have seen the demolition of 1,400 council houses and their replacement by luxury developments and supposedly “affordable” properties.
Thousands demonstrate in Germany against far-right attacks on refugee rescue ships
By our reporters, 7 August 2018
Thousands of people demonstrated once again last weekend against the European governments’ inhumane refugee policies.
UK: Victims of state surveillance to take legal action against Undercover Policing Inquiry
By Thomas Scripps, 7 August 2018
From the outset, the inquiry did not require the police to reveal their operations and accepted as participants only some of those who already knew themselves to be victims.
Portugal: Left Bloc leader resigns over property speculation fortune
By Paul Mitchell, 7 August 2018
The whole episode surrounding Robles reveals, once again, the hypocritical self-seeking nature of the upper middle class constituency that forms the social basis of the pseudo-left.
Italy assists in illegal mass repatriation of refugees to Libya
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 6 August 2018
An Italian merchant ship in cooperation with the Italian government illegally transported 108 refugees rescued at sea back to Libya.
UK: Fascist Tommy Robinson’s court victory seized on by far-right
By Laura Tiernan, 6 August 2018
The response to Robinson’s release signals a further rightward lurch by the mainstream media in the direction of normalising the far-right.
Appeal to neo-fascists on police scandal exposes reactionary role of Unsubmissive France
By Francis Dubois, 4 August 2018
Unsubmissive France is advancing out a populist, anti-worker policy compatible with police repression.
German government launches camp system for refugees
By Christoph Vandreier, 2 August 2018
With the inhumane camp system, the coalition government of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats is implementing the refugee policy of the far-right Alternative for Germany.
Ryanair’s mass sacking threat raises need for globally coordinated struggle of airline workers
By Steve James, 2 August 2018
The role of the unions in the airline and other industries is to isolate any struggle, impose the demands of the companies and prevent a unified fight of the entire working class.
British Navy evacuated Manchester bomber Salman Abedi from Libya in 2014
By Robert Stevens, 2 August 2018
It was known at top levels of the British state that Abedi had travelled on the ship, but the public, including the families of his victims, was kept in the dark for over a year.
Protest in Munich against attacks on refugees, poverty and war
By our reporters, 1 August 2018
Despite pouring rain, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Munich against right-wing agitation, increasing military spending, poverty and war.
France sets aside €300 billion for military in 2019-2025 budget plans
By Kumaran Ira, 1 August 2018
The massive increase in military spending underscores the fact that a fundamental aim of European austerity policies is to finance large-scale imperialist wars.
The Trump-Juncker agreement: A manoeuvre in the global trade war
By Nick Beams, 26 July 2018
The threat by Washington to impose a 25 percent tariff on auto imports has not been removed, but only suspended while negotiations go ahead on broader trade relations.
European Union reduces maritime rescue operations in the Mediterranean
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 26 July 2018
The halting of official rescue operations, like the sabotage of those conducted by private organisations, will lead to a massive rise in fatalities.
Corbyn outlines nationalist, anti-migrant pitch for Labour government
By Robert Stevens, 26 July 2018
Under conditions of a worsening crisis for Theresa May’s Conservative government, Corbyn sought to reassure business that Labour was the party it could trust to navigate troubled waters ahead.
UK: South Western Railway conductors to strike over Driver Only Operation
By Tom Holling, 26 July 2018
South Western Railway is Britain’s busiest commuter train network and transports more than 4 million passengers a week in and out of London Waterloo.
Pursuit of rapper Valtònyc reveals widespread censorship in Spain
By Alejandro López, 26 July 2018
The unrelenting pursuit of rapper Josep Miquel Beltrán (stage name Valtònyc) is further evidence of the growing assault on free speech in Spain and throughout Europe.
Josep Valtònyc: “What’s happening to me could happen to anyone.”
By Alejandro López, 26 July 2018
“They put me on trial for telling true, objective facts, and that is because what is happening is scary. People are not going to be able to say what they think about those who are stealing public money from us, money taken out of our wages every month. We have the right to speak out, to criticize, to get angry.”
French presidential scandal: Mélenchon defends the riot police
By Francis Dubois and Alex Lantier, 24 July 2018
Mélenchon was careful not to appeal to anger among workers and youth at the arbitrary police violence captured in a viral video of a presidential aide assaulting protesters.
EU and Japan sign trade deal
By Nick Beams, 19 July 2018
The deal was five years in the making but the impetus to have it finalised was increased by the US trade war measures that have targeted both parties.
Fascist assault on UK union leader Steve Hedley
By Julie Hyland, 19 July 2018
The brutal assault on Steve Hedley, assistant general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union by fascist thugs on Saturday is an outrage.
Spain’s Socialist Party prepares new austerity budget, boosts military spending
By Alejandro López, 19 July 2018
The social democrats’ proposals to slow the pace of austerity reflect fear of a social rebellion by workers and youth amid a growing strike wave in Spain.
$3,000 per second for Bezos, poverty wages for Amazon workers
By Eric London, 18 July 2018
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos's $150 billion fortune was squeezed out of hundreds of thousands of warehouse, service and delivery workers.
UK: May government in meltdown over Brexit
By Robert Stevens, 18 July 2018
May’s attempted compromise over Brexit has blown up, due not simply to events in Britain, but also to the antagonisms between the US and Europe.
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