A firefighter gestures next to burning trees as a wildfire rages near Marcheprime, outside, Bordeaux, France, July 26, 2026
FRANCE holds emergency meetings on the evacuation of Bordeaux, a city of a million, as wildfires sweep ever closer. In Spain families are fleeing the capital, Madrid.
The reality of the climate emergency has come to Europe. There were plenty of warning signs — more severe heatwaves by the year, droughts and floods devastating harvests — including in Britain, where three of the five worst harvests on record have been since 2020 — and worsening wildfires.
In Britain this summer fires have burnt swathes of the Cairngorms and Eryri (Snowdonia), as well as Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh for the second year running. As summer heatwaves grow longer and drier, we should not imagine our towns and cities are safe. As Fire Brigades Union leader Steve Wright told the Morning Star in May, “In London a suburban street burnt to the ground last year” (in Rainham) “and we had wildfires in Dorset and Wiltshire.”
Computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, argues that addressing the climate crisis requires “World War II-scale mobilisation.”
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Addressing the climate crisis involves radical restructuring — one reason climate activists were, even before Palestine solidarity campaigners, the victims of repressive new anti-protest laws.
That, in turn, means getting real about the class power of the forces blocking change. Proposed mechanisms for delivering action like citizens’ assemblies are a response to the sluggishness of existing institutions, but do not address its cause — the power of the capitalist class.
Agreeing what we ought to do doesn’t guarantee that it will happen: the climate movement needs to be one with the labour and peace movements, and recognise that this is fundamentally a class struggle and a battle against capitalism itself.
That dividing line becomes ever clearer, domestically and internationally.
The far right are the climate deniers at home; globally the denier-in-chief is the main imperialist power, the United States, whose agenda is to stop the rise of China, the world leader in renewables and green tech. The only existential threat as grave as climate change is world war — and the push towards that is also the biggest obstacle to climate action.
The cry on climate demos — “system change, not climate change” — rings true. We need to follow through on the implications.
Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him and his Deputy Richard Tice. He says that Reform UK has received £Millions and £Millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Demonstrators march with a banner reading, “We Block Everything,” during a May 1, 2026 Rome protest in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla. (Photo by Andrea Ronchini/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“This is a double violation of international law: First, Israel abducted them illegally at sea. Second, Israel is now transporting them, violently, illegally, to one of its notorious prisons.”
Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis on Friday slammed European leaders—and the West at large—for what he said is their complicity in Israel’s abduction of two leaders of the Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla seized off the coast of Greece.
In what numerous critics called an act of piracy, Israeli authorities intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla on Thursday in international waters 45 nautical miles west of the Greek island Kythira and 600 nautical miles from Gaza, according to Greenpeace, whose MY Arctic Sunrise was the aid convoy’s most prominent vessel.
Around 175 activists aboard 22 vessels were seized by Israeli forces. The BBC reported Friday that most of them have been released in Greece.
Some of the flotilla members said they were beaten and dragged while handcuffed. The Washington Postreported 34 people—including citizens of Australia, Colombia, Italy, Ukraine, and the United States—required medical attention for broken ribs, noses, and other injuries. Detained activists also said they were denied food and water and were forced to sleep on deliberately flooded floors.
Flotilla organizers said 31 of the remaining vessels will continue heading toward Palestine in a bid to “break the illegal siege of Gaza.”
Two members of the flotilla steering committee—Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Ávila—were taken to Israel for interrogation.
Abu Keshek is a Spanish-Swedish citizen of Palestinian origin. Ávila is Brazilian. Israel’s Foreign Ministry claimed that Abu Keshek is “suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization” and Ávila is “suspected of illegal activity.”
As is very often the case with Palestinians it has killed, Israel provided no evidence to support its claims against the accused.
Varoufakis noted on X that Ávila “has distinguished himself with repeated attempts to break the illegal, genocidal, Israeli blockage of Gaza.”
“Unlike the remaining abducted members of the Sumud Flotilla crew, which the Israeli navy disembarked in Crete, Saif and Thiago are detained and bound for an Israeli prison,” the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 co-founder continued. “This is a double violation of international law: First, Israel abducted them illegally at sea. Second, Israel is now transporting them, violently, illegally, to one of its notorious prisons.”
It is not known where Israel will send the two men. Ávila was previously held at Ayalon Prison in Ramla, along with other activists seized from the Madleen last summer. Ávila reportedly refused deportation papers and launched a hunger strike, prompting prison authorities to place him in solitary confinement.
While it is not as notorious as the Sde Teiman military prison—where former inmates and Israeli staff have describedtorture, rape, murder, and other abuse of Palestinians—Ayalon Prison’s alleged human rights violations include torture, medical neglect, and deliberately degrading conditions.
“Meanwhile,” Varoufakis said Friday, “the Greek government is cooperating fully in Israel’s criminal behavior, effectively surrendering its search and rescue obligations and conniving with Israel to victimize the brave crews of the Sumud Flotilla who are steadfastly, through their activism, defending international law as well as the verdict of the International Court of Justice, which has clearly and unequivocally declared Israel’s continued naval blockade of Gaza and its occupation of the Palestinian territories illegal.”
“Through their complicity and their silence, the Greek government, the European Union, the mainstream media, the West more generally, are flouting, indeed they are trashing, their supposed, much publicized, ‘Western values,’” he added.
Varoufakis is calling on the world to demand:
The immediate release of Saif and Thiago;
An end to Israel’s criminal behavior in international waters;
The termination of Israel’s illegal Gaza blockade; and
That the Greek government and the European Union cease and desist from lending logistical and moral support to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its ethnic cleansing campaigns in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Varoufakis’ call was echoed by the Global Sumud Flotilla, which demanded that “all governments do all they can to pressure the Israeli regime to release all the illegal abductees.”
Spanish officials including Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also decried Thursday’s raid and demanded the release of the flotilla activists while calling for an end to EU-Israel Association Agreement, a bilateral trade and economic policy framework.
“Israel is once again violating international law by assaulting a civilian flotilla in waters that do not belong to it,” Sánchez said on X. “Our government is doing everything necessary to protect and assist the detained Spaniards. But that is not enough. The EU must suspend the association agreement NOW and demand that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu comply with the law of our seas.”
On the other hand, US State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott condemned the flotilla as a “pro-Hamas initiative” and called on allied countries “to take decisive action against this meaningless political stunt.”
The United States provides Israel with tens of billions of dollars in armed aid and diplomatic support including repeated vetoes of United Nations Security Council ceasefire resolutions for Gaza.
Israel maintains that its actions were legal. Its officials have repeatedly invoked the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea—often shortened to the San Remo Manual—to justify the interception and seizure of flotilla vessels attempting to reach Gaza on the high seas.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of cities including Athens, Barcelona, Gaza City, Istanbul, Madrid, Milan, Naples, Paris, and Rome on Thursday as protesters showed solidarity with the flotilla members and condemned Israel’s actions.
"We will block everything". Mass protest in Rome after the seizure of the Global Sumud Flotilla
Meanwhile, Gazans continue to suffer from Israel’s bombing and blockade, which have killed or wounded more than 250,000 Palestinians and forcibly displaced, starved, or sickened around 2 million others.
Earlier this week, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari said that despite “some improvements in access and aid delivery… food security remains a challenge, while essential services, particularly water, sanitation, and health, are again on the brink of collapse.”
People gather outside the US Embassy in Madrid, Spain to protest the Trump administration’s attack on Venezuela on January 4, 2025. (Photo by Diego Radames/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“This is militarized authoritarianism,” said one advocacy group. “We must act to stop it now, before it spreads to enflame the entire region, if not the entire globe, in a dangerous, unnecessary conflict.”
Protests broke out at US diplomatic outposts across the globe Saturday and Sunday following the Trump administration’s deadly attack on Venezuela and abduction of the nation’s president, brazen violations of international law that—according to the American president—were just the start of a sustained intervention in Venezuela’s politics and oil industry.
Demonstrators took to the streets of Brussels, Madrid, Ankara, Mexico City, Los Angeles, and other major cities worldwide to voice opposition to the US assault on Venezuela and Trump administration officials’ pledge to “run” the country’s government for an unspecified period of time, a plan that Venezuelan leaders have publicly met with defiance.
The US Mission to Mexico—one of several Latin American countries Trump threatened in the aftermath of the attack on Venezuela—warned in an alert issued Saturday that “a protest denouncing US actions against Venezuela continues to take place in front of the US Embassy in the Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City.”
“Protestors have thrown rocks and painted vandalism on exterior walls,” the alert read. “Social media posts about the protest have included anti-American sentiment. Embassy personnel have been advised to avoid the area.”
Social and political organizations mobilized to the US Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico on January 3, 2026. (Photo by Miguel M. Caamano/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Hundreds gather in front of the US Embassy in Brussels, Belgium on January 4, 2025. (Photo by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Demonstrators hold posters and chant slogans during a protest in front of the US Embassy on January 4, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. (Photo by Serdar Ozsoy/Getty Images)
A photograph taken on January 4, 2026 shows an anti-war placard in Brussels during a demonstration against the US attack on Venezuela. (Photo by Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga/AFP via Getty Images)
Protesters gather during a demonstration in front of the US Embassy on January 4, 2026 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Olmo Blanco/Getty Images)
The global demonstrations came as some world leaders, including top European officials, faced backlash for failing to adequately condemn—or condemn at all—the US attack on Venezuela and continued menacing of a sovereign nation.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said she supports “a peaceful and democratic transition,” without mentioning or denouncing the illegal abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and US bombings that reportedly killed at least 40 people, including civilians.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis declared that “this is not the time to comment on the legality of the recent actions” as protesters gathered in Athens in opposition to the US assault.
“If you still believe that the European Union cares about international law, then look no further,” wrote Progressive International co-general coordinator David Adler, pointing to Mitsotakis’ statement.
“We are outraged, but this moment demands more than outrage. It demands organized, coordinated resistance.”
Mass protests and demands for international action to halt US aggression proliferated amid ongoing questions about how the Trump administration intends to carry out its stated plan to control Venezuela and exploit its oil reserves—objectives that experts say would run afoul of domestic and international law.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who played a central role in planning the Venezuela attack and has been chosen by Trump to manage the aftermath, said Sunday that the administration intends to keep in place a military “quarantine” around the South American nation—including the massive naval force amassed in the Caribbean in recent months—to pressure the country’s leadership to bow to US demands.
“That’s a tremendous amount of leverage that will continue to be in place until we see changes, not just to further the national interest of the United States, which is number one, but also that lead to a better future for the people of Venezuela,” Rubio said in a television interview.
Rubio also suggested the president could deploy US troops to Venezuela and dodged questions about the legal authority the Trump administration has to intervene in the country. The administration has not sought congressional authorization for any of its attacks on vessels in the Caribbean or Venezuela directly.
US Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Sunday that “in recent history, we’ve tried ‘running’ multiple countries in Latin America and the Middle East. It’s been a disaster for us, and for them, every single time.”
“Congress must pass a War Powers Resolution to get our military back to defending the US, instead of ‘running’ Venezuela,” Casar added.
“We must act to stop it now, before it spreads to enflame the entire region, if not the entire globe, in a dangerous, unnecessary conflict,” the group added. “We are outraged, but this moment demands more than outrage. It demands organized, coordinated resistance.”
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
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Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares speaks to press ahead of the international meeting to discuss ending the war between Israel and Hamas, and advancing toward a two-state solution, in Madrid, Spain on May 25, 2025. [Şenhan Bolelli – Anadolu Agency]
Spain’s foreign minister insisted Sunday that the two-state solution is the only alternative to conflict between Israel and Palestine and is pushing for concrete measures to advance it at an international meeting in Madrid, Anadolu reports.
“What’s the alternative? Kill all the Palestinians? Send them, I don’t know where—to the moon?” Jose Manuel Albares said in a speech ahead of the meeting.
Madrid is hosting a group of 20 countries—foreign representatives from European nations, Muslim countries, and Brazil—as well as international organizations to discuss ending the war, Israel’s siege on Gaza, and advancing toward a two-state solution.
“Gaza is an open wound for humanity… There are no words to describe what is happening in Gaza—but just because there are no words doesn’t mean we will remain silent,” said Albares.
The number of countries in the so-called Madrid Plus Group has doubled, said Albares, with countries like Germany, Italy, France, and Portugal, which did not attend the first meeting, showing up on Sunday.
“There’s a lot of diplomatic muscle here today,” said Albares. “We are different governments coming together, but we all believe in the same principles and are not resigned to accepting violence as the natural way for Israelis and Palestinians to relate.”
He said that “time is running out” for a two-state solution, but the Madrid meeting aims to clarify “concrete steps” to turn the situation around for the sake of both Palestinians and Israelis.
Albares said Spain will push for measures to end the war, including suspending the EU-Israel trade agreement, an EU-wide arms embargo on Israel, sanctioning more individuals linked to the conflict, and “making the two-state solution impossible.”
Spain will propose that the upcoming UN meeting on June 16 be used as a “great movement for the recognition of a Palestinian state,” he added.
“Then, around a year later, we can hold another international meeting with Palestine as a full state with complete rights within the UN,” he said.
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UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.Vote For Genocide Vote Labour.UK Foreign Minister David Lammy confirms that UK government and military are active participants in Israel’s genocides and that the F-35 parts that they suspended from supplying to Israel are instead simply diverted via the United States. He says see https://youtu.be/QILgUHrdWRE
Women chant slogans during a protest marking International Women’s Day in Istanbul, Turkey, March 8, 2025
WOMEN took to the streets of cities across Europe, Africa, South America and elsewhere to mark International Women’s Day with demands for ending inequality and gender-based violence.
On the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey’s biggest city, a rally in Kadikoy saw members of dozens of women’s groups listen to speeches, dance and sing in the spring sunshine.
The colourful protest was overseen by a large police presence, including officers in riot gear and a water cannon truck.
Protesters pushed back against the idea of women’s role being confined to marriage and motherhood, carrying banners reading “Family will not bind us to life” and “We will not be sacrificed to the family.”
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From Athens to Madrid, Paris, Munich, Zurich and Belgrade and in many more cities across the continent, women marched to demand an end to treatment as second-class citizens in society, politics, family and at work.
A firefighter gestures next to burning trees as a wildfire rages near Marcheprime, outside, Bordeaux, France, July 26, 2026
