The victory of the National People's Power (NPP) candidate, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in the Sri Lankan presidential election represented a major shift in the South Asian state's political trajectory. Dissanayake's upset was soon followed by parliamentary elections in which his coalition won two thirds of the seats, an unprecedented feat since the system of proportional representation was established in the late 1980s. For the first time since the 1970s, a left-wing party is not only (…)

In this powerful interview, renowned Ukrainian human rights defender Maksym Butkevych opens up about his transition from civilian activist to military service, his 2.5-year imprisonment in Russian-occupied territory, and his recent liberation through a prisoner exchange. Butkevych reveals that the greatest danger in Russian captivity wasn't physical hardship but “losing a part of oneself.” Despite facing a 13-year sentence based on fabricated charges, he found meaning in his imprisonment by (…)

A super typhoon has made second landfall on the Philippines' main island of Luzon, with forecasters warning of “life-threatening storm surge”, heavy rains and severe winds.
Video: Super typhoon Man-Yi makes landfall on Philippines main islandWeather worsens in Philippines as Super Typhoon Man-yi gets closer
Man-Yi, known locally as Pepito, first touched down on the country's eastern Cantanduanes island at 21:40 local time (13:40 GMT) on Saturday, with maximum sustained wind speeds of (…)

The clear-cut election of Donald Trump as President of the United States of America is a major development in the process of right-wing and extreme right-wing extremism underway in global capitalism.
At a time when neoliberalism has deepened abysmal social inequalities that hit women and racialised people the hardest;
at a time when the ruling classes are wallowing more and more in an opulence whose legal and illegal sources are so mixed that they can no longer be distinguished;
at a (…)

President-elect Donald Trump has rapidly chosen loyalists for cabinet positions and other high offices. The Senate must vote to confirm cabinet members and his choices are controversial even among Republicans. In some cases, Trump's capricious, unvetted picks are likely to lead to governmental chaos if they are confirmed. Comics and journalists have referred to the new cabinet as “Trump's clown car.” The clowns, however are not funny; they're frightening.
Perhaps most outrageously, Trump (…)