On 2 October, Jamal Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, to complete some paperwork so he could marry his Turkish fiancé. He was greeted at the door by a smiling Saudi official. He never came out again. Turkish officials insist they have evidence from inside the Saudi consulate that confirms that Khashoggi was tortured and killed there, his body dismembered and secretly disposed of.

“Our relationship has never been worse than it is now. However, that changed as of about four hours ago. I really believe that.” The judgement of President Donald J. Trump delivered from the heights of Helsinki followed hard on the heels of his first summit meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin. If anything, it was even more bizarre than his visits to the NATO summit and the United Kingdoma few days ago. And it made even bigger waves.

Lenin once wrote an article entitled Combustible Material in World Politics. But the amount of combustible material in the present world situation dwarfs anything the Bolshevik leader might have had in mind. Everywhere one looks there is instability, turbulence and convulsion: the conflict between Russia and Ukraine; the bloody Civil War in Syria; the conflict between Iran, Israel and Saudi Arabia; the unresolved question of Palestine; and the long-drawn-out and equally unresolved war in Afghanistan.

Expectations for the G7 were not high, but the outcome was even worse than expected. For the first time ever, the G7 ended without a joint statement, and with Trump lashing out at Canada and the EU. The summit in North Korea, on the other hand, ended with all smiles and a joint statement promising peace, denuclearisation and security.

On Thursday the deadline passed for an agreement between Trump and Canada, Japan, Mexico and the EU on trade. Failure to reach an agreement meant that the steel and aluminium tariffs threatened by Trump came into force. With this, Trump has begun the process of unravelling globalisation. On Saturday, the G-7 finance ministers met and the 6 non-US ministers came together against the US, expressing their “unanimous concern and disappointment” over the US decision.

Alan Woods – editor of In Defence of Marxism – discusses Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear dealand reintroduce sanctions. In taking this step, the US President is throwing a lit match onto an already highly-flammable situation. In the process, Trump has stomped on the interests of the Europeans and instead allied himself to the most reactionary regimes in the region: Israel and Saudi Arabia. Far from bringing stability or security to the people of Iran and the wider Middle East, Trump's actions will only add fuel to the

Yesterday, Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw the United States from the Iran nuclear deal. In a speech filled with lies, distortions and crude hypocrisy he announced that his administration will reimpose the “highest level of economic sanctions” on Iran.

Alan Woods – editor of In Defence of Marxism – discusses the North Korean peace talks between US President Donald Trump (who has been quick to claim credit) and 'Little Rocket Man', Kim Jong Un. Alan explains the political motives behind these talks, which have caught many observers by surprise, given recent hysteria over an impending third world war. However, as Alan points out, such a conflict is not on the cards; instead, the belligerent language was all part of a bargaining play. Now the antagonists in this war of words are looking to strike a deal, and have changed their tone. 

After placing hefty tariffs on solar panels, washing machines, steel and aluminium, Trump is now picking a fight with China. His latest proposals target $60bn worth of Chinese exports, and threaten a trade war between two of the largest economies in the world.

There is an old film starring Peter Sellers called The Mouse that Roared that describes a comical situation in which a tiny, insignificant, European nation declares war on the United States in order to obtain aid. By a peculiar twist of circumstances, they win. The scenario of this amusing production was strikingly brought to mind by the events of the last few days in Britain.

Alan Woods, editor of In Defence of Marxism, discusses the latest spy thriller: the attempted assassination of an MI6 double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England, which the Tories are blaming on the Kremlin. But what lies behind this story? Alan argues that there is something suspiciously theatrical about the use of nerve gas (a 'Cold War relic') to bump off an ex-spy. But maintaining a sense of Cold War tension is certainly in the interests of the British ruling class.

On September 19th President Donald Trump delivered his first address to the UN General Assembly to outline his view of the world, the universe and life in general.

Il 22 maggio, in una piacevole serata erano in migliaia, principalmente adolescenti, ad un concerto pop nell’Arena di Manchester. Ma ciò che doveva essere un’occasione di divertimento, si è trasformato in un bagno di sangue quando un attentatore suicida solitario ha fatto esplodere un dispositivo esplosivo a frammentazione improvvisato nell’ingresso dell’Arena, affollato di genitori che stavano aspettando i propri figli.

Las recientes reuniones tormentosas en la cumbre del G7 y la conferencia de la OTAN han puesto al descubierto las crecientes tensiones en las relaciones mundiales. Esto sucedió más explícitamente entre el líder del "mundo libre", Donald Trump y la líder de facto de la Unión Europea, la canciller alemana Angela Merkel. "La primera visita de Donald Trump a Europa fue incómoda. Sus consecuencias han sido explosivas", comentó el Financial Times, un portavoz importante del capital financiero.

Οι πρόσφατες θορυβώδεις συναντήσεις στη διάσκεψη κορυφής των G7 και στη διάσκεψη του ΝΑΤΟ κατέδειξαν τις αυξανόμενες εντάσεις στις παγκόσμιες σχέσεις. Αυτό έγινε πιο εμφανές στις σχέσεις μεταξύ του ηγέτη του «ελεύθερου κόσμου», Ντόναλντ Τράμπ και της de facto αρχηγού της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης, της Γερμανίδας Καγκελαρίου Άνγκελας Μέρκελ. «Η πρώτη επίσκεψη του Ντόναλντ Τράμπ στην Ευρώπη ήταν άβολη. Τα επακόλουθά της είναι εκρηκτικά», σχολίασαν οι Financial Times, ένα από τα μεγαλύτερα όργανα του κεφαλαίου.