News Feeds

The Stay Grounded network has launched a new project called ‘Red Lines for Airports’. It seeks to unite and support groups campaigning against airport expansion projects and build power for a reduction of air traffic. As part of it, we’re running a European Tour, visiting members, and supporting with workshops and skill-shares. Here, Inês tells us about her trip to Madrid to support…

Source

Di tengah pertumbuhan tersebut, istilah slot gacor terbaik dan terpercaya menjadi salah satu kata kunci yang paling sering dicari oleh pengguna internet. Meski demikian, memahami makna di balik istilah tersebut menjadi langkah penting agar pengguna dapat memilih platform yang aman, transparan, dan memberikan pengalaman bermain yang optimal.

Secara umum, istilah slot gacor digunakan oleh komunitas pemain untuk menggambarkan permainan yang dinilai memiliki peluang memberikan fitur bonus atau kemenangan lebih sering berdasarkan pengalaman mereka. Namun, tidak ada jaminan bahwa suatu permainan akan selalu menghasilkan kemenangan dalam periode tertentu. Pemahaman ini membantu pemain membangun ekspektasi yang lebih realistis saat menikmati permainan online.

Dalam memilih slot gacor terbaik dan terpercaya, aspek keamanan menjadi prioritas utama. Platform yang kredibel umumnya menyediakan sistem perlindungan data pengguna, metode transaksi yang aman, serta informasi yang transparan mengenai layanan yang ditawarkan. Selain itu, keberadaan layanan pelanggan yang responsif dan proses transaksi yang efisien menjadi indikator penting bahwa sebuah platform berkomitmen memberikan pengalaman pengguna yang berkualitas.

Faktor lain yang tidak kalah penting adalah keberagaman koleksi permainan. Platform terpercaya biasanya bekerja sama dengan berbagai pengembang perangkat lunak ternama sehingga mampu menghadirkan pilihan game dengan tema, fitur, dan tingkat volatilitas yang beragam. Variasi tersebut memungkinkan pemain menyesuaikan permainan sesuai preferensi masing-masing, baik yang menyukai fitur bonus interaktif maupun permainan dengan mekanisme sederhana.

Selain variasi permainan, informasi mengenai Return to Player (RTP) dan volatilitas juga menjadi bahan pertimbangan bagi banyak pemain. RTP merupakan persentase teoritis pengembalian dana kepada pemain dalam jangka panjang, sedangkan volatilitas menggambarkan tingkat frekuensi serta besaran kemenangan yang mungkin diperoleh. Memahami kedua indikator tersebut dapat membantu pemain menentukan permainan yang sesuai dengan gaya bermain tanpa bergantung pada anggapan bahwa suatu slot selalu memberikan hasil yang sama.

Prinsip bermain secara bertanggung jawab juga menjadi bagian penting dalam memilih slot terpercaya. Pemain disarankan menetapkan batas anggaran, mengatur durasi bermain, serta menjadikan permainan sebagai bentuk hiburan, bukan sebagai sarana memperoleh pendapatan. Pendekatan ini membantu menciptakan pengalaman bermain yang lebih sehat sekaligus mengurangi risiko pengambilan keputusan secara emosional.

Pada akhirnya, memilih slot gacor terbaik dan terpercaya tidak hanya bergantung pada popularitas suatu permainan, tetapi juga pada kualitas platform yang digunakan. Transparansi informasi, sistem keamanan yang baik, reputasi layanan, serta komitmen terhadap pengalaman pengguna merupakan faktor utama yang perlu diperhatikan. Dengan memahami aspek-aspek tersebut, pemain dapat menikmati permainan digital secara lebih bijak, aman, dan bertanggung jawab, sekaligus memperoleh pengalaman hiburan yang lebih nyaman dalam ekosistem game online yang terus berkembang.

Campaigners have criticised another oil operator for a “flawed assessment” of the climate impact of drilling and production plans.

Methods used in an application for expansion of the Wressle oil field in North Lincolnshire have been condemned in a public consultation as “unscientific wishful thinking” and of failing to comply with the latest guidance.

Objectors have said the Wressle scheme should be refused planning permission.

Existing Wressle well site. Photo: Egdon Resources planning application

Earlier this week, DrillOrDrop reported calls for rejection of an expansion scheme at the Horse Hill oil site in Surrey, partly because of the way carbon emissions had been estimated.

At both Horse Hill and Wressle, developers have claimed the impacts on climate change would be “insignificant”, despite the release at each site of more than a million tonnes of damaging carbon pollution.

Key criticisms have centred on how the companies assessed the significance of greenhouse gases resulting from burning the extracted oil or gas, known as downstream or scope 3 category 11 emissions.

The Wressle operator, Egdon Resources, estimated in a revised application, published in May 2026, that the expanded operation would produce an extra 1 million+ barrels of oil over 15 years and an additional 5.264 billion cubic feet of gas.

Egdon predicted that the site would release more than 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tco2e), most of it through scope 3 category 11 emissions.

Campaigners have argued there is no space in the global carbon budget for any new fossil fuel developments or expansion of existing sites if the world’s temperature increase is to remain within the legally-binding limit of 1.5C.

Egdon had been granted permission in 2024 for two new production wells and lower volume fracking.

But the approval was later quashed following the landmark Finch Ruling at the Supreme Court.

This was a successful challenge brought by Sarah Finch and the Weald Action Group, which required decision-makers to take into account the scope 3 category 11 emissions.

“All eyes on Wressle”

The decision on the Wressle scheme, to be made by North Lincolnshire Council, could be the first fossil fuel production application in England to be made using the Finch Ruling.

Other applications have been withdrawn (Biscathorpe), postponed (Waddock Cross in Dorset) or faced requests for more information (Rosebank and Jackdaw).

The Weald Action Group (WAG) said in its response to the Wressle application:

“All eyes will therefore be on North Lincolnshire and the decision will be closely scrutinised, as its approach could set an influential precedent for future decisions on similar projects.”

Fossil Fuel Free Lincolnshire (FFFL) told DrillOrDrop:

“Once again at Wressle, the oil and gas industry claims that the emissions from a single development are insignificant when set against global carbon budgets.

“That misses the point entirely.

“The remaining carbon budget is disappearing fast, which means every tonne of emissions counts. The claim that one more oil and gas development won’t make a difference is ludicrous – especially as they say it every time!

“Each new development locks us into fossil fuels and adds to global emissions.”

FFFL said:

“We’ve presented robust legal and planning arguments showing why this proposal should be refused, backed by national climate policy and North Lincolnshire’s own Green Future Plan. The planners have both the evidence and the policy framework they need. Now they just need the courage to resist industry pressure and make the right decision.”

Lincolnshire Climate Commission told us:

“Limiting the worst impacts of climate change requires a rapid reduction in fossil fuel use across all sectors, not the expansion of oil and gas production that extends reliance on fossil fuels.

“The UK’s long-term energy security depends on accelerating the transition to renewable energy and improving energy efficiency, rather than continued investment in new fossil fuel extraction and associated infrastructure.

“We urge decision-makers to ensure that the Wressle planning application is assessed in light of the UK’s climate commitments and the wider, long-term public interest.”

Lincolnshire climate campaigner, Amanda Suddaby, said in her formal response that Egdon Resources had failed to “provide a transparent or robust assessment of the project’s full lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions or their significance.”

She said the proposal would extend the original 15-year production life of Wressle:

“this application represents a material extension of fossil fuel extraction that is not consistent with the basis on which the original temporary permission was granted, nor with current national and local policy requirements relating to climate change.”

Key points “Unsound and inadequate environmental statement”

Opponents of the Wressle expansion have outlined in formal responses to a public consultation what they said were numerous flaws in the environmental statement (ES) that accompanied the planning application and included the climate assessment.

FFFL said in its response:

“The ES is logically unsound and legally inadequate. On that basis alone, permission for the proposed development should be refused.”

The group said North Lincolnshire Council should not give Egdon “yet another bite at the cherry” by asking for a further revised environmental statement. It said:

“The most robust and cogent response would be to refuse permission”.

“Contrary to latest guidance”

Several responses argued that Egdon had not complied with the latest guidance on assessing climate impacts.

WAG said:

“We consider that the assessment does not comply with EIA Regulations 2017, the Department of Energy and Net Zero scope 3 supplementary guidance, or the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professions 2022 guidance regarding assessing greenhouse gas emissions and evaluating their significance.

“Nor does it refer to the 2025 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change or the 2024 proposed revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework.”

“Ignored latest forecasts”

Several responses also stated that Egdon’s environmental statement did not consider the most up-to-date forecasts of the remaining 1.5C aligned global carbon budget.

WAG said:

“There is zero space in the remaining 1.5C aligned global carbon budget for any new fossil fuel developments or expansions to existing sites; and a massive excess of emissions from existing oil, gas and coal infrastructure which will now need to close before the end of its economic life.

“The 917,999 tco2e of scope 3, category 11 emissions from an expanded Wressle development would be additional, cumulative and hence contribute to the further exceedance of the 1.5C global carbon budget. As such, and based on established guidance, these emissions should be considered as significant for the climate.”

Amanda Suddaby said:

“The development of new fossil fuel extraction is fundamentally incompatible with the UK’s climate obligations and with Paris-aligned 1.5C pathways which are essential for maintaining a habitable planet and avoiding runaway climate breakdown triggers.”

“Insignificant impact” – “scientifically-flawed”

Egdon Resources assessed the significance of the category 11 emissions at Wressle as a percentage of overall global carbon budgets and in relation to emissions reduction pathways published behind paywalls by the fossil fuel consultancy, Global Energy Outlook.

The company said:

“while the unmitigated, worst-case effect is moderate adverse, the overall assessment concludes that the effect is minor adverse when viewed in the context of global mitigation trajectories.”

Lincolnshire Climate Commission described this conclusion as “scientifically flawed”.

FFFL said:

“This startling conclusion is entirely without rational foundation.

It said:

“The reasoning for how an acknowledged significant adverse effect can become ‘not significant’ in the absence of any mitigation is demonstrably flawed.”

FFFL added:

“All the factors … point to a major adverse impact, given the project [is] being assessed as a fossil fuel project which locks in emissions because it adopts a business-as usual or do-minimum approach to compliance with global mitigation trajectories (themselves unscientific).”

FFFL said of the company’s assessment approaches:

“Neither is an adequate approach to contextualising the significance of the project’s emissions since neither allows for the project’s contributions (or lack thereof) towards the achievement of net zero to be clearly understood.”

Professional judgement “unscientific wishful thinking”

Egdon Resources concluded that the scope 3 category 11 emissions would have a moderate adverse effect, reducing to minor adverse when “professional judgement” was applied. The company referred to guidance from the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professions (ISEP).

But the ISEP guidance on ‘professional judgement’ states this must be based “on available guidance, policy and scientific evidence”.

FFFL said:

“The so-called ‘professional judgement’ reducing the moderate adverse effect … to a minor adverse effect is unmoored from any available guidance, policy or scientific evidence. It is unscientific wishful thinking.”

FFFL added:

“It is self-evidence that the GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions from the proposed development would have a significant effect on the climate and that the effect would be major adverse, applying the ISEP guidance and the supplementary guidance.”

“Failed to assess cumulative effects”

The supplementary guidance, published by the UK government after the Finch Ruling, states that global emissions reduction pathways should be “inherently cumulative” so that they can function as a cumulative assessment of a project’s climate effects.

FFFL said pathways used by Egdon were “not inherently cumulative”.

They relied on “abstract projections and modelling of reducing demand for fossil fuels over time rather than real world data and implemented policies”, FFFL said.

FFFL described the Egdon pathways as “untethered from the reality of existing, consented and planned projects.”

FFFL said the company failed to “carry out a proper assessment of the cumulative effects of the proposed development in relation to other planned and permitted fossil fuel projects”.

WAG said:

“By not considering forecast emissions from already existing and approved oil and gas projects it fails to place Wressle’s scope 3, category 11 emissions within a global cumulative emissions context.”

Amanda Suddaby said it was “mathematically unsound” to argue that any single development was insignificant in the context of a larger overarching budget.

She said:

“Treating any source individually rather than additionally is to misunderstand the nature of the mitigation problem: emissions from all sources must be rapidly cut, with no scope for additional fossil fuel extraction”.

She added:

“The drop in the-ocean argument has been rejected by courts around the world, and by the government”.

“No substance to substitution argument”

Egdon suggested that demand for oil would be met from alternative sources if Wressle expansion did not go ahead. It said the sources could include imported oil, resulting in additional emissions from transport and different regulatory standards.

UK government guidance requires developers to provide evidence of substitution if it relies on this argument.

WAG and FFFL said no evidence of substitution had been provided and the argument should be disregarded.

FFFL said:

“Egdon purports to rely on alleged substitution and a reduction in the need for imports into the UK, that is inappropriate and unlawful.”

Lincolnshire Climate Commission said:

“Global oil markets do not operate on a one‑in, one‑out basis. Additional production from small fields such as Wressle adds to total global supply, increasing global emissions. This conclusion is consistent with independent climate‑energy research and the position of the UK Climate Change Committee. The substitution argument should therefore be given no weight in the planning balance.”

“Contradicts local climate plan”

Several responses said Wressle expansion would contradict local climate policies.

The North Lincolnshire Council Green Future Programme aims to create a “cleaner greener and more sustainable North Lincolnshire”, with its own commitment to net zero in operational emissions by 2030.

Amanda Suddaby said estimated emissions associated with Wressle expansion were approx 200 times greater than the council’s six-year carbon reduction target. She said:

“This highlights a fundamental inconsistency between the council’s stated climate ambitions and the continued approval of new fossil fuel developments”.

Lincolnshire Climate Commission said:

“Approving further oil extraction at Wressle would directly contradict these strategic aims, undermine the Council’s stated commitment to a “cleaner, greener and more sustainable North Lincolnshire,” and increase the very climate and nature risks the Council has pledged to reduce.”

There are farcical elements to the Farage/Lowe schism but also a real danger of dragging British politics ever rightwards, writes Rhys Clarke

The post Reform, Restore and the fragmentation of the British right appeared first on Red Pepper.

Dancing towards the revolution Channel News brendan 24th July 2026 Teaser Media

Veteran energy and climate reporter Peter Hannam is joining Renew Economy, returning to journalism after a stint with the Climate Change Authority.

The post Peter Hannam joins Renew Economy as senior writer as editorial team expands appeared first on Renew Economy.

Consultant Shane Quinnell on the many hurdles we force renewable projects to jump over – and then wonder why they trip up. Plus, news of the week.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Why we make renewable projects so hard appeared first on Renew Economy.

Waymos — the driverless taxis that operate in many cities — are involved in 68-percent fewer crashes than humans, a new independent study found.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report compared state and federal crash data with incident reports from major autonomous vehicle companies in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Austin. To improve the accuracy of its conclusions, the AV sample was limited to collisions to which police would normally respond. In addition to having fewer incidents than humans, researchers concluded that driverless car crashes are generally less egregious.

In addition to experiencing fewer crashes overall, Waymos experienced 85-percent fewer single-vehicle crashes per mile than human drivers, and 81-percent fewer crashes resulting in injury. The driverless cars also rear-ended other vehicles 91 percent less than their human-operated competitors.

Recommended Driverless Cars Could Save Tens of Thousands of Lives. But We Must Treat Them Like Aviation — Not Like Cars Marco Conner June 18, 2026

The study corroborates Waymo’s previous claim that its fleet is less prone to collisions than humans are. Waymo cars did best in Phoenix, where its crash rate was 76 percent lower than that of human drivers in Phoenix. There were 71 percent fewer crashes in Los Angeles, but only 35 percent fewer in San Francisco, though the data may simply be reflecting inconsistencies around police reportability as a metric.

“We welcome this new research from IIHS, which confirms our previous peer-reviewed analyses and reinforces the significant safety benefits of the Waymo Driver,” the company said in a statement.

“Safer than humans” is better than nothing, but it’s still an unpleasant concept.

Driverless cars have been at-fault in several high-profile collisions since rolling out onto American streets. An Uber test vehicle struck and killed Arizona resident Elaine Herzberg while she was crossing a Tempe street in 2018. In 2023 a vehicle from Cruise, General Motors’s now-defunct robotaxi service, dragged a woman 20 feet after she was struck by a human driver. Earlier this year, a Waymo crashed into a 9-year-old child in a school zone in Santa Monica, California.

The report’s scope is limited to collisions, and does not take into account the dangers caused by Waymos parked in bike lanes, passing school buses, or blocking emergency vehicles, to name a few recent incidents.

Driverless cars are still cars and, as such, contribute to the many problems that cars bring to US streets.

Waymo has yet to invent a car that does not add to congestion on city streets. Traffic, as it turns out, is one metric by which Waymo might even be worse than human drivers. A report released earlier this week found that Waymos spend nearly 15 percent more time driving around empty than Uber and Lyft with drivers vehicles. In turn, they add tens of thousands of vehicle miles traveled to roads every day.

Recommended Report: Waymo Cars Mean Way Mo’ Traffic Gersh Kuntzman July 23, 2026

The solution to car problems is older than the cars themselves. Public transit is critical to curbing traffic and reducing pollution. It vastly outperforms cars, autonomous and not, on safety. Todd Litman, executive director of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, reported that drivers are killed at 10 times the rate as transit drivers.

Investing in transit to save more lives, with less of the negative side effects, would be even better.

For this week’s Friday video, Streetsblog is featuring Peter Van Pelt’s epic quest to dethrone the city’s top Citi Bike Angel. Below, you’ll find Van Pelt’s introduction to his ambitious expedition, and after that, his three-part video series in which he tries to capture the top angel’s forbidding lead.

There is a person in this city known only as NS143. They have been the number one Citi Bike Angel for as long as anyone can remember. If you don’t know what a Citi Bike Angel is: it’s someone who rebalances docks, taking bikes from full stations and riding them to empty ones. You get points. There’s a leaderboard. NS143 is always at the top of it. By a lot. I decided to find out what it would take to beat them.

On my first day, which happened to be April Fools’ Day, I rode for 15 hours and racked up 54,000 steps. By the end of it, I was still more than 100 points behind NS143. This was going to be harder than I thought.

Then, after a day, NS143 suddenly stopped riding. No one knew why. Maybe they went on vacation? But even without them in the picture, I was still battling daily against the rest of the field. Riders like LV440 and HN277. I managed to squeak into first place, but it was a grind, day after day.

I needed a different approach.

The core inefficiency in the Angel system is transit time. You ride a bike to a dock, return it, walk to the next bike and start over. Every minute spent walking is a minute not spent earning points. My solution: ride two bikes at once.

The method: ride my personal bike to a Citi Bike station, then ride the Citi Bike while holding my own bike alongside it. It was clumsy. Several people assumed I was stealing a bike. But it worked. When I dropped a bike off, I could get back to my own ride much faster, collapsing the dead time between trips. I want to be clear that I am not recommending this. At all. Ever.

There were complications: two small accidents (both my fault), three flat tires and two trips to the same bike shop on Canal Street.

The strategy worked. My points climbed fast. But just as I was starting to feel confident, NS143 reappeared. If they really had been on vacation, they returned refreshed, tan, and ready to destroy an interloper. I was thousands of points ahead, but they seemed unfazed, going on an angeling bonanza and racking up absurd numbers of points.

I spent 30 days riding and competing, through temperatures ranging from the 20s to the 90s, several rounds of April showers, and every other kind of chaos New York’s streets could throw at me.

So did I defeat NS143? Sorry. No spoilers. You’ll have to watch the videos to find out.

Episode 1: Episode 2: Episode 3:

• Despite transit’s success during the World Cup, the event still created 8 or 9 million tons of carbon emissions, most of it stemming from fans flying to host cities. (Wired)
• The U.S. DOT continues to scrub references to bike safety from its websites (NPR). In related news, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy seems to think that bike lanes create traffic, despite all evidence to the contrary (Streetsblog USA).
• Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and John Curtis (R-Utah) introduced a bill to funnel more transit grants toward fast-growing regions.
• A city analysis of federal crash data found that Philadelphia has the highest pedestrian death rate of any major U.S. city. (NBC 10)
• North Carolina passed a law prohibiting most local governments from mandating a minimum number of parking spaces in new developments. (Smart Cities Dive)
• The North Carolina DOT awarded grants for 16 collaborations between two or more transit agencies. (News 12)
• Dallas Area Rapid Transit received a $25 million federal grant to upgrade eight light rail stations. (KERA)
• A New Jersey Complete Streets group is advocating for shorter light rail headways. (NJ.com)
• Nashville is installing barriers to protect existing downtown bike lanes. (WKRN)
• Atlanta broke ground on a Monroe Drive road diet. (Saporta Report)
• San Diego is lowering speed limits in school zones. (Inside San Diego)
• Seattle residents will vote in November on renewing a sales tax for transit and doubling it to 0.3 percent. (Seattle Transit Blog)
• Maryland is planning a transit-oriented development at Bowie State near Washington, D.C. (Maryland Matters)
• Logan, Utah, population 55,000, is an example of how small cities can do transit right. (Bus News)
• Dutch cities are replacing concrete with grassy blocks that absorb stormwater and create a cooler environment. (Times of India)
• From Japan’s automated underground bike parking to a psychedelic mountain tunnel in Norway, Momentum Mag highlights some of the world’s most innovative infrastructure projects.

Ark Energy becomes the fifth developer in just one week to announce a major investment decision on a new renewable energy project in Australia – in this case, for Australia's biggest solar-battery hybrid.

The post “Strong endorsement:” Australia’s biggest solar-battery hybrid project locks in finance appeared first on Renew Economy.

As communities brace for another summer of extreme weather, many home and building owners are taking a closer look at how exposed these assets are to climate risks. When it comes time for their next insurance or mortgage renewal, or when they decide...

The developer behind Victoria’s Mortlake Energy Hub has secured around $A245 million from a global asset manager to accelerate development of more than 2 GW of new renewables.

The post Australian developer gets funding boost for 2 GW-plus renewable energy plans and big solar battery hub appeared first on Renew Economy.

Plans to build a wind farm near one of country's youngest coal plants win all-important local council approval for meteorological mast changes at project site.

The post Small victory for big wind project navigating tough state planning laws appeared first on Renew Economy.

Researchers says realignment of wind turbines away from the wind can boost output. "Wake steering" has real data, but wind owners in Australia aren't buying it yet.

The post Wake steering: Researchers say turbine realignments could add double digit power gains to wind farms appeared first on Renew Economy.

Since the beginning of the year, demonstrations and strikes have continued across Syria. Demands range from increased political participation and democratic rights1One example is the two sit-ins organized by the “April 17 Gathering” in Damascus in April and June, under the banner “Rights and Dignity.” Their demands included: a commitment from the transitional authorities to fulfill their duties and exercise their powers in conducting the transition process; working towards a genuine political transition based on an inclusive national dialogue leading to elections; activating the transitional justice process and bringing perpetrators of crimes to justice; rejecting the perpetuation of the Assad regime and the rehabilitation of its figures; broadening political participation through free elections to local councils and trade unions; strengthening the role of political parties and rejecting the monopolization of power by any one entity or faction; establishing good governance based on competence, integrity, and transparency; ending the chaos surrounding appointments and the distribution of power; combating corruption; criminalizing sectarian speech; and guaranteeing an independent, transparent, and fair judicial system.to condemnation of the actions and violations committed by Israeli occupation forces in the Quneitra region, and the right to education in Suwayda.2A campaign was launched in May 2026 in the Suwayda Governorate to guarantee the right of thousands of students to take their secondary school leaving exams in the governorate, in a safe and stable environment. The authorities in Damascus have so far opposed this, demanding that students travel to Damascus to take their exams.

Journalist Zeina Shahla documented nearly eighty demonstrations across the country between February and April, most of them motivated by social and economic grievances.3From Zeina Shahla’s article: “Over the past three months, we have documented nearly 80 vigils of protest, averaging one per day, in Damascus and its surrounding countryside, as well as in Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, Idlib, Latakia, Hasakah, Quneitra, Daraa, Hama, and Homs. These vigils were organized by students, taxi drivers, organ transplant recipients, families of missing persons, street vendors, residents of devastated areas awaiting reconstruction, lawyers, teachers, and traders from certain markets. Furthermore, some vigils brought together different segments of society around common demands: the cancellation of the electricity price hike, improved living conditions, respect for the rule of law, the resolution of security issues, the fight against corruption, and the commemoration of key moments in the Syrian revolution and war.” Furthermore, the governorate of Suwayda, in particular, has been the scene of frequent vigils following the massacres of last July, with demands such as the right to self-determination, the return of displaced persons, and the revelation of the fate of the disappeared. The newspaper Kassioun subsequently recorded 34 rallies and demonstrations in 21 locations across several Syrian governorates, cities, towns, and universities between May 18 and 24, 2026. Protests are still ongoing at the time of writing.

Since the beginning of 2026, discontent with socio-economic problems has intensified. Polling in different areas of Syria has been showing growing dissatisfaction regarding socio-economic issues. According to the website Syria in Transition:

Yet by April the mood had changed (towards the ruling authorities). The most serious deterioration was in attitudes toward the economy and the state’s capacity to manage it. Only 13 percent of respondents now believed the government was doing enough to tackle soaring energy and food prices, while 66 percent said its efforts were insufficient.

This has been reflected as well with rising labor strikes and protests denouncing worsening working and living conditions.

Syrian ruling authorities have deepened a political-economic orientation favoring a commercial model focused on short-term profit, to the detriment of Syria’s productive sectors. This economic orientation was already at play during the former Assad’s regime. The majority of the investment projects offered by Damascus to foreign investors demonstrate this pattern, and so does the nature of the investment promises made to Syria since December 2024 into tourism, real estate, and financial services. Most of these promises, however, still await their implementation.

Meanwhile, no protection has been provided to national production, particularly manufacturing industry and agriculture, against foreign competitive products. Quite the opposite. Accelerated trade liberalization is threatening their existence even more. In late January 2025, Damascus reduced customs duties on more than 260 Turkish products. Syria’s trade deficit with Turkey reached an all-time high of $3.26 billion in 2025, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute. This represents an 86.5 percent rise in comparison to 2024, when the deficit stood at $1.74 billion.

No protection has been provided to national production, particularly manufacturing industry and agriculture, against foreign competitive products. Quite the opposite.

At the same time, Syrian officials announced on several occasions since their arrival to power their willingness to start the process of privatization of state assets, or at least to encourage a public-private partnership model to manage them. This includes essential services such as education and health. More recently, rumors of potential privatizations of state-owned banks have also emerged.

The Syrian ministry of finance has also drafted a new tax system that should come into force at the beginning of 2027, which will probably diminish the state’s financial capacities and revenues even further. Indeed, with a unified and non-categorical tax structure, and a similar corporate tax applied equally across all business entities, regardless of their size, this weakens the ability to expand the revenue base and is fundamentally unequal.4There will be no tax to pay for agriculture, bank deposit returns, and stock trading. A 2 percent rate will apply to supplies and services by non-residents. There will be a 10 percent rate in the health, technology, education, and industrial sectors, while other sectors—including trade and services—will pay 15 percent. Income tax will only kick in after the first Syrian pound (SYP) 60mn—around $5,310. Thereafter, there will be a 6 percent rate for the first SYP 5mn ($442.5) and 8 percent over SYP 5mn ($442.5). Exemptions are envisaged on transfers of company shares, revaluation of fixed assets, returns and interest on bank deposits, local exports of goods and services, the agricultural sector and its associations, children’s medical expenses, education, rent, and interest on housing loans. For corporate donations to good causes, there will be a special tax deduction. At the same time, a sales tax has been introduced, which could serve as a precursor to a VAT, at a 5 percent rate on essential goods. Similarly, the new investment law enacted by presidential decree in June 2026 provides large concessions to investors, such as permanent exemption from income taxes for agricultural and educational projects, reductions of up to 80 percent of income taxes in export-oriented and priority industrial sectors, and wide customs exemptions. In addition, full ownership rights are allowed for foreign investors, as well as renewable residence permits, and unrestricted profit repatriation.

Syria’s new tax system and investment law reflect the ruling authorities’ prioritization of investment from large foreign companies and high-net-worth individuals, as well as promoting dynamic consumption, rather than strengthening the country’s productive capacities.

This dynamic is also reflected in the reliance on foreign capital and assistance, as well as local businessmen, to promote Syrian reconstruction and economic recovery through foreign donations or donation campaigns, such as the Syrian Development Fund and other initiatives for specific regions and cities.

Accompanying these policies favoring economic liberalization and interests of big capital, the ruling authorities have promulgated a series of decisions and measures boosting dynamics of concentration of power in the Syrian economy.

Strikes and popular protests

The protests have mobilized various segments of society, including transport workers, laborers, farmers, teachers, students, lawyers, and bakers, reflecting growing discontent across the country with the continued erosion of purchasing power and the deterioration of public services. They also targeted corruption, nepotism, and a lack of transparency and participation in decision-making processes.

The protests erupted in mid-May, initially in Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Daraa, and then spread to other parts of the country, after the Syrian Ministry of Economy and Industry set the price of a ton of wheat for the 2026 harvest at 4,600,000 Syrian pounds (approximately $333.30 at the unofficial exchange rate of May 27). This decision sparked widespread discontent among farmers, as the cost of producing a ton of wheat currently fluctuates between $340 and over $530. Following these protests, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued Legislative Decree No. 120 of 2026, granting a subsidy of 900,000 Syrian pounds (SYP) per ton of wheat delivered by farmers to the Syrian Grain Company. Thanks to this increase, the price of a ton of wheat reached approximately (SYP) 5,500,000, a price still lower than the protesters’ demands.

Other demonstrations took place during the same period, notably in the Hasakah Governorate against the reduction of diesel fuel allowances for agricultural projects, and in the Tarhin region, a rural area near Aleppo, where owners and employees of oil refineries protested the decision to permanently close them. The demonstrators also demanded fair compensation to guarantee a minimum standard of living, emphasizing that thousands of families depend on this sector as their primary source of income.

In June, strikes broke out at the privately owned Zanobia Ceramics company5Zanobia is a private company specializing in the manufacture of ceramics, granite and construction materials. It owns two industrial complexes: one in Al-Kisweh, a southern suburb of Damascus which houses many factories, and the other in the industrial zone of Adra, on the outskirts of Damascus.and at the Madar Detergent Company’s facilities and factories in the Kisweh region, near Damascus, employing 4,000 and 4,500 people respectively. The demonstrators demanded higher wages and better working conditions. After a week-long strike, the workers of the Zanobia company obtained satisfaction on several of their main demands, including an increase in their wages (which includes a rise of SYP 500,000, in addition to SYP 200,000 of cost-of-living allowance, for a total of SYP 700,000 (equivalent to $51.20 at the end of June)) and guarantees in terms of health coverage, including health insurance, the presence of a doctor in the factory, the provision of an ambulance and safety equipment at work.

Workers at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing in northern Idlib protested in late June against the administration’s imposition of a 24-hour shift system and unfair working conditions. Despite the administration’s threats of mass layoffs and replacements to break the strike, the workers—some with 14 years of service—maintained their demands for a more flexible work schedule. According to the website Al-Hal Net, the administration has already hired new employees, but about 90 percent of them resigned immediately, unable to continue due to the grueling working conditions and endless hours.

The city of Qamishli also witnessed several days of protests in late June, denouncing rising prices and poor living conditions, as well as power outages caused by fuel shortages. For example, protesters staged a sit-in to demonstrate against the rising price of diesel, demanding the reversal of this decision and an improvement in their living conditions, as the region experiences soaring prices for goods and services, along with increased transportation and production costs. Dozens of retirees held a sit-in outside the city’s Social Security office, at the invitation of the Retirees’ Group, to demand the expedited payment of their monthly pensions and an end to the delays and postponements affecting their entitlements. Following these mobilizations by retirees, the Retirees’ Group was officially announced at the end of June, with the aim of defending retirees’ rights to a decent standard of living, particularly by resolving issues related to their salaries and payment delays.

These sit-ins and demonstrations are taking place against a backdrop of runaway inflation plaguing the Syrian Jazira region (northeast Syria), with rising transportation and agricultural production costs, alongside a rise in commodity prices—as well as persistent complaints about deteriorating services and frequent power outages. For example, in mid-June, social unrest erupted in the Raqqa Governorate due to wage delays and their continued status as “irregular” workers—lacking legal protections and job security. These protests led to further strikes that affected the sanitation sector in several areas of the governorate.

Unfair dismissals and persistent austerity measures

Meanwhile, dismissals continued in several ministries throughout 2026, sparking further protests. In mid-June, laid-off workers from the General Cotton Yard Company in Idlib staged a sit-in to demand justice and their reinstatement.

The Syrian government has still not established clear, legal, and precise standards and procedures for dismissals or suspensions, fueling accusations of arbitrary dismissals. The human rights organization “Syrians for Truth and Justice” has expressed that it is deeply concerned about the compliance of these procedures with the legal safeguards stipulated in the Unified Fundamental Law for Workers No. 50 of 2004 (Articles 132 to 139). Furthermore, in June 2026, the organization published a report describing cases of arbitrary dismissals and forced transfers based on “sectarian, political, or gender backgrounds, or to criteria related to the individual’s stance on the Syrian uprising (in 2011), or regional and social affiliation” raising serious concerns about the use of the state restructuring process as a tool for exclusion and the reshaping of the public sector on unprofessional grounds.

Damascus authorities have continued to reduce the number of subsidized loaves of bread they distribute.

More recently, the government also increased salaries for specific jobs, generally in the higher strata of the administration or in positions considered as more “prestigious,” while the overwhelming majority of employees did not benefit from similar measures. Furthermore, salary disparities persist within the same ministries for similar jobs, with employees, often previously affiliated with the group Hay’at Tahrir Sham6This is the new name of Jabhat al-Nusra, which was founded as an al-Qaeda affiliate in 2012. The group took its current name when it dis-affiliated from al-Qaeda in 2017. Its leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, became Syria’s president after leading a coalition of rebel forces to bring down the Assad regime in late 2024. or allied with it, appointed by the new authorities receiving higher salaries (often in US dollars).

Damascus authorities have continued to reduce the number of subsidized loaves of bread they distribute, from ten to eight per household daily, while maintaining the price at SYP 4,000. The ministry set the weight of a loaf of bread at 1,000 grams, down from 1,050 grams previously. As a reminder, in December 2024, the price of subsidized bread was SYP 400 (for 1,100 grams). These measures have exacerbated food insecurity among the most vulnerable populations.

Opposition to luxury real estate projects and population displacement

At the same time, several protests have erupted against real estate projects that have led to the displacement of local populations and the loss or erosion of their property rights. In Homs, inhabitants of the Qarabis neighborhood successfully pressured the Kuwait-based al-Omran Real Estate Development Company to cancel the element of its “Boulevard of Victory” plan affecting the neighbourhood, which would have threatened their properties and displaced them from their homes. In the beginning of May 2026, a protest was held in Damascus by the residents affected by Decree 66 of 2012 from the Mezzeh, Kfar Souseh, and Basateen al-Razi neighborhoods. This reflects the ongoing social and legal tensions surrounding major urban development projects, most notably the Marota City project. At the same time, in the Aleppo countryside, the inhabitants of Jabal Aqil demonstrated against the seizure of their land by the Turkish military base.

That same month, a demonstration took place in northern Raqqa to protest the local authorities’ plan to demolish housing north of the railway line, under the pretext of “reconstruction and investment.” This situation is all the more concerning given the rumors circulating about Saudi investment and the construction of housing by a Chinese company on the land. Official statements claim that the land is “state property,” a claim disputed by residents, who assert they possess official deeds of transfer and other legal documentation. During the demonstration, protesters chanted slogans demanding the resignation of the governor, who has refused to cancel the reconstruction plan affecting approximately 3,000 families, most of whom are low-income and living in poverty. They reaffirmed their determination to find a just solution that guarantees their housing rights and puts an end to the evictions and demolitions.

The country continues to suffer a deep housing and infrastructure shortfall … which frustrate[s] … the prospects for both internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees to return.

Overall, these real estate projects often aim to serve an elite class able to afford new and expensive housing projects and accumulate capital, rather than building housing schemes and infrastructures seeking to fulfill the interests of large segments of the population—who now suffer worsening living conditions and low purchasing power in the face of very high rents and expensive property prices. For example, one of the most emblematic real estate projects is “Yaafour 963,” launched by Overseas Investment Group, owned by Syrian-Emirati businessman Muwaffaq al-Qaddah, where apartments are offered starting at $300,000. Similarly, the “Abyat Hills” project, launched by the Saudi Abyat Real Estate Investment and Development Company in the Damascus suburbs of Qudsi and al-Bajaa, is estimated at over $2 billion and plans to build 22,000 homes in secure residences with modern amenities.

Moreover, the country continues to suffer a deep housing and infrastructure shortfall that threatens the processes of stabilization and recovery—which frustrate the  expectations for safe and dignified living conditions and the prospects for both internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees to return. According to the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP), “one-third of the country’s housing stock has been damaged or destroyed, while critical infrastructure, including roads, water networks, electricity, and sanitation systems, remains largely non-functional.”

The cost of living continues to rise

The growing anger of the population reflects the disastrous economic situation in the country.

The poverty rate in Syria fluctuates between 80 and 90 percent, and 16 million people are in need of emergency aid to survive. This is in a country of about 26 million. More than 7 million people face severe food insecurity. Furthermore, due to a significant funding shortfall, the United Nations World Food Program announced in mid-May 2026 that it would scale back its operations in Syria by halving its emergency food assistance, from 1.3 million to 650,000 people, and ending its national bread subsidy program, which supported millions of people daily.

This is a context of a labor market very much disrupted, and high unemployment, particularly among the youth in a context of a lack of economic opportunities. While there are no clear rates for the size of unemployment in Syria, estimates ranges from 14 percent at the World Bank in 2025 to 60 percent according to the Syrian Minister of Economy and Industry, Nidal al-Shaar. In addition, 83 percent of the Syrian labor market is reported to be informal, meaning a lack of social security and legal protection, leaving millions of workers vulnerable to exploitation or sudden income loss. The returns of Syrians, both refugees and IDPs to their original regions, have also further strained the labor market, which lacks the capacity to absorb them. The International Organisation of Migration in May 2025 also underlined that the “lack of economic opportunities and essential services pose the greatest challenge for Syrians returning to their communities.”

What the Syrian people lack is not just job opportunities, but jobs that allow them to live with dignity and meet their daily needs.

The rise in prices of key commodities and services has also contributed to increasing inflation, pushing the cost of living higher still for Syrians. While the authorities raised public-sector salaries and pensions by 200 percent in July 2025, and by a further 50 percent in March 2026—bringing the minimum wage to SYP 1,256,000 per month (approximately $96.6 at the end of June according to the black exchange rate of SYP 13,000)—this remains far from enough to guarantee dignified living conditions. According to the Syrian Center for Policy Research, “the abject poverty line for a household reached 3.34 million per month in April 2026 (approximately $252 according to the black exchange rate of SYP 13,250 at the end of April), while the lower poverty line reached SYP 5.26 million ($397), and the upper poverty line reached SYP 7.26 million (548$).” Large segments of society rely on remittances from relatives abroad amounting to around $4 billion annually, according to estimates from earlier this year.

From this perspective, what the Syrian people lack is not just job opportunities, but jobs that allow them to live with dignity and meet their daily needs. In this context, reducing subsidies and increasing the prices of basic necessities will only worsen the situation and negate the effect of wage increases.

Limitations of protest movements

The protest movements and attempts at worker self-organization are positive developments, especially after years of war and dictatorship. For example, workers at the Zanobia factory established a strike committee, composed of four members elected by the strikers to negotiate on their behalf.

Despite the positive aspects of these demonstrations, their impact remains limited. First, these protests remain geographically confined, lacking coordination between regions, with the partial exception of demonstrations related to wheat prices. There is no close cooperation between workers in the same sector—for example, between public school teachers demonstrating in different governorates. This allows the authorities in Damascus to manage each movement separately and limit its influence on the political landscape.

Second, the protest movements lack political channels and means of expression, primarily due to the absence of political parties or mass political networks capable of relaying their demands and calls to action. Furthermore, with the exception of a few left-wing parties that observe these demonstrations without playing an influential role, political actors and civil society actors are not giving them the attention they deserve.

It is essential to build and rebuild grassroots organizations—from trade unions to feminist and women’s rights organizations, including local associations, progressive political parties, and national structures.

In this context, it is important to emphasize that worker self-organization and the struggle for democratic, independent, and mass unions—in order to foster coordination between workers and unions autonomous from the government—are essential for improving the living and working conditions of the population and, more broadly, for defending democratic rights.

Furthermore, it is essential to build and rebuild grassroots organizations—from trade unions to feminist and women’s rights organizations, including local associations, progressive political parties, and national structures—in order to unify them.

The collective and democratic organization of the working and popular classes is also the best way to confront and oppose the sectarian and ethnic tensions that continue to impact society. These tensions are often encouraged or fueled, or at least not radically addressed, by the central government and/or its political allies to divert attention from the social, economic, and political problems affecting the population. For example, recent demonstrations demanding justice for Assad-era crimes in Syria coincided with an escalation of attacks by civilian groups and incitement to sectarian hatred between June 13 and 17, 2026. Syrian authorities have so far failed to establish a mechanism to promote a comprehensive transitional justice process that would bring to justice all individuals and groups involved in war crimes. Such an approach could have played a crucial role in curbing reprisals and mitigating the escalation of sectarian and ethnic tensions.

Conclusion

Whatever political force came to power after Assad’s fall, it inherited a multitude of political, social, and economic challenges. However, the policies of the current Syrian authorities have exacerbated these difficulties instead of resolving them. Economically, the approach of the new ruling class has failed to improve the living conditions of a large segment of the population and has negatively impacted the recovery of the economy’s productive sectors.

The increasing number of demonstrations since the beginning of the year, fueled by deteriorating living and working conditions as well as socio-economic problems, demonstrates the shortcomings of current economic policies and could serve as a warning to Damascus.

Any successful economic recovery and reconstruction process must be based on a comprehensive and democratic political transition that empowers the various sectors of society—political parties, social actors such as trade unions, professional associations, the Farmers’ Union, human rights and feminist organizations, local associations, and so on. – the means to participate in decision-making processes, including in the economic sphere. This would create the necessary conditions for integrating their collective interests and establishing the political stability essential for the sustainability of these policies. Therefore, free and transparent elections must be organized within trade unions, professional associations, and agricultural federations so that these sectors can choose their representatives and defend the interests of their members.

Finally, the processes of capital accumulation and distribution, as well as economic policies, should be the subject of collective debate within society, and not the prerogative of a small elite in power.

The post Frustration and anger on Syria’s streets appeared first on Tempest.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals today rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to re-detain Georgetown scholar Dr. Badar Khan Suri and affirmed a lower court order that required the government to release him on bail as his case proceeded. The court also rejected the government’s request to move the case from Virginia to Texas.

“[In] our view,” the court wrote, “denying judicial review of detention claims like Suri’s misreads Congress’ statutes and undermines the protections guaranteed all persons on American soil by the writ of habeas corpus.”

The court later expanded: “[An] unbroken line of caselaw also accords with common sense: if a noncitizen is challenging their detention pending removal, then waiting for their removal proceedings does them no good. They have already been detained, allegedly in violation of the Constitution. This ‘absurd’ reading of the INA would make such detention claims ‘effectively unreviewable,’ and the Supreme Court has repeatedly refused to embrace it.”

In March 2025, ICE arrested and detained Dr. Suri, a lawful visa holder from India whose wife is a U.S. citizen, outside his Virginia home in retaliation for his associations and speech in support of Palestinian rights. Dr. Suri was detained for nearly six weeks over a thousand miles away from his wife and children at an infamous private detention center in Texas known for its human rights abuses. A federal judge ordered his release from detention in May 2025 while his case continued in federal court.

“Today reaffirms my faith that an independent judiciary remains the truest guardian of liberty, due process, and the rule of law. I am profoundly grateful to the judges who upheld these constitutional principles and gave my case the careful, deliberate consideration it deserved,” said Dr. Badar Khan Suri. “I remain, as ever, committed to the pursuit of justice through lawful and peaceful means. We should remember that a democracy without an accessible writ of habeas corpus is a democracy in name only; as the honorable court so aptly observed, the scope of habeas corpus ‘must not be subject to manipulation by those whose power it is designed to restrain.’ I am proud of those who fought for me, and I am proud of every moment of life. Be courageous and stand for justice. Free Palestine.”

On appeal, the Trump administration argued that federal district courts don’t have the authority to review the constitutionality of Dr. Suri’s detention until the Department of Justice-controlled immigration process, which can take months or even years, is completed. The administration also argued that because it quickly swept Dr. Suri out of Virginia without notice to his family or lawyers, the Virginia court does not have jurisdiction to hear his petition, and that it should be handled by a court in Texas, where it chose to take him.

Today, a panel of judges from the Fourth Circuit rejected both arguments 2-1, finding that federal courts must be able to review constitutional claims stemming from immigration detention, and that his case should stay in Virginia.

“We are elated that Dr. Suri will remain free with his family and we are grateful that the court has seen through the government's brazen attempts to silence pro-Palestine speech,” said Noor Zafar, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. “The federal government cannot do an end run around the First Amendment by locking people up for their speech and denying them their day in court. Immigration laws cannot be abused to silence dissent, and we are grateful that today, justice prevailed.”

This ruling is the third opinion from a federal court of appeals addressing the question of whether the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) bars immediate federal court review of a noncitizen’s claim of unlawful detention in retaliation for their speech. In January, the Third Circuit ruled against Mahmoud Khalil, holding that the INA does bar such claims. And just two days ago, the Second Circuit ruled against Mohsen Mahdawi, agreeing with the Third Circuit’s analysis. Addressing the Khalil v. Trump decision, the Fourth Circuit was clear: “We disagree.”

“We are gratified that the court recognized the basic principle that the government cannot escape judicial review of their patently unconstitutional actions — here, arresting Dr. Khan Suri, transferring him far away from his family and community, and detaining and attempting to deport him for nothing more than his associations and constitutionally protected advocacy for Palestinian rights,” said Astha Sharma Pokharel, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Similar to the cases of Mr. Khalil, Mr. Mahdawi, and other students, Dr. Suri was arrested in retaliation for his speech in support of Palestinian rights. He was additionally targeted because of his U.S. citizen wife’s speech, her Palestinian origins, and her familial ties. On social media, Dr. Suri criticized U.S. support of Israel’s assault on Gaza, motivated by the time he spent volunteering in Gaza and fear for his wife’s family members who still lived there with no way to flee during the war. The administration has falsely argued that Dr. Suri’s presence in the United States “compromised a compelling foreign policy interest” and therefore, under a rarely used section of the INA, it had the right to deport him. Dr. Suri’s immigration court proceedings remain ongoing.

“ICE abducted Dr. Khan Suri from his home in Virginia before moving him among five different ICE facilities across three states in a shameless attempt to find a court that would be friendlier to his unlawful detention,” said ACLU-VA Legal Director Eden Heilman. “We are elated that the Fourth Circuit saw through the Trump administration’s blatant attempt to bend the law to their will and rejected their bid to re-detain our client thousands of miles away from his family in Virginia. The First Amendment protects all of us — regardless of citizenship — and we will continue to fight for his constitutional rights.”

Dr. Suri is represented in his federal lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Virginia, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Van Der Hout LLP.

For more information, see the case page. The opinion can be read here.

This press release is available here and here.

Arrival of biggest and lowest cost turbines, a new competitor and some government contracts is stirring life into Australia's wind energy industry.

The post Worm turns for wind: Arrival of biggest and lowest cost turbines stirs Australia’s moribund market appeared first on Renew Economy.

The ICE murders of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas, and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, have reignited public rage against the ongoing state violence against the most vulnerable in the U.S. and the global working class. Both Araujo and Guerrero were shot dead by ICE agents on the streets where they lived. Street protests against their killings have been the largest since the Minneapolis uprising against the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. These protests have renewed calls for “ICE OUT” of U.S. cities and communities.

The shootings and protests are a reflection of the deep unpopularity of the Trump regime and its policies — Trump continues to poll at under 40 percent. They are also a reminder about broader public outrage at MAGA administration attacks on U.S. workers: the spiraling war against Iran, which has driven up fuel prices and the cost of food and daily goods; the ongoing deportations of people in the U.S. and intimidation of immigrant communities; the assault on LGBTQI+ rights; and the repression of political dissidents, from the conviction and outrageous sentencing of the Prairieland protesters in Texas, to the trial of the “Minnesota 15” in Minneapolis, to federal charges brought against Palestinian activists at the University of Michigan.

State repression and its opposition are all signs of an ongoing crisis in U.S. politics and a shaky capitalist economy. The Trump administration seeks to stitch up its weakening legitimacy through brute force, the weaponization of the legal system, and ever-increasing efforts to undermine further democratic rights. These attacks, including on our fundamental rights to organize and protest, require urgent, broad, and coordinated defense.

Trump’s single-minded focus on weakening voting rights and his administration’s assailing of democratic process proceed apace with new efforts to intimidate and discredit election processes (as in Georgia). Rumors of ICE agents at polling places in November are well within the ideological and tactical bandwidth of the current administration. While no one can predict the outcome of the next round of U.S. elections, it is a certainty they will take place in an atmosphere of increased intimidation, especially for the most vulnerable in U.S. society. The efforts to weaken the already limited democracy in the U.S. should be of supreme concern for all working people, already embattled oppressed communities, and therefore the Left as a whole.

These conditions speak to the urgency of mass organizing. The Minneapolis rebellion last January, when more than 100,000 marched and thousands stayed home from work, showed us that mass resistance can serve as a brake on the worst tendencies of the capitalist system. They expressed the power of working-class organizing and the capacity of ordinary people to defend themselves against these forces of repression mobilized against them.

The United Left Platform, an alliance of six revolutionary socialist groups in the United States (International Marxist Humanist Organization, Socialist Horizon, Solidarity, Speak Out Socialists, Tempest Collective, and Workers Voice) calls on people of conscience everywhere to join the wide protests against the current regime. We also call on people to join a political organization committed to ending human immiseration. None of us can afford to stand on the sidelines as MAGA continues its deadly assault on the lives of workers, immigrants, the oppressed, and the most vulnerable. Our capacity to defeat Trump and to build an alternative to deeper crisis and further misery lies only in solidarity and collective struggle.

The United Left Platform will be holding public speakouts and meetings at the Socialism 2026 conference in Chicago September 4-7th. Learn more about our work at www.unitedleftplatform.net/.

Opinions expressed in signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of the editors or the Tempest Collective. For more information, see “About Tempest Collective.”
Featured Image credit: Ronaldo Salgado, Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero; modified by Tempest.

The post Standing up to MAGA’s war against the people appeared first on Tempest.

On Sunday, July 19, we lost our kind, brilliant friend and colleague, Richard Heinberg.