An interview with a resident of the Gaza strip, Jom`a H, 29, who lost friends and relatives in the Israeli army’s assault in December 2008 and January 2009. He tells the Socialist Struggle Movement (CWI in Israel) about the daily reality of life, before and during the bombardment.

The wave of nationalizations and part-nationalizations of banking systems sweeping country after country as a result of the meltdown of the world financial system is hugely significant. In light of these world historic events, GARY MULCAHY from the Socialist Party argues the case for socialism.

The death toll from Victoria’s bushfires currently stands at 181 and could rise much further. The bushfire disaster has shown some of the best examples of human solidarity coupled with some of the worst examples of the failure of a profit driven system.

The new semester in Greece started with a big mobilization, of at least 15,000 university students and teachers, on January 9. The "December Days" revolt has left its mark on Greek society and on Greek youth, in particular.

Karl Marx made the front cover of the February 2 issue of the European edition of Time Magazine, displaying the weakening confidence of the capitalist ruling elite in their system. With the massive and still unfolding global economic crisis, the capitalist system is losing legitimacy around the world.

According to the police, 1.1 million people took to the streets of France on January 29. The unions put it at 2.5 million. Either way, the movement in France is already larger than that in 2005-2006 and the beginning of the general strike of 1995.

A few days of demonstrations, including protesters throwing eggs being met by riot police with tear gas, have been enough to force a new election in Iceland. The mass protests in what is, to date, the worst hit country in the global economic crisis, have been referred to as a revolution – a ’fleece’, ’Facebook’, or ’saucepan’ revolution.

The celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution take place against the background of a deep crisis of the world economy, which poses the question of an alternative to capitalism. The conquests of the Cuban revolution, like free, world class health and education systems, still stand out like a beacon in a continent where the havoc created by the neo-liberal onslaught has left the majority of the population in misery. But the future is still uncertain.

Greek society has been rocked by mass protests, strikes, and riots since police shot and killed 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos in December. Bryan Koulouris recently interviewed Nikos Anastasiadis from Xekinima, the Greek section of the Committee for a Workers’ International, with which Socialist Alternative is in political solidarity.

Students and young people throughout Europe are in revolt. Faced with rising tuition, privatization, cuts in education programs, and unstable employment prospects after graduation, European youth have been at the forefront of the struggle not only for better education but for improved living conditions generally.

As 2009 opens the official Chinese media has featured a number of high-level warnings about the risk of increased social unrest on the backs of the economic downturn. “We’re entering the peak of mass incidents,” warned one commentator.

Tens of thousands of Jews and Arabs demonstrated in Tel Aviv in a militant protest against the war on Gaza on January 3.

Around the world there has been shock and anger at the barbaric brutality of the Israeli government’s onslaught on the Gaza strip and horror at the impact of the random missile attacks on Israeli civilians.

Around the world there has been shock and anger at the barbaric brutality of the Israeli government’s onslaught on the Gaza strip and horror at the impact of the random missile attacks on Israeli civilians. As in the Lebanon in 2006 the Israeli air assault is wiping out whole families in the name of “peace”.

More than 1.5 million people live in the "open air prison camp" that is Gaza. For the last sixteen months the blockade of the Israeli regime has intensified the nightmare - a majority of the population are unemployed and suffering from malnutrition. Now the "prison guards" are bombing the prison - resulting in the deaths of many hundreds of Palestinians, including children.