Although separated by an ocean, the two islands share deep historical bonds of anti-imperialist solidarity, writes Chris Hazzard MP

The disputed election of a far-right president, who is also a US citizen, signals further consolidation of Washington’s regional power and represents a threat to the country’s democracy and sovereignty, writes WT WHITNEY JNR

It may have become a traditional month for holidays, but episodes from early British labour movement history show that class struggle never takes time off, argues KEITH FLETT

The question is not simply how much we spend on defence, but what we understand defence and security to mean, says SIMON BRIGNELL

MARK SEDDON tries to cool off in the countryside to avoid the heatwaves but the greed and incompetence of the privatised water industry is now at boiling point

Given the recent rejection of peace proposals by Israel the world must provide an immediate and resolute response to force accountability on Gaza, argues RAMZY BAROUD

Andy Burnham offers unconditional support for Zelensky but no solutions to the underlying conflict between the Nato/EU bloc and Russia, says NICK WRIGHT

The Berlin border closure 65 years ago did not happen in isolation, and many Western accounts omit crucial context, explains KEITH BARLOW

ALEX GORDON and LORRAINE DOUGLAS report from Havana, Cuba, where they represented the Communist Party of Britain at the 24th International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties on August 7-8

JOE DWYER of Sinn Fein reflects on the links between the Irish and Cuban struggles for independence and on Castro’s personal engagement with the cause of Irish freedom

by Her Excellency Ismara Mercedes Vargas Walter, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to the United Kingdom

The best tribute to Fidel is to stand with the Cuban Revolution today as the Trump regime tries to starve it to death, argues Cuba Solidarity Campaign communications manager NATASHA HICKMAN

The Defence Universities Alliance is a bit to co-opt higher education into the wider drive to war — we should resist as earlier generations of scientists did, argue say ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT of SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

In the fourth and final part of our serialisation from LINDA PENTZ GUNTER’S book No to Nuclear, she asks how anyone can see nuclear as value for money given its constantly ballooning costs

CARLOS MARTINEZ responds to liberal hawk Simon Tisdall’s evidence-free China-bashing and asks whose agenda it really serves

On the centenary of Fidel Castro’s birth, Communist Party international secretary KEVAN NELSON salutes the ongoing example of a revolutionary people facing a brutal US siege

DR STEPHEN WILKINSON assesses the life and legacy of a revolutionary giant

Edinburgh’s upcoming by-elections offer tenants a chance to put politicians under pressure over soaring rents and a council that has repeatedly sided with landlords and developers, says ADITI JEHANGIR

In the third of a four-part serialisation from her new book No to Nuclear, LINDA PENTZ GUNTER explains how the world had a chance to build an energy system around renewables more than 70 years ago — instead, it chose nuclear

Elon Musk says AI will make work optional. The world of abundance he predicts actually spells the end of the capitalist system, argues FAWZI IBRAHIM

Indian students have fought for the right to education, schooling us all in the process. Comrades from the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) — UK comment on the resistance and its ripples here

Tony Benn’s constituents chose him by an overwhelming majority — but because he had inherited a peerage, parliamentary rules declared their choice invalid, writes MAT COWARD

In the second of a four-part serialisation from her new book No to Nuclear, LINDA PENTZ GUNTER highlights how the industry is searching for ways to preserve its relevance

The real welfare dependency is at the top of our society, says ALAN SIMPSON

GUTO DAVIES reports on a placing of a third commemorative plaque in Tonypandy in remembrance of left-wing militancy

MAT COWARD says the heatwave is a testing time for gardeners — but he has some tips

Two months of student unrest have forced out India’s education minister and rattled the BJP regime. Could this be the beginning of the end for Modi, asks Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary MA BABY

A New Delhi press conference in which Sheikh Hasina and her son implied the new order in Bangladesh is a security threat to India has sparked fears she is planning a comeback. SIAM SAROWER JAMIL reports on the fallout

TUC Cymru is playing a leading role in tackling far-right ideas in the workplace, says LAURA DOEL

Communist Party leaders Alex Gordon and Lorraine Douglas deliver vital medicines in trip to besieged socialist island

Councillor SAM WHEELER says there’s a tangible shift in mood on the left in the city whose mayor has recently become PM — but there’s no room for complacency

As a proportion of GDP the total welfare bill is lower than it was 15 years ago. The claim that it is spiralling out of control is mythmaking, argues DIANE ABBOTT

CARLOS MARTINEZ shows how EU, Israel and US shenanigans were used in an attempt to destabilise Spain’s mildly socialist government

To govern again, we must first earn back the confidence of the people who founded our movement

ROY WILKES takes issue with those on the left who argue immigration lowers wages — dividing resident and migrant workers only strengthens capitalist exploitation

Burnham’s ministerial appointees, to the right of himself, might indicate the direction of his government, writes SOLOMON HUGHES

The border spat is a useful turning of the screw against Spain for US interests, says ROGER McKENZIE

On Hiroshima Day, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament general secretary SOPHIE BOLT explains why the danger of nuclear conflict is growing daily

A six minute animation that conveys the horror of atomic war A Short Vision, made in 1956, is more effective than any drama, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER

In the first of a four-part serialisation from her new book No to Nuclear, LINDA PENTZ GUNTER outlines the case she will make against this dangerous technology

On Hiroshima Day, we print a statement by Coventry Lord Mayor’s Committee of Peace and Reconciliation

Preferable to Starmer he may be, but there is scant sign of a sharp political break in Burnham’s policies so far — while left challenges aren’t making much of a running either, finds ANDREW MURRAY. How can socialism be put back on the map?

JEREMY CORBYN says we should never forget the horrific reality of nuclear weapons, or cease our efforts to rid the planet of them entirely

CHARLEY ALLAN reports from Clacton on Farage’s fears his by-election stunt has backfired

CLAUDIA WEBBE argues that Burnham’s U-turn on tackling greedy landlords has let the country down 

The new PM may offer more of the same, but early signs on his housing policies look promising, says GLYNN ROBBINS

Scotland’s Labour members deserve a real choice — and if continuity Sawar is all they get, the end is nigh for the party, says VINCE MILLS

As we approach the grim anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, SIMON BARROW sounds the alarm over the dangerous and murderous direction our government is heading

The Claudia Sheinbaum government is no pushover and is holding firm despite US abuses of the relationship, says DAVID RABY

The new TUC Cymru general secretary speaks to Morning Star Wales reporter David Nicholson about her trade union background and ambitions for the movement

Internationalism is deeply embedded in socialist theory and practice. Examination illuminates its complexity asserts the Marx Memorial Library and Workers’ School

Climate extremes are becoming our new normal, says CHLOE BRIMICOMBE

A sharp rise in public-sector investment is required to kick-start the economy, argues MICHAEL BURKE

Burnham’s billions for defence while councils and local services struggle will not deliver the change that Britain’s working-class communities need, says MICAELA TRACEY-RAMOS

Britain’s culture of ‘effortless’ wealth is built on someone else's labour. Challenging that system means talking about class again, says MATT KERR

In a wide-ranging interview, JEREMY CORBYN talks to Ben Chacko about the difficulties the new Prime Minister faces and why he sees no future in Labour

Millions of elms were wiped out by Dutch elm disease in the 20th century, transforming the landscape forever – yet pockets of hope are keeping this beloved tree alive. MARK SEDDON explains

Only a publicly run, properly funded system that puts dignity before profit can end decades of market failure, says PAUL DONOVAN

MIKE MARTIN surveys the regional opposition to US attempts to force the region into a military confrontation with China

CARLOS MARTINEZ looks at the facts behind US persecution of Fergie Chambers

As Ontario burns, campaigners are demanding action – not more pipelines, says DAVE McKEE

Andy Burnham’s leadership will be judged on whether he charts a genuinely different course, argues BECK ROBERTSON

While Italy’s communist tradition remains fragmented and politically marginal, France’s party is attempting to re-establish itself as an independent force rooted in working-class organisation, says NICK WRIGHT

Critics of UBI underestimate both its political significance and its economic potential, writes BERT SCHOUWENBURG

by Ramzy Baroud

Innovation in biotechnology is changing how we conceive of meat, say ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT of SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

Is the Scottish government in favour of drilling or not? Evasiveness and incoherence are the order of the day, argues KENNY MacASKILL

The Isle of Wight’s Victorian holiday boom drew visitors from across Europe, including the founders of scientific socialism, writes KEITH FLETT

US-based labour and social movements authors and organisers Robert Ovetz and James Tracy interview DANIEL GROSS about his new book, Unions of Our Own: Eight Building Blocks to Change Work and the World

Unless ministers match reform with investment, the profession and the people it serves will continue to bear the cost, says KATE RAMSDEN

JOHN CALLOW introduces the work of Geoffrey Trease, who placed ordinary people at the centre of his historical fiction for children, creating adventurous stories to inspire the possibilities of social change

The campaign against the Bank of England’s ongoing theft of Venezuelan gold is gaining support across the labour movement and beyond, writes MATT WILLGRESS

Claims that Nicaragua has abolished elections followed a headline that stripped Daniel Ortega’s remarks of their historical and political context. The full speech tells a different story, says BECCA RENK FOSTER

MAT COWARD introduces some of the electoral oddballs of the political fringe who remain one of the liveliest features of British democracy, despite efforts to abolish them

Emergency phone alerts could help Britain respond to rising wildfire risk, but Australia’s experience suggests they work best as part of a broader strategy, write ELLIOT CONVERY-FISHER and KATE PARKINS

The International Court of Justice has delivered its clearest ruling yet that the right to strike is protected under international law, write Professor TONIA NOVITZ, Professor KEITH EWING and Lord JOHN HENDY KC

by Weyman Bennett and Maz’s family

Media Lens at 25: David Cromwell and David Edwards reflect on a quarter-century of media criticism, explaining why independent journalism is more important than ever

The new Prime Minister must abandon decades of automatic support for US foreign policy, which makes us all less safe, argues DIANE ABBOTT MP

A champion motorcyclist, trade union organiser and communist, Clem Beckett went from Britain’s speedway tracks to the battlefields of Spain, where he gave his life resisting Franco’s forces at Jarama. GEOFF BOTTOMS pays tribute to this remarkable anti-fascist

A new generation of right-wing politicians have shifted from promoting deregulation to championing anti-migrant politics warns SOLOMON HUGHES

Claiming to ease a fertiliser shortage, the Trump administration has suspended tariffs on Moroccan phosphate imports – deepening US support for the Morocco’s control over Sahrawi territory, writes LUKE ROTELLO

The US relationship with Israel has evolved into a strategic liability, argues RAMZY BAROUD

Latin America is being swept by a series of right-wing electoral victories. But behind that shift to the right lies less of an ideological conversion than anger, fear, insecurity, and a deep crisis of democracy, asserts MARC VANDEPITTE

by the Greater Manchester Workers’ and Tenants’ Association

The government’s Pip review looks like a carefully managed exercise in legitimising future cuts to disability support, argues Dr DYLAN MURPHY

Today’s interconnected conflicts are enriching the arms industry while pushing the entire world towards permanent militarisation, argues ROGER McKENZIE

Statement from the executive committee of the Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights

The greatest threat to democracy may no longer come from political parties but from unelected tech oligarchs like Peter Thiel and his powerful Silicon Valley network, argues JOHN GREEN

by Nana Backland, Merseyside Morning Star Readers & Supporters Group

Can entrenched institutional power be overcome?

The war crimes of US imperialism in its third military aggression against Iran and the necessity of confronting the devastating policy of ‘War, war until victory’!

The new PM’s opening addresses offered hope, council homes and reform — but little detail on how any of it will be delivered, warns CLAUDIA WEBBE

Scotland's Labour leader cannot continue to evade responsibility for the party's decline, argues LAUREN HARPER

The Tories introduced the 50% strike ballot threshold to make industrial action harder. MATT WRACK argues that a Labour government has no justification for leaving it on the statute book

In the wake of Ann Widdecombe’s murder, JOHN GREEN wonders whether the government will really get to grips with the root cause of these attacks on our MPs

Despite the screeching from the right-wing media, Burnham’s speech chimed with the public mood - and socialists should take advantage, says Morning Star editor BEN CHACKO 

Unison national officer CLARE WILLIAMS spoke to the Morning Star about the union’s priority campaigns and why they will not let up just because the Prime Minister has changed

Nature as well as society works dialectically, asserts the Marx Memorial Library and Workers’ School

Rising temperatures and human activity are making life far harder for these vital pollinators. ALEX DITTRICH explains

Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners co-founder MIKE JACKSON talks to Matt Kerr about the enduring power of Pride, protest and trade unionism

Behind the language of military strategy is a confrontation that risks drawing the wider Middle East into war, says STEVE BISHOP

Amid rising hostility and division, the answer to fear and frustration is not isolation but the organised solidarity that built working-class communities, says MATT KERR

Burnham must finish what Starmer promised to start when it comes to employment rights, write TONY BURKE, co-chair of the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom; Professor KEITH EWING, president of the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom; and Lord JOHN HENDY KC, vice-president of Campaign for Trade Union Freedom 

TUC general secretary PAUL NOWAK tells Ben Chacko that Labour can win back disillusioned voters by delivering workplace reforms, rebuilding trust and challenging the far right’s growing influence

Wales reporter DAVID NICHOLSON looks at the political scene as budget rows take centre-stage and Welsh Labour gains a new leader

On the 90th anniversary of the outbreak of the Spanish civil war, ALAN MORRISON selects some poems from a new anthology

SOPHIE BOLT argues that spending more on military will harm rather than benefit Britain by diverting vital resources away from essential public services

JENN FORBES of Your Party says many will welcome the end of Keir Starmer’s leadership, but it’s time we stopped leaving politics to the politicians

TIM ROBERTS says unions have always led on the fight for equality as well as for justice at work

MATT ALLEN salutes the workers and reps who push back against bosses, win for members and make the Unite union what it is

In the FBU we are showing that when we’re prepared to fight, we can win — let’s deliver for future generations and defeat the far right, argues STEVE WRIGHT

STEVE GILLAN says working-class communities know that solidarity is not a slogan — it is a necessity

KEITH FLETT looks at geographical roots of working-class activism in Britain

While millions face poverty and public services are squeezed, France is committing billions to defence spending and weapons production, in a dangerous shift towards permanent preparation for war, says CONOR BOLLINS

Against the backdrop of the Durham Miners’ Gala, Matt Kerr talks to ANDY McDONALD MP about Labour’s mistakes, Burnham’s leadership and why raising living standards must come first

Labour may owe more to Methodism than Marxism, but the wider non-conformist tradition that shaped British democracy is under pressure as protest rights come under increasing attack, warns MARK SEDDON

NICK WRIGHT continues his series analysing the trends in European politics

General Federation of Trade Unions assistant general secretary HENRY FOWLER reports on the final day from the GFTU’s residential Summer School at the Workers’ Retreat, Quorn Grange Hotel

While international actors discuss governance and reconstruction, Netanyahu has made it clear that Israel has no intention of ending its military occupation, says RAMZY BAROUD