This month's big story

Who owns the skies?

A new space race is set to worsen global inequality and extend conflict. We need to return to seeing space as a place for all humankind, argues Nick Dowson.

In November 1572 a brilliant new star appeared in the sky – initially bright enough to be seen during daylight. Its appearance was recorded worldwide and it stayed v...

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A note from the editor

Nick Dowson

Nick Dowson

Starstruck

As we edited this magazine a rocket exploded on its launchpad at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. This was not owned by NASA but by Blue Origin, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ company, which announced they had ‘experienced an anomaly’. Some euphemism: footage shows a gigantic ball of flame and something that looks very mu...

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Magazine archive

Here are the most recent magazines we've published.

NI 562 - The new space race - July, 2026 The new space race Nick Dowson 1 July 2026 NI 561 - Trade Unions - May, 2026 Trade Unions Henry Fowler 1 May 2026 NI 560 - AI: the people behind the machine - March, 2026 AI: the people behind the machine Decca Muldowney 1 March 2026

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NI 557 - The global far right - September, 2025 The global far right Bethany Rielly 1 September 2025

Recent feature articles

A selection of feature articles from each of the latest New Internationalist magazines.

A plane surveys a distorted landscape. Photo: Lone Thomasky & Bits&Baume/betterimagesofai.org/creativecommons-by-4.0

AI and its discontents

Imagery generated by artificial intelligence has become the beloved aesthetic of today’s dictators, argues Decca Muldowney. A robust media is needed to combat misinformation and its miseries.

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From left: Leanne Mohamad, who narrowly missed out on unseating senior Labour politician Wes Streeting in Ilford North; Jeremy Corbyn; Andrew Feinstein, New Internationalist contributor and former South African MP who challenged Keir Starmer; and Iqbal Mohamed, who defeated Labour in Dewsbury and Batley. Photo: Zuma Press/Alamy

Political parties Independents’ day

Britain’s general election saw the rightwing Conservatives swept out – and a huge majority for Labour. But the shallowness of the victorious party’s support points to an existential threat to dominant parties across the world, argues Conrad Landin.

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Drop the Debt: Protesters call for debt cancellation, wearing face masks of Yoshiro Mori, the then prime minister of Japan. They gathered outside Downing Street, London, during Mori’s meeting with Britain’s leader Tony Blair on 3 May 2000. Photo: Jonathan Evans/Reuters

Who owes whom?

Rising costs, Covid-19 and austerity have pushed too many countries – and households – into unmanageable debt. Amy Hall asks how we got here, and finds a movement shaking off the stigma of debt and getting organized.

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An oil and gas drilling rig is towed past Teesside Offshore Wind farm off Redcar, North East England. The windfarm is operated by French state-owned energy company EDF. Photo: Alan Dawson/Alamy

Green face, old tricks

How can we prevent an unjust transition? As the clean economy gets into gear, Nick Dowson asks whether a market-focused, subsidies-led approach will just mean more of the same.

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Protestors in Panama City in July 2022 demand the government puts a ceiling on the price of fuel, food and medicines. Photo: Erick Marciscano/Reuters/Alamy

Whodunnit?

As the cost of living crisis becomes entrenched, Nick Dowson examines the scene of the crime, tracks down the culprits and proposes a route to resolution.

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India’s railways are frequently hailed by defenders of the British Empire as a positive legacy of colonialism. While the country has an extensive network which ranks among the world’s biggest employers, it was designed to serve the interests of imperialism and private profit – with the directors of the sub continent’s first railway drawn from the ranks of the East India Company. Here passengers prepare to eat on board a modern-day sleeper train. Photo: Boaz Rottem/Alamy

Back on track?

On every continent, the railways are experiencing a renaissance. But what will it take to reshape them in the interests of people? Conrad Landin investigates.

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From the archives

A selection of articles from the New Internationalist magazine archives.

Sanctuary scholarships for migrant students

Sanctuary scholarships for migrant students

Seven students are now studying at SOAS university in London thanks to ‘sanctuary scholarships’, reports Hazel Healy. These scholarships have enabled them to take up their degrees despite the British government’s efforts to create a ‘hostile environment’ for migrants. Hazel Healy reports.

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Sand dredgers now banned from the Peam Krosaob forests, Koh Kong province. Photo: Mother Nature

Sand dredgers defeated

In Koh Kong province, Cambodia a band of Mother Nature activists have scored a victory in the battle against environmentally destructive sand dredging writes Fran Lambrick.

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Reasons to be cheerful

Reasons to be cheerful

Amazon defenders; Palmed off; Quitting time!

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Mixed Media: Film

Mixed Media: Film

Two to One; Julie Keeps Quiet.

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Mixed Media: Books

Mixed Media: Books

Why Christian should be Leftists; Landscape with Landscape; Big Kiss, Bye-Bye; Notes From a Lost Country.

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Mixed Media: Music

Mixed Media: Music

Inner Spaces; Entre Tus Flores.

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 Illustration: Sarah John

My whistle, my voice

A bold feminist campaign turned a whistle into a protest against street harassment. Maya Misikir tells their story.

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Anabela (right) provides shade during a participatory video session. Photo: Thor Morales via Insight Share

Making Waves: Anabela Carlón Flores

Nick Dowson speaks with an indigenous lawyer and campaigner fighting a gas pipeline in Mexico.

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Disinformation - The Facts

Disinformation - The Facts

The industry; distrust in the news; laws and regulations; key terms; term usage over time.

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Country Profile: Armenia

The photos, facts, and politics of Armenia.

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 Illustration: Kate Evans

Thoughts from a Broad

Lemme help you with that, by Kate Evans.

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