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.

Placards at a train station during the general strike of 1926. Photo: General Strike Photograph - GS071/People’s History Museum

The general strike

From 1926 to 2026. A century on, Bethany Rielly and Decca Muldowney examine Britain’s only general strike, a walk out with a scale and impact that remains unprecedented in the country’s history. What can movements learn from it today?

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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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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at UN headquarters. While the UN General Assembly has consistently condemned Israel, the all-powerful Security Council has blocked international action. Photo: Sopa/Alamy

Global leadership vetoed

The modern failures of the United Nations are not an aberration – but a product of its imperial roots, argues Conrad Landin. So how can we create a functioning system for global co-operation?

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Palestine Action activists occupy the roof of an Elbit Systems building in Bristol, Southwest England on 13 April 2021. Photo: Vladimir Morozov/Akxmedia/Alamy Stock Photo

Deadly trade

People across the world are standing up to the power of the arms trade. Amy Hall explores its threat to life and democracy.

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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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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.

Tbilisi, Dissidents Georgia

No room for dissidents

Georgia was once hailed as a ‘beacon of democracy’ by Western powers, but geopolitics and economic interests have taken priority over human rights, writes Onnik Krikorian.

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 Photo: Natalia Riley

The politics of grazing

Report from West Cameroon by Natalia Riley.

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 Photo: Cuatrok77 under a CC Licence

Reasons to be cheerful

Māori revival; Lighting up the slums; Uncaged beasts

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Mixed Media: Books

Mixed Media: Books

The Future of Travel; Joyful Revolution; Benbecula; The Taste of Lightning.

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Mixed Media: Music

Mixed Media: Music

The Kasambwe Brothers; Manizeh.

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 Illustration: Sarah John

Saying goodbye to Addis

In the first letter of a new series, Maya Misikir writes about the loss of her citys soul to a new development project thats ripping communities apart.

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Jamila Afghani

Making Waves: Jamila Afghani

A profile of Afghan campaigner for women’s education and rights Jamila Afghani, who started by persuading the imams. Beena Nadeem talks to the unassuming trailblazer

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 Photo: Elvis Barukcic / AFP / Getty

Hall of infamy: Milorad Dodik

Bosnian Co-President from Republika Srpska.

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Critical minerals rush - The Facts

Critical minerals rush - The Facts

Rising demand; Where from?; Big dirty business; Real needs?

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Country Profile: Colombia

Country Profile: Colombia

The photos, facts, and politics of Colombia.

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 Illustration: Kate Evans

Thoughts from a Broad

Lemme help you with that, by Kate Evans.

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