Sensational new evidence has emerged that Richard Nixon, former U.S. president, committed treason in securing his election victory at the height of the Vietnam War in 1968.

Last week, fear and tension escalated on the Korean peninsula and far beyond, for very understandable reasons. North Korea is a quasi Stalinist regime of a peculiar kind and inherently unstable. The new ‘great leader’ - Kim Jon-un - appears to be even more unpredictable than his father when it comes to threats of sending nuclear weapons into the sky.

Ten years ago, under the banner, ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’, the US-led ‘coalition of the willing’ attacked Iraq. Despite huge public opposition, including tens of millions-strong global anti-war demonstrations on 15-16 February 2003, the “shock and awe” bombing campaign began on 20 March, followed by a land invasion a few hours later.

The four day-long hostage crisis at the major ‘In Amenas’ gas facility in South East Algeria and its bloody outcome have sent shockwaves internationally. In this raid and the response to it from the Algerian military, at least one Algerian worker, 37 hostages and 29 attackers were killed.

On January 11, France launched an invasion of Mali, and the first fighting took place, with the first dead. Already, France's military staff has announced an intervention that will “take the time it takes”, weeks or even more. Former Prime Minister, Dominique Villepin, speaks of a possible “stalemate.” This is because this French intervention, under the pretext of the fight against terrorism, has other motives and presents other challenges, similar to the “wars against terrorism” waged in Afghanistan and Iraq, which still continue 10 years after they began.

A ceasefire, starting on Wednesday night, 21 November, has been announced eight days after the Israeli military started to bombard Gaza. While this is a great relief to many, further outbreaks of bloodshed are tragically inevitable until there is an end to the national oppression of Palestinians and fundamental system change in the interests of all working-class people across the region.

The explosion of fury seen in the recent days in many parts of the world reflects an elementary anger which animate sections of the masses, bringing onto the surface the deep, underlying feelings of long-standing humiliation caused by the policies of US imperialism in the neo-colonial world, made up of decades-long resources-looting, occupations, support for client-dictatorships, sanctions, coups and spreading death, misery, torture and sectarian divisions in many places of the world, and the Middle East in particular.

On the world stage, the case of Julian Assange is about U.S. imperialism’s need to punish WikiLeaks. There is no doubt that the Swedish state and the government would be happy to assist the US. However, the case is also about serious allegations of rape, which must be investigated.

What began 18 months ago as a popular uprising against the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad is on its way to becoming a full-blown civil war that could spread around the region.

The persecution of Wikileaks has taken another dramatic turn with its leading figure, Julian Assange, seeking political asylum in Ecuador in late June. Assange has been in Britain fighting extradition to Sweden. Extradition was expected to begin on June 28 after all legal appeals had been exhausted.

Across the country there are indiscriminate attacks by the Assad regime forces and their militias, bloody sectarian reprisals by the armed opposition, refugee floods and humanitarian disasters. The second city, Aleppo, is the latest focus of fighting between armed opposition forces and the Syrian army. Since the rebels entered Aleppo on 20 July, many residents have fled for Damascus and Turkey.

The war in Afghanistan was launched after 9/11 under the stated goal of ending Al Qaeda’s terrorism. Ten years later, it is clear that the real U.S. motive behind continuing the war is to expand U.S. imperialism into the energy- and resource-rich region. The U.S. government hopes not to leave until it constructs a reliable pro-U.S. government, police, and military in Afghanistan. It has, however, utterly failed to do so.

War clouds are gathering, once again, over the Middle East. Heightening tensions over the last months between the US and its allies and Iran have seen covert assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists, cyber warfare, attacks on Iranian military and missile installations, and a build-up of Western forces in the region and speculation of military preparations for air attacks on Iran.

According to reports from the Public commission for investigating the bloody events of 16-17th December in Aktau, young workers from the “OzenMunaiGaz” company who have been arrested in Zhenaozen are being thrown into the open yard at the remand prison and are having water thrown over them. The temperature is currently MINUS 17 CELSIUS. The torturers are attempting to get the workers to admit to rioting and to give evidence against their friends.

The occupation of Wall Street was spirited and energetic from the start. This ongoing occupation has drawn national and international attention, seen as attempt to stand up to corporate greed and challenge the domination of the big banks over our economy, our government and our lives. It's drawn inspiration from the mass youth occupations in Spain and Greece, as well as the revolutionary upheavals in Tunisia, Egypt and across North Africa and the Middle East.