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.

This year, on the first day of Ramadan in Rafah people gathered around a large table for iftar, the fast-breaking meal, as the sun set. Photo: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo

The Long War for Meaning

Gaza-born journalist Ramzy Baroud traces how Palestinians have turned survival into a struggle for dignity, history and freedom, with Gaza at the heart of the resistance.

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Gunditjmara, Waddawurrung & Arrernte man Jordan Edwards in the state Legislative Council Chamber, Melbourne, during the first sitting of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria in July 2023. Photo: Tamati Smith/Getty Images

Indigenous Sovereignty in Australia

This is not your land. After the defeat of a 2023 referendum on the inclusion of a First Nations Voice in parliament, Zoe Holman traces the claims to self-determination made by Indigenous peoples in Australia, culminating in today’s rallying call for Treaty.

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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.

Docs not cops

Docs not cops

Doctors and patients are fighting back against new rules to restrict migrants’ access to the NHS, writes Simon Childs.

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Balfour declaration – an overdue apology

Balfour declaration – an overdue apology

The Balfour Declaration was a 67-word statement penned by Foreign Secretary Lord Balfour to Lord Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community. Lydia Noon reports

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 Photo: Johannes Jansson

Introducing... Katrín Jakobsdóttir

Iceland's charismatic new Left-Green prime minister has big plans, but will the Left-Green's radical programme survive political wrangling with other coalition partners asks Richard Swift.

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Mixed Media: Film

Mixed Media: Film

Two to One; Julie Keeps Quiet.

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Books Essay: Balls of wax

Books Essay: Balls of wax

A collection of short stories and vignettes from a feminist pioneer pinpoints the absurd details of the normalizing state, writes Caitlín Doherty.

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Mixed Media: Music

Mixed Media: Music

Uli Costa e Sandália de Prata; Evil Plan.

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 Illustration: Sarah John

Belonging

In a city where change is displacing homes and histories, Maya Misikir finds a sense of community growing in unexpected places.

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 Photo: Goldman Environmental Prize

Making Waves: Prafulla Samantara

The Indian human rights defender who stopped a mining giant in its tracks speaks with Veronique Mistiaen.

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Worldbeater: Mohammed bin Salman

Saudi Arabia’s King-in-waiting – and his aggressive foreign policy – is put under the spotlight.

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Artificial intelligence - The Facts

Artificial intelligence - The Facts

The bubble; Thirst for data; Ghost workers in the machine.

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Country Profile: Sierra Leone

Country Profile: Sierra Leone

The photos, facts, and politics of Sierra Leone.

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Only Planet

Only Planet

Omnicorp lab rats, by Marc Roberts.

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