A FRESH round of imperialist bloodletting is on the cards in the Middle-East. They caused complete destruction of Fallujah in Iraq, they bombed hospitals in Afghanistan, and virtually flattened Mosul and Raqqa in Iraq and Syria.Trump and Netanyahu, backed by a set of reactionary monarchical Arab regimes, is out to devour one more nation to feed its insatiable imperial appetite.The US-Israeli war drive against Iran has assumed dangerous proportions. According to the UN's secretary general the Middle East is "in chaos" and the Cold War is "back with a vengeance".

THE Jan Ekta Jan Adhikar Andolan, a national platform of mass, class, and social organisations, groups and progressive individuals, has given a call for a weeklong campaign against the communal and anti-national agenda of the NDA government which will culminate with a protest action in the national capital on May 23.As part of the campaign – ‘NDA Sarkar ki Char Saal, Pol Khol, Halla Bol!’ (four years of NDA Government; Expose and Protest!) – huge mobilisations of people will be held in state capitals between May 16 and 22.

THE CPI(M) organised protests all across Kerala against the continuous fuel price hikes in India which have made people's lives miserable.Thousands of people participated in the "Prathishedha Sangamam" (protest confluence) held at Kannur on May 4. A protest march was taken out from the Collectorate to the Stadium corner, where a massive public meeting was held. People participated in the protest by pushing two-wheelers and by carrying gas cylinders.

ONE and a half months have passed since the BJP-IPFT (Indigenous People's Front of Tripura) coalition government has assumed office in Tripura and the attacks on the Left front workers and supporters continue in full swing in the state.On May 7, the state police imposed Section 144 and cordoned up the entire old motor stand areas by the paramilitary forces in Agartala.

THE huge public outcry and resentment at the increasing incidents of rapes and sexual offences against women today can well be understood and appreciated. In a country where a woman is reportedly raped every 15 minutes (this, despite many rape cases still going unreported), and where a woman is a victim of crime every two minutes, such outrage is a natural reaction, particularly when law makers and law protectors become accomplice to such heinous acts, as demonstrated in Kathua and Unnao rape cases.