The four days of riots that followed the shooting dead of Mark Duggan by the police in Tottenham sent a massive wave of shock across the country. "Over the last few days the state has lost control of England’s streets" was the panic ridden comment of the Financial Times. Five people tragically died, over 100 people lost their homes and over 48,000 shops, pubs, clubs and restaurants were affected in 28 town centres.

Here Paul Murphy MEP looks at the youth riots sweeping Britain, and the disgraceful way the media and political establishment have reported and responded to the events. He investigates the underlying reasons, ways to solve the causes of this outburst, and what lessons it has for left and socialist activists in Ireland.

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"The scenes of despair and explosions of anger like those of 1981 will be back on our streets. "Deprived areas of major cities - if not the central areas, then the ’banlieus’ or outskirts as in France - will be the scene of new conflagrations." This is the warning that the Socialist Party gave just four months ago, in our article on the anniversary of the Brixton riots. This morning thousands of people have woken up to the devastation of their communities.

Tottenham is located in the borough of Haringey, north London, where over 10,000 people claim jobseeker’s allowance. One ward, Northumberland Park, is among the most deprived areas in Europe.

Job growth has collapsed in the last two months, with the official US. unemployment rate rising to 9.2%. Since 2008 we have entered a period of high structural unemployment with the economy stagnating and unable to effectively pull out of the recession. Yet the politicians in Washington are not talking about jobs. Instead, they are playing a dangerous game of chicken with the August 2 deadline to raise the federal debt ceiling

Right wing extremist Anders Behring Brevik’s massacre of young people at the camping island of Utøya, outside Norway’s capital, Oslo, shocked and horrified people everywhere. It was an act of hardly imaginable wanton cruelty.

After a month of social explosions across Spain with the 15-M movement, Spanish Politics has been turned upside down, and the situation continues to simmer. There will be further developments over the next months. There are numerous demonstrations and actions planned. However, for many, thoughts are already turning to the battle after the summer. Key questions are being asked. Will there be a general strike? What will become of 15-M?, And what political expression will the movement need to force a victory against capitalism and austerity?

Deploying tear gas and threats, the Greek Pasok government passed new austerity policies during a protest 48 hour general strike and the movement of the ‘Enraged’.

It has emerged that the Irish Ship to Gaza, part of the Freedom Flotilla 2, has been sabotaged whilst sitting in harbour preparing to sale. The damage, which was potentially life threatening, is so serious that the ship will not be able to sale, but fortunately some of those on board can move to the Italian ship that is part of the flotilla. Here on of those on the flotilla, Paul Murphy MEP (Socialist Party) responds to this latest development.

The Greek trade unions have started their first 48 hour general strike since 1992. The movement of the ‘enraged’ and the activists of the workers’ movement demanded this step, against the vote in the Greek parliament on the second memorandum - a new package of austerity imposed by the troika (EU, IMF and European Central Bank). This vote is planned to take place in various stages over the next days.