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The Israeli regime appears to be laying the groundwork for a permanent military presence in large parts of the Gaza Strip, according to a new satellite imagery analysis.

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Alas-5 ng madaling araw noong Disyembre 13, 2025, kinubkob ng tropa ng 2nd Infantry Battalion Philippine Army sa pamumuno ni 2nd Lt. Reynaldo G. Taladua, ang bahay na pansamantalang pinagpahingahan ng yunit ng pulang Hukbo sa barangay Pitogo, Cataingan. Unang nakapamutok ang mga pulang Hukbo na nagresulta sa pagkamatay ng dalawang tropa ng militar, isa na rito si 2nd Lt. Taladua habang may inako ring isang sugatan ang hanay ng mga militar.

Sa gitna ng palitan ng putok, tinamaan sa kanyang paa si kasamang Mil. Buhay siya nang mahuli ng mga berdugong tropa ng 2nd IB subalit dahil sa galit na napatay ang kanilang upisyal ay tinortyur ang kasama. Tinusok ang kanyang leeg, binalian ng mga binti at braso, tinanggalan ng laman ang kanyang likod bago siya tuluyang pinaslang sa pamamagitan ng pagbaril sa kanyang ulo na sanhi ng pagkabiyak nito. Ang brutal na pagtortyur at pagpatay sa isang wala na sa katayuang lumaban ay labag sa internasyunal na makataong batas sa digma alinsunod sa Protocol II ng Geneva Convention.

Magkaiba man ang pananaw, paniniwala, prinsipyo at pinaglilingkuran ay batid ng magkabilang panig, na sa labanan natural ang magbuwis ng buhay. Kaya, gaano man kasakit ang kanilang nararamdaman sa pagkasawi ng kanilang upisyal o kasamahan, hindi ito lehitimong dahilan upang brutal na paslangin ang isang wala nang kakayahang lumaban.

Sa tuwing napapaslang sa labanan ang namumunong upisyal ng tropa ng militar, nakagawian na ng mga berdugo na ibaling ang kanilang galit sa mga nahuhuling kasama sa labanan at brutal na tinotortyur at pinapaslang ang mga ito.

Ngayong taon, ikatlo si kasamang Mil na nahuling sugatan ngunit brutal na tinortyur bago pinaslang ng mga berdugong tropa ng 2nd IB. Ang dalawang iba pa, ay si Ka Popoy/Roco, na nasukol sa labanan at nahuling sugatan ng mga pasistang militar noong Setyembre 30 sa barangay San Jose, Uson, makikita sa kanyang katawan ang mga tusok mula sa matalim na bagay. At si Ka Boboy na binalian rin ng mga binti at braso, maraming saksak at tama ng bala sa katawan, na nahuling buhay matapos mahiwalay sa pagmaniobra ng yunit at masugatan sa nangyaring labanan sa barangay Candelaria, Uson noong Hulyo 19.

Nagbuwis naman ng kanyang buhay si kasamang Kin noong Disyembre 2, matapos makubkob ng tropa ng 96th IB ang base ng mga pulang Hukbo sa hangganan ng barangay Cancahorao at Igang sa bayan ng Baleno.

Ipinaaabot ng Jose Rapsing Command-NPA Masbate ang taos-pusong pakikiramay at pakikidalamhati sa mga pamilya, kamag-anak at kakilala nina kasamang Mil, Kin at sa mga nauna nang namartir na mga kasama sa kanilang pagkawala. Kasabay nito, tinitiyak ng pamprubinsyang kumand na hindi ito titigil hanggang sa mapanagot at masingil ang mga berdugong tropa ng militar at mabigyan ng karampatang hustisya ang mga kasama at masang kanilang brutal na tinortyur at pinaslang ng walang kalaban-laban.

The post Brutal na pagtortyur at pamamaslang sa mga kasamang nahuhuling sugatan at wala nang laban, labag sa internasyunal na batas sa digmaan appeared first on PRWC | Philippine Revolution Web Central.

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This interview was conducted in collaboration with Malik Muhammad’s representative team. Vox Ummah has not edited any of the content. We hope you take the time to read this interview, and after digesting its content, renew your struggle for the Palestinian cause and stand in solidarity with those facing state repression because of their principled stand against Imperialism.

If you want to get involved, here are 8 different ways to stand in solidarity with the hunger strikers.

IntroductionThe publication of this interview on December 19th marks day 48 of the historic Prisoners for Palestine hunger strike—the largest prisoner hunger strike in the u.k since 1981, when prisoners from the Irish Republican Army undertook a prolonged and militant refusal of food in protest of the british government’s withdrawal of their special status as prisoners of war.

The eight Prisoners for Palestine hunger strikers—Qesser Zuhrah, Amu Gib, Heba Muraisi, Jon Cink, Kamran Ahmed, Teuta “T” Hoxha, Lewie Chiaramello, and Umer Khalid—have taken up their predecessors’ same weapon of the body, declaring their refusal to eat until all five of their audacious demands have been met. Many of them have been held on “remand” (pre-trial detention) for over a year for alleged direct actions taken against Elbit Systems, the weapons manufacturer in britain which makes 80-85% of the zionist entity’s land weaponry and drones. These weapons are currently being used in the holocaust of Gaza, to lay waste to Palestinian lives.

The hunger strikers’ demands are as follows: end all communications censorship; release them on immediate bail while awaiting trial; a fair and transparent trial with all records related to Elbit released in full; the deproscription of Palestine Action; and lastly, the permanent closure of every Elbit facility on british soil.

The strike has been met with a wave of international support: Italian prisoner Stecco has chosen to expand the strike across Europe; federal defendant Jakhi in the so-called u.s. declared his solidarity with the hunger strikers and undertook a 10-day solidarity fast; recently liberated Lebanese political prisoner Georges Abdallah released a statement of admiration and solidarity, along with Abdel-Nasser and Ammar, Palestinian prisoners who were liberated by the resistance earlier this year in the Al-Ahrar Flood exchange.

Earlier this year, in August of 2025, T. Hoxha —who is currently on hunger strike again—was the first of the Palestine Action prisoners to initiate a solo hunger strike when the prison officials at HMP Peterborough revoked her job in the prison library, withheld her mail, and represented her as a danger to the other prisoners because of her political beliefs. Hoxha’s strike gained international attention when Casey Goonan—at that time the only federal defendant from the 2024 Student Intifada—announced they were joining the strike in solidarity with her, refusing to eat until her demands had been won. A week later, Malik Muhammad—the subject of this interview—also joined the strike in support of Hoxha’s demands.

This historic act of internationalist solidarity undertaken by political prisoners across multiple geographies directly paved the way for Palestine Action’s current larger hunger strike, serving as a model of militant anti-imperialist solidarity in the service of Palestine from those facing the brunt of the state’s repression.

It is necessary for us to maintain internationalist solidarity because ‘that’ isn’t happening ‘over there’ to ‘them’ but oppression is ‘HERE’ and happening to ‘US’ all. Our movements are stronger together. The people are stronger together. Don’t let them separate us. And remember as Palestinians starve in Gaza, so do the unjustly held 12,000 Palestinian prisoners, and the ones in US prisons and ‘detention’ (death) centers, prisons in t**he UK, Australia — they are all the same. The prisoners are living under forced displacement, oppression, occupation.

—Malik’s responseto Hoxha’s August 2025 hunger strike

Malik introduces themself as an “anti-fascist, anarchist, a revolutionary, a writer of everything creative.” They are a Black and Palestinian direct actionist serving an absurd ten-year sentence in Oregon for their legitimate actions during the George Floyd Uprising of 2020. In retaliation for their organizing behind bars, they’ve spent the majority of the past two years in solitary confinement, in a battle against mail censorship — the same mail censorship that is being waged against our Palestine Action comrades in britain.

Reading their many writings and interviews is an exercise in frustration. Here is a serious militant and revolutionary who is burning to engage with the larger struggle, but has been trammelled at every turn. James Yaki Sayles defines political prisoners as “conscious and active servants of the people”, but how can our prisoners remain conscious and active elements when the people allow them to languish and die alone behind bars? Georges Abdallah, liberated after 41 years in a French prison, attributes his ability to remain a part of the wider movement to his comrades on the outside. By constantly supplying him with news of the resistance in the outside world they gave him the necessaries of political development; by publicizing his voice they made it into a weapon of theory in the service of resistance.

Iwas surrounded by men and women dedicated to the cause who allowed me to keep resisting, by making my resistance part of the struggle against the genocide in Gaza. They gave me a permanent voice on the outside, allowing me to speak about the struggles of**various peoples and other political prisoners. So, I wasn’t just a prisoner. I was a fighter who was in prison.

—Georges Abdallah

For those of us who consider ourselves supporters, sisters, and defenders of political prisoners, our primary responsibility is to serve as intermediaries between them and the international war against imperialism. Hundreds and thousands of revolutionaries and potential comrades are crying out to be seriously engaged with in this struggle on every level. This interview aims to be a bridge into this war for our sibling Malik, who calls on those of us on the outside to transmit their call to action to our political prisoners in the u.s.—the only way that international hunger strikes are possible.

Interview with Malik Muhammad

How do you see the Prisoners for Palestine hunger strike as part of a broader, international struggle against imperialism?

Imperialism is upheld through state-sanctioned violence, and part of that violence involves the systemic kidnapping of people they call prisoners. To recognize freedom as a collective struggle is to know that none of us are free until all of us are—including and especially those who have been stolen from us under the guise of “public safety.” They want to silence and lock away the fighters and their voices. What I see in the case of my Pal Action siblings is a settler colonial state trying to distract from the sins of its past — namely, Britain’s complicity in zionism and the Nakba. A state that at once “decries” a genocide it won’t even acknowledge is happening, all the while violently repressing those who object to it. The state’s only tool is a hammer, the only language it speaks is violence. But the perpetual struggle for freedom transcends generations.

When you were organizing in 2020, did you see yourself and the Black liberation movement as part of that war against imperialism? How have your politics developed since then, especially in the two years since the Toufan Al-Aqsa?

Afrikan liberation is the struggle against imperialism and settler colonialism. First Nation liberation and sovereignty and Palestinian liberation are one struggle, and cannot be separated from each other. They exist in an interconnected and interwoven web of oppression and resistance. What affects one directly affects the other. As my dear sibling Lisa says, “that” isn’t happening “over there.” No. We are told to believe so but that’s not the case.

I feel that resistance against this unique fascist state is important because of its central role in the exploitation of land, lives, and cultures at such rapid rates, all while destroying the planet. So while my direct actions [in 2020] were taken against this [u.s. settler] state, they didn’t happen in a vacuum–just like the actions of the Palestinian resistance. The oppressed are never the ones who initiate violence. How could we be, when the state is the one who constantly perpetuates violence against us?

My politics haven’t changed much. I’ve been an anarchist ever since I was a kid and discovered radical blogs on Tumblr. [In regard to Palestine], I would say that in spite of my anti-state beliefs, for a time I held onto hope for a two-state solution. It’s hard to tell a people to “fuck the state” when they don’t even have one to call their own to begin with, when they’re still fighting and struggling for their right to exist at all. It was the same with Afrikans here [in the so-called u.s.], which is why the Black Power movement often had statist ideals.

But [the events of] October 7th reinforced for me that “resistance is essence”, and under occupation, it is a right. It reminded me that perhaps the freest we can ever be is in the moments when we are resisting, when the people take fate and destiny into their own hands and take action. As Jonathan and George, Assata and Mutulu, Oso, Hanson, Peltier, Xinachtli, Tyler and Luigi, the IRA and my Pal Action siblings, all faithful resisters within the death kamps, the ones we don’t hear about, and the slave rebellions lost to history.

Like John Brown meeting the hangman’s noose, we do only what we feel called to do by our creator. The genocidal campaign the zionist entity has waged against the Palestinians after they were forced to hear the cries of the unheard on October 7, that barbaric, internationally-sponsored terror, that all reaffirmed to me that my hope will always be in the people, not the state. The mutual aid, the resistance in the face of genocide, people pulling bodies from rubble, the fighters and the martyrs–all that carnage mixed with all that resilience. Beautiful resistance and faith. That reminded me of my core belief that resistance is essence.

One of the demands of the prisoners in the UK hunger strike is to be able to “send and receive communications without restriction, surveillance, or interference.” Shine White, Xinachtli, and almost every political prisoner reports censored and withheld mai****l. Why is freedom of mail such an indispensable thing for a prisoner?

Letters and communications are a lifeline for us. The state wants to break us by locking us away. They want us disappeared and forgotten about. And even if we aren’t forgotten about, they want us to feel like we are anyway. I’ve had mail withheld for so long. I know guys who have gotten garbage bags full of mail after a whole year.

They try to break your spirit, make you feel like there’s nothing to fight for, and that you should just give up. That’s why it’s imperative to always correspond, even more so when the mail is withheld. They can hide a few parcels from their higher-ups and deny there ever was any, but if you flood their inboxes it helps pressure the [prison officials.] And when the prisoner does eventually get that huge stack of mail, it’s a beautiful reminder that they’re loved, and their strength can be renewed.

The oppressor’s only tactic is to intensify their repression, to wait us out. So our memory must be longer than the state’s. That’s why we should never forget [the prisoners.]

How should the outside movement be working to bring political prisoners into the anti-imperialist struggle?

Any way you can. I don’t think there’s a one size fits all solution. Like anarchy, it’s fluid, and there’s room for a diversity of tactics. Never be afraid to dream or think bigger than the established box. Do what has been working and leave behind what hasn’t, and try things you never have. Our imagination must also be bigger than the state’s. They only know one use for a hammer, while an anarchist recognizes the versatility of that tool.

Writing to and communicating with a political prisoner is the bare minimum. Building and platforming their voice, strategizing in ways that would directly aid those inside, making sure they know that they’re part of a movement that transcends the bars and gates and walls, that they’re only on a different front but still fighting the same fight. More than that though, making sure they know that they’ll be free by any means. See, Assata was [freed]. So they should know that they’ll be freed by any means. And that they’ll be supported in any actions they take.

What makes a hunger strike effective or ineffective? How much of its power comes from public pressure vs the will of the strikers themselves?

Hunger strikes are most effective when you know your ‘why.’ The will must be there, but it’s all in the ‘why.’ The power is always within the people. Under repression, to refuse to eat, to starve yourself purposefully, is powerful in itself. The power is with you the second you refuse. The state threatens violence to coerce and control. So we say, “You can beat me, deprive me, but my intent is to still not eat. I’m the one with the power. And you just pretend.”

Public pressure is imperative too: You [on the outside] have power too. It’s imperative to keep the striker alive with that public pressure. Because when you go down that path, you know why. And you’re prepared to die for it. You know your red lines, the demands that you will accept instead—but you are still prepared to die for it. The public’s job is to not let you go that way.

That’s where pressure is imperative. You support in all the ways you can, apply pressure in all the ways you can, and you also accept that the power is with that person, too. That they must be trusted to make the best decisions for themselves, even if that means it meets an disagreeable end. They eat only at their own will. You hope to expedite that, spread their message, even if they go.

A hunger strike is never ineffective. As revolutionaries, we never die. We just spread, and multiply. Like our ideas, they’re always here. Because [as Fred Hampton said], you can jail a revolutionary, but you can’t jail the revolution. You can kill a revolutionary son, but you’ll only martyr another one. You can steal a revolutionary daughter, but you’ll only add water for the revolution to drink from. So–we have the power, you have the power. The state has none.

Are there any verses from the Quran you reflect on most in regards to the struggle you are waging?

“Beat back the oppressors wherever you find them.”

Are there any Islamic figures you think about most during this period of struggle?

The prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) and his refusal of riches to renounce Allah. He said, “You can give me the moon in my left hand, and all the stars in my right hand. And still I would never renounce the teachings of Allah.” It’s that resistance, that steadfast dedication that inspires me.

How does the struggle for Palestine in the global north become re-ignited in a meaningful way? How does the global****north escalate?

International solidarity. Radical direct action, autonomous groups acting together, sabotaging systems to directly hinder the genocidal IOF. *The global north needs to hear us now, or be us later.*Militancy and direct action is imperative. Resistance is essence, and under occupation, it’s a right.

The world is occupied, and whether you live in a prison, or an open-air minimum like the so-called u.s. or u.k, or a harsher maximum open-air prison like gaza, the state occupies land, lives and people. Do we play at revolution, or do we make it? October 7th should be a rallying cry for radical direct action everywhere. Palestinians have managed to resist one of the world’s most powerful and best-equipped militaries. As George Jackson said, “Their reliance on their technology will be their downfall.” The system is fragile, and can be brought down. A stone thrown can crumble a nation. The system must be raged against because none are free until we all are free.

Is there anything you’d like to say directly to the hunger strikers or any of the prisoners associated with Palestine Action?

Resistance is essence, siblings. You’re never forgotten. Know your “why” and the “how” will come. We are not separated by these man-made monstrous constructs. We are connected in spite of them—and in some ways, because of them. The state creates its own monster, so be Frankenstein’s monster and destroy him. Refine yourself inside—plot, plan, rally, foment, organize and resist. Prison is only another front of the struggle. Until we all are free, none are. So remember: resistance is essence; under occupation it’s a right. I love you siblings. Love, rage, and solidarity.

Conclusion

During the hunger strike led by T. Hoxha in the summer of 2025, people called for international protests at british embassies, press and media, and direct pressure on the prisons and the government through continuous phone calls and emails.

Prisoners for Palestine is calling on us to take these actions once again. But the hunger strikers’ demands have a right to be enforced through greater measures. Again and again, the u.s. left has shouted down calls to direct action & basic property damage in the name of “a diversity of tactics”. The effect of this, ironically, is a impotent political movement almost entirely reduced to legal parades and useless finger-wagging at politicians. A hunger strike is a last-ditch tactic taken up by prisoners who have no weapons left but their own bodies. It throws the movement at large into sharp relief: while our imprisoned comrades scrape away at the concrete with broken spoons, we put our jackhammers and our pipes into some backyard shed and close the door.

Aren’t our comrades’ lives worth the same as Bobby Sands’, or Assata Shakur’s, or Abdel-Nassar and Ammar’s? When will it seriously be time for a diversity of tactics? Who will bring out the tools? Two years after the Toufan Al Aqsa, Palestine Action remains one of the few examples of genuinely effective solidarity. And now its prisoners, who took up the crowbar and the hammer, are left to starve by their imperialist government, their bodies degrading alone in concrete cells.

The strikers’ demand for bail can be answered by the british public. Self-liberated Sean “Shibby” Middlebrough, of the Filton 24, answered it on his own behalf. But the call to shut Elbit down mustbe answered by the general public, and it must be answered in defense of not only the lives of these hunger strikers, but the lives of every Palestinian left to be killed in winter floods — in lines to buy rotten food — in bombed out hospitals — in the tunnels of Rafah, the most honorable men of our time — in “israeli” torture chambers — and, for Malik Muhammad and his comrades, in the heart of the empire, the british-amerikan prison cell.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Toolkit (u.s. version)

Contact script for political prisoners

british embassy locations (worldwide)

Elbit locations (u.s.)

STAY UPDATEDPrisoners for Palestine website and Instagram

Free Malik Now website and Instagram

(Vox Ummah)

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From Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond via This RSS Feed.

Brazil passed the semiannual presidency of Mercosur to Paraguay this Saturday, at the conclusion of the South American bloc’s summit in the border city of Foz do Iguaçu.

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The summit concluded with the publication of a joint declaration with 41 points, in which the bloc’s “disappointment” was expressed due to the postponement of the signing of the agreement with the European Union, which was due to internal divergences within the bloc.

The declaration also reaffirmed the member countries’ interest in revising the common external tariff, as well as the commitment of the Mercosur countries to regional integration, regulatory modernization, and the bloc’s commercial opening.

#CupulaMERCOSUL
A Delegação do #PARLASUL @senadorhumberto @DCaggiani @depchinaglia acompanha a Cúpula de Chefes de Estado do #MERCOSUL, momento em que o Brasil @LulaOficial realiza a transferência da Presidência Pro Tempore ao Paraguai @SantiPenap pic.twitter.com/fYsnD3lMWg

— Parlamento MERCOSUR (@PARLASUR) December 20, 2025

The document also reaffirms the support of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay for the full accession of Bolivia, which is in the final phase.

Regarding the upcoming semiannual presidency, the head of state of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, stated that he intends to promote the trade agreements being negotiated by the South American bloc.

One of those agreements, with the European Union, should be signed next January in Paraguay, after the Europeans postponed the signing, which was scheduled for this Saturday, due to internal divergences.

Peña also wishes to promote concrete projects of regional integration, especially a waterway and the road integration corridor that will connect Brazil with the Pacific Ocean.

The presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; Argentina, Javier Milei; Paraguay, Santiago Peña; Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi; and Panama, José Raúl Mulino, in his capacity as an associated country, participated in the Foz do Iguaçu summit.

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From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.

Venezuela denounces the theft and kidnapping of a second Venezuelan private ship loaded with oil and the disappearance of its crew, acts perpetrated by US military in international waters this Saturday.

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“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela denounces and categorically rejects the theft and hijacking of a new private vessel carrying Venezuelan oil, as well as the enforced disappearance of its crew, committed by United States military personnel in waters international,” said a statement from the Venezuelan government.

Venezuela warned that these actions will not go unpunished and will exercise all the corresponding actions, including denunciation before the UN Security Council, other multilateral agencies and governments of the world.

#COMUNICADO | La República Bolivariana de #Venezuela 🇻🇪 denuncia y rechaza categóricamente el robo y secuestro de un nuevo buque privado cargado con petróleo venezolano, así como la desaparición forzada de su tripulación. Estos actos fueron perpetrados por efectivos militares de… pic.twitter.com/EzMNBFsVeo

— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) December 20, 2025

In addition, the Bolivarian government recalls that international law will prevail and those responsible for these serious acts will be held accountable by justice and history for their criminal conduct.

The US government intercepted a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker in international Caribbean waters off Venezuela. The detained ship, named Centuries, is not on the list of tankers sanctioned by the USA.

The government of constitutional president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro warns that this serious act of piracy “involves the flagrant commission of an offence under article 3 of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, 1988 and a gross violation of article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations, Article 2 of the Geneva Convention on the High Seas and the Declaration on the principles of international law relating to friendly relations and cooperation between States.”

Venezuela stresses that the colonialist model which the United States Government intends to impose through this type of practice will fail and be defeated by the Venezuelan people, and will continue with its economic growth, tion of its 14 engines and the development of its hydrocarbon industry in an independent and sovereign manner.

The US government intercepted a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker in international Caribbean waters off Venezuela. According to the Secretary of National Security, the operation seeks to stop the illicit movement of sanctioned oil.

This is the second vessel intercepted by the U.S. in the Caribbean, after the seizure of the ship Skipper last week. The detained ship, named Centuries, is not on the list of tankers sanctioned by the USA.

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From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.

China has pulled far ahead in the race to build humanoid robots, issuing five times as many related patents as the United States over the past five years, Morgan Stanley said in its latest Robot Almanac. In “Robot Almanac, Volume 3: Humanoids & Industrial Robots”, released on Tuesday as part of a six-volume series, Morgan Stanley said China recorded 7,705 humanoid patents over the past five years, compared with 1,561 in the US. Japan ranked next with 1,102, followed by the World Intellectual...

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From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

A First Nation says the City of Richmond is fuelling tensions around a land claim, backed by a real estate company who owns nearly half the area. The Cowichan nation…

Source

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From The North Star via This RSS Feed.

The presidents of the Mercosur countries announced this Saturday the launch of negotiations to reach an agreement on tariff preferences with Vietnam, one of the most dynamic economies in Asia.

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The announcement was made in a joint statement released by the members of Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after the bloc’s bi-annual summit, held in the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguazu.

According to the statement, the two parties are finalizing the terms of reference that will serve as the basis for the negotiations.

67ª CÚPULA DO MERCOSUL / 67ª CUMBRE DEL MERCOSUR ✨

📃 Comunicado Conjunto dos Presidentes dos Estados Partes do MERCOSUL / Comunicado Conjunto de los Presidentes de los Estados Partes del MERCOSUR 🇧🇷🇦🇷🇧🇴🇵🇾🇺🇾

🔗 https://t.co/ETfPxwHFdR pic.twitter.com/krno7JfIRX

— MERCOSUR (@mercosur) December 20, 2025

“The future agreement represents a milestone in the process of boosting trade between Mercosur and Vietnam, and can contribute to strengthening ties between the Asian country and the South American bloc,” according to the joint statement.

The intention of both parties is to promote the expansion of their trade through the reduction of tariffs and the elimination of tariffs and relevant non-tariff measures, in order to facilitate effective access to markets and ensure that trade flows reflect the potential of their economies.

According to the statement, trade between Mercosur and Vietnam totaled 12.2 billion dollars in 2024.

The start of negotiations with Vietnam was announced after the presidents of Mercosur, after regretting the postponement of the signing of their trade agreement with the European Union (EU), assured that they will continue negotiating with other possible partners while waiting for the Europeans to resolve their differences.

The intention of the leaders was to sign the agreement with the European Union at this Saturday’s Summit, but the European authorities postponed the meeting to mid-January, in Paraguay, due to the difficulties in reaching the necessary support to approve the treaty.

The Paraguayan government, which assumed the temporary presidency of Mercosur this Saturday, stated that its priorities will be to finalize the most advanced agreements, such as those negotiated with the United Arab Emirates and Canada, and to continue talks with Japan, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

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From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.

The state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) announced that it exceeded its production target for 2025, reaching 1,200,000 barrels per day this Saturday, December 20, as part of the Productive Independence Plan.

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According to Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, this achievement lays the foundation for a sustained increase in production by 2026.

Her message comes amid the multifaceted aggression that the United States is carrying out against Venezuela with the aim of appropriating crude oil and oil reserves, in addition to other strategic resources that the South American nation possesses.

“The best Christmas gift that our people, of dignified and free men and women, can receive is the unmeasured effort of our oil workforce that confronts and defeats the harassment, hostilities, and imperial illegality that attacks and threatens the human rights of Venezuelans,” Vice President Rodriguez highlighted.

PDVSA anuncia que, en el marco del Plan de Independencia Productiva, sus trabajadores han alcanzado la meta de 1.200.000 barriles prevista para este año, y se prepara para lograr el incremento de producción y metas para el 2026.#DelcyRodríguez pic.twitter.com/vHD1dkmges

— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) December 20, 2025

The achievement comes after the announcement by US President Donald Trump to impose a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela and the recent seizure of a ship transporting Venezuelan oil.

Added to this is the decision of a US court to approve the forced sale of the Venezuelan company CITGO Petroleum; a plundering that for Venezuela represents a patrimonial loss exceeding 35 billion dollars, according to a complaint made Friday by the Minister of Hydrocarbons, Delcy Rodríguez.

Rodriguez highlighted the commitment of the company and the government to follow a course of honor and national dignity alongside President Nicolás Maduro, in a context of external challenges.

The Productive Independence Plan was emphasized, which seeks to strengthen national production and reduce external dependence, consolidating PDVSA as a motor of the Venezuelan economy.

Rodríguez emphasized that this work scheme focuses on the recovery of infrastructure, the promotion of technological innovation, and the active participation of the organized workforce.

Looking ahead to 2026, the state-owned oil company is preparing to increase its production, with the aim of exceeding the levels achieved this year. These goals seek to guarantee the internal supply of hydrocarbons, as well as the generation of income through exports.

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A recently leaked Pentagon report has projected heavy US losses should it intervene in a Taiwan conflict, highlighting Washington’s growing anxiety over Beijing’s rapidly improving capabilities, according to defence experts. In a classified assessment known as the Overmatch brief, the Pentagon has catalogued the People’s Liberation Army’s ability to destroy American fighter planes, large ships and satellites and identified the US military’s supply chain choke points, according to a December 8...

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Earlier this week, Unison voted for Andrea Egan to be their new head. As we reported, Keir Starmer’s Labour Party expelled Egan as a member in 2022, suggesting there would be no love lost between her and the prime minister. Now, Egan has made her feelings on the Labour right explicitly clear in a new opinion piece:

Make no mistake.

The election of @Andrea4GS as Union GS is a turning point for the Lab Party & politics in this country.

She’s calling time on Reform, Thatcherism & those that support its bastardised form, 40 years on.

A rallying cry to get behind. https://t.co/ogql5dzBTL pic.twitter.com/VEaadL0JHu

— Clive Lewis MP (@labourlewis) December 19, 2025

“Never again will we prop up politicians hostile to unions”. Looking at you, Labour Party.

Egan began her career as a “low-paid children’s residential care worker supporting vulnerable children”. In her piece, she notes she will be “the first ordinary member” to lead Unison. Speaking to that, she wrote:

But some at the top of our movement have contributed to its decline, too, by creating cultures where workers, ordinary members, are consistently disregarded by their own organisations. Defending our class interests, the core work of unions, has been an afterthought, at best. Careers and cosy Westminster clubs have come first.

For her part, Egan seems to have genuinely put her money where her mouth is:

Instead of taking the £181,000 salary package the current General Secretary receives, I will take the wage of a social worker.

I will make sure the rest of the money goes to the Industrial Action Fund and There For You.

My pay will go up when yours goes up! pic.twitter.com/trWFN0oU3p

— Andrea Egan for UNISON General Secretary (@Andrea4GS) November 18, 2025

Her piece contains a very clear warning to the Labour right (and the right in general):

Industrially, I am putting all the employers we bargain with – from Reform UK-run local councils to Wes Streeting’s Department of Health and Social Care – on notice: Unison will be fighting without hesitation to win for members. Our size and resources are without parallel among trade unions in this country. From this point on, those great assets will be geared towards transforming the lives of public-sector workers.

That begins with building on and properly scaling up the “organising to win” strategy introduced in 2021, after a motion by ordinary members at Unison’s conference. This was a member initiative, from the grassroots. Now I will work for it to be fully supported and resourced at the centre.

She also said:

So it should be clear that putting members first doesn’t mean relegating or turning away from politics. That would be an abdication of responsibility. But it does mean bringing Unison’s support for the destructive right wing of the Labour party to an end.

Paul Holden’s The Fraud covers how the right wing of the Labour Party fought to ensure the party’s loss to the Tories in 2019.

Streets ahead of Streeting and the Labour Party

In her piece, Egan called out one politician specifically:

We will call time on our union’s inexcusable habit of propping up politicians who act against our interests, undermine our fundamental values and make our lives worse. Like colleagues across the movement, I have, in recent weeks, been appalled by Streeting’s attacks on resident doctors and their union. It is simply unacceptable for a Labour politician to describe striking workers as “morally reprehensible”.

I will, of course, engage open-mindedly with the health secretary as I would with any other employer or government minister. But given the likelihood of a Labour leadership election in 2026, it’s important for me to be clear: swapping Starmer out for Streeting or anyone else from the right wing of the party would be no solution to the gigantic challenges facing the country. What’s needed is a radical change in approach based on the labour movement’s core values.

As reported by James Wright on 15 December:

Despite pay rises since Labour came to power, resident doctors are demanding full pay restoration so their pay is the same as it was in 2008, when taking inflation into account. There are further issues with the recruitment process for doctors, with many unable to get jobs.

The UK is low on doctors per 1,000 people, at 3.2. Some of the highest levels of per capita doctors are in Austria at 5.48 and Germany at 4.53.

Yet in 2026 the number of specialty applicants is projected to increase to over 40,000. And the government is only offering an additional 4,000 places, bringing the number up to around 14,000, and no pay restoration.

International liberation

Egan also made it clear she will use her position to support wider efforts for equality:

Politically, with ordinary Unison members giving a clear mandate for change, our union will defend the interests of the working class as a whole without apology and without exception. I am in no doubt – that requires being unbowed in our support for the Palestinian people’s freedom struggle, and proud of our internationalism and opposition to war. I am also clear that Unison on my watch will not sit idly by while this Labour government allows imprisoned Palestine Solidarity Campaign activists to starve while protesting for their basic rights. Keir Starmer must act now.

Andrew Feinstein, a former ANC official under Nelson Mandela, has argued that the hero of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa would be ‘outraged’ with our leaders. The blatant disregard and disrespect for the plight and courage of the hunger strikers in our prisons exposes the hypocrisy of Starmer and David Lammy who have bother referred to Mandela as a ‘political hero’, as Feinstein wrote to them:

I would like to draw to your attention to the fact that Mandela also played a significant role in hunger strikes during his imprisonment, particularly at Robben Island. He and other political prisoners used hunger strikes as a form of protest against their conditions, unlawful detention and to demand their release. Soon after his release in 1990, his intervention was crucial in peaceably ending a hunger strike by over 300 prisoners. These hunger strikes were crucial tools in the struggle against apartheid.

We were once again at Woolwich Crown Court for the weekly support action for the Filton 24 as their trial progresses – and Yara from Palestinian Youth Movement gave us perhaps the best explanation of why people are on hunger strike we have heard yet. All respect to her pic.twitter.com/49MvYMvCYc

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) December 19, 2025

Ordinary members

Egan finished her piece by saying:

My victory is no individual matter. It is a collective triumph for ordinary Unison members who have voted to take charge of their own union at long last. Public sector workers keep this country running. We are disrespected, overworked and underpaid. That must change. It will change.

With her decision to take the same wage as an ordinary carer, we’re inclined to believe she’s serious.

Featured image via Andrea Egan

By Maddison Wheeldon

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From Canary via This RSS Feed.

David Walliams’ relationship has been terminated with his publisher, Harper Collins, following allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ towards junior female employees at the company. Now, the Daily Mail is reporting that their rivals at the Sun were killing stories related to Walliams:

David Walliams: The Daily Mail reveals that “showbusiness reporters at The Sun were told to drop negative stories about Walliams because both that newspaper and HarperCollins are owned by Rupert Murdoch's NewsUK, even sharing offices near London Bridge.”https://t.co/20san4VV95 pic.twitter.com/QjDUu6hO6s

— Sarah_Woolley (@Sarah_Woolley) December 20, 2025

Shield the abuser, pay off the victim

The allegations first surfaced in 2023, reportedly prompting an in-house lawyer to interview staff who worked with David Walliams. Several female employees were allegedly affected by Walliams’ behaviour, with the Daily Mail reporting that female employees were advised to ‘work in pairs’ around the star. Female employees were also ordered not to visit his house.

The Telegraph reports that one of the women ‘harassed’ by Walliams received a five-figure payout before leaving the publisher.

These revelations follow the incident on Britain’s Got Talent when Walliams was heard on microphone making sexist, derogatory comments about contestants on the show.

Five Leaves Bookshop is one of a number of bookshops selling children's books that deliberately did not sell David Walliams' books. We did not feel comfortable doing so.

— Five Leaves Bookshop (@FiveLeavesBooks) December 19, 2025

As a woman in publishing, and a Harper Collins author, I knew about Walliams. Everyone did. It was called an 'open secret'. Why? New piece on my substack. pic.twitter.com/lJ6Xa4biHn

— Milli Hill (@millihill) December 19, 2025

Does anyone else remember watching this sketch by David Walliams when it was first aired, and thinking to themselves at the time, "you'll be standing there in real life before you're done mate".#DavidWalliams pic.twitter.com/riftv4ky0o

— Alex Campbell (@10011_1010100) December 20, 2025

David Walliams: shielded by attack-dog lawyers and vested interests

The Daily Mailreport that David Walliams was protected by the aggressive celebrity law firm, Schillings. Instead of holding Walliams to account for his behaviour, the victims were made to risk criminal proceedings against them if they dared speak out.

Adding more fuel to the fire, it’s reported that the Sun’s showbusiness reporters were instructed to kill any negative stories relating to the celebrity. Notably, Rupert Murdoch owns both Harper Collins and the Sun.

For years, allegations around David Walliams were an open secret, widely known and repeatedly looked past. This is how harm hides in plain sight. No more. Huge credit to the women who spoke out, and to the reporters whose investigations made this possible. https://t.co/UvRl4V234Z

— David Challen (@David_Challen) December 19, 2025

Bullies on pedestals and none the wiser

A billionaire media mogul has a significant monopoly on the information that the wider public see, which can have very real implications for wider society. Demonstrating the influence that his media empire grant him, Murdoch leveraged assurances from Keir Starmer that there would not be a Leveson 2.0 inquiry should Labour win in 2024. As James Wright wrote for the Canaryin July of that year:

Rupert Murdoch family-owned News UK received “private assurances” that Keir Starmer’s Labour Party government would not carry out an inquiry into press standards, according to iNews. News UK-owned titles the Sun and the Sunday Times then endorsed Starmer, once they’d gotten assurances that Leveson 2 would not go ahead.

Leveson 2 is the would-be second part of the Leveson Inquiry into press standards. The first part was launched in 2011. That’s after Murdoch-owned and now defunct News of the World had been found to be hacking phones.

In light of these new revelations about David Walliams, it’s clear the government needs to break up these corrupt billionaire-owned media companies.

Featured image via FT

By Maddison Wheeldon

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