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Utilities started reversing coal power’s “irreversible” decline. Will it last?

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Ang Bayan Ngayon | December 19, 2025 Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) branch members...

The post From Ang Bayan: CPP Branch In Rizal Holds Study Session, Tribute To Ka Joma appeared first on REDSPARK.

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The Party commends Red fighters of the New People’s Army for its quick reaction and counter-maneuver against assaulting troops of the 9th IB in Balatan town, Camarines Sur, last Friday. At least two fascist troopers of the AFP were killed in action, including the officer leading the attack.

Troops of the 9th IB were conducting offensive combat operations, and were preparing to mount an attack against the NPA fighters in the area. The AFP wanted to take advantage of the ceasefire declaration of the CPP, which is to set to take effect on December 25-26 and December 31 and January 1, 2026.

With the deep support of the people, the NPA unit was alerted of the plan and was able to foil the 9th IB’s attack AFP. t
The NPA promptly carried out active defense operations to turn the situation to their advantage, take the initiative and gain upperhand in battle. The said NPA unit was able to quickly and safely withdraw from the site.

The said NPA unit was in the area to conduct mass work, help in production, extend medical and education services and conduct cultural work among the local peasant masses and fisherfolk. Like every other unit of the NPA, they carry out armed struggle against the fascist AFP in defense of the people.

Officers of the AFP are utterly hypocritical in claiming “treachery” in the NPA’s use of command-detonated explosives against the assaulting fascist troops, insisting that these are illegitimate weapons. What is treacherous and cowardly is having jetfighters drop 500-lb bombs in the early morning hours from the safety of 50,000 feet.

For the AFP’s education, the command-detonated explosives used by the NPA are not prohibited under the Ottawa Treaty, which prohibit only landmines triggered by pressure or trip-wire.

The NPA’s command-detonated explosives are controlled and triggered by an operator. In fact, Canada, which hosted the anti-landmine summit, produces similar weapons.

The post NPA successfully foils AFP assault in Camarines Sur appeared first on PRWC | Philippine Revolution Web Central.

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The European Union’s Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) has determined that delays in Honduras’ vote count are the result of an “intentional paralysis,” as the country remains without official results three weeks after the November 30 elections.

RELATED:

Cyberattack on Honduran Electoral System Alleged: Possible Vote Counting Fraud

In a statement, the EU mission expressed concern over the prolonged process and urged “the parties to refrain from obstructing the proclamation of the results.” Partial tallies show conservative candidate Nasry Asfura, backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, leading narrowly ahead of liberal contender Salvador Nasralla.

The EU EOM noted that while the vote count itself has been carried out with “transparency,” the validation of tally sheets has been “compromised by a continuous and intentional paralysis,” producing “serious delays,” according to the statement issued on Saturday.

Comunicado de prensa de la #MoeueHN25

Para descargar en PDF este documento en español:https://t.co/XaCxsLRJ4F

Y en inglés:https://t.co/ICWDtpCLLd pic.twitter.com/hfksEGim7s

— Misión de Observación Electoral UE – Honduras 2025 (@moeueHonduras25) December 20, 2025

The process has entered a decisive stage with a special review of tally sheets, amid political tensions and mutual accusations. This review has been suspended several times and was entrusted to a private company that cited technical problems, further fueling suspicions of electoral fraud.

During the count, Nasralla at one point moved into the lead and accused authorities of a “theft” of the election, calling for a new “vote-by-vote” recount. Outgoing left-wing President Xiomara Castro has made similar claims. Her party’s candidate, Rixi Moncada, currently in third place, has denounced a “falsification” of the results and alleged “interference” by U.S. President Donald Trump in the electoral process.

Trump’s role has drawn particular attention after he conditioned U.S. aid to Honduras in November on an Asfura victory, coupled with a promise to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, convicted in the United States on drug trafficking charges, a pardon Trump has already granted.

On Friday, the U.S. administration again intervened by revoking the visa of electoral judge Mario Morazán and denying a visa to Marlon Ochoa, another member of the National Electoral Council (CNE) who had denounced what he described as “fraudulent” elections.

Since Thursday, party representatives have been reviewing around 2,800 tally sheets flagged for “inconsistencies,” representing approximately 500,000 votes, while the gap between the two leading candidates stands at about 40,000 votes.

“Now that the special recount is under way, it is essential that the elections be conducted without interruptions and without intentionally invalidating tally sheets in order to alter the results of the presidential elections,” the EU mission said.

Under the current electoral calendar, the CNE has until December 30 to announce the name of Honduras’ next president.

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At least ten people were killed and another ten were injured in a late-night shooting at a township west of Johannesburg, South African police said, according to local media reports.

RELATED:

6 Children Killed: Israeli Attack on Gaza School Sparks Global Outrage

The attack took place on Saturday night at a tavern in Bekkersdal, a municipality located west of the city. Preliminary police information indicates that a group of unidentified armed men opened fire indiscriminately on customers inside the venue as well as on people who were outside in the surrounding area.

Emergency services transported the wounded to nearby hospitals, where they are receiving medical treatment. Authorities have not provided additional details on their condition.

At least nine individuals were killed and ten others injured in a shooting at a tavern in South Africa, located in a township near Johannesburg. Police report that a manhunt is currently in progress.

Follow: https://t.co/mLGcUTSA3Q pic.twitter.com/OS3I7lLwUi

— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) December 21, 2025

Police stated that the motive behind the shooting remains unknown and that investigations are ongoing. No suspects have been identified or arrested so far.

Bekkersdal was established in 1945 as a settlement for workers employed in the gold mining operations in this part of South Africa.

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China is often described today as having “overcapacity” in manufacturing. Its dominance in solar panels, batteries and wind equipment, for example, has left many observers baffled. How did a country once dismissed as undeveloped become, within a generation, so technologically developed that its success now unsettles global markets? Part of the answer lies in how we frame China’s development. What is often described as excess capacity is better understood as the outcome of an energy-centred...

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Satellite imagery analysis indicates that Israel has reinforced a permanent military presence across the Gaza Strip through new construction, infrastructure expansion and the demolition of Palestinian property, despite the ceasefire in force since October.

RELATED:

6 Children Killed: Israeli Attack on Gaza School Sparks Global Outrage

Research conducted by the investigative group Forensic Architecture identified at least 13 new Israeli military outposts built inside Gaza between October 10 and December 2, while 48 previously existing positions were consolidated and expanded. The findings suggest preparations for a long-term deployment rather than temporary military activity.

In #Gaza, the elderly and people with disabilities are exposed to disproportionate risk, due to forced displacement and the collapse of the healthcare system.

Crucial supplies like adult diapers are critically depleted, severely compromising hygiene and dignity. Chronic… pic.twitter.com/dJeXm41Jxk

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) December 21, 2025

According to the analysis, the newly built structures are concentrated along the so-called “yellow line,” east of Khan Younis and near the Israeli border. The reshaping of the terrain in these areas points to sustained control of the territory, with military installations embedded into the landscape.

Israel now controls more than 50 percent of the Gaza Strip and has expanded this control through coordinated construction and demolition in occupied areas. These zones have been interconnected by newly built roads, facilitating logistical movement between military sites and reinforcing what researchers describe as an integrated network of illegal settlements established as part of the occupation.

The investigation also documents the construction of a new road in Khan Younis that reroutes Israel’s Magen Oz military corridor so that it runs entirely within Israeli-controlled territory. Military expansion has been accompanied by the systematic destruction of Palestinian buildings. Structures that were not destroyed during earlier attacks were demolished after the ceasefire came into effect, clearing land for new outposts and military roads.

The peace plan proposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump stipulated that Israel would neither occupy nor annex Gaza and that withdrawal would occur gradually toward an initial “yellow line.” However, since the ceasefire began, Israeli forces have occupied additional areas, marking control through at least 27 yellow blocks located west of the originally designated control zone.

Mouin Rabbani, a former United Nations official and senior analyst on Israeli-Palestinian affairs, said the findings reflect a historical pattern in which the Israeli regime creates irreversible facts on the ground.

Overall, the data reveal a scenario in which the Trump peace proposal has been used to consolidate Israeli control while no tangible progress has been made toward a gradual withdrawal. During this period, Israeli forces have continued attacks on Palestinian territory, actions that have displaced thousands of Palestinian refugees who were forced to leave their areas following Israeli violations of the ceasefire.

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The Venezuelan government categorically denounces the United States’ “theft and hijacking” of a second oil tanker off the country’s coast, vowing to pursue legal avenues against Washington, including filing a complaint with the UN.

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Vaccine expert Hu Haitao, who studied under Drew Weissman, the Nobel laureate and pioneer of mRNA biology, has given up his tenured position at a US research institute and returned to China – a decision that required little explanation in 2025, he said. Even just one year ago, people close to him would have thought it “unbelievable” that he might give up an academic career established over nearly two decades in the United States, Hu told the South China Morning Post. But academic prospects in...

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Two Palestinians, including a teenager, have been killed and two others injured by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, the Health Ministry said.

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Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez reported Saturday that Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) reached its goal of producing 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day this year. Simultaneously, Washington announced the hijacking of a second Venezuelan oil tanker carrying the South American country’s crude this month, raising international and regional tensions about a disruption in oil supplies and potential military escalation.

Rodríguez highlighted that the nation’s achievement in production results from the efforts of workers who, in both operational and administrative areas, have faced external hostilities and coercive measures (euphemistically referred to as “sanctions”) imposed by US imperialism.

“The best Christmas gift our people can receive, from dignified and free men and women, is the extraordinary effort of our oil workers who confront and defeat imperial harassment, hostility, and illegality,” wrote VP Rodríguez in a public statement.

The top official noted that the oil sector will continue advancing toward new production goals for 2026. “Nothing and no one will stop us,” wrote the vice president. “We will continue on our victorious path of honor and national dignity.”

The publicly owned company is preparing to increase production in 2026 to exceed this year’s levels, ensuring domestic supply and generating income for Venezuela despite ongoing US imperialist threats.

Oil blockade
Meanwhile, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees the US Coast Guard, posted a seven-minute video on social media showing a helicopter hovering over a second oil tanker carrying Venezuelan oil. She wrote that the tanker was seized with support from the US Defense Department and that it was last docked in Venezuela. So far, Venezuelan authorities have not issued a statements in this regard.

“The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region,” claimed Noem despite reports that the tanker was not on the US “sanctions list.” Although US officials consistently attempt to frame the tanker seizures as occurring within a legal context, the economic coercive measures (“sanctions”) imposed upon Venezuela by the US are, in fact, illegal according to international law.

In fact, earlier this year, in order to clarify this point, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 79/193 and proclaimed December 4 as International Day against Unilateral Coercive Measures, to be observed annually beginning in 2025. “We underline that unilateral coercive measures are illegal under international law,” wrote the statement.

On Saturday, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yvan Gil announced that Iran offered its cooperation to confront acts of piracy and international terrorism by the US regime. Minister Gil stated that he spoke by telephone with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, to review bilateral relations and discuss “recent developments in the Caribbean, especially threats” and the “theft of ships loaded with Venezuelan oil.”

Gil said that Tehran expressed “full solidarity” with Venezuela and offered cooperation in all areas to confront the illegal US actions.

Combined with Trump’s threats of land strikes on Venezuelan soil, the oil tanker seizures have ratcheted up pressure on Caracas by targeting its economic lifeline, which had already come under strain from new sanctions on the oil sector earlier this year.

Analysts claim that this marks a new stage of US imperialist aggression against Venezuela, demonstrating that the previous stages, including attempted coups, assassinations, misinformation, funding of opposition parties, sabotage, etc., did not produce the desired regime change. Thus, analysts argue that despite attempting to construct the narrative of a “war on drugs” and of “democracy versus authoritarianism,” the US has failed to oust President Maduro due to the cohesion of most Venezuelans in support of Chavismo and against foreign intervention, as well as due to the weakness and lack of cohesion of far-right forces within the country.

Since September 2, the US military has killed 104 civilians, against a total of 29 small boats, in what the United Nations labels as extrajudicial killings. Trump has attempted to sell the attacks as an effort to crack down on illegal drug flows from Venezuela, a marginal actor in international narcotics networks. The US actions are clear evidence of a new drive to overthrow President Maduro, whose ouster White House chief of staff Susie Wiles has suggested is the US regime’s real goal.

Trump’s announcement this week of a “blockade” also underscored the US ruler’s focus on Venezuela’s oil, which he has said belongs to the US, along with Venezuelan soil.

Interior Minister Cabello: Venezuela Will Remain a Territory Of Peace; US Extrajudicial Killings Surpass 100

Despite the clear classification of naval blockades as an act of war under international law, the Venezuelan government has shown restraint to avoid an undesirable military confrontation with the US. However, many analysts claim the latest US moves might aim not only at seizing Venezuelan oil but also at pressuring the Venezuelan military to take action to protect oil tankers, which could provide a minimal excuse for the US to initiate a full military campaign against Venezuela.

The US regime attempts to legitimize its acts of piracy by claiming they are due to Venezuela’s attempts to bypass “sanctions.” However, as noted, under international law, US sanctions are illegal and its actions constitute a violation of free trade and freedom of navigation. Analysts claim that US actions to bypass Chinese sanctions—launched to counter illegal US sanctions—might be used by China to justify seizing US vessels in Asia under the same legal argument.

Other analysts claim that Iran or China might launch similar actions in Asia in retaliation for the effects that US actions have on their economies, as many Venezuelan oil shipments are destined for China in collaboration with Iran.

Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff

OT/JRE/SL

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A BBC investigation exposes a fake cancer charity scam linked to an Israeli man in Canada.

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