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“So far, no one has seriously discussed this initiative; no work is being done on it,” Ushakov told reporters this Sunday.

Kirill Dmitriev, presidential special envoy for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, met in Miami with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and the US president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Following the meeting, Dmitriev described the talks as constructive.

A day earlier, Witkoff met in Miami with Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. Ushakov admitted that he did not know if the Ukrainian delegation was still in Miami and was unaware of any changes the US peace proposal might have undergone due to recent discussions with representatives of Ukraine and the European Union (EU), but he did not hide his skepticism in this regard.

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The post Kremlin aide says no trilateral meeting plans on Ukrainian conflict first appeared on Prensa Latina.

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The document notes, “We recognize the positive trend in the trade between Russia and African countries despite unilateral restrictions. Considering the economic and trade potential of interaction between Russia and Africa, we reiterate our commitment to expanding this interaction.”

It also underscores the need to create favorable conditions for the work of Russian and African companies.

The declaration says, “We stress the need to design the necessary mechanisms to provide support to Russian and African companies within the framework of a sustainable partnership that will foster growth and generate jobs.”

The 2nd ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum was held in Cairo on December 19-20, with the participation of more than 50 African countries.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov led the Russian delegation to the meeting.

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The post Russia-Africa trade shows positive trends first appeared on Prensa Latina.

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That country’s policies have left more than half a million people jobless since then, Shaher Saad, Secretary General of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, criticized in a statement.

Saad noted that unemployment rates have risen to unprecedented levels of over 50 percent in the West Bank and 84 percent in the Gaza Strip.

The union leader condemned the systematic siege, the continuous road closures, and the daily raids to which Palestinian workers are subjected in the West Bank.

He also criticized the destruction of local productive sectors, especially agriculture, construction, and services, due to the 27-month military siege.

Saad underscored that such actions are a crime and violate people’s natural right to work and a dignified life.

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The post Israel causes multimillion-dollar losses for Palestinian workers first appeared on Prensa Latina.

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The commemoration highlights the legacy and influence of the prima ballerina assoluta, and in her memory, the National Ballet of Cuba (BNC) will perform the classic “Don Quixote” this Sunday, with principal dancers Anette Delgado and Dani Hernandez in the leading roles.

Alicia dedicated her life to dance, first training to become a respected ballerina, then developing her own style, and finally perpetuating ballet within Cuban culture as an integral and inseparable part of it.

Along with brothers Fernando and Alberto Alonso, extraordinary teacher and choreographer, respectively, she founded the first professional ballet company in Cuba 77 years ago, when that art was scarcely understood in Latin societies.

Despite the social, political, and health challenges she faced, this woman’s determination and courage allowed her to persevere in elevating her status as a dancer.

Alonso supported the social revolution in Cuba that started in 1959 and rose above prejudices and bourgeois ideologies to bring her art to the people, factories, fields, forests, valleys, and every street.

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The post Cuba honors Alicia Alonso on Ibero-American Dance Day first appeared on Prensa Latina.

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President Miguel Diaz-Canel denounced the latest act on social media, affirming that it “is a serious violation of international law and deserves the condemnation of all peace-loving peoples.”

“We denounce the theft of the Venezuelan oil tanker in Caribbean waters by US forces. It is an act of piracy and maritime terrorism, a grave violation of international law, and deserves the condemnation of the entire world. Enough of imperial aggression!” Diaz-Canel wrote on his X profile.

Venezuelan Executive Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, in turn, confirmed that the robbery was conducted by US military personnel in international waters, describing it as a crime against humanity, navigation, and the sovereignty of nations.

Rodriguez pointed out that the attack flagrantly violates Article 3 of the 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, as well as Article 2 of the United Nations Charter, the Geneva Convention on the High Seas, and the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations among States.

Additionally, she condemned the “colonialist model” that Washington imposes through intimidation and the illegitimate use of force, reaffirming that Venezuela will continue its economic and energy development independently and sovereignly, supported by its people and international allies.

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The post Cuba accuses US of maritime piracy against Venezuela in the Caribbean first appeared on Prensa Latina.

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On Friday, 19 December, three people, with tickets for an audio tour, rushed the sovereign throne in the House of Lords. I was one of those people, and this is the first action I have taken part in. 

I can hear the protestations already. ‘It’s immature, there are official and practical routes to take if you want to push for political change, stop attention seeking.’

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. And I call bullshit.

It’s so easy to diminish others for taking an action that is, by design, clearly inconvenient, disruptive and often a bit confusing. But I would argue that, too, is by design courtesy of the establishment and the super-rich that lord over us in all their pompous superiority and privilege. 

I have already tried and tested the official routes; I first stood as a Green Party candidate, followed by a swift change to being Independent. I did this with the firm belief that we need to root and embed politics back into our communities, and I saw first-hand the difference it can make.

I’ve organised peoples assemblies and public meetings for Your Party. We have seen people talking to each other again, and actually listening to each other, rather than shutting each other down. Progress in our communities is being made; but now we need to go big or go home. 

They stopped caring about us ages ago

It’s no wonder society is neglected and crumbling into the abyss when ordinary people have become disenfranchised from the system that is there supposedly to work for them. Time and time again we see policy decisions made which target the vulnerable, and protect the profits of the richest. Profits made from our pockets and decreasing living standards. 

This is proven by stagnating wages, costs ever-surging, whilst the wealthiest ‘coincidentally’ see a 1000% increase in the same period.

Billionaire Britain 2025

Eat the Rich (and the House of Lords)

We have to face facts. Our democratic system, along with the client media and billionaire press, are not there to give us an equal chance. We don’t have an official, legitimate and recognised means of having a say in the way our country operates.

Again, by design, because it is not built for us; it’s built for us to put privileged, connected, often parachuted, candidates into Parliament for a continuation of the strangle-hold on ordinary, hard working families across our country. 

“They must be really good at what they do”, chime those whipped by the far-right. No, mate. We are all really good at what we each do. We are just massively exploited for the profits of the rich in every aspect of our lives. Whether its wages, greed-inflation, degradation of the health of our nation, our rivers, our communities – we have all had to tighten our belts and plough on.

All except one small minority in the UK.

That is why I chose to take part in the action. It wasn’t violent, it caused no damage and it disrupted nothing, other than a few tour groups. We simply planned to sit in the sovereign chair, hold a banner saying ‘Replace the Lords’ and ‘The Peoples Charter’, whilst announcing the demands set by the first delegates of the House of the People convened earlier this year. 

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A post shared by Assemble (@timetoassemble_)

Horrific, right?

Frankly, given they sell Suffragette themed souvenirs in their giftshop, surely seeing some non-violent direct action first-hand should have been quite an educational experience.

Pomp and pageantry isn’t our tradition; its theirs.

The true tradition of the people is to protest and disrupt the powers that be, demanding to be afforded the rights we deserve. It is also one of the strongest ways to make wider society start to think about other alternatives, whilst exposing the absolute ridiculousness of the obscene wealth inequality in the Lord’s chamber. 

The fact that it is so offensive, and potentially criminal, for an ordinary person to step out of bounds in this chamber and dare to approach the sovereign chair should disgust us all.

The time is now – and it starts with the House of Lords

This is how progress begins, by changing the rules, not waiting for permission to speak. 

By introducing new ideas and concepts, we can get the nation thinking about what could be, so we can actually achieve greater things together. The establishment doesn’t want cohesion, hence it is sowing division. So by getting our communities back together, we can defeat the real enemies we all face. Pretty win-win, if you ask me.

As Rayal, one of the protesters, aptly put it:

I acted today to ensure that I am able to show my peers that the people are the true power, and that its up to us to take action against the false powers that attempt to control us.

Just like the protesters of today’s age, the angry and impassioned Suffragettes weren’t favourites  in the eyes of the majority of people in their time, who just wanted a quiet life and to get on with it.

But imagine where would we be, today, if those brave women hadn’t bloody well just got on with it, regardless.

Join the call with Assemble and the House of the People, and kick the lords out, to put the people in.

Featured image via the Canary

By Maddison Wheeldon

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Chinese workers are returning to Africa in their thousands, reversing a decade-long decline and signalling a renewed focus on strategic mega-projects across the continent. In 2024, there were 90,793 Chinese workers on contracted projects and labour services on the continent, an increase of about 4 per cent over the 87,078 recorded the previous year, according to data from the China Africa Research Initiative (CARI) at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. The upturn marks...

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An Ideal Husband is a humourous play about past mistakes and future serendipities.

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From naked capitalism via This RSS Feed.

On 19 December, Donald Trump’s Justice Department finally released the Epstein Files.

Which is to say they released about 10% of them.

90% of which they redacted.

Donald Trump – or 468 of him – in the Epstein files

Still, though, we did get to see some new photos like File 468, which demonstrated Jeffrey Epstein had a drawer full of pictures of Donald Trump for some reason:

The DOJ forgot to scrub some photos of Trump with women(girls?) that were in a drawer in Jeffrey Epstein's desk.

What's especially revealing about this, is that the drawer appears to be entirely dedicated to photographs of Donald Trump.

Let that marinate.

This was very likely… pic.twitter.com/a69OWFaylt

— Johnny Loveless (@JohnnyLoveless) December 19, 2025

So, the fact that they released this image proves that they are somewhat serious about…

…and the file is no longer there:

BREAKING:

File 468, one of the few files that showed Trump is now missing

They deleted that one, which looks like the clearest sign yet of a cover-up. pic.twitter.com/FXXUaPmcVk

— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) December 20, 2025

This stinks

Earlier this year, the US congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act which required the Justice Department to publish all of the documents relevant to Epstein. While it was permissible to redact information and images relevant to victims, it was not permissible to redact information to protect individuals’ reputations and/or feelings.

It certainly wasn’t permissible to delete files after the fact when they clearly did not contain redactable material, and yet here we are:

File "468," which featured a photograph of Trump with young women in swimsuits burried in a drawer, has been pulled from the DOJ's website.

The original URL for the file now brings you to a page that reads "AccessDenied" pic.twitter.com/dWGnzz5jUZ

— Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) December 20, 2025

As one user highlighted, the image is not available in the Justice Department’s list of files, and yet it can still be found in the searchable ‘Epstein Files Browser’ that a user uploaded to GitHub:

The justice department released a file which had trump in (File 468), but then withheld it from the website? I was only able to find this from the https://t.co/NX7GXZhg6G site. #EpsteinFiles pic.twitter.com/FOYCBYHW8e

— mabel!! (@2huyuri) December 20, 2025

It’s unclear precisely what Trump and his lackeys are up to, but if they’re trying to cover up the image, it’s clearly going to result in the Streisand effect:

We will not let them cover up file 468 pic.twitter.com/RQAZshShPU

— tre¥ (@wholelottatr3y) December 20, 2025

Oh, and reportedly they’re also ‘doctoring’ files too:

Wild — as the community note says, Trump’s DOJ released a publicly available pic of MJ & Clinton & Diana Ross with their own kids and implied it’s them with victims

They aren’t just redacting, they’re doctoring pic.twitter.com/WkwDocBejK

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) December 20, 2025

This is already looking like the clumsiest cover up in history, and yet somehow things will no doubt get worse from here.

Featured image via The Epstein Files

By Willem Moore

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In the wake of the Bondi Beach shooting, the British state has done what it so often does when Israel is under pressure: oppress, oppress, oppress. This time, the target is language. The Arabic language. Specifically the word ‘intifada’.

Police forces across the UK have effectively moved to criminalise the phrase “globalise the intifada”, treating it as self-evidently antisemitic — not because linguists have debated and found this the case, but because the political mood demands it. In doing so, antisemitism has once again been shamefully weaponised to justify the repression of Arabs in general and Palestinians in particular.

A joint statement from the Metropolitan Police and the Greater Manchester Police announced that chanting the phrase could lead to arrest, following the Bondi attack. No new law was cited. No legal threshold clarified. Instead, police leaned on implication and vibes — and fear.

Intifada — a word made famous in 1987 banned in 2025

What makes this new episode particularly sickly, is the role of the BBC in it. Innit?

Initially, the public and ‘impartial’ broadcaster did some dare-I-say basic journalism. It explained what “intifada” actually means — an Arabic word that translates most literally as “uprising”. It contextualised the term historically, linguistically, and politically.

Then it fell face-first on its teeth.

Under pressure from ‘he who shall not be named‘, the BBC quietly distorted the record, surrendering clarity and allowing the state’s misrepresentation to stand. Then all the king’s horses and all the king’s men, couldn’t put Humpty together again.

The result has been quite absurd if you ask me.

In widely circulated footage, police officers attempting to justify arrests point not to legislation but to the BBC itself — as though a broadcaster’s editorial panic over intifada constitutes law.

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A post shared by Palestine Pulse (@pal_pulse)

Then the actors enter, stage right, trying to sensationalise Arabic words like intifada and explain why they must be banned. Embarrassingly, they repeatedly mispronounce the very word they are seeking to ban. The spotlight moves from the actor and straight to the audacity of a state that polices Arabic while not even understanding it.

‘So you will share the dismay of many that the BBC described it as “largely unarmed and popular”?’@NickFerrariLBC asks Labour’s Jess Phillips if she thinks ‘intifada has overtones of violence’, as those who call for it to be ‘globalised’ now face arrest. pic.twitter.com/5M9QuI03kr

— LBC (@LBC) December 18, 2025

Trying to ban a political idea by criminalising a single Arabic word is not just authoritarian; it is laughably futile.

And people are laughing — Arabic speakers around the world are watching this clip, and others, and laughing. Not just because of the wobble. But because of the posture.

A posture of a colonial power trying too hard to assert dominance and looking absolutely rubbish doing it.

We are all laughing at you. And as Mark Twain once observed:

Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.

Let’s be real for a minute, can we? Arabic is one of the world’s richest languages, formed through a long historical process of koineisation — the blending of languages and dialects into shared meaning. It is vast, elastic, and saturated with synonyms.

The British state can ban words. It can misdefine them. Pretend to understand them. It can even pretend solidarity is violence. But language can’t care less. You ban words, we find synonyms.

Catch me if you can.

لا تلحقني مخطوبة

Featured image via Al Quds

By Jamal Awar

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Reading by Tim Foley:

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If the right to free speech does not include the right to oppose an active genocide using strong and unmitigated language, then there is no freedom of speech.

This is exactly the sort of thing that freedom of speech is intended for: times when the government is doing something wrong which needs to be ferociously opposed. That’s the primary reason it’s an enshrined value in our society. Freedom of speech is for holding the powerful to account.

If you only have freedom of speech when you’re agreeing with your government and saying nothing which inconveniences the powerful, then Saudi Arabia has free speech. Every tyrannical regime that has ever existed has had freedom of speech by those standards. You don’t measure a society’s freedom by how much its citizenry are allowed to agree with their government, you measure it by how much they’re allowed to disagree.

And right now we are being told we’re not allowed to disagree. We’re being told the protests need to stop, the anti-genocide chants need to be criminalized, and everyone needs to shut up and obey — all justified by the completely baseless narrative that the words and actions of pro-Palestinian activists were somehow responsible a terrible massacre that was committed in Sydney last week.

And these policies just so happen to serve the interests of the very same western powers whose genocide-enabling actions were being forcefully opposed these last two years. Government officials constantly being protested and questioned about their facilitation of Israel’s genocidal atrocities. Politicians who are consistently confronted by anti-genocide demonstrators during their public appearances. Wealthy arms manufacturers whose profit margins are being harmed by direct action from activist groups. Plutocratic media institutions who are becoming more and more discredited in the public eye as the Gaza holocaust exposes them all. Billionaires whose empires are built upon the political status quo that gave rise to the genocide in question.

If the powerful are shutting down speech rights to advance their own interests in your society, then your society is not meaningfully different than the dictatorships the western world tries to contrast itself with. All our stories about living in a free society have been just that: stories. Fairy tales.

That’s what they’re telling us with this mad rush to stomp out freedom of speech this past week. They are telling us that we do not live in the kind of society we were taught about in school. They are telling us that the only reason we were allowed to speak as we pleased in the years leading up to the Gaza genocide is because we were a bunch of compliant sheep who were not meaningfully challenging the interests of the powerful, and now that we are meaningfully challenging them the facade of freedom and democracy is falling away.

As Frank Zappa once said, “The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it’s profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.”

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