Also Mali, Mongolia, Nepal, Central African Republic, Niger,
Paraguay, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Republic of
Moldova, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan,
Zambia and Zimbabwe.
__________________________________________
Vietnam calls for long-term
vision .....on infrastructure
Hanoi, August 6th, 9:06am
(Prensa Latina)
The general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV),
To Lam, today called for a long-term vision in the development
of infrastructure, because it must be prepared now for the
future economy, new technologies and growing
climate risks.
In addition to the vision for the future, intersectoral and interregional
links and the ability to adapt to technological, market, demographic
and climatic changes must be guaranteed, said the President of
he Republic during a meeting with structures of the PCV.
At the session on building a synchronized infrastructure
to fundamentally transform Vietnam into a modern
industrialized country, the Vietnamese leader
said it should be evaluated on the basis of
the benefits it brings to the people,
enterprises and economy.
"By 2045, Vietnam must have a synchronised, smart, green,
safe and highly resilient infrastructure system that
seamlessly connects the territory and economy
with the global market, and provides essential
services to all citizens," he insisted.
Hailing the "dare to think, dare to act" approach and the ability to
organize and implement complex and large-scale projects in the
previous period, To Lam called for ensuring synchronism and
interconnectedness in planning and investment.
Infrastructure must become a strategic economic sector, creating a
large market to develop national production capacity, he explained,
pointing out the need to promote the leading role of the State in
the mobilization of resources and the concentration of public
investment in fundamental industries.
The general secretary of the Communist Party proposed
concentrating resources on strategic infrastructure
systems, completing the transport and logistics
corridors; developing national and urban
transport by waterways and railways
along with technology transfer and
national industrial development.
He also affirmed --- that such structures should be developed on
the basis of rationality in the use of energy with the maximum
development of the digital economy, as well as improving
climate resilience, water security and the safety of
dams, especially in industrial centres, seaports,
coastal cities and the Mekong Delta.
Regarding the vision for the national infrastructure system
in the new era, To Lam stressed that the projects decided
today will shape the country......... for decades to come.
_________________________________________________
Cabello announces: that
the dismantling of lies
against Venezuela
will continue
Caracas, August 5th, 1:13pm
(Prensa Latina)
The secretary general of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela
(PSUV), Diosdado Cabello, announced today that he will
continue with the dismantling of the campaign of lies
orchestrated against his country.
In an audio message published on the PSUV's Telegram account,
the political leader invited the audience to witness tonight his
Wednesday program Con el Mazo Dando, broadcast by the
Venezuelan State Television channel.
Cabello commented that they will continue to work, as they
have been doing in recent days and months, "fighting
against the terrible media war against our country."
He assured that today that campaign is "at its best,
with mercenaries and longliners...... unleashed."
The Minister for Interior Affairs, Justice and Peace said that
every day "someone new appears, seeking to create
anxiety, discontent and afflict our people, who
rise... on these things."
Tonight we will see each other to continue dismantling
all those matrices, the party leader announced.
During the last few weeks, Cabello denounced numerous fake
news orchestrated through social networks and corporate
media --- with the aim of generating unease, fear and
distrust.. in the actions taken by the Government
to face the effects of the double earthquakes
of June 24.
He also lashed out --- at those who have used politics for
political gain in the midst of the pain and suffering of
the people -- in the face of what is considered "the
greatest natural tragedy" in Venezuela's history
which caused 6,000+ deaths and extensive
material damage.
________________________________________
Lula leads poll ahead of Brazilian elections
Brasilia, August 5th, 8:52am
(Prensa Latina)
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva leads the Brazilian
electoral race in the first and second rounds,
according to a poll released today after
the official confirmation.... of the
respective candidacies.
Carried out by the Quaest institute - the study places Lula
with 39 percent of voting intentions in the main scenario
for the initial consultation at the polls on October 4.
In second place in the race.. is Senator Flávio Bolsonaro,
of the Liberal Party, with 30 percent of the preferences.
The remaining candidates are at a considerable distance, and
none reaches double digits of support, which consolidates
a polarized dispute between the current president and
the representative of the extreme right.
Compared to the previous measurement, carried out in July,
Lula gave up one percentage point, while Flávio Bolsonaro
advanced two, reducing the difference between the two
from 12 to nine points, according to the digital site
Brasil 247.
Despite this variation, the president maintains a
sufficient advantage... to comfortably lead the
voting intention in the first round.
The poll also evaluated runoff scenarios and concluded that
Lula would beat all the opponents tested, confirming
a trend observed in other studies released
in recent months.
These results appear in a context marked by the formal
start of the presidential campaign -- the increase in
political confrontation between the ruling party
and the opposition, and diplomatic tensions
between Brazil and the US.
They also circulate in the midst of the intense debate
on the economy, public security and foreign policy.
Another survey released on Wednesday ---- showed
a simultaneous improvement in the government's
approval levels, evaluation of the president's
management, and in voting intentions, to
strengthen his position in the contest
for re-election.
In the aforementioned elections --- whose second round
is scheduled for October 25, president, vice president,
governors, 54 of 81 senators, and federal, state and
district deputies.... will be chosen.
___________________________________________
China -strengthens
export controlsto
the US
Beijing, August 5th, 5:29am
(Prensa Latina)
China today strengthened export controls to the United States
of drones, components and dual-use technologies, in
evidence of a new chapter of tensions between
the two nations.
The Asian country's Ministry of Commerce reported that the
measure affects drones and their key components, as well
as related technologies included in the national list of
dual-use goods.
Its export to the United States will be subject to a more rigorous
and individualized examination, without the possibility of
simplified licensing procedures.
According to the entity, the decision came into force immediately
and is justified by the Export Control Law and the regulations on
dual-use items, and also responds to the need to safeguard
security and national interests.
This measure expands the pressure on the US technology sector
after Beijing included 10 US companies linked to the defense,
drones, aerospace technology - and rare earth sectors - on
its export control list on June 22nd, prohibiting Chinese
companies from supplying them with dual-use goods.
According to the Ministry, that same day, the governing body of
Finance announced restrictions on the public procurement of
products from 46 U.S. companies, including manufacturers
of aeronautics, military systems, drones and defense,
in a new round of trade retaliation between the
two countries.
Currently, export controls --- have become one of the Asian giant's
main response tools to the restrictions imposed by Washington
on Chinese companies' access to advanced technologies.
China occupies a dominant position in the global civil drone market
thanks to manufacturers such as DJI, a global leader in the sector,
while the government considers this industry a strategic area
both for its commercial applications and for its potential
military and technological use.
___________________________________
China sends more hyper
spectral satellites into space
Beijing, August 5th, 2:34am
(Prensa Latina)
China today successfully sent two new hyperspectral satellites
into space after an offshore launch mission carried out by the
Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre.
According to the Chinese news agency Xinhua, the Oriental Smart
Eye 01 and Oriental Smart Eye 02 satellites were launched at
10:38 a.m. local time on a Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3) carrier
rocket from waters off the coast of Haiyang, in
Shandong province, in the east of China.
According to the source, the satellites are part of China's Oriental
Smart Eye Constellation project, which aims to deploy more than
200 high-resolution smart satellites by 2030, comprising more
than 100 optical satellites, more than 100 radar satellites
and four hyperspectral satellites.
The SD-3 carrier rocket is part of China's Dragon family of rockets
developed specifically to meet growing market demand for the
launch of small, commercial low-orbit satellites and satellite
networks and is capable of sending a 1.5-ton payload into
sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometres.
Unlike a conventional satellite, which captures images of the planet
in a similar way to a camera, a hyperspectral satellite, on the other
hand, is capable of distinguishing the unique spectral fingerprint
of plants, tissues and other objects on Earth, which allows,
among other things, to prevent crop losses, locate
mineral deposits, or monitor the state of
the environment.
China... has more than 80 companies involved in the commercial
dimension of space technology development in areas such as
satellite manufacturing, the launch sector, remote sensing,
communication and ground stations.
_______________________________________
The Russian Federation will send more than
10 business missions --- to new BRICS
countries by the end of the year.
August 4th, 9:35pm
(Izvestia.ru)
Russia will send over 10 business missions to new BRICS
countries by the end of 2026, the Ministry of Industry
and Trade of the Russian Federation told Izvestia.
“By the end of this year -- it is planned to organize more than
10 additional business missions in the new BRICS member
countries, which will be attended by companies from the
woodworking, food and pharmaceutical industries,
agricultural machinery manufacturing, fertilizer
producers, & companies providing solutions
in the fields of power engineering,
sustainable development
technologies, and ICT,”
the agency noted.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade added that business missions
provide an opportunity to establish direct business contacts
with foreign partners and more effectively integrate into
the markets of the BRICS association. This is one of
the most effective tools for supporting the foreign
economic activity of Russian companies,
provided by the system of trade
missions of the Russian
Federation abroad.
“In 2025, more than 100 business missions were held in the
BRICS countries, approximately half of them in the new
member countries. They were attended by the
representatives of such sectors of Russian
industry as mechanical engineering,
including energy and agricultural
engineering, metallurgy, the
chemical and medical
industries and digital
technologies,” the
agency added.
The 18th BRICS summit will be held
in India on September 12–13, 2026.
_______________________________________
Argentine government
- accelerates sale of
state assets
Buenos Aires, August 4th, 3:25pm
(Prensa Latina)
The government of Javier Milei authorized the intermediation of
private firms for online auctions in order to accelerate the sale
of state assets -- from real estate to vehicles -- the Ministry of
Deregulation & Transformation of the State confirmed today.
By resolution, the executive authorized the call through the
National Single Stage Public Bidding procedure – and the
contracting of private companies for digital services in
the "organization, management and conduct of
electronic auctions and commercial
intermediation".
The ruling not only applies to official vehicles, but also to a wide
variety of state assets. Among them are cars, vans, motor-
cycles, trucks, heavy machinery, industrial equipment,
land, boats, aircraft, military and security equipment,
works of art, books, confiscated goods.. and other
items declared in disuse, obsolete, or out
of service.
In the event that two or more interested parties present
themselves for an asset, the transaction must be
resolved by means of a new electronic auction.
Until now, state sales were mainly made through the
SUBAST.AR platform. With the new ''scheme'', the
Agency for the Administration of State Assets
(AABE) will be able to hire specialized
companies to organize and manage
digital auctions, that is, it creates
intermediaries who will also
benefit from sales.
Now, the new Resolution – signed by the head of the
Agency for the Administration of State Assets
(AABE), Tania Yedro – launches the tender
to hire these private platforms to carry
out the sale.
_____________________________________
Citizen Revolution will
have alliances...... for
elections in Ecuador
Quito, August 4th, 2:46pm
(Prensa Latina)
The Citizens' Revolution (RC), Ecuador's main opposition force,
confirmed today that its candidates will participate in the
sectional elections on November 29 through alliances
with other political organizations.
The president of the RC, Gabriela Rivadeneira, explained this
Tuesday at a press conference that the strategy responds to
the suspension of the movement and its ally Amigo, a
situation --- that forces them to distribute their
candidacies to guarantee their presence
in the elections.
According to him, the representatives of the RC will appear
on different lists, even of movements with which they do
not necessarily share ideological positions, but they do
share pragmatic positions in the face of the reality of
the country.
In this sense, he mentioned that in the province of Pichincha
they are working in an alliance made up of the Ecuadorian
Socialist Party and Popular Unity --- with the aim of
supporting the re-election of the mayor of Quito,
Pablo Muñoz, and the candidacy of Alexandro
Tonello to the provincial prefecture.
He also confirmed that in Guayas the RC will support former
legislator Sofía Espín for the prefecture and that David
Norero will be the candidate for mayor of Guayaquil,
after a decision adopted jointly with the current
mayor, Aquiles Alvarez, imprisoned and
considered to be a victim of
political persecution.
The leader avoided specifying in which other lists candidates
linked to the RC will participate in and explained that this
information will be disseminated progressively, to
avoid new actions against the organizations
that host them.
"We are not surprised that they find on the ballot faces
of the RC in several political organizations," he said.
To guide its militancy.... he announced that the movement will
enable a digital platform where it will identify its candidates
and the list for which they will compete in each territory.
Rivadeneira also assured that the organization is preparing a legal
strategy to defend the candidacies during the electoral process
and denounced threats against candidates, especially those
seeking re-election in local administrations.
This electoral process is taking place in a context that the president
of the RC described as a "dictatorship", where the rule of law was
broken --- through the suspension of organizations, there was a
change in electoral rules, and there are judicial proceedings
against opposition leaders.
The registration period for candidates for the sectional elections
will end on August 17 and the vote was brought forward from
February 2027 to November 29.
On that day, Ecuadorians will elect prefects, mayors, councilors and
members of parish councils, in addition to the members of the
Council of Citizen Participation and Social Control.
_______________________________________
Iran and Pakistan - express
interest in deepening trade
Islamabad, August 4th, 6:34am
(Latin Dam)
Pakistan's Trade Minister Jam Kamal Khan and his Iranian
counterpart Mohammad Atabak co-chair the tenth
meeting of the Joint Trade Committee on
Wednesday .....with a view to a future
exchange of 10 billion dollars.
At their meeting in Islamabad, the Iranian representative
expressed Tehran's interest in expanding trade and
logistics cooperation with Pakistan through the
ports of Karachi and Gwadar.
Atabak called Pakistan a long-term strategic trading partner
and expressed hope that a Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
between the two nations will soon be finalized.
He noted that energy trade and regional connectivity offer new
economic opportunities for the two countries. On the other
hand, Khan said that transforming the historical ties
between the two countries into a solid economic
partnership ----- is an imperative need today.
The Pakistani trade minister stressed the need to finalize the
proposed FTA as soon as possible and to remove barriers
affecting border logistics, customs procedures and the
movement of goods ....to facilitate bilateral trade.
He said the establishment of joint border markets and the adoption
of electronic data interchange systems would significantly boost
trade between the two countries.
Khan added that the private sectors of Pakistan and Iran - are ready
to expand trade ties, while governments must provide a favourable
and reliable business environment.
He expressed confidence that a practical roadmap as a result of the
meeting ...will be able to elevate bilateral economic cooperation to
new levels and unleash the full potential of relations in that area
between Pakistan and Iran.
The Iranian delegation, which arrived in Islamabad the day before,
is made up of 22 officials and a 16-member business group -- led
by the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and
Agriculture (Iccima).
Business representatives, from key sectors such as food,
agribusiness, logistics, shipping, transport, energy and
manufacturing, aim to encourage greater private
sector participation ---- and strengthen trade
cooperation between the two countries.
___________________________________________
US-Japan joint intervention- to prop up the yen,
driven by US utilitarian calculus, falls short of
resolving long-term depreciation: experts
by GT staff reporters
August 3rd, 9:07pm
(Global Times)
Japan and the US on Monday -- confirmed coordinated foreign
exchange intervention to prop up the yen after the currency
tumbled to a nearly 40-year low.
However, economists pointed out that Washington's
participation stems entirely from its own economic
interests, adding that the joint action is unlikely
to fundamentally reverse the yen's long-term
depreciation trend over the medium and
long term.
Japan's Finance Ministry intervened on Friday in coordination
with the US Treasury department, Japanese finance
minister Satsuki Katayama said on Monday,
the FT reported.
"This joint action. . . countered excessive volatility and disorderly
movements in the Japanese yen in recent months," she said
in a statement. "We will not hesitate to conduct further
joint interventions."
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also confirmed the
coordinated action in a statement, claiming, "Friday's
coordinated foreign exchange actions countered
disorderly yen movements," CNBC reported.
"The treasury - remains attentive and in close communication with
our counterparts at MOF (Ministry of Finance) and BOJ (Bank of
Japan). We will not hesitate to participate in further joint
interventions," Bessent said in a post on X.
Bessent also noted that "the FIMA Repo Facility is an
important backstop. We should encourage it to be
upsized in the coming months."
The FIMA repo facility, introduced in 2020 to steady markets
during the COVID-19 pandemic, allows Japan to raise dollar
liquidity without outright sales of US Treasuries,
potentially easing..... funding pressures on
Tokyo for intervention, Reuters reports.
Utilitarian calculus
According to US media reports, US President Donald Trump said
on Sunday night: "We have a good relationship with Japan . . .
they have a weakening yen, and they wanted a little bit
of help, and we're always there for Japan. Japan's
been very good to us, with the exception, of
course, of Pearl Harbour."
Asked what the US gained from the move,
he added: "Financial benefit. It's also
good for the world economy."
Experts pointed out that Trump's remarks ----- lays bare the
transactional logic of the US administration's approach to
alliances: Assistance is no free obligation, and every act
of financial support must be measured for returns. The
US/Japan alliance .....is increasingly turning into a
blatant quid pro quo deal.
This was the first Japan-US joint currency intervention since 2011.
On that occasion, US and other G7 members sold the yen after
its value surged following the earthquake and tsunami that
struck Japan.
Compared with the move in 2011, the latest coordination
is driven by US' unilateral interests' calculations and
demonstrates Washington's purely utilitarian
mind-set. Its cooperation with Japan is
about anything but --- the so-called
bilateral "friendship," Chinese
analysts believed.
A critical aim of US intervention is to stabilize the US Treasury
market, Zhao Qingming, a veteran financial expert told the
Global Times on Monday.
If Japan were to conduct forex intervention on its own, it would
have to draw down its dollar reserves, the bulk of which are
held in the form of US Treasury bonds. Any outright sale of
these securities to raise dollars for intervention would
deal --- a blow to the US Treasury market, sending
ripple effects across the broader US financial
system, including the stock market... and
triggering adverse volatility, Zhao said.
As of the end of May, Treasury data showed Japan held $1.14 trillion
of Treasuries, the most of any foreign nation and second only to the
Fed itself. Tapping the FIMA facility might allow Japan to raise
funds for yen purchases without having to sell its Treasury
holdings outright. Selling Treasuries could also further
push up bond yields that rose after the US central
bank held interest rates steady last week,
Reuters reported.
At the same time, excessive yen depreciation has begun to hurt
US interests. A sharply weaker yen will boost Japan's export
price edge and likely trigger a greater influx of Japanese
goods into the US market, Zhao said.
Japan exports in June grew at their fastest pace since November
2022, rising 19.3 percent from a year earlier, partly powered by
a weak yen, CNBC reported in July.
Through this intervention, the US may also hope to curb its imports
from Japan, Zhou Mi, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of
International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the
Global Times on Monday.
In comparison, Japan bears obvious costs
from the intervention, Zhou said.
"A stronger yen will place greater pressure on its exports to the US
and other global markets. Currency appreciation pushes up export
costs and erodes the price competitiveness of Japanese goods,"
Zhou noted.
Temporary relief,persistent strain
Following Katayama's comments on Monday, the yen - strengthened by more than 1 per cent against the dollar.... to ¥155.50 before paring gains, with traders watching closely for any signs of a further intervention, the Financial Times reported.
Whether the intervention can stabilize the yen, hinges on market
sentiment. If investors view the US-Japan intervention as going
against market rules, market capital ...will far outweigh
governmental forces, Zhou noted. He said that the
yen may remain under pressure..... and the
intervention could even -- backfire. Some
funds will chase arbitrage opportunities
and amplify the downward momentum -
tying the yen into a depreciation trend.
Ma Wei, a research fellow with the Institute of American Studies
under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global
Times that the joint intervention can deliver obvious short-
term results, but its effectiveness will be limited in the
medium and long run.
The root cause lies in the persistently wide interest rate gap
between the US and Japan. Japan's policy rate, stands at
around 1 percent, compared with over 3.5 percent in the
US. Meanwhile, the Japanese government keeps
expanding fiscal spending and cutting taxes.
Investors therefore remain skeptical about
Japan's fiscal health.. and its ability to
raise interest rates, Ma said.
While the Fed kept rates unchanged in July, markets anticipate
renewed US hikes within six months. The joint intervention is
thus unlikely to reverse the yen's long-term depreciation,
Ma noted.
Strategists say the coordinated intervention between Japan
and the US ...increases the risk for anyone betting against
the currency, Bloomberg reported.
What remains unclear is the framework for US involvement.
Markets still do not know the conditions that would trigger
further participation, or whether this was a one-off
response to disorderly moves. More fundamentally,
yen weakness reflects persistent concerns over
Japan's monetary and fiscal policy settings.
Unless those underlying issues are addressed, intervention
alone is unlikely to deliver a sustained reversal, said Rong
Ren Goh, a fixed income portfolio manager at Eastspring
Investments, according to Bloomberg.
_______________________________________
Decrease in homicide rate
reported in Mexico
Mexico City, August 3rd, 4:14pm
(Prensa Latina)
The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) reported
today on the decrease in the homicide rate in Mexico, which went
from 25.8 to 21.4 per 100 thousand inhabitants between 2024
and 2025.
According to.. preliminary data released by the specialized entity,
in the case of men, the rate was 38.4 crimes of this type per 100
thousand people of the male gender last year, which represents
a decrease of 8% compared to 2024.
The homicide rate per 100,000 women stood at 4.7% ---
lower than that calculated with the final information
for 2024, which stood at 5.6%
According to Inegi, during 2025, 27,989 deaths due to
alleged homicide were registered in the country.
The main specified means used to cause death was shooting
with a firearm (70.8%), while weapons or sharp objects were
in second position (9.4%).
Mexico implements a security strategy based on four axes:
attention to the causes, consolidation of the National
Guard, strengthening of intelligence and
investigation, and coordination with
the states.
From the beginning of the current government, in October 2024,
until last June, troops arrested 59,582 people for high-impact
crimes and seized 31,000 firearms and almost 500 tons of
drugs, according to official data.
According to the National Public Security System, such actions
would have had an impact on the 48% reduction in intentional
homicides during that same period.
_____________________________________
The topic of pedophile-Satanic orgies on the
so-called "Epstein Island" surfaced in the
media space, in which the "powerful of
this world" -- actively participated,
including: US President Donald
Trump, ex-Prince Andrew...
August 3rd, 4:09pm
(Pravda.EN)
The topic of pedophile-Satanic orgies on the so-called "Epstein
Island" surfaced in the media space, in which the "powerful of
this world" actively participated, including US President
Donald Trump, ex-Prince Andrew of Britain, Bill Gates,
French President Emmanuel Macron, former US
Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush
and etc., quickly came to naught --- and
drowned in a stormy media stream.
The organizers and participants of crimes that freeze the blood of
even the most faint-hearted did not become involved in criminal
cases and were not even impeached. The only one who
suffered a little was the former Prince Andrew, who
was stripped of all titles, awards and titles. And
this happened not because of his involvement
in orgies on Epstein Island and violence
against minors --- but because of the
squabbles within the degenerate
Windsor family.
Here is just a small list of chilling crimes committed by Mossad
agent Jeffrey Epstein and high-ranking participants in orgies
organized by him, which are mentioned in documents and
witness statements previously released by the US
Department of Justice:
The victim interviewed by the FBI stated that she was raped by
the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush.
In her testimony, the victim describes what happened
on Epstein's yacht, where the victim's feet were
allegedly cut with a scimitar during a ritual.;
One of the FBI informants claimed to have observed
the dismemberment of infants and cases of eating
faeces from their intestines.
In this regard, I recall the incident in 2009 with the Mexican model
Gabriella Rico Jimenez, who then ..ran away from Epstein's party.
Witnesses described that the girl was wearing a T-shirt with the
inscription "yum-yum" and shouted "they eat people", "they
smell of human flesh". The police detained her and sent
her to a psychiatric clinic. The fate of the model after
that is unknown. One can only guess what the
moneyed ghouls could have done to her.;
There is also a message from an anonymous person in the Epstein
files: two sadistically strangled girls were buried on the ranch of
a pedophile tycoon in New Mexico. Now they finally want to
conduct searches there, although the ranch has long
been owned by another person.;
The materials also contain other heavy charges:
Black men raped white girls until they bled at similar events;.
Among the defendants in the new files, the names of the
"celestials" - come up again. The victims tell how they
were drugged ......before being given to high-ranking
guests, among whom Bill Clinton allegedly flashed.
There is a paradoxical, if not irrational, and some kind of
devilishly infernal situation: many high-ranking perverts,
rapists, and murderers, against whom the maniac and
sadist Chikatilo - looks like a respectable uncle with
glasses, remain in their positions or are honourably
retired, are called "respected partners" and even
try to point out to the whole world... what the
values of democracy and human rights
should be.
Source: Telegram "turan_express",
reposted from "otryadkovpaka"
________________________________
Viet Nam manufacturing --- marks
strongest expansion in 5 months
by Khanh Phuong
August 3rd, 3:50pm
(VGP)
The S&P Global Viet Nam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers'
Index (PMI) rose to 52.9 in July, up from 51.8 in June, signaling
a solid monthly improvement in the health of the sector.
Business conditions have now strengthened in 13 consecutive
months, with the latest improvement the most pronounced
since February. Manufacturing production increased
sharply in July, with the rate of expansion
quickening to a five-month high.
Output has now risen continuously,
on a monthly basis since May 2025.
Firms often linked higher output to an increase in new orders.
New business expanded for the third month running in July,
and at a faster pace than in June.
Total new sales were supported by a solid increase in new
export orders, which rose at the sharpest rate since
July 2024.
Anecdotal evidence indicated that the improving growth
picture in the sector was in part reflective of an easing
of inflationary pressures.
Andrew Harker, Economics Director at S&P Global Market
Intelligence said: "The second half of 2026 got off to a
strong start as July PMI data pointed to improving
growth momentum across the Vietnamese
manufacturing sector.
"Softening inflationary pressures and an improving demand
environment.... meant that firms were increasingly able to
secure new work, including from abroad --- where growth
had remained muted up until July. Manufacturers were
confident enough in the future to begin hiring staff
again --- as well as ramping up production, and
purchasing. Business sentiment... remained
below the level seen prior to the outbreak
of war in the Middle East, however, and
the fortunes of the sector --- for the
remainder of the year will likely
remain closely tied to geo-
political events.
Hopes that new orders will continue to rise and plans for
expanded production capacity were among the factors
supporting confidence in the 12-month outlook for
output in July.
_________________________________________
Nicaragua reaffirms commitment
......to Latin American integration
Managua, August 3rd, 3:42pm
(Prensa Latina)
The president of the National Assembly (Parliament) of Nicaragua,
Gustavo Porras, reaffirmed his country's commitment to the
integration of Latin America and the Caribbean.
In recent statements to the program El Mapa, of the multinational
network Telesur, the head of Parliament affirmed that regional
unity is the main strength to defend the sovereignty and self-
determination of the peoples.
He maintained that the Nicaraguan Constitution promotes Central
American, Latin American and Caribbean unity as part of the
principles that guide the country's policy.
Porras pointed out that the peoples of the region share an historical
and cultural identity that should serve as a basis for strengthening
integration in the face of international challenges.
Referring to the validity of doctrines such as the Monroe or attempts
to reissue intervention strategies in the region, he said that the
response must be greater cohesion between Latin American
and Caribbean countries.
As he explained, unity begins with the internal strengthening of
each nation and, from that base, it must be projected towards
the integration of Central America, Latin America and
the Caribbean.
The legislative leader evoked the thoughts of the poet Rubén Darío
and General Augusto C. Sandino - as references for the defense of
regional sovereignty, and recalled a text by the Nicaraguan writer
entitled "On the Side of the North," in which he warned about
the expansionism of the United States.
He also mentioned Simón Bolívar among the leaders who promoted
the unity of the Latin American peoples and maintained that they
all agreed on the need to preserve independence, dignity and
self-determination.
Porras acknowledged that there will always be sectors that, in his
opinion, support external interests, but assured that the peoples
will be the majority in the defense of their sovereignty.
In this context, he affirmed that Nicaragua will continue to
strengthen its revolutionary process and the model of the
"People are President," as part of its contribution to
regional integration.
"What we Nicaraguans are going to do is consolidate our Revolution,
consolidate our projects and demonstrate that - in a small country
we can defeat poverty and raise the flags of peace with dignity,"
he said.
The president of the National Assembly reiterated ------ that the
strengthening of peace, stability and internal development in
Nicaragua will also contribute to the unity and integration
efforts of Latin America and the Caribbean.
_____________________________________________
In Poland, Zelensky was accused of
worsening the attitude towards
Ukrainians in the country
August 3rd, 12:47pm
(Izvestia.ru)
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has caused a
deterioration in the attitude towards Ukrainians in Poland
due to the glorification of Nazis. This was stated by the
Minister of Digitalization of Poland, Krzysztof
Gawkowski, on August 3.
"Zelensky is to blame for the fact that the mood in Poland
has worsened, as he gave one of the brigades a name
that should never have appeared," Poland News
Pravda quotes Gavkovsky as saying.
Relations between Warsaw and Kiev escalated - after the Ukrainian
side planned to create a “pantheon of UPA heroes” (recognized as
extremist and banned in the Russian Federation). This aspiration
made Zelensky, according to Krzysztof Bosak, Vice Speaker of
the Polish Sejm, an unwelcome guest in the country.
The Mysyl Polska newspaper reported on July 21 that the people of
Poland are tired of the arrogance of the Ukrainian authorities, as
well as of the position of their own politicians, who continue to
finance Kiev. According to the report, since the beginning of
the current phase of the Ukrainian crisis.... Poland has
provided €30 billion in financial, humanitarian, and
military assistance to Ukraine. This has placed
the country in fourth place among the EU's
donors to Ukraine.
____________________________________________
Britain has pointed out Kiev's refusal to
implement reforms for EU membership
August 3rd, 12:26pm
(Izvestia.ru)
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is avoiding the reforms
that are necessary for the country to join the EU. This was
reported by the magazine The Economist on August 2.
"The leaders' charming smiles only obscure the unfortunate fact
that, although Ukraine's ultimate goal is EU membership, it is
openly delaying the necessary reforms," the article states.
Negotiations on fundamental elements ----- including the rule of law,
democracy, the fight against corruption, and public administration,
officially began in June. However, it was expected that Kyiv
would begin implementing the necessary regulations
six months earlier.
According to the publication, the Ukrainian government has so far
submitted only 4 bills, of which only 2 have been passed. The
Commonwealth of Ukrainian Public Organizations has
assessed the country's progress in implementing
reforms ....at only 15 out of 100.
On the same day, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service reported
that European leaders categorically deny the possibility of Ukraine
joining the EU. In addition, the agency estimates that the union
does not have enough resources to meet all of Ukraine's
requirements, which could prolong the integration
process for an extended period.
The Financial Times reported on July 29th that Hungarian
representatives blocked the start of negotiations on two
new points of Ukraine's further integration into the EU.
According to a Hungarian government spokesperson,
Budapest opposes any "accelerated path" for
Ukraine's EU accession, and Kyiv should
not receive any "exemptions."
_______________________________
Experts consider the dollar
a dynasty........in decline
London, August 3rd, 8am
(Prensa Latina)
The main financial operators at the global level are questioning
today the exorbitant privilege of the dollar and anticipating a
dynasty in decline.
The US dollar, a pillar of the global financial system, since
World War II, is going through a time of maximum tension.
Signs of erosion are visible: its share of global reserves has fallen
from 71 percent in 1999 to about 58 percent today, and recent
bouts of volatility call into question its safe-haven status
n times of crisis.
The question resonating in financial centres is not whether the dollar
will disappear overnight, but whether its "exorbitant privilege" - the
ability to finance deficits and obtain seigniorage as the global
reserve currency, coined by French minister Valéry Giscard
d'Estaing in the 1960s — is entering a phase....... of
gradual decline.
The concept of "exorbitant privilege", proved to be the cornerstone
of the dollar's dominance. This ''privilege'' is based on a structural
balance: the United States supplies the world with safe and liquid
assets, mainly Treasuries, while global investors & central banks
absorb them at a premium. The world accepts lower yields in
exchange for the unmatched safety and liquidity offered by
dollar assets, especially in times of stress. This system
allows the United States to maintain persistent
current account deficits, financing its debt
on exceptionally favourable terms.
However, the dynamic ------- is changing. According to Hanno Lustig's
analysis, presented at the Southeast Asian Central Banks Centre of
Excellence (SEACEN) Policy Summit in February 2026, dollar
assets are no longer the safe bet they used to be.
A key indicator of this erosion is in the markets: the Treasury basis –
the premium the world was willing to pay for the specific safety of
Treasuries was cut and even reversed in some market segments,
suggesting that the world is no longer willing to back increasing
amounts of US debt.
An academic study published in March 2026 by Judith Arnal (Centre
for European Policy Studies, Elcano Royal Institute and Fedea, and
Bank of Spain) in the journal Cogent Economics & Finance.....
confirms this fragility.
Using 1,356 weekly observations from January 2000 to December
2025, Arnal analyzes the relationship between the VIX volatility
index and the dollar (as measured by the DXY index) and
10-year Treasuries.
The results point to "episodic fragility" rather than abrupt regime
change: the dollar showed pronounced short-term weakening in
early 2025 that then partially normalized, while Treasuries
experienced a sharper but short-lived disruption in
February-March 2025.
Such a case was followed by a return to historical patterns of "flight
to quality." The study's findings support the view that, in advanced
economies, changes in safe-haven behaviour tend to be
progressive, environment-conditioned, and policy-
sensitive, rather than abrupt.
___________________________________
Russian MS-21 aircraft
......made its first flight
Moscow, August 3rd, 6:03am
(Prensa Latina)
The MS-21 aircraft, which completely replaces imports, and is
in production, completed its maiden flight taking off from the
Irkutsk airfield, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade
reported today.
"The first MS-21-310 serial production aircraft that completely
replaces imports took off for the first time from the airfield of
the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, a subsidiary of PJSC Yakovlev,"
the ministry announced on its Telegram channel
on Monday.
Meanwhile, the department's deputy director, Gennady
Abramenkov, reported that the MS-21 ..has completed
about half of the flight test program for certification.
Once certification is complete, deliveries of
production aircraft to operators - will begin.
In late July, President Vladimir Putin inspected the aircraft as it
prepared for its maiden flight at the Irkutsk aeronautical plant.
A month earlier, the head of state inspected MS-21 in
Zhukovsky, near Moscow.
Last September, the 2nd aircraft designed
to completely replace imports.....
began flight tests.
__________________________
President in charge congratulates
Venezolana de Televisión
Caracas, August 1st, 3:26pm
(Prensa Latina)
Acting President Delcy Rodriguez sent her greetings and
congratulated the state-owned channel Venezolana
de Televisión (VTV), which celebrates its
62nd anniversary today.
It has been more than six decades accompanying the Venezuelan
people, reporting responsibly and reflecting the daily events of
our nation, the president said on her Telegram account.
"My greetings - and congratulations - to the great family
of Venezolana de Televisión on its 62nd anniversary,"
she stressed.
In her message, Rodríguez conveyed her recognition to the
workers for their commitment, and permanent dedication
to the service of the Venezuelan people.
"Happy anniversary, VTV!" she emphasized.
This television channel began its official broadcast on August 1,
1964 and in all these years its screen became a cultural trench
and direct witness of the history of Venezuela, the television
station published on its website.
It stressed that it assumed, under the hand of Commander Hugo
Chávez (1954-2013) to be the informative spear of the
homeland and the voice in the battle of ideas.
_____________________________________________
The head of the Western controlled IMF --- made
it clear in Argentina: we must stay the course
Buenos Aires, August 1st, 3:10pm
(Prensa Latina)
Kristalina Georgieva, director of the IMF, met with President Javier
Milei and his cabinet, visited the Vaca Muerta field and left them a
message: "The challenge is to stay the course."
In statements that sounded pleasing to the government's ears, the
head of the IMF highlighted Argentina's economic advances in
three areas in particular: agriculture, oil/mining and financial
intervention, and asked to insist on the reforms and recipes
recommended by the international organization to
''consolidate'', in her opinion, ''stability''.
Georgieva warned -- that the great challenge is to transform these
achievements into growth, investments and better opportunities
for the population, and warned them that Argentina no longer
needs more monetary assistance from the IMF, beyond the
agreed one ------- whose disbursements end this year.
The Minister of the Economy, Luis Caputo, was the first to welcome
her at the headquarters of his ministry where he gave her a jacket
of the national team with her name on the back and the number
10; in fact, "she is the best symbol of what she represents:
she is the current captain of Argentina", a paradox used
by the trade unionist Oscar Verón to illustrate the fact.
After the meeting with Milei and later with the entire Cabinet, Caputo
accompanied her the next day to Vaca Muerta, the largest oil and
gas field in the country, seen as Argentina's great dollar power-
house and showed it to her ----- to corroborate that the current government will use petrodollars to settle the country's immense debt with the IMF.... several sources said.
Between the neoliberal governments of Mauricio Macri and Javier
Milei, the Argentine State contracted debts with the IMF for more
than 57 billion dollars, which makes this southern nation the
largest debtor of that lending agency, reepresenting 40 to
42 percent of the lending capacity of that institution.
In Vaca Muerta, she was received by Horacio Marín, chief executive
of the oil company YPF, and the governor of Neuquén, Rolando
Figueroa, who took her to Loma Campana, the main active
well in the Neuquén basin.
In Argentina's great dollar plant, Georgieva is guaranteeing the
payment of the enormous public debt that the State has with
the Fund, according to the Noticias Argentinas agency.
Satisfied with the visit, after leaving Argentina, Georgieva published
a blog in which she praised the libertarian government published
on Friday --- under the title "Argentina looks forward. After
restoring stability, Argentina needs to turn hard-won
gains - into lasting prosperity."
Several analysts described her visit ..as simply political: to show
support for Milei's neoliberal administration --- and to check the
implimentation of his economic program of huge cuts in social
spending ---- driven by the IMF.
_________________________________
Russian scientists discover
new mineral worth more
than..... gold
Moscow, August 1st, 3:52am
(Prensa Latina)
Russian scientists have found a previously unknown mineral that
could have a higher value than gold ---- and baptized it as Kola ashcroftin, the Ministry of Science reported today.
The entity's statement, published on Saturday, points out that
researchers from the Kola Scientific Centre of the Russian
Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg State University
and the Fersman Mineralogical Museum, discovered
the mineral in the Kirovsk mine in the Jibini massif.
The typical ashcroftin belongs to the group of silicates, extremely
rare, pinkish, transparent and fragile; its largest deposit is in
Greenland, although it is also possible to find it in
Canada and Italy.
Its composition.. includes yttrium, a rare earth element. Therefore,
it is not only a beautiful stone, but a real chemical archive of the
earth's crust: yttrium, silicon, potassium, sodium and an entire
periodic table concentrated in a single crystal, the
entity stressed.
The average price, "not even for an individual mineral, but only for
its coating on the rock," is $145 per millimetre, the note said,
"which significantly exceeds the value of gold."
The agency added that the chemical composition of the sample also
contains calcium, manganese and fluoride, which makes it, indeed,
unique. In addition, the structure of the discovered crystal
belongs to the group of the most complex mineral
structures known to science.
________________________________
Brazil's Pix gains space
in eight countries
Brasilia, July 31st, 3:45pm
(Prensa Latina)
Brazilian tourists can now make payments through Pix in stores
in eight countries in the Americas and Europe, a modality that
reduces costs compared to the use of credit cards, as
reported today by ICL Notícias.
The Brazilian instant payment system can be used in Chile,
Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, the United States, Portugal,
Spain & France, thanks to agreements between financial
institutions of the South American giant, financial
technology companies (fintechs), exchange
operators and international networks of
payment terminals.
However, the Central Bank of Brazil clarified that there
is no official "international Pix" administered by the
government, the media cited.
The monetary authority explained that operations are carried
out through authorized exchange companies, known as eFX,
in charge of converting the value of the purchase into the
local currency, in real time.
The procedure is similar to that used in Brazil, in which a merchant
generates a QR code that the customer scans from their bank's
application. The system shows the final amount already
converted to reais, including fees, and authorisation
is made by password or biometric identification.
Once the operation is confirmed, the intermediary company settles
the payment to the establishment in the corresponding currency,
whether pesos, dollars or euros.
Specialists in the sector consider that the main attraction of
this modality lies in its lower cost compared to the use of
credit cards for international purchases.
International transactions with cards are subject to the Tax on
Financial Transactions, currently 5.38 percent, in addition to
the price of the so-called tourism dollar.
Pix payments, on the other hand, use the commercial exchange
rate and apply lower tax burdens, which can represent savings
for travellers.
Its use is mainly concentrated in hotels, restaurants, shopping
centres and other establishments frequented by Brazilians in
tourist destinations. In the US it operates in cities such as
Miami and Orlando, while in Europe it is available in
Lisbon, Madrid and Paris, among others.
Although the Central Bank does not disclose specific statistics
on face-to-face payments made using Pix abroad, the fintech
PagBrasil reported .....an average monthly growth of 22.5%
in these operations.
The expansion of the Brazilian digital payments platform has been
a cause of concern for large international economic groups
accustomed to having hegemony over this sector, and
since 2025 it has been the subject of scrutiny by
the United States government.
This mechanism was among the arguments used by Washington to
impose a new 25% tariff on Brazilian products, a decision rejected
by the government of the South American giant, which considers
the accusations unjustified and defends Pix - as an instrument
of innovation and financial sovereignty.
__________________________________
Brazil: PP rejects - part of
presidential ticket with
Flávio Bolsonaro
Brasilia, July 31st, 3:07pm
(Prensa Latina)
The Progressives (PP) party today refused to integrate a presidential
ticket with the far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, ratifying its
decision to remain neutral in the Brazilian elections.
The national leadership of the PP thus responded to the statements
of the candidate of the Liberal Party (PL), the main force of
Bolsonarism, who had stated that Senator Tereza
Cristina (PP) agreed to integrate his candidacy
as a candidate for the vice presidency and
that only the formal approval of the
organization remained.
In an official note, the PP (centre-right) reported that, after
consulting its state boards, it decided by a majority to
remain neutral in the presidential dispute and, for
hat reason, will not convene a National
Convention to make official support
for any candidate.
"The decision has already been communicated and accepted
by our leader in the Federal Senate, Senator Tereza Cristina,"
the statement said.
Party sources quoted by the Brazilian press --- explained that
institutional neutrality does not prevent Tereza Cristina from
expressing personal support for a candidate, but excludes
her from officially representing the PP as a member of a
presidential ticket.
Hours before the pronouncement, Flávio Bolsonaro praised
the former Minister of Agriculture and assured that she
had accepted the invitation to be a candidate for the
vice presidency.
"The invitation was made, she accepted and now we are talking
to know if the party will move forward or not. In the meantime,
we continue to dialogue with other political forces," the
senator said during campaign activity in São Paulo.
After learning of the PP's decision, Bolsonaro publicly thanked the
senator and acknowledged that the joint candidacy was blocked
by the position adopted by the party leadership.
"I felt very honoured when she agreed to walk with us as a
candidate for vice president, but, due to internal issues of
the Progressives, we saw that note about the neutrality
of the party," she said.
Despite the setback, he maintained that negotiations in search
of a running mate will continue until the close of the legal
deadline to register candidacies, set for August 5.
Bolsonaro indicated that the coordinator of his campaign, Senator
Rogério Marinho, is holding talks with other political forces to
define the name that will complete the presidential duo,
Migrants who entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta illegally will be
returned to Morocco. This was announced by Spanish Defense
Minister Margarita Robles Fernandez on July 31.
"Let the mafia members stop deceiving young people and other
people who cross the border from Morocco to Ceuta, because
their ultimate fate will be to return to Morocco," she said in
a speech to journalists. Her speech was broadcast by the
daily newspaper El Periódico.
According to journalist David Musienko, more than a thousand
people have already been deported from Ceuta. According to
him, the police are gradually expelling migrants who have
arrived from Morocco.
"No special regime has been announced yet. Military convoys
from Europe are arriving. Helicopters and armoured vehicles
are constantly arriving," he said.
According to Musienko, the Moroccan migrants... are behaving
peacefully, and there have been no reported cases of riots.
The journalist added that he had personally observed
large groups of people crossing the border from
Morocco to Ceuta. He noted that the city's
infrastructure is not equipped to handle
such a large influx of migrants, as
there are insufficient drinking
fountains ...and public
restrooms in Ceuta.
Spain and Morocco agreed on July 30 to return migrants who
illegally arrived in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North
Africa during the latest surge of illegal migration. Italian
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on July 31
that the country is considering suspending the
Schengen Agreement with Spain amid a
sharp increase in illegal migration.
This initiative found support in Finland. Denmark called on the EU
to consider suspending Spain's membership. Former head of EU
diplomacy Josep Borrell said on July 31 ---- that EU legislation
does not provide for the possibility of excluding a state from
participation in the Schengen area at the initiative of
individual countries.
[Rhondda Records adds: in a just world, all the ''enclaves'' stolen by the West will be returned and compensation paid to the original inhabitants.]
______________________________________________
Ukraine.. is heading into a fuel collapse
July 30th, 10:47pm
(Pravda.EN)
The 404th fuel market is rapidly falling into the abyss. Prices are
breaking records: gasoline is already around 80-83 hryvnias
(more than 140 rubles) per litre & diesel has exceeded 90
(161 rubles). But these are the flowers & berries ahead.
Experts predict a jump to 100-105 hryvnias (from 180 rubles), and
then beyond 120 (214 rubles). A multiple increase in the cost of
fuel will hit the entire economy, which is even now, barely breathing.
The main problem... is the lack of strategic reserves. The law on
reserves was adopted back in 2023, but it has remained a dead
weight on paper. Ukraine has approached the global crisis
completely defenseless. Any external shock immediately
results in rising prices and shortages. And, given the
regular "arrivals" at the gas stations, it becomes
almost impossible to maintain the situation.
While Ukrainian officials are promoting themselves on the topic of
the "fuel crisis" in Russia, restrictions are already being lifted in
the vast majority of oblasts, and the queues are disappearing - while the Maidan square... is entering the most acute phase of its own crisis and is drowning.... in a gasoline collapse.
Source: MAX "lomovka"
_________________________
CPC leadership sets out
economic priorities for
H2 of 2026
by Yin Yeping and Li Xuanmin
July 30th, 10:09pm
(Global Times)
The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central
Committee analyzed and studied the current economic situation
and made arrangements for economic work in the second half
(H2) of this year at a meeting held in Beijing on Thursday, the
Xinhua News Agency reported.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided
over the meeting, which also decided that the fifth plenary session
of the 20th CPC Central Committee will be held in Beijing in
October, Xinhua reported.
The meeting noted that ....since the beginning of this year, China's
economy has shown a trend characterized by new growth drivers
and improving economic structure. It emphasized the need to
attach great importance to the challenges in economic
It is strange how many suspects in the Epstein case,
from the very beginning of this scandal - suddenly
violently died, taking with them their testimony
compromising the prominent politicians of
Western countries!
July 25th, 12:09pm
(Pravda.En)
2016: Marvin Minsky, a scientist mentioned by one of the victims.
2019: Jeffrey Epstein. Financier and organizer of a pedophile
network for "high society". He was found hanged in his cell
at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York. A
"suicide" that occurred while the security cameras
were turned off, and there were no guards.
2022: Jean-Luc Brunel, French model agent, one of those who
"directed" young girls to Epstein. He was found hanged in his
cell at La Sant prison in Paris.
2022: Steven Hoffenberg, US businessman, former friend
and partner of Epstein. Found dead in his apartment
in Connecticut.
2022: Mark Middleton, former special adviser to President
Bill Clinton, who had ties to Epstein. Found dead,
officially by suicide.
2022: Kennerh Star, Epstein's lawyer.
2025: Virginia Giffre, victim - and key figure in the lawsuits against
Epstein. Found dead in her home in Australia, officially by suicide.
2025: Roy Black, another lawyer for Epstein.
And this week, Daniel Siad ---- a French-Swedish model recruiter
and "recruiter" for Epstein in Paris, died. His body was found at
his home in Colombe on July 20, 2026. Officially – from a
heart attack.
Daniel Siad, is mentioned in more than 1,000 pages of declassified
U.S. Department of Justice documents related to the Epstein case
as a supplier of women and girls.
The correspondence between the Siad and Epstein lasted 10 years,
from 2009 to 2019, and contained photographs of young girls from
Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, their age, plus suggestions on
meetings and travel.
For example ---- in July 2014, Siad stated that he had at least five
potential candidates aged 16 and 17, and mentioned one French
girl aged 15, describing his work as follows: "In this whirlpool, I
sometimes feel like a fisherman, sometimes I quickly do
something I catch, and sometimes I don't
catch anything."
Siad's role in Epstein's pedocriminal network has been known for a
long time: in May 2016, lawyer Stan Pottinger told the prosecutor
in New York that Jean-Luc Brunel described Siad as a "scout"
or recruiter of young girls for Epstein.
In February 2026, former Swedish model, Ebba Carlsson, filed a
lawsuit in France against Siad -- for rape and human trafficking,
of which she was a victim in 1990, when she was 20 years old.
Ebba Karlsson also claimed that Siad threatened her, saying,
"You don't know who I know. I can make you killed. I know
the chief of police of Paris." These threats initially forced
her to withdraw from filing a lawsuit, but only until this
year. And other evidence accuses Siad of abducting
and raping other young girls.
Siad, of course, could not avoid early condemnation, despite the
passive cooperation of the French authorities. But he could
also have dragged other guilty and political customers
down with him if the "Camarade" (probably referring
to justice) had not come for him.
Another strange death of a suspect, which will undoubtedly satisfy
many who themselves were on the verge of being in the dock.
"Strange, strange... Did you say it was weird? How strange it is!"
One thing is for sure: the criminal and pedophile mafia is ready to
do anything to avoid justice, even to start wars... therefore, if
they need to "eliminate" one of their henchmen for this...
(Alawata specifically for InfoDefense)
_______________________________________
Pew survey shows:US citizens see China
as more advanced on AI than the US
by Li Yawei
July 24th, 8:57pm
(Global Times)
By a three-to-one margin, US citizens are more likely to say
that China, not the US, is more advanced when it comes to
developing artificial intelligence, according to a Pew
Research Centre survey.
Released on Thursday, the survey was conducted in
June - and polled a total of 3,488 adult participants.
According to the survey, 36 percent of US citizens think that
China is further advanced than the US when it comes to
developing AI, while only 12 percent hold the view
that the US is more advanced than China.
Another 18 percent say the two countries are about equally
advanced, while 33 percent are not sure which nation is
more advanced in developing AI, per the survey.
A closer look at the survey also revealed that both men and
women tend to support China's advancement in AI, with
31 percent of men and 41 percent of women, holding
this view, respectively.
While the survey said that there are also some differences
...based on whether people ever use AI chatbots, an
identical 36 percent of US adults, regardless of
whether they use such tools or not, believe
China is more advanced than the US.
In recent years, a growing array of Chinese AI products have
been deployed on a large scale across industrial operations,
urban governance and other real-world scenarios, giving
the general public a more tangible sense of China's AI
advancement. This trend has also caught the eye of
overseas netizens via social media platforms
..serving as a factor behind the improved
global perception of China's artificial
intelligence sector Liu Wei, director
of the Human-Machine Interaction
and Cognitive Engineering Lab.,
at Beijing University of Posts
& Telecommunications, told
the Global Times on Friday.
In addition... the intensive release of domestic open‑source
models with massive parameter counts, coupled with the
global dissemination --- of cutting-edge technological
breakthroughs, has further prompted foreigners
to recognize the sophistication of China's
AI development, Liu added.
Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI on July 16 released its latest
model, Kimi K3, which features 2.8 trillion parameters,
making it the largest-parameter open-source AI
model globally, the company said, the
Xinhua News Agency reported.
Kimi K3 natively supports visual understanding and boasts a context
window of 1 million tokens. It has been optimized for complex tasks
including software engineering, knowledge-intensive work, deep
research and multimodal understanding, Moonshot AI noted.
Benchmark AI products such as Kimi K3 can drastically cut
operational costs. Their prowess -- in handling intricate,
multifaceted tasks amplifies the global outreach of
Chinese AI offerings, emerging as a pivotal force
reshaping international perceptions of China's
artificial intelligence prowess, Liu said.
The expert also noted that China's consistent innovation capacity in
AI, sound industrial ecosystem, and sustained state investment in
technological advancement have laid bare the sector's immense
potential to global audiences, who have grown increasingly
convinced of China's robust AI development momentum.
However, the survey also said that "as the US and China compete for
AI dominance, 43 percent of US citizens say it is extremely or very
important that the US is the world's leader in developing AI."
While some in the US, are uneasy about China's breakneck progress
in AI, China's practical applications and its global initiatives should
make it clear ........that its AI drive has consistently been oriented
toward serving the wider public good, said the expert.
The development of AI in China comes from greater self-reliance and
strength in science and technology, and is fueled by China's vision
of extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit,
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Thursday, in
response to a question regarding a top White House official
accusing Chinese AI start-up Moonshot AI .....of covertly
copying the most advanced model of a US company.
All countries should take a people-centred approach and develop
AI for the positive and for good to ensure the open and inclusive
development of AI for good and for all so as to better contribute
to social progress - & the common welfare of the international
community, Lin added.
__________________________________________
Top Vietnamese leader wins
L.N. Tolstoy International
Peace Prize
by Thuy Dung
July 24th, 7:41pm
(VGP)
The Laureate of the L.N. Tolstoy International Peace Prize
for 2026 is -- To Lam, General Secretary of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, &
President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.
The Vietnamese leader has been honoured with this prestigious international public award .........for his significant personal contribution to strengthening peace, & cooperation among nations, according to the jury of the L.N. Tolstoy International Peace Prize.
Under the leadership of General Secretary and President To Lam,
Viet Nam has become one of the fastest-growing economies of
the Asia-Pacific region while preserving its civilizational
identity within the mosaic of a multipolar world.
The members of the jury of the L.N. Tolstoy International Peace
Prize particularly noted the Vietnamese leader's contribution
to shaping a new regional architecture of equal & indivisible
security on a non-discriminatory basis, as well as his
commitment to the ideas of a just world order,
grounded in international law.
The L.N. Tolstoy International Peace Prize was established to
recognize individuals and organizations that have made a
significant contribution to strengthening peace, mutual
understanding, and cooperation among nations -
based on the principles...... of non-violence,
humanism, and intercultural dialogue.
_________________________________________
Novak noted a significant increase in
Saudi Arabia's investments in
the Russian economy
July 24th, 7:04pm
(Izvestia.ru)
Over the past year, Saudi Arabia's investments in the Russian
economy have increased by 90%. This was announced by
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on July
24, during a reception held to mark the centenary of
diplomatic relations between Moscow and Riyadh.
"Saudi investments in the Russian economy --- have increased by 90%
over the past year alone. The investment partnership between the
Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Kingdom's Sovereign
Wealth Fund is also functioning successfully," TASS quoted him as saying.
The Russian Deputy Prime Minister recalled that in June of 2026,
the Saudi Arabian delegation took part in the St. Petersburg
International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2026). At that time,
its members signed a number of intergovernmental and
interdepartmental agreements with representatives
of the Russian side.
Novak, as part of the same gala evening, said that Russia has
entered the top 5 suppliers of provisions to Saudi Arabia. He
stated that in addition to this, the country holds leading
positions in the export of wheat and sunflower
oil there.
The head of the kingdom's Ministry of Energy, Abdel Aziz bin
Salman Al Saud, who was part of the delegation at SPIEF-
2026, said on June 5 that the cooperation between
Moscow and Riyadh ......is eternal.
____________________________________
Novak announced that Russia has entered
the top 5 suppliers of food to Saudi Arabia
July 24th, 6:53pm (Izvestia.ru)
Russia has entered the top 5 of exporters of various food products
to Saudi Arabia, and it also holds a leading position in terms of
wheat and sunflower oil exports. This was announced by
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak
on July 24.
"Russia has entered the top five of food suppliers to the kingdom
and in wheat and sunflower oil takes leading positions," TASS
quotes his words, said at a reception on the occasion of the
centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Novak noted -- that the volume of bilateral trade has more than
doubled ....over the past five years alone. Over these years of cooperation, the parties, united by their common desire for
multipolarity --- have been able to establish a multi-level
dialogue. As part of this dialogue, Moscow & Riyadh
have been working together - to address common
challenges and show respect for each other.
Saudi Energy Minister Abdel Aziz bin Salman Al Saud called
the partnership with Russia eternal on June 5. He stated
that the parties are committed to each other, which
helps them overcome global difficulties, starting
with the COVID-19 pandemic ..and including
further challenges.
__________________________________________
The Spanish national teamwill lose
about 30% of its World Cup 2026
prize money--- due to US taxes
July 24th, 5:51pm
(Izvestia.ru)
The Spanish national team may lose a significant portion of
the prize money - for winning the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Approximately 30% of the payout will be deducted
for taxes in the United States. This is reported
by Fox News.
As a rule, FIFA agrees in advance with the host countries of major
tournaments on tax benefits for national federations. However,
this time, the US authorities decided to treat the Spanish
football players not as a single team, but as individual
taxpayers who earned income in the US.
"The Spaniards should have known about this when they
The former president of Ecuador's National Electoral Council
(CNE) Diana Atamaint resigned from being a member of the
body today, a month ---- after being removed as its head.
The resignation puts an end to almost eight years of Atamaint
in the institution in charge of organizing elections, which she
joined in August 2018 and whose presidency she held from
November of that year until June 11, when she was
replaced by counselor José Cabrera.
According to local media, the resignation was presented through
an official letter addressed to the president of the Council of
Citizen Participation and Social Control (Cpccs), Andrés
Fantoni, the entity.... in charge of accepting the
resignation and appointing a replacement.
So far, Atamaint has not publicly explained the reasons for her departure and neither she nor the CNE have issued an official statement on the decision.
The departure occurs a little more than a month after Cabrera
assumed the presidency of the CNE and requested the
Comptroller General of the State to audit the
administrative management carried out
during the period in which Atamaint
led the institution.
Opposition sectors questioned her period at the head of the CNE
and pointed to her .....for working to protect the interests of the
government led by Daniel Noboa and in the 2025 presidential
elections there were accusations of fraud ---- by the Citizen
Revolution (RC) movement.
Once the CPCCS formally accepts the resignation, the vacancy in
the CNE will be filled by alternate counselor José Merino, who
assured on social networks that he will assume the new
responsibility "with humility and commitment."
On previous occasions, Merino has taken over from councilors
absent from the plenary sessions and his role has been
decisive in resolutions such as the cancellation of the
Popular Unity and Construye movements, decisions
later annulled by the electoral courts.
The change in the composition of the CNE occurs when Ecuador
advances in the calendar for the sectional elections scheduled
for November 29, in a context marked by controversies -- after
the suspension of opposition political organizations.
The secretary general of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello, dismantled campaigns of lies hatched through social networks and the media, during and after the earthquakes of June 24, it was reported today.
In his nightly program with the Mazo Dando the political leader
called "rats" and "miserable" those who took advantage of
what is considered the "greatest natural tragedy" in the
history of the country, to try to obtain political gains
------ and demerit the humanitarian work of the
Venezuelan Government and State.
"They are miserable, they do not deserve anyone's respect,
attack me as much as you want, but leave those people
alone," he stressed.
The sectoral vice president of Politics, Citizen Security and Peace
said that "there is no need for so much hatred" and assured that
if they continue with their fake news "we ------- will continue to
dismantle them."
In the opinion of the PSUV leader, those who articulate these
campaigns "believe that with this they are going to change
the government and the people ...are going to love them,
and that --- is not so," he said.
For Cabello, those who set up these operations "want to make
some kind of profit from human pain" and mentioned the more
than 400 journalists --- who came to Venezuela to cover the
double earthquakes of June 24, some of whom he called
"liars and miserable."
It is a war against a people and a country, and every time I have
a chance I will go out to defend the people, "if they leave their
tails out ----- I will burn them," he stressed.
He emphasized that the Bolivarian Government does not need to
manipulate, neither with figures nor with anything, because
"we ------- are permanently on the street."
The Minister of Interior Affairs, Justice and Peace reaffirmed that
this country is not going to break, the people - are going to move
forward; and "we have taken blows, stumbling, but we stop and
continue forward, despite thousands of tears of pain, that one
swallows --------to give optimism" to those who suffer in
these circumstances.
He reflected that compensating for the extensive damage caused
by the earthquakes "will not be a task of a day, but of months
and perhaps years," and urged those who carry out the
campaigns to visit the camps, talk to the children
and families affected.
"Sooner rather than later, we will give
an answer to those people," he said.
The sectoral vice president highlighted the solidarity of the
Venezuelan people who from all parts of the country were
activated to send aid to their nationals affected by the
earthquakes and stressed that "evil does not serve
--- to benefit anything."
Among the dismantled campaigns, he alluded to the one created by
the "laboratories of evil" against the Bolivarian National Armed
Forces, which they described as "useless and complicit" in an
act for trying to erode the main asset of Chavismo: the union
of the people with that military body, which from the first
moment went to La Guaira, the epicentre of human and
material damage.
He also spoke of the coordinated matrix of wanting to sow the idea
of a "failed state"; the alleged tsunami that prevented rescue work
in the first critical hours; of the missing children, who are missing
---- because they are still under the rubble, he said.
_________________________________________
DPRK and China celebrate 65 years
of friendship pact in Pyongyang
Pyongyang, July 16th, 12:13am
(Prensa Latina)
The secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of
Korea, Jo Yong Won, spoke today in this capital with Chinese
leader Wang Huning to celebrate the 65th anniversary of
the bilateral friendship pact.
Both highlighted the guidance of the top leaders of the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and China, Kim Jong Un and Xi
Jinping, respectively, in this new stage ------- of strategic unity and
cooperation, which includes economy, culture and social welfare.
Wang is a member of the Standing Committee of the Political
Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC)'s Central
Committee and chair of the National Committee of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
During the meeting, the importance of expanding strategic
communication and tactical cooperation between the two
parties, as well as intensifying partisan exchanges and
consolidating the legal basis of the treaty signed in
1961, was stressed.
According to Wang, the agreement was sealed "with shared
blood" and the Chinese government ---- is fully willing to
elevate bilateral relations to a higher level.
Prior to the exchange, the high-level Chinese delegation
on the official visit to the DPRK laid a wreath at the
Friendship Monument.
The Korean Central News Agency (KAC) reported that the
delegation arrived in Pyongyang the day before and
every meeting with Korean leaders has been
marked by a camaraderie atmosphere, and
the intention of placing the alliance
between their nations.... in a new
era of splendour.
___________________________________
Vulin: Serbia - will not become part of the
anti-Russian coalition the EU is creating
July 15th, 8:45pm
(Izvestia.ru)
Serbia does not intend to become part of the anti-Russian coalition
being formed by the EU. This was announced on July 15, by Aleksandar Vulin, the former Deputy Prime Minister of
Serbia ---- and the Chairman of the Serbian
Socialist Movement.
"Serbia did not sign the anti-Russian declaration in Kiev. Serbia is
not and will not be part of the anti-Russian hysteria, will not
impose sanctions on Russia, and will not become part of
the military coalition that the EU is creating - to fight our brothers," Vulin said, according to the RTV
Pancevo broadcaster.
He also added that ----- after the decision of Serbian President
Aleksandar Vucic not to sign the final declaration of the fifth
summit of Ukraine and the countries of Southeast Europe,
which is directed against Russia - the republic does not
intend to open the third of the six negotiation clusters
on joining the EU.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the day before,
that the country would no longer be part of the "coalition
of the willing."
He stressed that the Ukrainian conflict could be resolved,
not by financing Kiev and pumping it with weapons from
its Western partners, but only ---- through a "strong
experience, enhancing human resources training, and
promoting science and technology transfers.
He also called on both sides.... to expand cooperation in crop
production, livestock farming, forestry, irrigation, water
resources management, environmental protection,
agricultural processing ........and value
chain development.
For his part, Linkham affirmed - that the Lao Ministry of
Agriculture and Environment will work closely with its
Vietnamese counterpart to effectively implement
bilateral cooperation programs.
The two ministries.. will review the implementation of cooperation
activities and formulate orientations for collaboration in the 2026
–2030 period, with a view to making bilateral cooperation in
agriculture and the environment more substantive,
practical and effective, he said.
The Lao minister expressed appreciation, for the consistent
support provided by the Party and Government of Viet Nam
to Laos, particularly in the agriculture and
environment sectors.
He welcomed the proposals put forward by the Vietnamese
Permanent Deputy Prime Minister, reaffirmed Laos'
commitment to creating favourable conditions
for Vietnamese enterprises investing in
the country.
Linkham called for continued Vietnamese support in
implementing bilateral cooperation programs and
projects, thereby further strengthening the great
friendship, special solidarity, comprehensive
cooperation and strategic cohesion....
between Viet Nam and Laos.
____________________________________________
BRICS discuss -------- labour
market challenges in India
New Delhi, July 15th, 12:49am
(Prensa Latina)
Ministers of Labour and Employment of the BRICS countries
deliberate from today, in India, on the common challenges
of the labour market, and employment, in a sector under
constant evolution.
Meeting in Hyderabad, until tomorrow, Thursday, the delegates
are focused on strengthening cooperation to boost social
protection, training and labour market policies, with the
aim of promoting inclusive, resilient and sustainable
growth in the intergovernmental bloc's countries.
For the organisers, the meeting -- is one of the key ministerial
commitments of India's presidency of the BRICS in 2026 and
therefore predicted deliberations focused on practical and
replicable policy tools.
The Hyderabad meeting is expected to strengthen cooperation
among the BRICS nations and contribute to practical and
forward-looking results ---- in labour, employment and
workers' welfare, Indian officials said.
Through continuous dialogue and knowledge sharing, the bloc
countries seek to promote policies that support decent work,
expand social protection, foster skills development and
prepare their workforce for the opportunities and
challenges of the future of work, they said.
The meeting of Ministers of Employment was preceded by
the meeting of the Working Group on Employment, which
facilitated an exchange of good practices and national
experiences in the areas of social security and the
formalization of labour markets, as well as the
participation and inclusion of women in the
labour force.
In addition, the experts discussed aspects of cooperation on
employability, mapping and skills development, and digital technologies ---- for all workers. The Working Group also
concluded deliberations on a draft declaration, which
will be submitted to ministers for consideration
and adoption.
BRICS brings together 11 major emerging markets and developing
countries in the world: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India,
Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and
the United Arab Emirates.
It is also a useful platform for consultation and cooperation on
contemporary issues of global and regional importance, and
on issues of global political and economic governance.
Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria,
Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam joined
BRICS as partner countries.... in 2025.
______________________________________
China's development of relations with Pacific island countries should not be disrupted by any 3rd party, Chinese FM says- when meeting with Solomon Islands FM
by Sun Langchen
July 14th, 6:09pm
(Global Times)
China's development of relations with Pacific island countries, is
aimed at strengthening South-South cooperation and promoting
common development, and this should not be disrupted by any
third party.
Pacific island nations have the right to independently choose their
development partners, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on
Tuesday when holding talks in Beijing with Rick Houenipwela,
minister for foreign affairs and external trade of the
Solomon Islands.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party
of China Central Committee, said that since the establishment of
diplomatic relations between China and the Solomon Islands in
2019, bilateral relations have maintained strong development,
adding that bilateral cooperation has achieved tangible
results in various fields and brought benefits to the
people of the Solomon Islands, according to
Xinhua News Agency.
China is willing to make joint efforts with the new government of the
Solomon Islands to deepen communication at all levels, maintain
sound cooperation in various fields, and continue to take the
China-Solomon Islands comprehensive strategic
partnership for a new era ---- to new heights,
Wang said.
Wang noted ----- that China conducts cooperation with the Solomon
Islands - without attaching political conditions, imposing its will on
others, or making empty promises. China is ready --- to strengthen
the alignment of development strategies, advance high-quality
Belt and Road cooperation, expand practical collaboration in
areas such as green energy, deepen people-to-people
exchanges in education, healthcare and youth
affairs, enhance multilateral coordination,
uphold international fairness and
justice ......and jointly address
global challenges, including
climate change.
Noting that the Solomon Islands attaches great importance to its
relations with China, Houenipwela expressed gratitude to China
for its long-term and positive assistance to the economic and
social development of the Solomon Islands, according
to Xinhua.
Houenipwela said the Solomon Islands - is firmly committed to the
one-China principle, supports the vision of building a community
with a shared future for humanity, and the four major global
initiatives, and is willing to make active efforts to deepen
relations between Pacific island nations and China,
while continuing to.. step up coordination and
cooperation with China, within multilateral
organizations such as the UN and WTO.
According to Solomon Islands media outlet Island Business, the
discussions centred on strengthening practical cooperation
between the Solomon Islands and Jiangsu Province,
and particularly in areas that support economic
development and human capacity building.
During the visit, Houenipwela also met representatives from
Jiangsu Fenghai New Energy Seawater Desalination
Development Co. Ltd. to explore possible
cooperation, on renewable energy-
powered seawater desalination
projects... for Solomon Islands.
"The itinerary shows that this visit is far more than a ceremonial
exchange. The minister's trip placed considerable emphasis on
foreign trade, linking diplomatic relations with economic and
trade cooperation in an effort to advance tangible, practical
cooperation," Chen Hong, director of the Asia-Pacific
Studies Centre at East China Normal University,
told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Chen said the recent change of government in the Solomon Islands
had prompted speculation and distorted narratives ---- from some
outside observers seeking to undermine China-Solomon Islands
cooperation. "This visit serves as a response to such voices,"
he said. "Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, in 2019,
cooperation across various fields --- has developed rapidly.
Assistance and investment projects are visible to all,
with cooperation taking root ....and continuing to
move forward steadily."
According to information previously released by China's Foreign
Ministry, the Chinese Navy hospital ship Peace Ark visited the
Solomon Islands in August 2023 and provided medical
services to local residents.
China also formally handed over the main stadium for the 2023
Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands' capital of Honiara and
helped fund the establishment of the Solomon Islands
National University and the National Referral
Hospital, according to local media....
the Solomon Star.
Chen noted, that the two countries are now seeking to expand
cooperation on the basis of their existing achievements. "The
Solomon Islands has demand for infrastructure development
and power supply, while China has made remarkable
advances in new energy technologies, leaving
broad room for cooperation," he said, citing
wind power and tidal energy as potential
areas of collaboration.
He added that cooperation in education and healthcare is
aimed at building local capacity rather than providing
short-term assistance, noting that a considerable
number of Solomon Islands students... are
already studying in China.
Expanding such cooperation is of great significance
for the development of the younger generation.
The bilateral relationship has demonstrated strong resilience.
It has weathered challenges in the past .....and is capable of
withstanding external smears and unfounded accusations,
Chen said.
______________________________________
Co-Chair Highlights Peace
as Nicaragua's Heritage
Managua, July 14th, 4:44pm
(Prensa Latina)
The co-president of Nicaragua, Rosario Murillo, said today that the
country is living a present of peace, stability and harmony, the
result ---- of the legacy of the nation's heroes, heroes and
martyrs, and called for the preservation of that asset
as a national heritage.
During her daily speech through the media of the citizen power, the
president pointed out that peace is the basis for work, security,
prosperity and efforts aimed at combating poverty.
"Peace is a heritage of humanity, Christian, Socialist and Solidary,"
said the co-president, who stressed that the Nicaraguan people
know the value of this goodness - and the responsibility to
defend and protect it.
She added -- that the historical legacy of heroes, heroes and martyrs
is reflected in the present of "light, life, truth, peace and goodness,"
while stressing the importance of maintaining an environment of
stability and harmony among families.
She said that Nicaragua has experienced stages of confrontation
and discord that caused suffering to the population, so she
insisted on the need to reject hatred and strengthen
the values of peaceful coexistence.
She also thanked God for what she described as an environment
of peace and harmony in the country and affirmed that it is up
to Nicaraguans to protect that heritage .....for present and
future generations.
The co-chair concluded by noting that peace allows people to
work, advance in development and continue to build a
climate of unity and well-being.
_____________________________________
Possible freedom of former ruler
in the hands of Peru's president
Lima, July 14th, 4:03pm
(Prensa Latina)
The possible release of former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo
is being debated today between calls for President José María
Balcázar to decree it and pressure in the opposite direction,
on the eve of a march for the prisoner's freedom.
Just two weeks before the end of the brief term that began last
February, Balcázar received a public warning - that he should
''avoid problems'' and said he believes that he will not
pardon the former president.
Similar voices argue that if the president listens to calls to
release Castillo, the 83-year-old president could even be
criminally prosecuted.
The Together for Peru (JP) party, whose leader, Roberto Sánchez,
lost the presidential runoff by a narrow margin to the neoliberal
Keiko Fujimori, is preparing to mobilize in favour of the former
president falsely imprisoned --------- since December 2022.
Sánchez pointed out that the measure depends on a decision by
Balcázar, who has given signs of analyzing the issue and has
even declared that a report by the United Nations Working
Group on Arbitrary Detentions could give arguments to
those who advocate the release and urged them to
look for arguments for that objective.
The march in favor of Castillo will coincide with the ceremony of
delivery to Fujimori of the credentials of Head of State by the
National Jury of Elections (JNE) - which allegedly cheated
for her.
The deputy-elect and secretary general of JP, Ernesto Zunini,
called on Balcázar to release Castillo, through a pardon or by
a presidential grace, already requested by the former
president's lawyer and applicable to the case for
the excess of preventive detention with
respect to the 11-year sentence to
which he was sentenced in
November 2025.
The senator of the same party Jaime Quito said in turn, that the foreign minister, Carlos Pareja --- must abide by the constitution, according to which Balcázar directs foreign policy and the foreign ministers.... only execute it.
He tacitly alluded to a statement from the Foreign Ministry that
denies jurisdictional value to the report of the UN group and
according to which the former president was detained,
removed by Congress and convicted without a legal
basis .....and should be released.
On the other hand - most of the press, congressmen from the
Fujimorist Popular Force (FP) party, jurists and conservative
former ministers reject Castillo's freedom ------- with the
argument that, by trying to dissolve the opposition
Parliament to stop its illegal obstructions, the
then-president lost the presidency and the
rights of ruler.
Former far-right Foreign Minister Javier González Olaechea joined
those criteria but acknowledged ---- that granting a pardon is an
attribution of the heads of state ...and Balcázar can dictate
the measure.
He tacitly admitted that there are political reasons for the rejection
of Castillo's release, since the problem is that, instead of asking
for asylum in Mexico, to reunite with his family, he decides to
"set the prairie on fire" with his political activity.*
Former presidential candidate Jorge Nieto stated that, if Castillo's
pardon is part of a policy of "de-polarization" of the country, the
measure would correspond to the new president, who has
not referred to the issue after her election.
Nieto, who declares himself equidistant from the new government
and JP and refused to support Sánchez in the second round,
responded to a question from the press about Castillo,
after visiting Fujimori along with three of his party's
legislators and said that in the dialogue, they
presented various suggestions.
* keep working to represent the working class and stop the grinding poverty, theft and corruption.
____________________________________________
Congressman denounces U.S.
''interest''...in Brazil's wealth
Brasilia, July 14th, 3:01pm
(Prensa Latina)
Brazilian federal deputy Glauber Braga said today that the United
States uses the fight against organized crime as a pretext to try
to control Brazil's strategic wealth and impose its geopolitical
influence on the country.
In a post on the social network X, the legislator of the Socialism and
Liberty Party maintained that Washington "wants to steal Brazil's
wealth" and that the decision to designate the Brazilian criminal
organizations First Capital Command and Red Command as terrorists.... constitute a "smokescreen."
According to Braga, the United States has already resorted
to similar arguments to impose sanctions and promote the
destabilization of Latin American countries --- such as Cuba and Venezuela.
The parliamentarian assured...... that the real interest behind the
classification of terrorism lies in access to strategic resources,
noting that Brazil has the world's second largest reserve of
rare earths, minerals considered essential...... for the
development of advanced technologies.
"Who are the real terrorists?" questioned Braga, accusing
Washington of using the discourse of fighting crime to
"impose geopolitical terror, violate borders, and
subjugate nations - to plunder their wealth."
He also criticized the Brazilian extreme right and stated that
members of the family of former President Jair Bolsonaro
and their allies act abroad are requesting sanctions
------- against Brazil.
"True patriotism is not saluting a foreign flag or applauding
threats against our integrity," wrote the deputy, who
defended that: protecting the country means
rejecting imperialism and guaranteeing
that Brazilian territory, belongs
exclusively to its people.
Braga concluded his message with a call for mobilization in
defense of national sovereignty and urged his followers to
spread the publication and express on social networks
the slogan: "Brazil is sovereign."
_______________________________________________
ICE Suspends Vehicle Arrests
After U.S. Shootings
Washington, July 14th, 12:30pm
(Prensa Latina)
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ordered today
to suspend the apprehensions of migrants in vehicles during its
operations on the roads after two recent deadly shootings
in Maine and Houston.
The instruction instructs agents in the Enforcement and Removal
Operations (ERO) division, in charge of the expulsion of
undocumented migrants, to coordinate with partner
police forces to execute criminal arrest warrants
in vehicles and minimize risks, CNN said.
The change in protocol occurs in a context of high tension,
given that vehicle stops were a frequent procedure to
intensify immigration arrests in local communities,
the source said.
In addition, the directive specifies that, in cases where it is strictly
necessary to execute a criminal arrest warrant against a person
who is inside a vehicle, ICE agents must coordinate and
collaborate with partner law enforcement agencies
to carry out the arrest, seeking to minimize the
risks of confrontations.
The 52-year-old Mexican national, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, died
last week after being shot by an ICE agent during a traffic stop
in Houston. Also on Monday, the U.S. federal agency killed
Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian
citizen, in Maine in an operation in which
witnesses say the victim was not
the target.
__________________________________
Viet Nam wishes to further
elevate CSP ------- with U.S.
by Huong Giang
July 13th, 9:20pm
(VGP)
Viet Nam wishes to collaborate with the U.S. - to elevate the
Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) to new heights
for the benefit of the two peoples, said Prime Minister
Le Minh Hung.
Le made the above statement ----- during his reception for U.S.
Ambassador to Viet Nam Jennifer Wicks in Ha Noi on July 13.
Le extended his congratulations to Ms. Jennifer Wicks on her
appointment as the U.S. Ambassador to Viet Nam. He also
conveyed his regards to President Donald Trump and
congratulated the Government and people of the
U.S. ....on their 250th Independence Day.
The Prime Minister expressed his confidence that, with her
extensive years of service within the U.S. Administration
and her ''deep understanding of the region.....'' the
Ambassador - would enjoy a successful tenure,
making significant contributions to fostering
a stable, substantive ---- and effective ----
development...... of the Viet Nam - U.S.
Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Le affirmed that Viet Nam consistently regards the U.S. as
one of its top important partners and supports a positive
role by the U.S. in promoting peace, stability, and
prosperity in the region and the world.
He urged the Ambassador and the U.S. Embassy to maximize their
bridging role to facilitate high-level delegation exchanges, and to
coordinate with Vietnamese ministries, sectors, and localities
to substantiate practical areas of cooperation.
He also called for frank discussions on remaining differences in
a spirit of mutual respect, ensuring that pending issues do not
hinder the overall momentum of bilateral relations.
The Prime Minister noted that both sides need to promote economic
and trade cooperation in a harmonious, sustainable, and mutually
negotiations and sign a reciprocal, fair, and balanced trade
agreement, thereby creating a stable framework for
businesses from both nations to expand
investment, production, and
business operations.
Le affirmed that Viet Nam is accelerating administrative reforms
and perfecting its legal system toward transparency and
modernity to better facilitate U.S. enterprises, adding
that the country stands ready --- to listen to and
address legitimate concerns of businesses.
Regarding defense and security, the Prime Minister suggested
that both sides enhance cooperation in law enforcement,
humanitarian assistance, cybersecurity, and trans-
national crime prevention.
He expressed his gratitude for the U.S. assistance in overcoming
war legacies, calling for the U.S.' continued support for dioxin
remediation, unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance,
assistance for persons with disabilities, as well as
the sharing of archives, documents, and DNA
analysis technology to support the search
for and identification of...... Vietnamese
martyrs' remains. The Prime Minister
also reaffirmed ----- Viet Nam's
commitment -- to the search
for U.S. personnel missing
in action (MIA).
In addition, Le suggested the two countries expand cooperation
...in science and technology, innovation, human resource
development, digital transformation, education and
training, and people-to-people exchanges.
For her part, Ambassador Jennifer Wicks recalled her honour of
being received by General Secretary and President To Lam.
She shared --- the General Secretary and President's
assessment that the Viet Nam - U.S. relationship
has never been better than it is today.
Wicks stated that the U.S. attaches great importance to its relations
with Viet Nam. She conveyed the message "proud to be a partner of
Viet Nam" along with words of appreciation from President Donald
Trump, and Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to Viet Nam's senior
leadership fafter their congratulations on the 250th anniversary
of the U.S.' Independence Day.
The diplomat emphasized... that economic and trade cooperation
remains a top priority during her term. She expressed her desire
for both sides to maintain active exchanges to soon achieve a
high-standard, reciprocal, fair, and balanced trade agreement,
thereby creating more economic & investment opportunities
for both countries.
On defense and security, Ambassador Wicks observed that there
remains ample room for cooperation..... in maritime security, law
enforcement, and addressing transnational security challenges.
The Ambassador committed to continuing to promote cooperation
in overcoming the war legacies, viewing this as an important
humanitarian foundation of the bilateral relationship. She
expressed her desire to expand programs for dioxin
remediation, UXO clearance, assistance for
persons with disabilities, the search and
identification of Vietnamese martyrs,
and the repatriation ------ of U.S.
servicemen's remains.
The Ambassador also committed to promoting bilateral cooperation
on regional and international issues, of mutual concern. She spoke
highly of Viet Nam's role... and expressed the desire for both sides
to coordinate closely.. within the framework of the Peace Council
on Gaza.
_________________________________________
Kallas praised the IOC's decision to
allow Russian athletes to return to
international tournaments?
by Andrey Streltsov
(Editor Sports Dept)
July 13th, 8:39pm
(Lenta.ru)
The countries of the EU have appreciated the decision of the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) to return Russian
athletes to international tournaments. This was
reported..... by the head of EU diplomacy
Kaja Kallas, her words are quoted
by TASS.
Kallas stated - that the EU foreign ministers had categorically
condemned the IOC's decision to lift restrictions on Russians.
Earlier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kestutis
Budris criticized the return of Russians to tournaments.
He stated ---- that the participation of Russian and
Belarusian athletes with flags and anthems
of their countries in international
tournaments ....destroys the
policy of their isolation.
On July 7, the IOC lifted its recommendations for international
federations regarding restrictions on Russian participation.
Additionally, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC)
was temporarily re-instated.
_________________________________________________
Rockets for China and US,bottle caps
for Europe:Is Europe quietly losing
the future?
July 13th, 7:40pm
(Global Times)
A dividing line... is emerging in today's global landscape: while China
and the US race ahead in the next generation of technology, Europe
remains stuck in yesterday's geopolitical struggles it can't seem
to escape. Recent headlines make this clear - Europe seems
to be giving away its own era of influence.
This weekend, Reuters reported that Germany is funding 50,000
attack drones for Ukraine in an order worth about €90 million
($103 million), citing a source familiar with the matter,
which marks one of the biggest known purchases
of drones for Kiev by a Western government.
Just a few days earlier, another German story hit hard: "Germany:
June heat wave linked to 5,000 excess deaths," as "most
buildings in Germany ------- are not built with such high
temperatures in mind, including many hospitals
and care homes ------- that still do not have
air conditioning."
Generous abroad, struggling at home. This isn't just Germany's
problem, it's a predicament that's common across Europe.
The challenge wasn't that obvious enough, until this summer's
extreme heat which has tested the continent on every level:
heat-related train delays or cancellations are taking place
in many countries, including Belgium, Denmark, France
and the US ---- stemming from buckling asphalt, rail
deformation ----- onboard air conditioning failure,
malfunctioning traffic lights ---- and signaling
overheating and melting; Nuclear reactors
often shut down - because the bodies of
water they use for cooling become too
hot… Worse, national authorities in a
number of European countries, have
reported thousands -------- of excess
deaths due to the June heat wave.
Climate resilience has become a key benchmark for governance
in the 21st century. If a society fails to prioritize protecting its
own people during extreme weather events, how credible is
its claim of superior governance?
Sadly, for some European politicians, the one thing they cannot
give up - and in some cases are even willing to invest more in -
remains geopolitical confrontation.
They have made the wrong strategic choices. Consider this,
Europe once enjoyed cheap Russian energy powering its
industry, affordable Chinese goods -- keeping inflation
low..... and a massive Chinese market delivering fat
profits... to European companies. That ------ was a
golden window to strengthen its industrial base
and invest in future technologies.
Instead, Europe cut itself off from Russian energy -- without a ready
replacement, and followed the US into a "de-risking" policy toward
China that hurt its own interests. The result? Skyrocketing energy
costs, businesses struggling to survive, and far less money and
energy left... for innovation.
Now the outcome is showing, Europe is losing ground in AI, green
technology, and space exploration. The continent that once led
the Industrial Revolution is increasingly becoming a spectator
in the technologies that will shape tomorrow.
A viral meme on X captures it perfectly: China and the US
successfully recover rockets, while Europe makes sure
its bottle cap never leaves the bottle. The joke stings
because it's true --- not just in technology, but also ...in mind-set.
Europe's main problem lies in deeply misplaced priorities.
Its leaders remain too loud on geopolitical posturing and
ideological confrontation, while domestic challenges
like innovation, industrial strength, and citizen
welfare ....seem to take a backseat.
Europe needs to adapt and break out of its rigid ideological
straitjackets. It is now forced to confront this summer's
scorching heat - and must set aside its rigid political
correctness, and break free from endless political
infighting. The problems are staring it in the face
-- they demand real solutions. A society cannot
afford to pay for its political ideology with the
lives of its people --- in extreme heatwaves.
The same logic applies in diplomacy: Europe must break free - from
its outdated ideological constraints and decide whether to pursue
win-win cooperation or cling to zero-sum confrontation. The right
answer has long been clear - what it needs now is the courage
to act on it.
Europe's summer has only just begun, but the real "heat" it faces
may be only starting to take shape. How the region adjusts.. will
determine not only whether it can weather this summer safely,
but whether it can avoid a deeper slide in global competition.
_____________________________
"This threat should not be underestimated": How the EU.... is expanding its influence network ------- in Armenia
by Alexey Latyshev
July 13th, 7:24pm
(RT.ru)
The EU's mission to combat "hybrid threats", has begun its work
in Armenia. As the head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, has made
clear, the mission's activities, will be focused on countering
Russia. The EU has previously launched similar missions
in Ukraine and Moldova. According to analysts, the EU
is actively expanding its influence network in
Armenia. Experts believe... that Brussels'
primary goal.... is to weaken Russia's
influence in the region as much
--- as possible.
The EU has launched a mission in Armenia to combat "hybrid
threats," according to the website of the EU Council.
"The Council is launching the EU Partnership Mission in Armenia
(EUPM Armenia) as part of the Common Security and Defence
Policy. The purpose of this advisory civilian mission is to
support the Armenian authorities in strengthening the
country's resilience against hybrid threats - and
enhancing its ability... to respond to evolving
security challenges," the release states.
It is noted that the mission's staff will provide Yerevan with support
in countering cyber threats, illegal financial flows, as well as
information manipulation and interference from abroad.
In addition, the structure will... "provide strategic advice, technical
expertise, and assistance in strengthening Armenia's institutional
capacity to counter such threats" to various government
agencies, and will also support a..... "horizontal
national approach."
The release does not specify who the “hybrid threats” come from,
but Kaja Kallas, the head of EU diplomacy, has made it clear that
the mission will be aimed at countering Russia.
"Last week, the EU presented a large-scale package of economic
and political support for Armenia, designed to help the country
resist Russian pressure. Today, we are deploying a new EU
mission in the country," she said.
It is worth noting that similar missions --- have previously been
established in Ukraine and Moldova. Moreover, the Armenian
branch will be headed by Cosmin Gheorghe Dinescu, the
former head of the EU's partner mission in Moldova.
Support for democracyand repression
The mission to combat "hybrid threats" is not the first EU structure
to appear in Armenia in recent years. In 2023, Brussels sent the EU's civilian mission (EUMA) to Armenia as part of the Common Security and Defense Policy. The mission was intended.... to promote stability in Armenia's border regions.... build trust on the ground... and create conditions for the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
In addition, the EU is pouring funds into Armenia, ostensibly for the
development of democracy. According to official data, the EU is
using its funds to support democratic governance reforms,
the rule of law, and the protection of human rights and
fundamental freedoms. Brussels is also announcing
its support for initiatives aimed at implementing
anti-corruption reforms and public oversight.
While the EU has declared its support for democracy in Armenia and
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan personally, it has also turned a blind
eye --- to political repression in the country, according to political
analysts. For example, Samvel Karapetyan, the leader of the
Strong Armenia party - who is committed to developing
relations with Russia ---- has been under arrest since
2025. In June of this year, his associate, Aleksan
Aleksanyan, was also arrested.
In addition, on June 17, the country's Central Election Commission
gave consent to initiate a criminal case against the leader of the
opposition bloc "Armenia," former President Robert Kocharyan,
whose party --- took third place in the recent parliamentary
elections. He was also banned from leaving the country.
In addition, in June, the Prosecutor General's Office opened
a case against Gagik Tsarukyan, head of the opposition
Prosperous Armenia party.
Pashinyan - has also launched repressions against the Armenian
Apostolic Church, many of whose clergymen have criticized the
policies of his government. In particular, Archbishop Bagrat
has been under arrest for over a year. He... has been
accused of plotting to seize power in the country.
"Direct threat"
According to political analyst Dmitry Zhuravlev, the new EU
structure in Armenia will be aimed at fighting Russia. At
the same time, the analyst notes that Brussels is
creating an extensive network of influence
in the republic.
"Formally, they want to 'protect' the Armenians from the alleged
threat posed by Russia. In reality, this means that they are
seeking to establish control over Armenia. The EU is
creating an infrastructure of influence there,
increasing and complicating it. They have
already had influence in Armenia, and
now they are building mechanisms
- to prevent other countries from
gaining a foothold there," the
expert explained, in an
interview with RT.
Evgeny Semibratov, Deputy Director of the Institute for
Strategic Research and Forecasts at RUDN University,
shares a similar opinion.
"The European Union's civil society structures -- have long
been present in Armenia. The small country is home to
a vast number of organizations, and the number of
NGOs per capita - is staggering, surpassing all
similar examples in the post-Soviet space.
''This indicates that the EU is working closely with Armenia
and its society, with the sole goal - of removing Yerevan
from Moscow's geopolitical, economic, and trade
influence," the source emphasized.
Evgeny Semibratov added: that the EU's expanding
presence in the post-Soviet space poses a direct
threat to Russia's interests.
"European grants have already led to the reformatting of Ukraine
and the Baltic states ---- and are currently being implemented in
Moldova. Therefore, we must not underestimate this threat. It
is important to recognize that any external initiative by the
EU in the post-Soviet space - poses a direct threat to the
geopolitical influence of the Russian Federation," the
expert stated.
At the same time, experts believe that Pashinyan's course
towards joining the EU will inevitably harm Armenian
business .....and Armenia's overall economic
cooperation with the EAEU.
Earlier, Alexey Shevtsov, Deputy Secretary of the Russian
Security Council, said that Yerevan's accession to the EU
would cost the country .....at least 23% of its GDP.
"If Armenia has privileges in the EU market, the Russian
Federation will not be able to allow it to have privileges
in our union's countries, because then our 'customs
fence' will be breached, and there will be a huge
gap through Armenia. Therefore, if Yerevan
insists on certain preferences within the
framework of EU integration, we will
have to consider --- changing its
status --- within our union,"
Zhuravlev concluded.
______________________
Lula leads new poll ahead
......of Brazilian elections
Brasilia, July 13th, 8:36am
(Prensa Latina)
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva maintains the lead in all the first
and second round scenarios of the 2026 elections, according to a
poll by the consulting firm Nexus released today.
The study, commissioned by the bank BTG Pactual, attributes to
the president 40% of the voting intention in the stimulated
scenario of the first round, compared to 34% for Senator
Flávio Bolsonaro, considered the main representative
of Bolsonarism for the presidential race.
With respect to the spontaneous consultation, where a list of
candidates is not presented, the president obtains 35% of
the preferences, while Flávio Bolsonaro reaches 24,
a difference of 11 percentage points.
In the rest of the simulated scenarios for the first round, the former governor of Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado, with 5%; the president of the Mission Party, Renan Santos, and the former governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema, with 4 each; former magistrate Joaquim Barbosa and writer Augusto Cury, with 2; and Deputy Aécio Neves, with 1.
The simulations of the second round.. also
place Lula in front of all his possible rivals.
The tightest scenario is against Flávio Bolsonaro, with 47% for
the current president and 44 for the senator, a difference that
remains within the margin of error.
Against Zema, Lula would win by 47 to 40%, while against Caiado
he would extend the lead to 47 to 38; and the largest margin is
registered against Santos, with 49% for the president and
35% for his adversary.
The poll also reveals regional differences.... as Lula obtains his
greatest support in the northeast of the country, where he has
54% of the preferences compared to Flávio Bolsonaro's 25,
and also leads in the southeast.
The senator, for his part, leads the preferences.. in the southern and
north-central-west regions; and, among women, Lula registers 45%
percent of voting intention compared to 30% for Flávio Bolsonaro,
while among men the senator appears in front with 38% against
34 for the president.
The poll also shows that 36 percent of those interviewed prefer a
victory for Lula or a candidate supported by him, 32% opt for a
candidate backed by former President Jair Bolsonaro and his
family, and 27% express a preference for a third way.
The poll, which interviewed 2,003 voters by telephone between
July 10 and 12, has a margin of error of two percentage points
and a confidence level of 95%.
___________________________________
Construction begins on Regional
Counter Cybercrime Hub for
Asia-Pacific
by Thuy Dung
July 11th, 3:05pm
(VGP)
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Regional Counter
Cybercrime Hub for the Asia-Pacific, was held at the
Hoa Lac High-Tech Park in Ha Noi, on July 10.
Viet Nam becomes the first country in Southeast Asia
to ratify the UN Convention against Cybercrime.
The Ha Noi Convention ......ushers in a new
chapter for global cybercrime cooperation.
This event marked a significant milestone - in implementing the
United Nations Convention against Cybercrime and reaffirmed
Viet Nam's commitment to strengthening international
cooperation in building a safe, secure, trustworthy
and sustainable cyberspace.
Addressing the ceremony, the Deputy Minister of Public Security
Pham The Tung said the hub is expected to serve as a bridge
for cooperation among countries in the region and around
the world --- in combating cybercrime.
Accordingly, it will serve as a focal point for promoting the effective
implementation of the UN Convention against Cybercrime ------- by
assisting countries in strengthening enforcement capacity, and
enhancing international cooperation in combating cybercrime,
thereby facilitating the Convention's swift implementation.
The regional hub will be targeted for information sharing, research,
analysis and early warning on emerging cybercrime trends,
tactics and methods, while fostering collaboration in
investigations and supporting the handling of
transnational cybercrime cases to improve
law enforcement across the region.
It will become a leading institution for training, research and the
development of high-quality human resources in cybersecurity,
digital forensics, data science and the application of artificial
intelligence to cybercrime prevention and investigation,
he noted.
The hub will serve as a multilateral cooperation platform bringing
together law enforcement agencies, international organizations,
technology companies, research institutions and educational
establishments to promote experience sharing, technology
transfer, and the development of innovation initiatives and
solutions for enhancing cybersecurity and building digital
trust, reiterated the Deputy Minister.
Regional Representative of the UNODC for Southeast Asia and the
Pacific, Delphine Schantz described the groundbreaking centre
as an important milestone -- not only for Viet Nam, but for the
entire region.
She affirmed: that the UNODC stands ready to continue supporting
and working closely with the Government of Viet Nam throughout
the establishment and development of the hub ---- to ensure the
initiative reaches its full potential and delivers lasting positive
impacts across the Asia-Pacific region.
__________________________________________
CCG opens vessels to public - showcasing
domestically designed & built Lingshan
featuring ------- long endurance and
excellent seaworthiness
By Zhang Wanshi
July 11th, 3:03pm
(Global Times)
Vessel open day events and national defense education activities,
were held simultaneously in four cities on Friday to mark the fifth
anniversary of the implementation of China's Coast Guard Law,
with the domestically designed and built Lingshan, a vessel of
a class that has gradually been deployed in maritime law
enforcement missions in waters around China's Diaoyu
Dao and Huangyan Dao, emerging as a highlight,
CCTV News reported on Saturday.
Described as the coast guard version of the Type 054A frigate, a
Chinese military affairs expert said the long endurance and high
seaworthiness of the vessel enable it to adapt to complex sea
conditions in distant waters. Equipped with a helicopter deck
capable of accommodating multiple helicopter types, it can
An image of Che was projected last night on a central building in
the city of Rio de Janeiro, after statements by a U.S. diplomat in
a session held the day before at the headquarters of the United
Nations, in New York.
Next to Che's photo', the solidarity group, placed the phrase:
"In Latin America, today more than ever, your light is higher."
After the offensive statements of the US citizen, Mike Waltz,
permanent representative of the United States to the UN,
the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, rejected
the verbal aggression.
In his counter-reply, the head of Foreign Affairs of the Caribbean
island said that an inconsequential official of the US..... has
invoked names of universal stature and legacy.
''Mr. Waltz -- no one will know who you are -- in a short time.
Che Guevara...... will continue to be born in every Cuban
who fights against the imperialism that you represent''
---- Rodríguez stressed.
On a regular basis, this Committee carries out actions in support
of the largest of the Antilles and in homage to historical figures
of the Revolution, through public activities, political events
and cultural demonstrations in Rio de Janeiro.
________________________________________________
Viet Nam provides US$300,000 in aid
....to help Venezuela overcome
earthquake consequences
by Huong Giang
July 8th, 4:35pm
(VGP)
Viet Nam has decided to provide US$300,000 in aid
to held Venezuela overcome the consequences of
recent catastrophic earthquakes ....and stabilize
life in the affected areas.
On June 29, Viet Nam sent two rescue teams to Venezuela
to assist rescue efforts. The teams comprise 82 military
personnel from the Ministry of Public Security and 42
others from the Ministry of National Defense.
More than 3,500 people have died after a pair of
earthquakes struck Venezuela last week,
while nearly 18,000 people.....
remain unhoused.
____________________________________
Major challenges remain - for the
Sustainable Development Goals
Washington, July 8th, 9:43am
(Prensa Latina)
The United Nations (UN) warned that progress on the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to eradicate
poverty, reduce inequalities and protect the planet
is still too slow today.
A new UN report has found that the gains made are coexisting
with crises that threaten to leave millions of people behind.
With less than five years to go before the 2030 deadline for
meeting the SDGs, the UN pointed out that: although
billions of people gained access to drinking water,
electricity, sanitation and the internet since
2015, only 36% of the targets, with
available data, are advancing at
the necessary pace.
The report on the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals
comes as governments and international organizations meet in
New York to review the 2030 Agenda adopted by the 193
Member States ....more than a decade ago.
Since then, nearly one billion people have accessed safely managed
drinking water and 1.2 billion -- have access to adequate sanitation,
while electricity now reaches 92 percent of the world's population
and internet access has risen from 40 percent to 74 percent.
Likewise, new HIV infections also fell by 30 percent between 2015
and 2024 and more than half of the world's population has some
form of social protection.
But these advances coexist with a gloomy outlook in other areas, as
one in 10 people live in extreme poverty and 2.3 billion suffer from
food insecurity, the UN warned --- on its digital portal.
In this regard, maternal mortality continues to be almost three times
higher than the target set for 2030, while 273 million children and
young people ....remain out of school.
Also, the climate crisis --------- is pushing the world away from its
commitments, as in 2025 the global temperature reached 1.43
degrees above pre-industrial levels.
Meanwhile, the world's refugee population has more than doubled
in the last decade, in a context marked by wars, displacement
and increasingly prolonged humanitarian emergencies.
Of the 139 targets with sufficient information, 49% are moving
too slowly and 15% have regressed -- even below 2015 levels,
the study says.
The report attributes the lag to a combination of conflict, climate
change, slow economic growth, rising debt and a record drop
in official development assistance.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed stressed
that many countries face increasing demands without
sufficient funding.
Mohammed called for reforming international development banks
so that they can offer debt relief and long-term financing to
nations that need to invest in health, education, water,
energy and infrastructure.
_________________________________________
Zyuganov vs Volodin-Nikonov: Duma speech of the leader
of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation on the problems in the country - caused a nervous reaction from the speakers from United Russia
July 7th, 5:13pm
(Press service of the Communist
Party faction in the State Duma.)
Another speech by the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian
Federation Gennady Zyuganov at the plenary session of the State
Duma, in which --- the systemic problems of the economy, rising
prices and management in the conditions of war, were harshly
outlined, caused an inadequately nervous reaction from
United Russia.
Instead of a well-reasoned answer to specific facts – the collapse
of small business, a 40% jump in prices for the "borscht set" and
failures in the defense industry – United Russia attacked the
leader of the left-patriotic opposition with accusations of
"alarmism" and "playing into the hands of the enemy."
However, the history of the Great Patriotic War, to which they
themselves refer - refutes their own theses: it was the public
admission of mistakes and harsh criticism of the command,
as it was, for example, in the most difficult 1942 with
Korneychuk's play "The Front", that helped the
country turn the tide of the war, and not
hushing up problems.
A calm start and a sharp speech
by the leader of the opposition
The 367th meeting of the State Duma on July 7th, began in an
extremely calm and working manner .......with speeches by
representatives of the factions on topical socio-economic
and political issues. The leader of the parliamentary
opposition... the head of the Communist Party
faction G.A. Zyuganov - nevertheless, was
true to himself and in his speech spoke
sharply --- on a number of problems,
which clearly - "cut the ears" of
representatives of the United
Russia faction.
What did the Chairman of the Central Committee of
the Communist Party of the Russian Federation
say sharply?
On the lack of coordination of economic
management during the war:
"The president - has long formulated both the access to world rates
of development and the latest technologies... But we do not have
coordination and management of financial and economic policy.
If you are producing 13 percent less metal, you have nothing to
win this war with."
On the problems of financial, credit and tax policy:
"An absolutely abnormal rate -- that has strangled small and medium-
sized businesses, an absolutely abnormal tax that was prescribed
to us... Our small and medium-sized businesses are falling apart.
There will be no one else to earn money."
"It is absolutely abnormal --- that [oligarch] Mordashov has $36
billion, he increases income, and sells his metal to Kirovsky,
to Rostselmash -- at a price much more expensive than to
bring it from China, and pay a 20 percent duty. In a war,
you will not provide the army with everything it needs
with such a financial policy."
On rising prices and the fuel crisis:
"There are things that set the country on fire. Prices for the
"borscht set" have increased by 40 percent. It is food for
the poor and hungry. By 40 percent. When we are told
low inflation, this is nonsense."
"And gasoline. A gasoline country with such a policy will
face difficulties tomorrow. And if a personal threat is
added, then that bouquet arises that destabilizes
the country.We cannot allow this."
Offer for cooperation:
The leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation
concluded his speech with an official invitation to work
together - an appeal to the leaders of the electoral list
of United Russia S.V. Lavrov, S.S. Sobyanin and
E.E. Poddubny:
"I invite you to officially discuss your team with ours ----- "10 steps
to a decent life and to Victory". We will prove each one. We have
10 trillion rubles to invest [in the budget] tomorrow. We have
20 more."
G.A. Zyuganov drew a line in a very working way:
"We need to unite - unite and win.
We are ready for this joint work."
Nervous reaction of United Russia
members: attacks ....and labels
The nervous reaction of the leaders of United Russia to his
speech was absolutely unexpected. First, United Russia
deputy V.A. Nikonov tried to "jump" on behalf of the
faction of the party in power:
"Imagine, the Great Patriotic War, a meeting of the Supreme
Soviet of the USSR, a deputy comes out and begins to talk
about what difficulties we have.. that we have nothing
with which to defeat the enemy, or begins to teach
Stalin how to defend Moscow... But a very
similar thing is happening."
"We must trust the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, because he alone
has all the domestic, international, and economic information. It is
irresponsible to advise the Supreme Commander-in-Chief how to
win the war."
The Chairman of the State Duma of United Russia V.V. Volodin
continued the "attack" on Zyuganov already outside the
factional regulations, following Nikonov:
"A statesman --- differs from a politician in what he thinks about his
country. A politician --- thinks about a personal victory, about the
victory of his party, but populism and demagogy are destructive."
Then completely unexpected and wild accusations poured in
from the lips of offended United Russia members against
G.A. Zyuganov:
"Whoever starts to make politics on the situation related to fuel,
he is wrong, moreover, he plays into the hands of the enemy."
"And the one who vibrated, that's it, consider -------- that he has
already crossed to the other side. Panic is the worst thing."
The "anti-Soviet jab" that has become traditional for United
Russia ---- was also heard from the chairman's rostrum:
"Everyone imagines himself to be a strategist, seeing the battle
from the sidelines. Where is the country of the Soviets? There
is none. Who ruined it? Ourselves."
"And the enemy will listen to our speeches,
he will clap his hands."
There were no meaningful answers
Neither V.A. Nikonov nor V.V. Volodin answered a single substantive
point of the speech of the leader of the CPRF faction. Neither for
the 40% increase in prices for the "borscht set", nor for the
"suffocating" key rate of the Central Bank, nor for the
pricing policy of metallurgical monopolies, nor for
the fuel crisis, nor for the air defense strikes of
enemy UAVs on the Omsk refinery, or the
state of the electoral system. Instead of refuting the facts -- there is an
assessment of the speaker's
motives, and an appeal to
the necessary loyalty to
the party in power.
The imposition by United Russia -- of the false construction of
"vibrating.. switching sides" -- makes any parliamentary work
impossible: government control, deputy requests, discussion
of the budget. All this is automatically declared "work ---- for
the enemy".
Historical reference: the play "The Front" and
the experience of the Great Patriotic War
The appeal of United Russia member V.A. Nikonov to the experience
of the Great Patriotic War -- works against him. It was then, that the
state implemented - what G.A. Zyuganov demanded: a mobilization
economy, coordination through GKOs, price control, and planning.
The demand for "coordination of the management of financial
and economic policy" is the practice of the mobilization
economy, not its negation.
By the way, the analogy with... "a deputy of the Supreme Soviet
teaching Stalin" is also incorrect because the Supreme Soviet
of the war years wasn't a platform for inter-party competition
- while the current Duma is constitutionally proclaimed by it.
The attempt by the leaders of United Russia ---- to silence the
parliamentary opposition with the thesis that in wartime any
criticism of the actions of the authorities and the command
is "playing into the hands of the enemy," and any pointing
out shortcomings is "defeatism" and "panic," is easily
shattered by examples from the experience of the
Great Patriotic War.
Let us remind former members of the CPSU Nikonov and Volodin
that in the midst of the Great Patriotic War, in August 1942,
when the Red Army was suffering heavy defeats and the
fierce Battle of Stalingrad was underway, the Pravda
newspaper published Alexander Korneychuk's play
'The Front'. In the centre of the plot is the conflict
between the commander of the front, General
Gorlov, a hero of the Civil War, who is
"hopelessly ........lagging behind in
understanding the current war",
and the young General Ognev,
who represents a new type
of military leader.
The play revealed the reasons for military failures: outdated
methods of warfare, ignorance, arbitrariness, flattery and
sycophancy - surrounded by old commanders.
The publication - caused a negative assessment from many military
leaders, the indignation of generals and marshals knew no bounds.
The editors of Pravda received demands to "stop the publication
of The Front --- as a work of the highest degree harmful", the
author was called a "saboteur and ideological saboteur",
demanded that the play be --- "withdrawn", and the
author was "brought to justice". According to
some testimonies ---- there were even
demands to "be tried by a tribunal
and shot."
However, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Stalin took a
fundamentally different position. In a telegram to
Marshal Timoshenko, he wrote:
"The play will have a great educational value for the Red Army and
its commanders. The play correctly points out the shortcomings
of the Red Army, and it would be wrong to turn a blind eye to
these shortcomings. One must have the courage to admit
shortcomings and take measures to eliminate them..."
Stalin not only supported the play, but also ordered to issue tickets
for it to generals and officers. To the indignation of other generals
---- he replied: "Fight better, then there will be no such plays."
Why the arguments of Nikonov and Volodin are untenable
If we follow Nikonov's logic, then Stalin in 1942 should have
banned the Front, punished Korneychuk and "not driven
the wave." However -- he did exactly the opposite: he
publicly acknowledged the existence of systemic
problems in the army, and demanded that they
be corrected. The criticism was not aimed at
undermining morale --- but at correcting the
mistakes that cost the lives of thousands
of soldiers. It was this, and not silence,
that ultimately led to a turning point
in the war.
Nikonov claims that "it is irresponsible to advise the Supreme
Commander-in-Chief how to win the war." But Zyuganov's
criticism -- like Korneychuk's, is addressed, not to the
Supreme Commander-in-Chief, but to the executive
branch (financial policy, taxes, rates, closure of social facilities). This --- is legitimate
parliamentary control --- and not an
encroachment on the powers
of the president.
Nikonov and Volodin demand "consolidation" and "unity,"
meaning the bureaucratic command to "stand and be
silent," as well as the rejection of criticism.
But historical experience shows that true unity during the war
years was achieved through honest recognition of mistakes
and joint work to correct them. Stalin did not turn a blind
eye to the shortcomings, but had the courage to admit
them. It was this, and not the ban on criticism, that
allowed the Red Army to withstand - and win.
Keeping silent about problems does not solve them, but only
exacerbates them. If the prices of food for the poor have
increased by 40%, if small businesses are falling apart,
if enemy drones reach Omsk, pointing out these facts
is not "panic", but a signal for action. It is ignoring
such signals, rather than discussing them, that
undermines the country's defense capability.
As Stalin rightly noted in 1942, the most difficult year
for the army and the country: "it would be wrong
to turn a blind eye to these shortcomings."
Thus, the thesis of Nikonov and Volodin that in wartime it is
impossible to criticize the authorities and point out their
mistakes is historically untenable. In 1942, during the
most difficult period of the Great Patriotic War, the
Supreme Commander-in-Chief not only allowed,
but also personally supported public, harsh
criticism of the highest command staff.
This criticism did not weaken --- but
strengthened the army, helped it
learn from its mistakes and
ultimately - win.
Result: constructivenessagainst labeling
By the way, V.V. Volodin himself, attacking G.A. Zyuganov, is forced
to admit: "We will cope with the problems at gas stations" that is,
the fuel problem, which Zyuganov spoke loudly about from the
Duma rostrum, exists ----- but its discussion (it turns out!) -- is
equated with betrayal. The final formula of the opponents:
"there are problems, but you can't talk about them" is
also a so-so argument.
Gennady Zyuganov concluded his speech with an outstretched
hand for cooperation: an official invitation to discuss the
program "10 Steps to a Decent Life and Victory" and
the formula... "we are ready for this joint work".
The response -- was the labels "panic", "the
other side", "civil war in the Duma" and
a disciplinary shout.
It should be noted here that V.V. Volodin directly linked today's
polemics with the beginning of the election campaign, in fact
formulating the demand of the ruling party to the opposition
not to conduct an opposition election campaign.
The response rhetoric of V.A. Nikonov and V.V. Volodin - is built not on
the refutation of facts, but on discrediting the opposition's right
to criticism. The constructive tone of the speech (the invitation to discuss the 10 steps program) of the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, once again, confirmed that the
Communists are proposing a program of work and cooperation - and the Duma representatives of the ruling party, respond to this only by labeling.
Pavel Usyondek, a representative of the Polish Confederation
party, called on Warsaw to completely stop social payments
to Ukrainians.
"Let's save our money! No benefits for
migrants!" he wrote on social media.
According to the politician, many refugees only come
for benefits, and no one checks whether they are
actually living in Poland.
He cited the Czech Republic as an example, where cases of
fraud were uncovered: Ukrainians illegally received money
while not living in the country. The damage is estimated
to be millions of Czech crowns.
Earlier, Oleg Nemensky, head of the RISS Centre for Historical
Policy, noted that Polish residents are extremely irritated by
the behaviour of Ukrainians and the money spent on them,
and social tension in the country is growing.
_____________________________________
MP Panesh: Pensions for Several Categories
of Russians ....Will Increase on August 1st
by Anastasia Belousova
July 6th, 12:01pm
(RT.ru)
From August 1st, 2026, Russia will see several pension increases
for different categories of citizens. The recalculation will affect
working pensioners, recipients of funded pensions, citizens
who turned 80 in July, as well as former pilots and miners.
This was reported by RT in an interview with State Duma
deputy and deputy chairman of the Budget and Taxes
Committee, Kaplan Panesh (LDPR faction).
"All increases are automatic - and there is no need to apply
anywhere. For working pensioners, there will be an annual
non-mandatory recalculation of insurance pensions,
taking into account the insurance contributions
that employers paid for them in 2025,"
the parliamentarian explained.
According to him, the amount of the increase is individual and
depends on the official earnings and the number of pension
points accumulated during the year.
"You can earn a maximum of three points per year. The value of
one pension point in 2026 is 156.76 rubles -- so the maximum
increase for working pensioners is 470.28 rubles, per month,
but .....only if their salary is at least 68,975 rubles per month
before personal income tax," the parliamentarian explained.
If a pensioner worked unofficially... they did not pay
contributions, and there would be no recalculation,
Panesh warned.
"For those who turned 80 in July 2026, the fixed payment
for insurance pensions will double from 9,584.69 rubles
to 19,169.38 rubles as of August 1. In addition, a care
allowance of 1,413.86 rubles will be automatically
assigned," the source added.
He emphasized that if a pensioner has already been assigned
a disability group I and the fixed payment has already been
doubled on this basis, there will be no additional doubling
after the age of 80.
According to the deputy, funded pensions will be indexed
by 17.3% based on the results of investing pension
savings for 2025.
In addition - as Panesh said - special pension supplements
for former members of civil aviation flight crews and coal
industry workers .....will be recalculated as of August 1.
"Their additional payments --- depend on their seniority and
average monthly earnings, so the amount of the bonus is
individual," the parliamentarian concluded.
This gentleman picks holes in the intellectual ''mistakes'' of the West and points to the best solution for the world's people.
Britain's enemy is not Russia but its own ruling class, UN report confirms by John Wight November 19th, at 2:48pm
John Wight has written for a variety of newspapers and websites, including the Independent, Morning Star, Huffington Post, Counter- punch, London Progressive Journal, and Foreign Policy Journal.
As the UK political establishment rips itself to pieces over Brexit, a far greater crisis continues to afflict millions of victims of Tory austerity.
A devastating UN report into poverty in the UK provides incontrovertible evidence, that the enemy of the British people, is the very ruling class that has gone out of its way these past few years to convince them it is Russia.
Professor Philip Alston, in his capacity as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, spent two weeks touring the United Kingdom. He did so, investigating the impact of 8 years of one of the most extreme austerity programs among advanced G20 economies in response to the 2008 financial crash and subsequent global recession.
What he found was evidence of a systematic, wilful, concerted and brutal economic war, unleashed by the country's right-wing Tory establishment, against the poorest and most vulnerable section of British society – upending the lives of millions of people who were not responsible for the aforementioned financial crash and recession, but who have been forced to pay the price.
From the report's introduction:
"It…seems patently unjust and contrary to British values that so many people are living in poverty. This is obvious to anyone who opens their eyes: to see the immense growth in foodbanks, and the queues waiting outside them, the people sleeping rough in the streets, the growth of homelessness, the sense of deep despair - that leads even the Government to appoint a Minister for Suicide Prevention - and civil society to report in depth, on unheard of levels of loneliness and isolation."
Though as a citizen of the UK, I respectfully beg to differ with the professor's claim, that such social & economic carnage, seems "contrary to British values,"(on the contrary - it is entirely in keeping with the values of the country's Tory establishment, an establishment for whom, the dehumanization of the poor and working class, is central to its ideology), the point he makes about it being "obvious to anyone who opens their eyes," is well made.
For it is now the case that in every town and city centre in Britain, it is impossible to walk in any direction for more than a minute, before coming across homeless people begging in the street. And the fact that some 13,000 of them, are former soldiers, casualties of the country's various military adventures in recent years, undertaken in service to Washington, exposes the pious platitudes peddled by politicians & the government as reverence for the troops & their 'sacrifice,' as insincere garbage.
As inequality increases, the wealthy and powerful become more desperate to cling onto their gains and distract us - with imagined threats and political sideshows - such as Jingoism, Russophobia and red-baiting...
Overall, 14 million people in the UK are now living in poverty, a figure which translates into an entire fifth of the population. Four million of them are children, while, according to Professor Alston, 1.5 million people are destitute – that is, unable to afford the basic necessities of life.
And this is what the ruling class of the fifth largest economy in the world, a country that parades itself on the world stage, as a pillar of democracy and human rights, considers progress.
The values responsible for creating such a grim social landscape, are compatible with the 18th, not the 21st century. They are proof positive, that the network of elite private schools – Eton, Harrow, Fettes College et al. – where those responsible for this human carnage are inculcated with the sense of entitlement and born to rule ethos that defines them, are Britain's hotbeds of extremism.
Professor Alston:"British compassion for those who are suffering, has been replaced by a punitive, mean-spirited, and often callous approach, apparently designed to instill discipline where it is least useful, to impose a rigid order on the lives of those least capable of coping with today's world, and elevating the goal of enforcing blind compliance, over a genuine concern to improve the well- being of those at the lowest levels of British society."
Here, set out above in bold relief, is the barbarism that walks - hand in hand - with free market capitalism. It is the same barbarism that was responsible for pushing post-Soviet Russia into a decade-long economic and social abyss, in the 1990s, and the values that have pushed 14 million people in the UK into the same economic and social abyss, in our time.
Austerity, it bears emphasizing, is not and never has been, a viable economic response to recession, in a given economy.
Instead, it is an ideological club, wielded on behalf of the rich and big business, to ensure that the price paid for the said economic recession, is borne exclusively by those least able to bear it - namely the poor and working people. It is class war by any other name, packaged and presented, as legitimate government policy.
However in Britain's case in 2018, this is a war like no other, because, as Professor Philip Alston's report lays bare, one side in this war has been throwing all the punches and one side has been taking them.
As the saying goes, wars take place when the government tells you who the enemy is; revolutions take place when you work it out for yourself.
(Source - RT)
_______________________________________________
Keiser Report: Reality of Creditor Jubilees
- fantastic - asks ''why don't we act like Jesus preached - and forgive debt?''
When what we do now, is what led to the slavery of feudalism: by refunding the creditors, instead!
Marx's theory still shines with truth: Xi May 4th, at 10:53am
Xinhua - Two centuries on, despite huge and profound changes in human society, the name of Karl Marx is still respected all over the world and his theory still shines with the brilliant light of truth, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a grand gathering in Beijing to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Marx's birth.
Xi said Marx is the "teacher of revolution for the proletariat and working people all over the world, the main founder of Marxism, creator of Marxist parties, a pathfinder for international communism and the greatest thinker of modern times."
"Today, we hold this grand gathering with great veneration to mark the 200th anniversary of Marx's birth, to remember his great character and historic deeds and to review his noble spirit and brilliant thoughts," Xi said at the event.
''With noble ideals and no fear of difficulty or adversity, throughout his life, Marx devoted himself to perseveringly striving for the liberation of humanity, scaling the peak of thought in his pursuit of truth, and the unremitting fight to overturn the old world and establish a new one'', according to Xi.
''Marx is not only a great figure who bore the weight of the world, but also an ordinary person with a passion for life, who was sincere and true to his friends'', Xi said.
''The most valuable and influential spiritual asset that Marx left us is the scientific theory named after him -- Marxism. Like a spectacular sunrise, the theory illuminated the path of humanity's exploration of the law of history, and humanity's search for their own liberation'', Xi said.
"The thought and theory of Marx are of his times and go beyond his times," Xi said. "They are the essence of the spirit of that times and the essence of the spirit of all humanity."
Xi said Marxism is a scientific theory that reveals the rules of human society's development, in a creative manner.
Having developed the materialist conception of history and surplus value theory, Marx showed how humanity would leap from the realm of necessity, to the realm of freedom, and also showed the road for people to realize freedom and liberation, Xi said.
Marxism, the first ideology for the liberation of the people themselves, is a theory of the people.
"Marxism, for the first time, explored the path for humanity's freedom and liberation from the stance of the people, and pointed out the direction, with scientific theory, toward an ideal society with no oppression or exploitation, where every person would enjoy equality and freedom," Xi said.
Stressing that practicality is a prominent characteristic of Marxism that makes it different from other theories, Xi said Marxism is a theory of practices that directs the people to change the world.
It is an open theory that is constantly developing and always stands at the frontier of the times, Xi said.
"That is why it is always able to keep young, explore the new issues in the development of the times and respond to the new challenges for human society."
The general secretary said that over the 170 years since publication of The Communist Manifesto, Marxism had been spread around the world, unrivaled in the history of human ideology in terms of the breadth and depth of its influence.
After the end of World War II, a large number of socialist countries were established, Xi said, stressing that the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially, has greatly increased the socialist strength in the world.
"There might be setbacks in the development of socialism in the world, but the overall trend for human society's development has never changed, and it will never change," Xi said.
"Marxism has not only profoundly changed the world, but also China," Xi said.
The reverberations of the October Revolution in Russia brought Marxism-Leninism to China, pointing out the direction forward, offering a brand new choice for the Chinese people in their struggle to survive, and setting the scene for the birth of the CPC.
Since the CPC's birth, it has combined the fundamental principles of Marxism with the reality of the Chinese revolution and construction, transforming the Chinese nation from "the sick man of East Asia" to one who has stood up, by uniting and leading the people through long-term struggle.
"This tremendous transformation serves as cast iron proof that only through socialism, can we save China," Xi said.
Since reform and opening up, the CPC has combined the fundamental principles of Marxism, with the reality of China's reform and opening up, and the nation who stood up, has grown rich.
"This tremendous transformation serves as cast iron proof that only through socialism with Chinese characteristics, can we develop China," Xi said.
In the new era, the CPC again combined the fundamental principles of Marxism with the reality of China in this new era, uniting and leading the people in "under- taking the great struggle, building the great project, advancing the great cause and realizing the great dream."
The Chinese nation has come to embrace a tremendous transformation, as the one who has grown rich, now, is becoming strong.
"This tremendous transformation serves as cast iron proof that only by adhering to and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics, can we realize national rejuvenation," Xi said.
"It is perfectly right for history and the people to choose Marxism, as well as for the CPC to write Marxism on its own flag, to adhere to the principle of combining the fundamental principles of Marxism, with China's reality, and continuously adapt Marxism to the Chinese context and the times."
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China lifts 740 mln rural poor out of poverty since 1978 September 3rd, at 12:57pm
Xinhua - China lifted 740 million people in rural areas out of poverty from 1978 to 2017, roughly 19 million each year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.
The poverty ratio in rural areas dropped 94.4 percentage points during the same time period with an average annual decrease of 2.4 percentage points, according to the NBS.
NBS data shows that China's poverty relief achievements have contributed more than 70 percent to global poverty alleviation work, in the past 40 years.
The average annual income of rural residents in impoverished areas rose an average of 10.4 percent each year from 2012 to 2017, up 2.5 percentage points from the average for rural residents.
Over the past five years, over 68 million people were lifted out of poverty in China. The country aims to further lift 10 million people out of poverty this year and eradicate poverty by 2020.
China recently released guidelines on winning the battle against poverty in the next three years, in order to prepare the nation for eradicating poverty by 2020.
According to the guidelines, the impoverished people should be guaranteed food & clothing, and children from poor families should be guaranteed a 9-year compulsory education. Basic medical needs and living conditions of the impoverished, should also be guaranteed.
People whose annual income is lower than 2,300 yuan (337.3 U.S. dollars), are defined as living below the poverty line, in China.
Almost half of Russians see USSR collapse as shameful – poll January 17th, at 12:11pm
The collapse of the Soviet Union is considered a reason to be ashamed, by 45 percent of Russians, according to a recent opinion poll. The only option that scored higher, is Russia’s failure to eradicate poverty.
The poll, conducted in late 2018, by the Levada Center is its latest study of what Russians are proud and ashamed of, about their nation. The demise of the USSR, saw a rebound in popularity from a low point of 28 percent in mid-2015, and is at a level comparable with the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The only more popular answer is Russia’s failure to eradicate poverty, which was named as a reason to be ashamed, by 61 percent of the people polled. This answer has topped Levada’s polls, for decades.
Russians are also ashamed of fellow countrymen treating each other disrespectfully (37 percent), Russia’s failure to catch up economically with the Western powers (24 percent), the out- come of Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms (24 percent), and Joseph Stalin’s reign of terror (21 percent).
On the opposite side of Russians’ national identity are the qualities and events, people are proud of.
Defeating Nazi Germany in World War II remains the one thing Russians are overwhelmingly proud of (87 percent).
There is also the role that the country played in space exploration – about half are proud to belong to a space pioneering nation.
The third most popular option is accepting Crimea (the breakaway former Ukrainian region) as part of Russia again, which is seen as a point of national pride, by 45 percent.
Many people are also proud of Russian literature, science, and martial prowess, Soviet-era industrialization and the best qualities of the Russian character, like resolve and patience.
A record 75 percent said Russia is definitely, or most likely, a great nation today, while 88 percent believe that it should be one.
There was no apparent correlation between wishing greatness for Russia and regretting the USSR’s collapse, the agency noted, suggesting that Russians expect a great nation to - first and foremost - provide social justice, and protection.
Sixty-two percent said the Russians are a great people.
Levada remarked that about 80 percent of the people polled, identified themselves as Russians.
When asked what makes them feel connected to their people, most respondents named national history (53 percent), Russia’s land (35 percent), their place of birth (33 percent), and the nature that they call their own (25 percent).
The formal national symbols, including the flag, the coat of arms, and the national anthem, was the least popular option (5 percent).
Interestingly, religion is a relatively small factor in Russian national identity (9 percent).
(Source - RT)
____________________________________________
Number of Russians who regret collapse of USSR hits 10-year high December 26th, 2017, at 7:20am
The number of Russians who regret the collapse of the Soviet Union has reached its highest level since 2009, with almost an equal share saying the event could have been avoided.
A public opinion poll conducted by the independent Levada Center in late November this year found that 58 percent of Russians now regret the collapse of the USSR. Twenty-five percent said they felt no regret about this, and 16 percent could not describe their feelings in one word.
When researchers asked those who regret the end of the USSR what the primary reasons were behind their sentiments, 54 percent said that they missed a single economic system, 36 percent said they had lost the feeling of belonging to a real superpower, 34 percent complained about the drop in mutual trust among ordinary people, and 26 percent said that the collapse had destroyed the ties between friends and relatives.
The same research showed that 52 percent of Russians think that the collapse of the USSR could have been avoided, 29 percent said that the event was absolutely inevitable, and 19 percent did not have a fixed opinion on the matter.
The share of those who regret the demise of the Soviet Union has risen continuously over the past decade, but in 2009 it was even higher than today – at 60 percent. The all-time high – 75 percent – was recorded in 2000.
President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly addressed the issue of the collapse of the USSR in his speeches. In an address to the Russian parliament in 2005 he called the event the greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century and a cause of major disruption for the Russian people. In September 2016, Putin said the Communist Party should have transformed the Soviet Union into a democratic state, rather than see it break into separate nations.
At the same time, Putin has always emphasized that he and other Russian officials have no plans to revive the USSR, and has expressed anger that people cannot accept this. He's also accused Western governments of deliberately confusing modern Russia with the USSR and harming the interests of ordinary people, on the pretense of preventing an imaginary threat.
Historian:Russia's October Revolution Was Inevitable, Relatively Bloodless November 10th, at 4:33pm by Ekaterina Blinova
The October Uprising of 1917 became the logical conclusion of the February Revolution, Michael J. Carley, a professor of history at the Universite de Montreal has told Sputnik. According to the academic, the Russian Revolution was inevitable and occurred because evolutionary processes of change to benefit the lives of ordinary people had failed.
"February 1917 marked the beginning of a revolutionary change in power in Russia, that was accomplished in October," Michael Jabara Carley, professor of history at the Université de Montréal and the author of "Silent Conflict: A Hidden History of Early Soviet-Western Relations,"told Sputnik, commenting on the 100th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution.
"The tsarist order was bankrupt and doomed. Almost everyone at the time said so. The immediate cause of the bankruptcy was the Great War [The First World War]," the Canadian academic stressed, adding that "the result was calamity marked by millions of casualties, large territories lost and an economy thrown into chaos, by the unsustainable financial and economic demands of fighting a world war."
Russian Provisional Government: 'Neither Revolutionary, Nor Democratic'
The so-called February Revolution, which is regarded as a combination of a popular uprising with an elitist anti- monarchist plot, led to the abdication of Russian Emperor Nicholas II and the establishment of the Provisional Government.
Still, the Provisional Government"was neither revolutionary nor democratic,"the academic pointed out: The crux of the matter was that it was largely controlled by the "bourgeois" urban and rural elites and old tsarist establishment"that was opposed to the revolution and attempted to block its further development."
October Uprising Was Relatively Bloodless
The professor explained why, contrary to popular belief, the October Revolution of 1917 that took place on November 7 (October 25 in the Julian calendar) was relatively bloodless.
"Well, in the first instance because the Provisional Government was utterly discredited. It had no popular support. It was a head without a body. It could give orders or issue decrees, but had no power to enforce them. In a revolutionary period, power comes from the support of the insurgent masses and the Provisional Government had none,"Carley told Sputnik.
The professor suggested that 1917 could have been averted if old elites as well as their forebears had not blocked"political and economic evolutionary processes"in Russia.
'Provisional Government Became a Cork in the Bottle'
"The Provisional Government became a cork in the bottle holding back the revolution,"the historian said."The revolutionary masses in Petrograd [Saint Petersburg] and elsewhere put pressure on their socialist leaders to blow the cork out of the bottle…. It was the Bolsheviks who put themselves at the head of the mass movement & articulated its demands, essentially peace, bread and land."
He pointed out, however, that"the Bolsheviks themselves were not united on all the big issues and most importantly on the seizure of power in October (the Julian calendar)."
"I would propose that the Provisional Government collapsed of its own rot. The insurgent masses led by the Bolsheviks only had to kick it over,"Carley remarked.
Was the October Revolution of 1917 Inevitable?
"It is a question impossible to answer except in this way: popular revolutions come about because political and economic elites over time are too selfish to share wealth and power with the masses,"Carley responded."Like the tsarist autocracy, they treat the masses as a resource to be exploited and rung dry. When evolutionary processes of change fail, revolution is often the result."
According to the academic, it is wrong to think that such revolutions succeed "because of the evil genius and cruelty of a small revolutionary elite"
"They succeed because of mass support and effective, responsive leadership."
The question then arises as to whether it was possible to follow an evolutionary path, rather than go through a revolution.
"A revolution occurred because evolutionary processes of change to benefit the lives of ordinary people had failed,"the professor responded."Serfdom, inequality, exploitation, violence, continued unabated until 1917."
October 1917: 'Driver of Transformations Across the Globe'. Revisiting the October Revolution of 1917.
Addressing the 14th Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that"the largely utopian social model and ideology" the Soviets tried to implement initially following the 1917 revolution became "a powerful driver of transformations across the globe, caused a major revaluation of development models, and gave rise to rivalry and competition, the benefits of which were mostly reaped by the West."
The Canadian professor disagrees that the term "utopian" could be used with regards to the "Communist model," for instance.
"Is free, public education for everyone, no matter what their class, nationality or religion, utopian? Is the elimination of illiteracy, utopian? Are women's rights, or universal health care, utopian? Was the desire to create a more equal society, socially, economically and politically, utopian?"Carley asked, adding"in fact, that Soviet society was eventually able to withstand and then to destroy almost single- handedly, the so-called invincible Nazi 'colossus.'"
Still, he believes that the 1917 revolution certainly was"a powerful driver of transformations"around the world since it"inspired successful revolutionary movements in China, Vietnam, Korea, and Cuba."
As Putin noted during his Valdai speech "many Western achievements of the 20th century were an answer to the challenge posed by the Soviet Union," such as"raising living standards, forming a strong middle class, reforming the labour market and the social sphere, promoting education, guaranteeing human rights, including the rights of minorities and women, overcoming racial segregation."
Red October: Allied Intervention and 'Beginning of Cold War'
The October Revolution became the trigger for the Civil War (1917-1922) and prompted the Allied intervention of major foreign powers in Russia.
The Canadian academic pointed out that the October Uprising "produced an immediate violent reaction by the United States, France and Britain, whose elites attempted to overthrow the Soviet government."
"The foreign intervention against Soviet Russia fed a civil war and exacerbated the violence of the counter-revolution by many times over,"Carley said."On its own, the former tsarist elite could never have mounted such violent resistance to the October Revolution."
The professor underscored that after their failure to overthrow the Soviets,"the Western powers spent the next 70 years, with the exception of a truce between 1941-1945, in trying to harm or bring down the USSR and all those revolutions to which it had given birth."
According to the academic, the Cold War started in October (November) 1917.
"Just ask the Chinese, Vietnamese, Cubans, or N. Koreans about the frightful price of resistance to US and Western hegemony,"Carley remarked."Or for that matter, we might ask, if we could, the soldiers, sailors and workers of Soviet Russia, what price they had to pay, to defend their revolution."
(Source - Sputnik)
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Communist leader dispels new Russian budget as "oligarch orientated" October 28th, 2017 Fort Russ News - KtovKurse translated by Inessa Sinchougova
Communist Party leader, Gennady Zyuganov, called the draft federal budget for 2018-2020, "a budget of the oligarchy", which will increase stagnation and poverty.
On Friday October 27th, the State Duma considered the first reading of the draft budget for 2018 for the planning period 2019-2020. According to the draft of the Ministry of Finance, the budget deficit in 2018 will be 1.3 trillion rubles or 1.37% of GDP, in 2019 it will be 867 billion rubles or 0.84% of GDP, and in 2020 - 960 billion rubles or 0.87% of GDP.
Such a budget Zyuganov considers "a budget for the oligarchy, where further stagnation and deepening of poverty in the country will occur."
In his opinion, the draft budget does not meet the current challenges and can only aggravate the split in Russian civil society.
The Communist Party leader stressed that incomes and expenditures are constantly declining. Zyuganov noted that "in plain language" this means that the "share of the national pie" created by the working people is constantly shrinking in the budget.
Zyuganov's main issue with the budget was the reduction in government expenses for 14 out of 13 articles listed within. He explained that for eight of these articles, expenses are simply cut, and for four other articles, a small increase is offset by inflation, and as a result, real costs are below the ones prophesized.
According to Zyuganov, the current budget policy "creeps of the old Gaidar-Chubais reforms. It does not smell of modernization, nor a breakthrough for the future."
"I do not know why the president has not reacted to this helplessness, to this impotence of the financial and economic blockade on behalf of the government," Zyuganov said.
President Vladimir Putin does not oversee forthcoming bills until they pass all the stages of parliamentary negotiation - that is until his signature is required. It remains to be said that a majority of Russia's parliament and governmental organs, are liberal representatives, both economically and culturally, whereby it is only the President that stops certain bills being passed.
Without looking at the document in detail (which is not yet available to the public) it makes sense to assume that the Communist Party leader has every right to become concerned at this early stage.
Zyuganov's Communist Party enjoys the second most popular rating in the Russian political sphere, after United Russia (Vladimir Putin.)
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And a Record Number of Russians Want Socialism Back !!!
First published in Komsomolskaya Pravda Translated by Kristina Kharlova
The number of those nostalgic for the Soviet Union, is now growing steadily.
According to the findings of sociologists, 56% of respondents now express regret for the collapse of the Soviet state.
A majority of Russians regret the collapse of the Soviet Union, and do not mind if it's restored — conclude the sociologists of "Levada-centre".
2016 sees a record number of respondents nostalgic for the Soviet Union, in the whole history of public opinion surveys.
At the same time, the percentage of those who don't long for the Union, decreases over time: if, in November of last year it was 37%, today only 28% do not feel any pity.
58% of Russians would like a socialist system and the Soviet Union to be restored, and 31% say they don't want the Soviet Union back.
Over half of respondents, 51%, believe that it was still possible to save the country in 1991 while 33% of Russians say the collapse was 'inevitable'.
Experts, meanwhile, note that those most nostalgic for the Soviet Union don't yearn so much for the Soviet ideology, as for the stability, justice, confidence in the future, secure jobs, free education, medical care and housing.
Serbia:Mass anti-NATO demonstrations silenced Nothing has been the same since NATO brutally bombed Yugoslavia 17 years ago. The 5th column, trained by NATO, took over the destroyed country to continue the job that the West had started.
The economy collapsed, the country was ripped apart, and the Army, dismissed.
Year by year, malicious plans brainstormed by NATO, and executed by the government, are pushing all of the Balkans into the deep maw of the West's 'modern' imperialism.
The latest move was the Agreement with NATO about logistics. Parliament has approved, and the President has signed, an agreement which gives NATO soldiers immunity and freedom of movement on the territory of Serbia. The same people who killed thousands of innocent Serb civilians are now given freedom and immunity. NATO personnel rule the roost in Serbia
NATO personnel are exempt from paying taxes, VAT and/or customs duties. The adoption of the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), lets NATO soldiers use Serbia's infrastructure, with free transit across the whole territory of Serbia, as well as protection from the law -- being given 'special status' while staying in Serbian territory.
However, although almost two decades have passed since NATO's cruel attack, most Serbs have not forgotten how important freedom is -- which is the main problem for the ruling elite.
In the mainstream media, news about signing the agreement with NATO, was published as small & irrelevant. In a couple of sentences, mainstream journalists wrote about it, as if it was tomorrow's weather forecast, but they couldn't fool people.
Boiling situation hidden by Government
The situation was boiling. A few patriotic parties and war veterans managed to organize a protest -- & expected no more than a thousand people in Belgrade, to show their disagreement with the ruling party's decisions.
On the 20th February, more than 15,000 Serbs, mostly youth, came onto the Belgrade streets to join in with the protesters. Even the police were surprised, quickly trying to reinforce -- fearing nonverbal shows of disagreement.
The mainstream media weren't at all interested in massive protests in the capital city. They just reported, after the protest, that there were only a couple of hundred demonstrators.
Amongst all media, just one, the alternative patriotic website, Srbin info, sent reporters to the vicinity, to cover the whole protest.
It was the only media that had pictures and videos of the massive protests, showing the huge number of protesters.
During the protest, over 2,000 readers per second were following their live streaming of the demonstrations. Each minute, their website was gaining more followers.
Just a couple of minutes after the end of the peaceful protest, huge cyber-attacks began.
The weak website couldn't defend itself from the biggest attacks in its history, & the web- site eventually crashed. Attacks continued for 24 hours, never letting the website repair.
The only possible source of the attacks on the website & freedom of the speech, is the ruling elite. There is no one else who would be able to manage such strong attacks.
The main problem for the alternative, free media in Serbia is that the web providers, most of them belonging to the SBB company, part of the Soros foundation, don't want to reveal who was behind the attacks. However, some opposition forces, also attacked by hackers, discovered that the IP address of the hacker belongs to one of the directors of SBB company.
It is also interesting that 25% of web providers and some mainstream media in Serbia - belong to David Petraeus, former director of the CIA.
Despite their crashed website, Srbin info reporters managed to find way to send the real story & used Facebook to spread the truth. A video showing the masses of people protesting, was viewed by over 1,700,000 Facebook users --- a huge number for Serbia, with its 7 million population.
For 48 hours after the attack, the website was closed.
Thanks to its loyal readers, who appreciate Srbin info's fight for freedom of speech, donations were collected to make a new website, with better protection.
But the problem of having a neutral web provider who will not sabotage the website -- after orders from the Government -- still exists. A much worse problem.... is that the once proud and honorable Serbia, is now under the boots of imperialists.
LEN RE-ELECTED - VICTORY FOR LEFT!
"Serving you, our members, is the greatest privilege of my working life. I'm proud to have stood shoulder- to-shoulder with you in your struggles and proud to have been asked by so many, to continue to fight for you"
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The Corbyn Supporters From Hell - Attila The Stockbroker,15th Oct 2015 at The Blue Boar Hotel, Maldon, Essex, UK
ONE UNION
Two weeks before Brexit, the African Union announced a new single African passport that permits holders to enter any of the 54 AU member states without a visa – an interesting turn in African history which NO-ONE in the West knows or cares about ! What a stunning reflection of how far our mindset and media are, from the 'world community' we say we love.
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ADAM JOHANNES, CO-CONVENOR, PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY
“Most people under 40 have never been a member of a trade union. So unions are irrelevant, right? Wrong. Unions are more relevant than ever before. With in- work poverty, zero hours contracts and precarious employment, trade unions urgently need to make inroads into the private sector where the majority of us work, but a majority are still un-unionised.”
3 recent campaigns show how this might be done -
1. BETTER THAN ZERO
"Better than Zero" is an exciting campaign launched last year by the Scottish TUC to combat employers using zero-hours contracts. It is run by young people for young people to take on the issue of insecure work. Its activists are mostly in their teens or twenties. The campaign calls upon an older generation not to stand by while a generation of young people are forced into insecure work.
It has responded to tip off from employees in workplaces charging staff for training or uniforms, and bars and restaurants where workers tips are taken by the company. It's fought against people routinely expected to work additional late hours at short notice, with little or no thought given to how they'll get home & whether they will be safe.
The campaign uses direct action, stunts and creative protests such as targeting bars and restaurants with 'flash mob choirs', activists and former staff posing as customers, before each stand up in a restaurant to make speeches while other activists leaflet out- side, Halloween funeral marches on exploitative employers, or, memorably, activists clad in chemical-spill clean up garb placing several popular bars & restaurants in 'quarantine', for exploitative work practices. A recent campaign victory saw restaurant chain Las Iguanas end a policy of deducting money from staff tips.
2. SPORTS DIRECT
Unite has waged a dynamic fightback against Sports Direct including pickets of over 30 stores across the UK, occupations, direct action such as the unfurling of a #SportsDirectShame banner by Newcastle United fans at the club owned by Sports Direct boss, Mike Ashley, other banner drops from bridges, shareholder action, and a social media campaign,
Sports Direct is Britain's biggest sportswear company. It made over a billion in profits last year, but the majority of its workers agency staff are on zero hour contracts with no holiday or sick pay, and no guaranteed work from one week to the next. It has been called more 'workhouse' than workplace with intense surveillance and searches of staff, a culture of fear, bullying and intimidation rife.
Unite's campaign had forced the issue of its Victorian working conditions into national media & a company review. Unite demands all staff are re-employed on permanent contracts on a living wage. So far they have won a pay rise for staff and the company is now being investigated by HM Revenue & Customs after the union exposed it for effectively paying under the minimum wage.
3. PIZZA EXPRESS
Unite scored a victory against Pizza Express after exposing and ending the company deducting a proportion of staff's hard earned tips as an 'admin fee', recruiting new members. The campaign involved union activists going into Pizza Express branches to speak to waiting staff, weekly pickets, handing out hundreds of flyers with customers given a ‘scrap the admin fee’ postcard to leave with their cash tips, and finally a 'meal of justice' when protesters went into a restaurant, enjoyed a meal and when the bill came, one person stood up and told customers about the admin fee while others handed out postcards. Customers often respond with spontaneous applause.
We need to think creatively of how to bring politics into the workplace whether collections for refugees in Calais, foodbanks or local homeless, organising delegations from our work to local protests, or even setting up People's Assembly networks with likeminded people we work with.
Cardiff People's Assembly is part of The People's Assembly Against Austerity, a UK anti-cuts network sponsored by eight trade unions. Locally we have worked with Unison defending our city's library service & PCS to organise solidarity with museum workers, we will be supporting Unite Community's day of action against benefit sanctions. With much of our nation's workforce unorganised in their workplace in unions, joining movements like ours can boost people's confidence to stand up to their employers and build workplace organisation.
In the 1980s Thatcher declared war on the unions --- as a prelude to letting the market rip through society --- transforming us into a highly unequal low pay, low skill economy. The assault on the 'social wage' means we now have the highest private rents, highest energy bills, highest rail fares, and most expensive university education in the EU. Now the Trade Union Bill aims to take out a key part of the resistance to extend the cuts, privatisation and outsourcing agenda and shift even more power and wealth from the 99% to the 1%.
Our economy is dominated by low paid jobs. Low pay makes people insecure. A low pay economy and tax avoiding corporations make it hard to invest in public services. Joining a union is one way to fight back.
Profit Is The Only Concern For Railway Privateers 2016 Thursday 29TH DEC
The only way to have a public transport system worthy of the name is to have a fully nationalised railway,says GORDON MARTIN
All things transport have been making the news in Scotland for a number of months and the signs are this isn’t going to change in the dark winter months ahead.
Scotland’s railways have been subjected to an unprecedented level of scrutiny and criticism with opposition politicians, media columnists and some trade union officials calling for Nicola Sturgeon to sack her Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf MSP.
In my view the roots of the public’s dissatisfaction with Scotland’s railways goes back to the Scottish government’s ill-conceived decision to award the ScotRail franchise to a state-owned rail operator.
Unfortunately for passengers and the ScotRail workforce, the state in question was not our own — and the Netherlands now benefits from profits made by its state company, Abellio, out of ScotRail.
A public-sector bid from Scotland was not allowed when the franchise was awarded to Abellio for a 10-year period. With profit the first and only concern of the profiteers at Abellio, a major dispute with Scotland’s biggest rail union RMT was highly predictable.
Abellio’s attack on the role of the guard on our trains brought a summer of discontent as industrial action spread across much of the Scottish rail network.
The Scottish government quickly showed its true colours. The normally very assured and competent First Minister committed a monumental blunder when she disgracefully inferred the strike was only about who pushed a button to open and close train doors.
While the SNP government very often claims to be on the side of working-class communities, it remains very much a political party wedded to capitalism. The First Minister should have taken the trouble to speak to disabled passengers or those travelling on Scotland’s trains who feel vulnerable in any way about how crucial the role of the guard is in making their journey a safer, more relaxing experience.
Thankfully the Scottish government and Abellio ScotRail finally saw sense and a negotiated settlement was reached which was favourable to RMT and which will see safety-trained guards remain in place.
Following on from our successful efforts to Keep The Guard on the Train, RMT has launched a high- profile “Safer Scottish Trains” campaign designed to ensure trains, stations & rail infrastructure in general are properly resourced and managed to ensure the best possible service is delivered.
Everyone, in particular disabled people, should be able to travel on a 21st-century rail network without having to check ahead days in advance to ensure staff will be in place to assist them.
At the same time, Westminster and the European Union have also intervened in a negative way which may have serious repercussions for rail workers and passengers in the years ahead.
Earlier this month Chris Grayling, Transport Secretary in Theresa May’s rotten Tory government, delivered a speech which potentially takes the rail industry back to the complete fragmentation foisted upon the people of Britain by the hapless government of John Major in the 1990s.
Grayling now seeks to reintroduce “competition” into rail infrastructure, maintenance and repairs.
Inevitably this will eventually lead to the complete break-up of Network Rail. The centralised standards implemented by this public-sector organisation will be discarded and profit and loss will become the decisive factor in deciding the standards for maintaining the rail infrastructure. This is a frightening scenario with potentially deadly outcomes and RMT will fight this with everything we have.
The latest plans for railways across the EU, the ultimate bosses’ club, are contained within the Fourth Railway Package which MEPs are voting on. These proposals make it mandatory to put rail passenger services out to competitive tender. With the Scottish government recently beginning to engage with the rail unions and others regarding a public-sector bid for the ScotRail contract, the 4th Railway Package underlines how fragile and fleeting this public-sector bid could ultimately be.
Scotland’s ferry sector also had a fair amount of publicity in the last year or so, with RMT engaged in a high-profile, long-running and ultimately successful campaign to keep CalMac ferries in public ownership.
RMT stands by our assertion that the Clyde and Hebridean ferry service did not have to go out to tender under the Teckal exemption.
Unfortunately, the Scottish government are keen to be seen as good Europeans, despite the negative impact on the Scottish people, and meekly went along with directives from the EU.
The uncertainty for island communities and the stress for the CalMac workforce while their future was unclear, was not high on the government’s agenda.
Unfortunately it looks highly likely that the workforce and the islanders on the Northern Isles are about to be put through the same uncertainty as their counterparts on the west coast.
The government is once again meekly following diktats from Brussels by putting the Northern Isles ferry service out to a competitive tendering process, despite the people of Britain voting to leave the EU, including a sizeable section of the Scottish working class.
RMT has a clear and principled position which is to insist that the Northern Isles contract is brought back into public ownership forthwith.
We demand an immediate end to the exploitation of eastern European seafarers. These workers, employed on a Scottish government contract, are being paid wages at a derisory rate while being denied the protection of a trade union agreement with wages and conditions covered by collective bargaining agreements.
As part of our ongoing Save our Seafarers campaign, we have highlighted this disgraceful fact to the media and the public with our slogan SNP — Ships of Shame.
This is causing the government and, in particular, the Transport Minister a great deal of embarrassment. I make no apologies for this and I sincerely hope the embarrassment will lead to action before too much longer.
It is clear to everyone, with the possible exception of right-wing profiteering zealots, that the only way to have a public transport system worthy of the name is to have a fully nationalised railway, properly resourced, with adequate staffing levels --- together with a publicly owned ferry operator, working exclusively on behalf of ferry users and the Scottish government, & money raised reinvested --- instead of lining the pockets of private shareholders.
Gordon Martin is Scottish regional organiser of the RMT.
(source - Morning Star)
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Tory aid-dumping revelation means the money should be seized and used by Mike Sivier
The worst part of this is, it suggests that people who said the International Aid budget could be used in better ways, were right.
The Times reports that the Tories have been ‘dumping’ billions of pounds in aid into shady World Bank funds, to sit unused indefinitely – in order to "keep up the appearance" of meeting the government’s commitment to donating 0.7% of the UK’s GDP in foreign aid.
According to the Times, at least £9 billion has been transferred like this in the past 5 years. Rather than helping developing countries, the money, which is spread across over 200 different bank accounts, simply sits there – doing nothing except rack up World Bank ‘administration fees’.
UK International Development Secretary Priti Patel’s only qualification for her job appears to be the fact that she had previously wanted to get rid of it and the funding it oversees. This seems to be the standard Tory qualification for any ministerial role that is supposed to help people – Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt infamously wrote a book, before becoming Health Secretary, that called for abolition of the ’60-year-old mistake’ of the NHS.
Clearly, to a Tory, maintaining the appearance of doing something is far more important than actually doing it – especially if it helps you put cash into the bank accounts of your backers and allies and ideally while you get rid of the very thing you’re supposed to be looking after. If you hear Tories say ‘reform’, run for cover – or better yet, get the pitchforks out.
Source: Keeping up appearances: aid-dumping shows Tories care for PR, not people The SKWAWKBOX
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Left Looks To Unite To Protect Its Power Base CHARLEY ALLAN
The Labour right was desperate to see the back of “Red Len,” as the tabloids call him.
But Len won his victory. Now’s the perfect time to join Unite, with full membership costing just £3.50 a week, reduced to 50p for the unemployed.
The AWL and its allies may have won the national committee battle, but they won’t win the OMOV war --- if the movementists get organised.
A new current called Opening Momentum has rallied round the point that anti-OMOVers had denied members their advertised right to “vote in national-level elections.”
And it’s crucial that every member who really believes in the fabled “new kind of politics” turns up to their local branch meetings - if they have them - to halt plans for a parallel party.
This is bigger than Momentum. We need to see much more direct democracy in Labour itself, although there will always be resistance from those who benefit most from the delegate system.
There are literally hundreds of thousands of new Labour members and Momentum’s top priority --- should making sure their voice is heard at next year’s party conference.
The Labour left can’t afford to be crushed again on the conference floor, as happened this year.
While Momentum was dazzling everyone with its World Transformed free festival, right faction Labour First was distributing fliers to let delegates know when and where vital votes were taking place.
Critically, Momentum must:- have slates of candidates ready when local constituency parties select conference delegates in thecoming months.
The new left movement needs to get serious if it wants to win the looming electoral battles within Labour, the trade unions and the grassroots.
Defending, strengthening and expanding this power base at the ballot box, will take back the leadership, and keep the movement fighting fit for the general election.
• Chat to Charley on Twitter: @charleyallan.
(source - Morning Star)
A New Lucas Plan For The Future by David King
The ideas pioneered by the Lucas workers are just as, or more, relevant now than in the 1970s, and there are strong political similarities in the situation.
As in the ’70s, we have an economic crisis caused by unjust economic policies and the failure of successive governments’ industrial strategy.
As usual, this has hit the working class hardest, and anger over this is being channelled into racism against immigrants. Now, the environmental effects of industrial capitalism are far more evident than 40 years ago, already creating wars, militarisation and widespread concern about insecurity.
Finally, introduction of new technologies threatens structural unemployment on a scale considerably greater than the ’70s.
The Tory government’s response to the economic and political crisis, despite continuing to publicly espouse neoliberal principles, looks a lot like a classic Keynesian economic stimulus package.
In the last few months it has made decisions to go ahead with a range of industrial infrastructure megaprojects — Hinkley C, fracking, HS2 and the Heathrow third runway, as well as pressing ahead with spending £200 billion on Trident renewal.
A key element in the case for all these projects is the jobs that they will generate or preserve, although the jobs estimates are bound to be inflated, while the price tag will be massively underestimated.
Compared to the ’70s, far fewer jobs will be created in this way because, due to automation and mechanisation, they are all highly capital rather than labour-intensive.
The Lucas Aerospace workers’ idea of socially useful production suggests a far better way forward.
Even in the early phase of the environmental movement, before most socialists realised the significance of these issues, the Lucas Plan acknowledged that protecting the environment is part of the concept of socially useful production.
With the exception of HS2, all the new projects are environmental anathema, and the damage that project would do to the English countryside and people’s homes and communities, for the sake of saving 30 minutes of executives’ time, makes it emblematic of neoliberalism.
The working-class people who voted for Brexit are demanding jobs and regeneration of their communities, but these industrial vanity projects are not the solution.
Now is the moment to realise the proposals of the Campaign Against Climate Change Trade Union Group (Million Climate Jobs Campaign), which is often seen as a successor to the Lucas Plan.
We should be investing in renewable energy, home insulation, public transport etc as part of the international trade union initiative of Just Transition, ie transition to a low-carbon economy with job protection for workers in industries that need to be phased out.
Imagine what could be achieved in regional economic renewal and environmental benefits with the Trident billions.
But exactly how that money should be spent should not be decided by economic planners alone.
One of the great strengths of the Lucas Plan was that it came from the bottom up, from workers, not managers.
Recognising that they could not, by themselves, define what people need, the Lucas workers began to work with various regional communities to develop “popular planning for social need.”
In London, the Greater London Council created technology development networks that involved users, for example disabled people, in technology design.
These traditions of bottom-up local planning have been continued by various citizens’ local planning initiatives, such as Just Space in London, and would be vital to a democratic solution to the crises.
The current economic and environmental crises are symptoms of a deeper crisis in the industrial capitalist mode of production, and they demand a fundamental rethink of how we produce the basic things that people need for a decent life.
One of the less well-remembered, but crucial aspects of the Lucas Plan was the workers’ struggle against the automation and deskilling of their work with computer-controlled machinery, a struggle shared with trade unionists around the world in that period.
As Phil Asquith of the Lucas Combine puts it, “Harold Wilson’s ‘white heat of the technological revolution’ was burning up workers’ jobs.’
The continuation of this trend over the last 40 years is a major source of the jobless recoveries and income polarisation that are creating the “squeezed middle” of angry, Daily Mail- reading, Brexit voters.
Forecasts suggest that digital technology will eliminate half the jobs in the economy over the next 20 years, but its track record shows that it creates far fewer new jobs to replace them.
One response to this that has become popular on the left is the belief that automation will usher in a post- capitalist society, if we can only feed those useless human workers with basic income.
This is a complex argument, but one thing for sure is that this was not the Lucas workers’ philosophy.
Instead of: “Demand Full Automation, Demand Universal Basic Income, Demand the Future,” they would have reminded us that the romance of high-technology leads to what historian of technology David Noble aptly called: “Progress without people.”
The Lucas workers’ slogan would likely have been: “Demand Democratic Control of Technology, Demand Socially Useful Production, Demand Equality and Sustainability.”
They were very clear that the idea of socially useful production is also about how things are produced.
There is no point in socially useful products if they are made in a way that alienates and deskills the workers who produce them.
They went on to design “human-centred technologies,” in which the point was to use and develop workers’ skills, rather than design them out of the production process.
A skills and people-based, more labour-intensive approach is, in the era of Brexit and environmental crisis, a much better way to create a socially just, sustainable economy than old-fashioned, capital- intensive high-tech mega projects. This is the agenda we will be discussing in Birmingham today.
(source - the Morning Star)
Construction Workers Can’t Be Expected To Work Into Their Sixties by Brian Rye (source - The Star)
British governments seem to think one of two things about construction workers: they're either superhuman, or they don’t give a toss about them. That would be the logical conclusion, given the raise in the pension age, to 68.
With the state pension age due to rise to 67 by 2026 and 68 by 2044, our political elites seem to believe that we are breeding a race of human beings with quite exceptional physical capabilities.
While professional sportspeople are pretty much done by their mid-thirties, with their strength, speed and stamina leeching away by the day, the British construction worker - if you believe our politicians - lives in a world that defies conventional science.
Despite the early starts, the exposure to the elements, the heavy lifting, the long hours, the poor diet & susceptibility to minor injury, these lions of the labour force are all going to get their telegram from the king - because the stats say we’re all living longer.
Sadly, if you have a shred of common sense you will immediately know this is not true.
Construction workers are the same as any other human being. Like professional sportspeople, they can feel their physical abilities start to wane from their mid-thirties.
The only difference being: construction workers have to stay in the game. & not only that, given the increase in the pensionable age, the game just went into extra time.
Empathy is a wonderful characteristic for a human being to possess because it creates understanding and caring for others.
So we have to ask ourselves, as our besuited, overweight politicians sit back in their comfy chairs before skipping off to their subsidised three-course meal in the House of Commons - with a glass of wine or two — how much empathy are they feeling with their compatriots in construction?
Can they imagine the freezing mornings, the hours of standing up, the repetitive physical work or the greasy chips for lunch? It would seem not.
Recent research carried out by the TUC, in a report called Postponing the Pension, shows that a significant proportion of the population won’t reach the pensionable age of 68 in any fit state to enjoy their retirement.
The results show that half a million workers within five years of the state pension have had to leave work for medical reasons, and that nearly half of 60 to 64-year-olds stopped working before their official retirement age.
This is why Ucatt is currently trying to get the Labour Party to support policies that would mean a future Labour government would introduce a flexible pension age for physically demanding professions.
Construction work is hugely physically demanding because it involves prolonged standing, highly repetitive work, heavy lifting, working with the hands lifted to shoulder height or higher, and working with the back twisted or bent forward. It can lead to musculoskeletal disorder, cardiovascular disease and long-term sickness absence.
These work conditions and their effects need to be factored into the calculation of a pensionable age. It is only fair.
At 60, most politicians are on a few company boards, are picking up consultancies, maybe writing a book and reaping the benefits of a lifetime’s work.
The current presidential candidates in the US are 68 (Hillary Clinton) and 70 (Donald Trump) - beneficiaries of a lifetime of comfort, good food, little or no physical exertion and excellent healthcare on demand.
These individuals see no reason to retire - they’re feeling fine. Construction workers often aren’t feeling fine.
We all know that one in four people in Britain will now live to 100 — but what about the other three? At what age will they be checking out? And what jobs are they doing?
According to figures from the government’s own Office for National Statistics, doctors and accountants are outliving builders and cleaners, by as much as eight years.
Men in professional occupations can expect to live to 80, almost eight years longer than those in unskilled jobs, whose life expectancy is 72.7. So people are not all the same - shock, horror! Comparing the accountant to the construction worker is comparing apples with oranges - and yet our governments conveniently ignore this.
Our ageing population and the fears surrounding the viability of the state pension in the future has caused the political class to legislate in a heavy- handed, insensitive and unsophisticated way.
The phrase “we’ve all got to work longer” is bandied about by those sitting comfortably behind a desk. For those leading a more active life, this phrase is just a plain, old-fashioned threat.
To quote ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn: “Living longer doesn’t mean we are able to work longer in physically demanding jobs like that of the firefighter, police officer or paramedic. And it’s not just in the emergency services. Construction workers, care workers and prison officers cannot be expected to work into their sixties. We need a flexible pension age that allows people to work for as long as they want to.”
Ucatt’s campaign plainly states “68 is too late.” It’s a campaign that needs to be fought to a victory - for the sake of thousands of British workers. We need to present our case, find broad support and build empathy within the country. And we have to find acceptance that it may cost us all a little bit more while we’re of working age.
Otherwise we will all be using another well- known phrase: “flogging a dead horse.”
We’ll leave the last words to Mr Corbyn: “If we want dignity for all in old age, then it has to be paid for.”
Brian Rye is acting general secretary of Ucatt.
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Britain’s workers feel stressed and insecure (originally in the Morning Star) by Carolyn Jones
The UK's 31 million workers are among the most insecure, stressed and unhappiest in Europe.
No wonder! According to the latest report by the Institute of Employment Rights (IER), the evidence is damning.
On average, UK workers work more hours per week, more days per year, more years before retirement -- after which, they receive lower levels of pension -- than most of their European counterparts.
In comparison to other European workers they generally receive less education and training, and (because of lack of employer investment) their productivity is lower.
They get fewer paid holidays than almost all European comparators and their pay is so low that a great proportion of them are in poverty --- with the state subsidising employers’ low wages.
And it doesn’t end there. The UK has a high proportion of its workforce in so-called “self- employment,” agency work, temporary work, and/or on zero-hours contracts.
It has more part-time workers who want full- time jobs, than other European countries.
UK workers have less entitlement to redundancy pay, sick pay, and maternity pay, than most European workers.
Workers’ rights to remedies for unfair dismissal and discrimination are set low and have been made practically unenforceable by the imposition of high access fees.
In the UK, unlike most European countries, there is no ministry of labour, no labour inspectorate and a negligible complement of health and safety inspectors.
All this in the fifth richest nation in the world. It is obscene. So what’s to be done?
An excellent starting point is the establishment of Jeremy Corbyn’s Workplace 2020 initiative. Launched in May 2016, the aim of the project is to start a national conversation on what work should be like in 2020.
Under the chairmanship of Ian Lavery, shadow trade union minister, the Labour Party wants to hear the good, the bad and the ugly stories about working life in Britain.
On a recently launched website people can submit their comments, complaints and suggestions on a range of workplace issues.
So whether it’s job security, pay and pensions, training and apprenticeships, diversity and equality, trade unions or health and safety that raises your passion, there’s scope to feed into the policy agenda.
Once again the Labour leadership team is turning out to the country for ideas rather than assuming it knows best in the corridors of power.
Labour is already committed to raising the minimum wage, banning zero-hours contracts, ensuring workers are given access to justice, and giving temporary workers the same rights as permanent staff. But it recognises that more needs to be done -- not just to secure fairness at work but to rebuild the UK's economy and industry.
So, at the request of Jeremy Corbyn and Ian Lavery, the IER drafted a contribution to the review, using 15 of its academic and legal experts. At the heart of our proposals is the need to ensure the voice of the UK’s 31 million workers is heard & respected -- in government (via a ministry of labour), in the economy (via a national economic forum) and in industry (via sectoral employment commissions).
The manifesto offers 25 major policy recommendations for consideration.
It proposes changing the way in which working conditions are regulated. It moves responsibility for workplace regulation from legislation to collective bargaining.
It calls for the repeal of the Trade Union Act 2016, the removal of tribunal fees and the introduction of fundamental & enforceable rights for workers, enforceable in a labour court with the assistance of labour inspectors.
The Thatcher concept of individual rights for individual workers has to go. It does little for workers, it’s costly to enforce and it fails to deliver fairness at work.
IER’s manifesto offers a system based on the collective voice of workers, negotiating collectively agreed standards & delivering collectively enforced fairness at work.
A new framework of labour law should be built on the following 10 points:
A ministry of labour
A national economic forum
Sectoral employment commissions
Sectoral collective agreements and wages councils’ orders
Workplace bargaining
A strengthened framework of statutory employment rights
Labour courts and labour inspectors
Employment tribunals
Stronger support for freedom of association and collective rights
The right to strike
Carolyn Jones is director of the Institue of Employment Rights
A manifesto for labour law: Towards a comprehensive revision of workers’ rights --- is available from IER. Go to www.ier.org.uk for more information.
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Why Labour is putting energy reform at the heart of its green agenda Jeremy Corbyn
No issue better connects the environment to people’s lives than energy. To deliver clean, affordable electricity,we need to change our undemocratic system of supply.
We are on course for a climate catastrophe. 2016 is set to be the hottest year on record. Unless the Paris agreement’s target of limiting the rise in temperatures by 1.5C is met, heatwaves like that in 2003, which killed tens of thousands of people in Europe, will become the norm. And that's before considering rising sea levels and desertification, that will sink cities, and kill and displace millions, or the fact that the Earth has already lost half its wildlife, in the past 40 years.
The task for politicians is to propose real solutions to the single most important issue facing humanity. Too often, the environment is considered a matter for scientists, enthusiasts & activists. To increase public understanding and energise the political debate, we need more than facts – we need a programme that resonates with people’s every- day experiences, offering not just warnings, but opportunities and improvement.
No issue better connects the environment to people’s lives than energy. In Britain today, 7 million households struggle to pay their bills because of spiralling costs, while the big six energy companies have seen their profits rise by more than tenfold since 2007. The energy market is not just expensive, inefficient and polluting – it is, above all, undemocratic.
In order to deliver clean, affordable heating and electricity we need to change the whole system of energy supply. When energy is driven by the needs of people, it will be greener – because saving the planet is in the interests of everyone.
That is why I am today announcing a bold new set of policies which will pioneer a democratic, community- led system of energy supply. Over the course of the next parliament, we will use public investment and legislation to promote the creation of over 200 local energy companies, giving towns, cities & localities the powers they need to drive a clean, locally accountable energy system with public, not-for-profit companies.
At the heart of this policy will be a new generation of community energy co-operatives. We will create 1,000 of these co-operatives with the support of a network of regional development banks, and legislate to give them the right to sell energy directly to the communities they serve.
At the same time as building a new publicly run, locally accountable energy system, we will invest in the high quality homes & insulation needed to make Britain environmentally sustainable. We will create a National Home Insulation programme to insulate at least 4m homes to energy efficiency standard B or C. In the private rented sector, we will set compulsory standards at the same level & end the misery of cold rented accommodation. This would save millions of people money on their bills as well as saving energy that is currently wasted on poorly insulated homes.
In order to have any hope of keeping the rise in temperature to 2C – let alone meeting our Paris agreement target of 1.5C – we need to keep 80% of fossil fuels in the ground. This can and must be done. Scotland is already on course to generate 100% of its electricity by renewables, & Britain has an ample supply of wind & water. In government, I'll commit to generating 65% of Britain’s electricity from these sources by 2030.
All of these measures will create secure, skilled employment for hundreds of thousands of people. As part of our transition to a low-carbon economy, we estimate that we will create 316,000 jobs in wind, solar and wave power. We'll use a £500bn national investment programme, with a National Investment Bank and a network of regional development banks, to ensure that these jobs and opportunities are created in places where they are most needed – in coastal towns and areas with high unemployment.
Too often, environmental catastrophe is explained in the same terms as an asteroid hitting the earth. But the problems and the solutions are political – they are about the prioritisation of profit over the needs of people and, at the heart of it all, a lack of democracy in how decisions are made. By democratising our energy supply, and giving people power over their own destinies, we can rebuild and transform Britain so that no one and no community, is left behind.
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Together --- Stronger!
Change, when it comes, will not come from Westminster. The campaign to save our NHS must become a visible reality on every high street and a priority for Labour members.
The NHS is at breaking point, and as Keep Our NHS Public secretary John Lister says: “by 2020 it will all be over.”
To reverse the damage of four more years of A&E closures, outsourced or pared-down services and reduced access, could verge on the impossible.
MPs who obsess over the need to attract Tory voters may find that the champions who saved a local A&E win more hearts and minds than a lorryload of anti-immigration mugs ever could.
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HELP JOHN DUNN
John Dunn, ex-miner and a Labour Party member for 45 years, was blocked from voting for Corbyn, because he challenged Owen Smith for exploiting the legacy of Orgreave for electoral purposes.
He has been told he is suspended from the Labour Party.
John says: "45 years continuous membership and they couldn't even address me by my name"
It looks like the NEC are creating their very own blacklist.
Labour grew hugely under Corbyn and the ''guess'' is --- most of new members were Corbyn supporters.
A DREAM COME TRUE
Support for Jeremy Corbyn from Tyrone O’Sullivan, a fourth-generation south Wales miner, who led a workers’ buy-out of Tower Colliery, to save it from closure.
"I’ve been close to Jeremy since the miners’ strike. Knowing the man, knowing his abilities and his education, it was a dream come true for me when he became leader. His ideas and values are more necessary, here in south Wales, than probably anywhere else in the country. He wanted victory for Labour, but only under our terms - for a change."
O’Sullivan, a lifelong Labour member, says Jeremy is the only true socialist we have had as leader --- for 20 or 30 years.
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PEOPLE DESERVE RESPECT
Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership opponent flaunted his contempt for democracy by backing a second referendum on UK membership of the EU.
And MPs pressured Jeremy Corbyn to resign, by constant smears, media lies and attacks on Labour's membership !!!
No wonder the Unite policy conference has overwhelmingly backed mandatory reselection of MPs - to ensure genuine democratic accountability in the party.
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Unite pushes for reselection of MPs by Conrad Landin
Candidates ‘should reflect members’ views’
Labour's largest affiliate is now behind the push for mandatory reselection of MPs, as Jeremy Corbyn critics have “destabilised” the party, to ditch anti-austerity policies.
Delegates at general union Unite’s conference are resolved to support the approach, in order “to ensure democratic accountability, and the rights of party members to select candidates that reflect their views.”
Currently, sitting MPs are only subject to a “trigger ballot” -- where they automatically become the candidate -- unless a super- majority of branches in the constituency support a new selection.
London and eastern region's delegate, Kevin Parslow: “The current trigger mechanism is difficult, & weighted in favour of the incumbent.
“We put ourselves up as reps and branch officers for election regularly.
“I don’t think it’s unreasonable for MPs to put themselves up for re-selection. They should be accountable to us, and not to Murdoch’s press: they're there because they have the Labour Party name on the ballot paper.”
Mike Hedges, another London delegate: “Four weeks ago I would have spoken against this motion--- but after the treachery of 172 MPs --- we have no option.”
The union’s leaders are also mandated to “support moves to bring more democracy into policy-making -- by returning powers to the party conference.”
A Unite spokesperson:
“This vote simply reflects the immense frustration that our members feel. They look at the conduct of some within the party, the challenge to the elected leader, and they feel angered.
“They want Labour fighting the Tories, not among themselves.”
KEEP FIGHTING FOR MORE DEMOCRACY!
Momentum and Labour are engaged in a huge consultation to expand democracy in Labour...
WHY NOT PASTE THE LINK BELOW AND JOIN THE DISCUSSION?
http://www.peoplesmomentum.com/democracy-review
* * *
With 640,000 members - and a huge 200,00 joining in just 2 weeks- Labour was the largest left-wing party in Europe.
If you haven't done so already, join Labour, join Momentum, and let's rebuild #BuildOurMovement.
join.labour.org.uk
join.peoplesmomentum.com
_________________________________
GMB Wins Lidl Recognition by Peter Lazenby Ruling affects hundreds of warehouse staff
The Star - General union GMB has won a landmark legal ruling giving hundreds of warehouse workers at giant cut-price supermarket chain Lidl the right to be represented by the union.
The German-owned chain opposes union recognition and resisted the union’s claim.
But the Central Arbitration Committee, whose decisions are legally binding, supported the GMB case, and gave the union full rights to represent and negotiate on behalf of its 223 members among warehouse workers at Bridgend, south Wales.
GMB now presses ahead with its campaign for recognition at 8 more Lidl warehouses across England and Scotland.
National secretary Justin Bowden says: “Lidl’s attempts at union-busting were quite properly thrown out by the judge --- in a massive victory for rights at work.
“[Wednesday’s] ruling opens the gates to not only improving employees’ pay & terms and conditions at the Bridgend site, but is also a major victory for the GMB’s campaign for a trade union voice at the workplace.
“The suggestion that Lidl’s workers don't need the option of a trade union to stick up for them and fight for their interests is baloney, pure and simple.
“As a result of today’s ruling, employees will get the chance to decide for them- selves, if the company’s own ‘personal personnel hotline’ is any match for an independent union taking their side & defending their interests in the workplace.”
GMB Wales and south-west regional secretary John Phillips adds: “Regrettably, Lidl continues to show both hostility towards GMB & shameful disregard for the wishes of its own workforce, with expensive challenges against fair and objective decisions made by independent third-party organisations.”
Lidl is also resisting attempts by shop workers’ union Usdaw to recruit and represent staff in its supermarkets.
An Usdaw spokesperson said: “Lidl will not even let our representatives into stores, to talk to staff.”
Lidl has 637 stores & 9 regional distribution centres --- employing over 18,000 staff. Its ambitions to expand in Britain, could see it more than double in size --- with plans for 1,500 stores & 2 more distribution centres.
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Tax offices’ own cleaners don’t get minimum wage
Cleaners at 6 government offices on Mersey- side walked out over their employer’s failure to pay them the legal minimum wage.
The staff began the two-day strike, because they have not received that £7.20-an-hour rate the government introduced on April 1.
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Wales: 50,000 days lost due to teacher stress
The number of teachers off sick due to stress in Wales has soared by thousands in just one year, new research shows.
Stress-related illness caused the 51,795 sick days: an increase of 2,568 on 2014, freedom of information figures revealed.
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Unions stood by Corbyn & McDonnell
The entire labour movement could have been concentrating all of our efforts - on bringing down this mean government.
Instead, 172 Labour MPs launched an attempted coup on Corbyn. If it's true that Angela Smith MP described the 10,000 activists, including general secretaries of affiliated trade unions, who were at a recent pro-Corbyn rally, as “dogs,” --- then serious questions need to be asked about the relationship between the PLP and the trade union movement.
Every trade union in Britain has regular elections for shop stewards, branch secretaries, and their general secretary.
It's time those who fund the Labour Party demanded the same level of democracy for sitting MPs.
Anything less than a mandatory reselection of MPs before every parliament is now untenable.
Let’s get this straight: none of these MPs backed Corbyn for leader, most of them abstained in the Welfare Reform Bill, many of them voted for the Iraq war, & to this day, hero-worship Tony Blair.
The 172 Labour MPs aren't just trying to change the Labour leader -- they are plotting to drag the movement back to a Blairite view of politics.
The vote of no confidence wasn't just an attempt to oust Corbyn --- it was a declaration of war on the entire organised left.
The gloves are off and there’s no going back. Everyone will need to decide: which side are you on? I stand with Corbyn and McDonnell.
Dave Smith is co-author, with Phil Chamberlain, of Blacklisted: The Secret War between Big Business and Trade Unionists, (New Internationalist Publications).
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RMT: We Must Fight Assault On Our Rights Union ‘disappointed’ with lack of action from TUC
Unions should move to take “generalised” strike action: with or without a go-ahead from the TUC, RMT activists insisted.
The union was meeting in Cardiff that week --- but you wouldn't know it, if you'd read the Welsh press!
Delegates at the transport union’s annual general meeting in Cardiff expressed disappointment that fiery rhetoric about defeating new anti-strike laws was not followed up with action.
The union unanimously passed a motion expressing concern at the TUC’s “lack of campaigning” on the issue and called for a “high-profile campaign.”
Leeds delegate Trevor Howard said: “Personally, my own view is that the TUC is a waste of space and it needs to be reorganised.”
The Trade Union Act, which received Royal Assent last month, imposes arbitrary thresholds on strike ballots & other curbs on labour movement activity.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “It’s fundamentally undemocratic when you put these thresholds in.”
He said unions must respond to the law by ramping up their organising. “Whatever we do, we’ve got to make sure we get our members’ support,” he said.
And he praised Jeremy Corbyn’s Workplace 2020 agenda, which aims to introduce new labour rights.
“What we need to be doing is turning the tables,” he added: “We’ve got to get an alternative to this legislation --- to get us positive rights.”
Cash blasts ‘self-indulgent MPs’ for sabotaging left’s moment
“Self-indulgent” Labour MPs have squandered the left’s best moment to go on the offensive, RMT's general secretary, Mick Cash, stressed.
He used his address to the transport union’s annual general meeting to warn of “massive fights ahead” amid “political and economic turmoil.”
He said the divisions in the Tory Party and shockwaves in the world of capital should have been an opportunity for the left to get its message across. But he said this had been sabotaged by the frontbenchers resigning and calling for Jeremy Corbyn’s head.
He fumed: “What have they done? Self-indulgence. They’ve created division, they created a lack of leadership of progressive forces.
“They’ve created a situation where, if we’re not careful, we’ll have a Tory government ------ and worse, a Tory government supported by Ukip.
“We need to seize the opportunity to put forward an agenda to fight against austerity, against cuts and for workers’ rights. But that won’t happen if our politicians in London are playing the game they’re playing.
“Ordinary working people are sick of the political class and what they’re doing --- and yet they’re doing it again.”
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Putschist MPs ‘Let The Tories Off The Hook’ Unions rally round previous Labour leader
Union reps on Labour’s ruling executive signed a defiant statement to show that Mr Corbyn still has institutional support.
The leader of Labour’s most recent affiliate Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack pointed his hoses at the quitters, saying their action was “co-ordinated to cause maximum damage” to Mr Corbyn.
“It is bizarre that some of the MPs making the loudest criticism of Jeremy Corbyn over the referendum -- completely failed to convince the electorate in their own constituencies,” he said.
“After the referendum, Labour should be setting out policies to defend jobs, public services & wages, as an exit from the EU is negotiated. Instead, some Labour MPs are playing irresponsible & silly games, from their Westminster bubble.”
Unite south-east secretary Jenny Formby, one of the executive members behind the statement in support of Mr Corbyn, said it was “nonsense” to blame him for the result. “Now, more than ever, is a time for loyalty and unity,” she stormed.
Communication Workers’ Union leader Dave Ward fired off a missive, stating Mr Corbyn “has our full support” as leader.
“Jeremy Corbyn is, and remains, the catalyst for change in the Labour Party and the country,” he said. “Those who seek to oust him, represent the politics that forgot ordinary people.”
And food union BFAWU turned up the heat. They said plotters would “only serve to let the Conservative government off the hook for the damage they've heaped upon our communities & the crisis they've caused in pursuit of power.”
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WHERE IS MOST UK YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT?
WALES!
(WHERE IN WALES? GUESS !!!)
Youth unemployment rates in some parts of Britain, such as the North East, have reached the highest recorded level ever, recent data gathered by the GMB union shows.
The GMB report says unemployment rates among people aged between 18-25 have hit record levels.
Wales is top of the unemployment list, with almost 23,000 claimants. The GMT reveals that some parts of Wales have a jobless rate of 37%.
Paul Kenny, GMB general secretary:
"In the UK there are nearly 400,000 young workers aged 18-24 claiming jobseeker's allowance. When you add to that number the rest of the young people not in jobs, but seeking work, the real number is more than double that figure.”
The number of young UK job seekers is really almost one million;- which makes this young generation the real victims of the current recession in Britain.
Kenny again: “The Government is in denial that it is deliberately creating unemployment.”
This is while reports say almost 150,000 jobs are under threat across the country.
What Wales needs is AN ECONOMY
ONE THAT WILL LAST
"Regional aid" - artificially importing factories that owe no allegiance to Wales - has failed.
Innovation means NEW ! New thinking.
Stop moaning about the past. Start building an economy NOW, for our youngsters.
Or else!!!
New means old, if you want to build a genuine economy. From the ground up, means exactly that!
Agriculture, producing smart new food and drinks. But based on our strengths.
All the land we need is here, and if we look up, 80 percent of Wales' "valley" land is up in the air, like Penrhys!
And it's almost unused. Imagine! All that land from the Rhondda over to Aberdare and beyond.
I'm sure people with vision can see orchards and new products... new ways of working, etc.
All it requires is a WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE.
ALL TOGETHER NOW FOR PEACE
The UK's TUC is calling on the UK government to end its meddling policies in the Middle East and North Africa. “The “war on terror” is still continuing and has failed, after ten years, to bring the promised peace and stability to either the Middle East or the wider world,” the motion says...
UK FOLLOWING US DOWN THE DRAIN
Last year’s table of 10 top EU economies - assessing income, prices, working culture & public spending, put the UK in last place.
The UK now has the 4th-highest retirement age of any country averaging 63.1 years - and this,thanks to the Tories AND a supine work-force, is set to keep rising higher and higher.
Average net household income after tax, (and remember, this "average" includes the stinking rich) is £37,172 a year, but even after ignoring the ridiculously high "average", this is now much lower than the average amount earned in Ireland, the Netherlands & Denmark, where there are less of the obscenely rich, to distort the figures.
In Wales, we know that the "average" worker earns far less than this: (£15,000 after tax)
Life for most in the UK is set to get even worse - if people don't fight back - as public services are to be cut more, after the next Spending Review ..and will lead to budget cuts of up to 40% in many public service departments.
France and Spain again top the quality of life index, as workers there have more paid holidays, earlier retirement, lower prices, longer life expectancy and, just to rub it in... better weather.
There are no separate figures for Wales.... why?
Could it be that knowing... might lead to discontent or is it because Welsh workers, with their vibrant economy, as they stop mindlessly following London... and build their new economy, are now so well off, that the English might get jealous? Yeah, right!
The lesson is obvious. Strong unions with gutsy membership abound on the continent, while UK residents sink apathetically down & down & down.
As Tony Blair said: we British are "special".
We think life gets better for us if we let the bankers of London exploit the rest of the world, and our non-working workforce sinks into apathy and selfishness...
Makes you proud, doesn't it! Does it?
WORKERS ACROSS EUROPE UNITE & FIGHT TO STOP CUTS PEACE - NOT WAR AND LOOTING !
Workers from across Europe took part in a major demonstration in Brussels --- to demand that austerity measures be dropped in favour of an end to wars & for peaceful reconstruction.
Europeans took to the streets of Brussels to demonstrate against wage & pension cuts and diminishing job opportunities.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), one of the EU's leading unions, says that about 100,000 people from 30 countries took part, and police estimates say 20,000.
“Cutting in a recession's crazy and we must fight it,” AFP quotes the ETUC's general secretary, a prominent UK union leader.
Marches also took place in Portugal, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Serbia, Romania, Poland, Ireland and France.
The rallies coincided with a general strike in Spain where the government froze pensions and cut the salaries of government workers.
“This is the worst economic crisis in the post- war history of Western Europe,” the eTUC leader adds.
"We call for a rethink and a change - in Spain and in Europe. We are mobilizing, and they will have to listen to us."
The union says European workers could be the main victims of a financial crisis set off by bankers and traders.
Many European governments have imposed reductions in wages, pensions & employment - to deal with the escalating economic issues.
The OECD has released its long awaited Action Plan to curb "base erosion and profit shifting" (BEPS) by large multinational enterprises.
"The OECD Action Plan has the ambition to effectively curb tax evasion by large multinational enterprises – but it is a plan, and it needs effective commitments by governments and effective implementation,” says ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.
The Action plan consists of 15 measures to strengthen corporate income tax rules and prevent tax avoidance through manipulating intra-group transfer pricing between subsidiaries, and the use of empty shell companies in low tax jurisdictions.
Tax challenges created by globalised production and service systems, the digital economy and increasing importance of "intangibles" – r & d, and intellectual property – feature prominently in the OECD Action plan.
