World News

Nearly 11 million working-age adults in the UK are not employed. This includes a record 2.8 million signed off with long-term sickness, half of whom have depression or anxiety.

Maybe focus on getting the 8 million healthy unemployed people into work instead of kicking people off disability benefits?

The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, called for a world congress of Ecosocialism, to be held on December 19-21, in defense of the Earth.

"To convene in Venezuela for December 19, 20, and 21 a world congress in defense of Mother Earth, a congress of Ecosocialism, which gathers here the main academic and scientific voices and the defenders of the right to life in the face of capitalism", said Maduro during an official act in the state of Mérida (west).

In this regard, he detailed that the congress will be held to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Chuquisaca decree, promulgated by the hero Simón Bolívar in 1825, to cultivate sensitivity and love for nature.

Maduro made the announcement during the launching of the governmental program called Gran Misión Madre Tierra Venezuela, with the purpose of facing the climate crisis and emergency.

The President approved a Special Emergency Fund to support rural producers affected by the recent rains.

At the end of last month, more than 8,000 families were affected and isolated by heavy rains in Merida.

At that time, the Government deployed the Andes 2025 Task Force to attend to the emergency caused by the heavy rains in the states of Merida, Trujillo, Barinas and Tachira.

New satellite images reveal significant damage to the U.S. Al-Udeid air base in Qatar following Iran's retaliatory strikes last month.

New satellite images reveal significant damage to the U.S. Al-Udeid air base in Qatar following Iran's retaliatory strikes last month, debunking President Donald Trump's claims that the largest U.S. military base in the West Asia region had been unscathed.

The images, analyzed by The Associated Press and provided by Planet Labs PBC, showed that a geodesic dome, known as Radome, which housed key secure communications equipment used by U.S. forces, was present at the base just hours before the Iranian attack, but was no longer visible in subsequent images.

“Planet Labs photos showed the geodesic dome intact on the morning of June 23, the day of the Iranian retaliation,” the findings indicated. “Later images, taken from June 25, showed the dome missing, with visible burn marks and damage to an adjacent building.”

So far, U.S. and Qatari authorities have not offered an immediate official response on the extent of the damage, and neither government has publicly acknowledged the incident.

The damage to the dome occurred following the U.S. attack on three Iranian nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordo and Isfahan on June 22. This attack was responded to the next day with Iranian bombing raids on the U.S. air base.

Trump dismissed the June 23 Iranian response as “very weak” in a Truth Social post.

The U.S. did not retaliate after the Iranian attack on the U.S. airbase, and Trump quickly enacted a unilateral ceasefire on behalf of Washington and Tel Aviv, which is still in effect.

Iran's missile attack on the US Al-Udeid air base in Qatar reveals an uncomfortable fact: this base represents both a military and political liability for the United States. Worse, it gives Qatar, with its sometimes anti-American agenda, undue influence over Washington policy.

Former U.S. Central Command commander Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. is quoted as detailing in a report that the base “will be rendered unusable in the event of a sustained Iranian attack.”

Israel launched its aggression against Iran on June 13, attacking nuclear and military facilities as well as residential areas. This attack triggered a series of Iranian retaliatory missile strikes against Israeli targets in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The war also included a U.S. aggression against Iranian nuclear facilities, followed by an Iranian missile attack against the U.S. air base in Qatar on June 23.

After 12 days of conflict, Israel ended its aggression against Iran in the early hours of Tuesday morning after suffering heavy blows at the hands of the Iranian Armed Forces.

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The United States is pressuring several West African nations to sign controversial agreements that would allow them to receive migrants deported from U.S. soil, even if those migrants are not citizens of those countries. This marks a renewed expansion of a Trump-era immigration policy that could destabilise already fragile African states and fuel future security threats.

According to reports, the U.S. government has held talks with Liberia, Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, and Gabon to formalise so-called “safe third-country” arrangements. These agreements would allow Washington to deport ineligible individuals to remain in the U.S., sending them instead to African countries with which they have no personal connection.

While U.S. officials insist the policy ensures a “dignified” and “safe” transfer of migrants, many see it differently. The deportees, often unable to return to their home countries due to conflict or political instability, would instead be dumped in unfamiliar nations with limited resources.

Sources indicate that the U.S. has employed trade incentives and diplomatic pressure to garner support. Liberia is reportedly preparing to receive the first cohort of deportees. Guinea-Bissau, however, has pushed back, saying it will only take its citizens.

Beyond legal and ethical concerns, there is a warning of a dangerous unintended consequence: increased crime and social unrest.

5The fact that many of these deportees will arrive with no identification, no housing, no local support, and no pathway to legal work is a recipe for desperation.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld the legality of third-country deportations, giving the administration a green light to proceed. African governments, meanwhile, face a moral dilemma:

Accept a short-term economic boost from the U.S. or risk internal backlash and future instability by accepting displaced people who don’t belong to them.

As negotiations continue, these deals amount to outsourcing U.S. immigration enforcement to the Global South, with little regard for the consequences. The fear is that this policy, if unchallenged, could lead to growing crime, deepening poverty, and the erosion of regional stability in parts of Africa already under pressure.

China and Brazil signed a memorandum of understanding to study a transcontinental railroad connecting Peru's Pacific coast with Brazil's Atlantic coast as part of a strategic export route, Brazil's Transport Ministry said Tuesday. Chinese experts praised the initiative as a key factor in boosting the rail project, which boosts infrastructure connections between China and South America.

The Brazilian ministry and the China Railway Planning and Economic Research Institute, part of China State Railway Group, will be responsible for coordinating the project and conducting feasibility and environmental studies, the ministry announced Tuesday.

The feasibility study will cover technical, economic, logistical and environmental factors to ensure the long-term sustainability of the route, the ministry said.

The rail project will cross Brazilian states such as Bahia, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Rondônia and Acre, before reaching Chancay, Peru, connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific.

Once completed, the project could shorten export times from Brazil to Asia by up to 10 days. The project also provides greater security to attract investment in Brazilian roads and railroads, and promotes greater regional and international integration with countries in Latin America and Asia.

The inauguration of the Chancay port in Peru has rekindled Brazil's interest in improving connectivity with China, Wang Youming, director of the Institute of Developing Countries at the China Institute of International Studies in Beijing, said Wednesday. He said China and Brazil's decision to study the transcontinental rail project is a key step in pushing the project forward.

Wang added that China's capacity in infrastructure, equipment manufacturing and experience in railway construction make it an ideal partner for Brazil and Peru.

Leonardo Ribeiro, Brazil's national secretary of Railway Transport, said the China-Brazil collaboration on the transcontinental rail project represents “a strategic step for Brazil's transport sector, especially in the railway area,” according to Brazilian media outlet G1.

“This is the first step in a technical and diplomatic journey to bring continents closer together, reduce distances and strengthen long-term relations,” Ribeiro stated. “We believe we are establishing an essential partnership with the best in the world to address bottlenecks in our transportation infrastructure.”

"Chinese support is crucial for the take-off of roads, railroads, ports and transmission lines. But the economic viability of these projects depends on the ability of our countries to coordinate and give these initiatives a regional scale," Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said during his visit to China in May.

There is a strong possibility that the transcontinental railroad will become a reality in the future, said Jorge Viana, executive director of the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency, who accompanied Lula during his visit in May. Viana stated that the railroad would practically open up an alternative to the Panama Canal, since it would allow Brazilian goods to be transported directly from Peru to the port of Shanghai in China, without detours.

In May, Peru's Minister of Economy and Finance emphasized the importance of coordinating and planning a meeting between the governments of Brazil and Peru, together with the Chinese delegation, to advance the transcontinental railroad project.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday the U.S. will slap a 50% tariff on Brazil’s imports, partly in retaliation for the ongoing prosecution of the country’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro.

Trump said the new tariff — a massive jump from the 10% rate the U.S. imposed on Brazil in early April — was also spurred by the “very unfair trade relationship” with the country, calling it “far from Reciprocal.”

The U.S. is also launching an investigation into potential unfair trade practices by Brazil, Trump said in a letter to Brazil’s current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The probe is based on “Brazil’s continued attacks on the Digital Trade activities of American Companies,” Trump wrote in the letter, which he shared publicly in a Truth Social post.

The Colombian Attorney General's Office imposed precautionary measures of seizure, sequestration and suspension of the power of attorney on two offices of the French oil company Perenco in Bogotá, accused of financing paramilitary groups in the context of the internal armed conflict.

The two offices, located in a building in the financial center of the Colombian capital, are valued at more than 10 million dollars, equivalent to approximately 41,318 million Colombian pesos.

These assets were delivered to the Fund for the Reparation of Victims, to be used to compensate the civilian population affected by paramilitary actions, especially in the department of Casanare, one of the regions hardest hit by the violence.

The main accusation against Perenco is that it allegedly financed the Centauros Bloc of the extinct United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) in Casanare.

According to the Attorney General's Office, this alleged link occurred between 1997 and 2005, a period in which the oil company allegedly increased its presence and assets in the region.

The accusations are based on statements made before the transitional justice system by former paramilitary commanders such as Daniel Rendón Herrera, Manuel de Jesús Pirabán and Orosman Orlando Osten Blanco.

These former commanders assured that the company provided money, fuel, food and transportation to the illegal armed group, in exchange for an alleged “security service” provided by the paramilitaries in their oil extraction zones.

The investigation, led by the Transitional Justice Directorate of the Prosecutor's Office, was a complex process that involved financial intelligence, international cooperation and criminal analysis, in which the Prosecutor's Office was able to identify the assets thanks to a joint effort with the Asset Recovery Network of the Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT), of which Colombia is a member.

This collaboration allowed access to information on the company's corporate structure and control of operations in Colombia.

In addition, information was gathered on the company's hydrocarbon concession, exploitation and production contracts, which confirmed the relationship between the company and the armed group.

Based on all this evidentiary material, the precautionary measures were requested by the Prosecutor's Office and granted by the Superior Court of Bogotá.

The investigation was supported by the Technical Investigation Corps (CTI), the investigative group of special jurisdictions of the DIJIN, the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the National Hydrocarbons Agency, Ecopetrol and other state entities.

It should be noted that this is not the only legal action related to Perenco, as in September 2024, a prosecutor delegated to the Bogotá Court had already confirmed the indictment against two former Perenco officials, Antenor Sarmiento Delgado and Ramiro Pinzón Suárez, for their alleged financing of the Heroes de San Fernando front of the AUC's Centauros Bloc between 1996 and 2006.

Both have been charged since December 2022 for the crime of aggravated conspiracy to commit a crime, which was declared a crime against humanity.

Perenco, which was installed in Colombia in 1993, and which in 2024 produced some 165,000 barrels of crude oil per day in 34 oil fields in Casanare, has not yet made a statement on this embargo.

This action by the Attorney General's Office represents a key step forward in the Colombian State's effort to guarantee truth, justice and reparation to the victims of an armed conflict that has left 1.1 million dead, 200,000 disappeared and 9 million displaced.

https://archive.ph/3mNbN

Ukraine was a training ground. Now the whole world is at threat from kamikaze drones, and not every country has Russia's capabilities for defense.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-mali-barrick-mining-complex-funding/

In this way, the countries continue to break the criminal blockade imposed by the U.S. on Havana.

On January 1, 2025, Cuba officially sealed its entry as a “partner country” in the BRICS, a bloc that today brings together 46% of the world's population and close to 40% of global GDP. For a nation subjected to six decades of U.S. blockade, this membership symbolizes a strategic window. But what does it really imply?

Partner status - shared with Bolivia, Vietnam and Uganda - grants Cuba participation in discussions, but without full access to financial funds, such as the New Development Bank (NDB) or the Contingency Reserve Arrangement (CRA). According to economic experts, this limits immediate benefits.

However, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez recognized three concrete advantages, highlighting above all the development of trade in local currencies, which undoubtedly implies a reduction in the dependence on the dollar, crucial to avoid sanctions.

In addition, it is very possible to boost investments in infrastructure, a potential guarantee to modernize deep-water ports as logistics hubs in the Caribbean; and an increase in technological cooperation, derived from access to renewable energy and digitalization projects.

“It is an instance that opens up commercial, investment and cooperation opportunities that we must know how to take advantage of,” he said.

On the other hand, Cuba insists on the potential of our biopharmaceutical industry as a spearhead. Vaccine research and production centers - such as Soberana against COVID - could be valuable assets. However, a report by the Center for International Policy Research admits that the sector faces scale and commercialization challenges. Meanwhile, external economists are skeptical: “When will we stop depending on organizations to channel the economy?”, asks a user on the Cubadebate website.

The key would be in integrated value chains, and in the association with India in generic production, or with China in mass distribution. But without investments to modernize plants, the biotechnology “advantage” could remain rhetoric.

Trade in domestic currencies is the biggest practical attraction for Cuba. The BCBPI (Cross Border Payments Initiative) mechanism would allow direct transactions in yuan, rubles or reals, bypassing the dollar and its sanctions. Among some of the possibilities, the sale of nickel to China in yuan and the import of Russian wheat in rubles are very possible and applicable.

But here a dilemma arises: although it reduces financial vulnerabilities, it does not solve Cuba's low productivity. Without attractive exportable goods, the scheme would be sustained on loans or aid, repeating old patterns of dependence.

Moreover, realistically in light of recent global developments, the BRICS bloc is far from being monolithic. While Russia and China see it as an anti-hegemonic tool, Brazil and India prioritize neutrality and pragmatism. Cuba, historically aligned with Moscow and Beijing, must now navigate divided waters.

Waters that can be exploited and result in South-South mediation opportunities, where there are capacities to export public health models to Africa and Asia, using Brazilian networks; and to promote energy dialogue that facilitates debates between Venezuela -vetoed by Brazil- and Brasilia, taking advantage of its credibility on both sides.

But if there is something important about Cuba's inclusion in the BRICS, it is the geographical position of our country -the key to the Gulf-, which can facilitate the group's access to Latin American markets.

The BRICS offer Cuba geopolitical oxygen and tools to circumvent the blockade. But the status of partner is only a first step on a road full of opportunities and challenges, where opportunities such as port logistics, alternative finances and technological alliances stand out.

Cuba must avoid the extreme of uncritical euphoria -as if BRICS were a magic lifeline- knowing that the real test will be whether we manage to turn this membership into measurable investments, food into tables and watts into plugs.