A campaigner during the Defend Our Juries protest in support of Palestine Action at The Peace Garden, Tavistock Square, central London, November 22, 2025
600 educators sign open letter urging government to protect lives of prisoners jailed for more than a year without trial over alleged direct action linked to Palestine solidarity
EDUCATION union leaders called for the “immediate release” of hunger-striking prisoners today after two Palestine Action-linked detainees were taken to hospital.
Thirty-year-old Amu Gib, held at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey while awaiting trial, is on day 50 of a hunger strike, while 28-year-old Kamran Ahmed, held at Pentonville prison in London, is on day 42.
They are among eight prisoners admitted to hospital since the action began on Balfour Day, November 2, according to Prisoners for Palestine, which warned that deaths were likely without urgent intervention.
Dozens of members of the national executive committees of the National Education Union (NEU), University and College Union (UCU) and the Educational Institute of Scotland are among 600 educators and trade unionists who have signed an open letter urging the government to protect the lives of prisoners jailed for more than a year without trial over alleged direct action linked to Palestine solidarity.
The unions represent more than 600,000 staff across schools, colleges and universities.
The letter condemns an escalation in repression against Palestine activists and highlights police statements that protesters using the word “intifada” could face arrest.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAOrcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Your Party MP Zarah Sultana addresses the Village Hotel picket, December 19, 2025
YOUR PARTY MP Zarah Sultana and dozens of trade unionists braved the wind and rain to join striking workers on the Village Hotel picket in Govan on Thursday night.
Workers at the site made history over the summer with the first strike at a major hotel chain since 1979, winning equal pay with colleagues in Edinburgh.
But they returned to the picket line last month in a bid to win a minimum of the real living wage for all workers, regardless of age.
Unite convener Daniel Friel told the rally: “Village are more than happy to spend lots of money throughout this dispute bussing up workers from across the UK to cover the work that we would have been doing.
“This is hugely expensive for them, it’s a lot more expensive than it would be just to pay us equally at the new living wage, but they would rather do that because it avoids, from their perspective, a dangerous precedent.
“They know that as soon as we get it in Glasgow, we’re going to move across other sites in the UK.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage arrives at the Reform UK South East conference, at Sandown Park Racecourse in Esher, Surrey, January 10, 2025
LABOUR slammed Reform UK today amid a deluge of damning evidence against the right-wing party’s mayoral candidate Chris Parry, who said David Lammy should “go home to the Caribbean.”
Nigel Farage’s party has faced calls to drop the retired Royal Navy officer as mayoral candidate for Hampshire and the Solent after it emerged he had posted on X in February: “Lammy must go home to the Caribbean where (his) loyalty lies.”
In a press conference on Tuesday, Reform deputy leader Richard Tice claimed that he was “not familiar” with Mr Parry’s remarks against the Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, but added, “whether we think he’s doing a good job or a bad job is just part of politics.”
Reform UK continued to refuse to condemn Mr Parry yesterday amid new reports that he suggested at least eight other politicians from minority ethnic backgrounds do not have a primary loyalty towards Britain.
Argentina President Javier Milei. Photo: Javier Milei / X
In this article, we review some of the general trends and attitudes of Milei’s government two years into his term.
Thousands of Argentines endured high temperatures as they took to the streets on December 18 to protest the labor reform of Javier Milei’s far-right government. The call to action by the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) was supported by several trade unions, which claimed that the measure seeks to destroy workers’ rights to benefit big business: “This reform will only deepen poverty, social exclusion, and job insecurity. We will not give up our fight for decent work,” the CGT said in a statement.
The government has justified the measure by citing an alleged need to modernize labor relations: “The text also incorporates specific incentives for the formalization of employment, new rules for the platform economy, more efficient employer contribution schemes, and mechanisms that reduce litigation, providing the system with greater predictability and long-term stability.”
However, organized workers claim that this is a labor flexibility project that aligns with President Milei’s neoliberal agenda. Cristian Jerónimo, leader of the CTE, said: “[The labor reform] does nothing to benefit the world of work; it is written in favor of Argentina’s large corporations and does not favor small and medium-sized enterprises.”
But for the protesters, this reform comes as no surprise. Long before becoming president, Milei announced that it was imperative to reform the entire structure of the Argentine state in order to put it on the “path to freedom,” which means neoliberalizing the economy, reducing state participation in the economy to a minimum, strengthening the apparatus of repression, and aligning the South American country geopolitically with Washington’s interests. In short, to return to the path of the Washington Consensus.
After the day of mass mobilization, the government announced that the debate on the reform would be postponed until February, an initial sign that Milei is feeling the pressure of the popular demonstrations. Yet, after two years in office, Milei has done everything possible to push forward his neoliberal agenda even amid many rounds of mass demonstrations. A series of laws, executive decrees, and international diplomatic engagements have been the clearest signs of the path taken by the right-wing libertarian leader who governs a country that, despite his promises, is once again returning to the path of economic crisis and political instability.
Economy: fiscal adjustment and social tension
In line with neoliberal orthodoxy, Milei has implemented a series of fiscal adjustments to eliminate the deficit, even though this has been at the expense of the material stability of the most disadvantaged sectors, who have taken to the streets to protest against cuts in health, education, and other areas that the Argentine state now refuses to cover in full or adjust in line with the current economic reality. Students, teachers, researchers, and university workers have also taken to the streets consistently, demanding improvements in higher education funding, funding for science and health research, and defending free and public education.
Repression of mass protests, ordered by Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, has been severe. Hundreds have been arrested and injured, including Pablo Grillo, a journalist who was nearly killed when a tear gas canister struck him in the head.
Nevertheless, Milei did not slow down. The elimination of subsidies, wage freezes, and widespread privatization of public companies generated the long-awaited fiscal surplus in more than a decade. Year-on-year inflation, which stood at around 211% at the end of 2023, was reduced to 3% at some point in 2025.
Despite this, several analysts have stated that the 2.3% increase in inflation in October 2025 reflects the shortcomings of a neoliberal model in sustaining a long-term surplus.
Furthermore, it is important to remember that this year, Donald Trump’s administration bailed out Argentina with a record payment of more than USD 20 billion, in addition to the IMF’s generous granting of USD 20 billion to Argentina.
In other words, the surplus that the executive branch promotes as its great economic success has been achieved thanks to enormous support from its international allies, who demand neoliberal macroeconomic change not only in Argentina but throughout the region. This, of course, comes at a price that Argentines will have to pay for decades to come. Argentina has the largest IMF debt in the world. Its debt of more than USD 64 billion is “the price of freedom.”
Politics: reduction of the state and open confrontation
Following his economic model, Milei’s government has pushed radical downsizing. More than 10 ministries and 200 government departments were eliminated in one fell swoop. This meant the dismissal of almost 50,000 people who suddenly found themselves thrown into unemployment and precarity.
These decisions were made abruptly and aggressively, political attitudes that the president has adopted as part of his communication strategy. Bypassing parliamentary approval whenever possible, Milei always sought to govern unilaterally whenever possible.
But Milei has also achieved significant legislative victories. At the beginning of his administration, he had the support of only 39 deputies and six senators; however, he managed to pass several laws, such as the Bases Law (which allowed for the radical privatization of the Argentine state) and tax reforms.
He achieved this thanks to the support of the PRO, a right-wing party led by former president Mauricio Macri, and certain dissident Peronists. The formation of the so-called “May Pact,” a major agreement between Argentina’s right-wing parties and governors, allowed him to negotiate and agree on several reforms desired by right-wing libertarianism.
This pact prevented an increase in pensions for the elderly, who have regularly protested to demand more money to buy medicine and food, which are now major obstacles in their lives. Despite this, the Pact has not budged and continues with its neoliberal drift.
Political and judicial scandals
Milei’s administration has also been marked by several scandals. Very early on, he began a dispute with Victoria Villarruel, his vice president, whom he accused of playing into the hands of his political enemies.
He was also involved in the “$LIBRA” scandal, in which he is accused of being part of an international fraud scheme related to the sale of cryptocurrencies. A parliamentary commission concluded that Milei did use his position as president to promote the scam, which caused millions in losses to investors around the world.
But the event that probably had the greatest impact on Milei’s popularity involved his sister. Karina Milei, who serves as Secretary to the President, is accused of participating in a bribery ring that operated through the National Disability Agency (ANDIS). Many saw the emergence of this scandal as the reason for his resounding defeat in the Buenos Aires Province elections on October 26.
Despite this, Milei managed to recover and his party, La Libertad Avanza (LLA), won the next legislative elections and increased its number of seats in the legislature. His strategy was the usual one: accusing Peronism of destroying Argentina and presenting himself as the only one capable of saving the country. However, this messianic communication strategy has begun to be questioned precisely because of the corruption and fraud scandals that have plagued his government.
Alignment with Washington
Milei has made a significant shift in the country’s foreign policy. Argentina’s vote against the UN resolution condemning the US economic and trade blockade of Cuba reflects an important change. Historically, Argentina has maintained a diplomatic position against any act of imperialism due to its claim over the Malvinas Islands, which, despite being off its coast, are governed by the United Kingdom. The dispute has escalated to military levels despite repeated claims by the Argentine authorities.
Donald Trump-signed photo of him and Javier Milei. Photo: Javier Milei / X
But the change is much more than nominal. Argentina has become the Trump administration’s greatest ally in South America. Milei has praised Trump’s personality, and Trump has publicly supported him, like when, in the last legislative elections, he suggested an end to cooperation between Buenos Aires and Washington if Milei lost. In response, the Argentine president has repeatedly declared his loyalty to Trump’s geopolitical project and has supported all of his initiatives both within and outside the region.
In this way, Milei has become a sort of archetype for the leaders of the new Latin American right. With radical fiscal adjustment at the expense of the most impoverished sectors, open confrontation with their opponents, and an international policy fully aligned with Washington (which has initiated a new chapter of the Monroe Doctrine), far-right governments are beginning to gain ground in the region: Kast in Chile, Paz in Bolivia, etc., are examples of an ideological and geopolitical shift in the region that is impossible to understand without the figure of Javier Milei.
Analyzing satellite images showing “clusters of objects consistent with human remains”, “reddish discoloration consistent with blood”, charred earth and dug up ground consistent with the burning and burial of corpses, Yale HRL assesses that RSF has killed and disposed of people “likely in the tens of thousands”.
Evidence of burning and new presence of white objects collected by satellite imagery in early November. Photo: Yale Humanitarian Research Lab
Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have burnt and buried bodies, likely in the tens of thousands, after massacring civilians while overrunning El Fasher, the last city in Sudan’s western region of Darfur that held out against the paramilitary until late October.
The Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) said in a report published on December 16 that it “assesses to high confidence” that the RSF “engaged in widespread and systematic mass killing” after entering the besieged and starved city on October 26.
Satellite images collected over the next few days, until November 1, showed at least 150 “clusters of objects consistent with human remains”. By November 28, 108 of these 150 clusters had changed in size, growing and shrinking over time, while 57 were no longer visible.
“Disturbed earth”, meaning dug up ground, began to appear “at or in close proximity to locations where clusters” that shrunk or disappeared “were identified.” Several “clusters” were also burnt, visible as charred earth in later satellite images.
The ground around 33 of the 108 clusters identified had a “reddish discoloration consistent with blood or other bodily fluids”, shed on a scale large enough to be visible from space.
In the images, 52 body piles were observed in the neighborhood of Daraja Oula, where the remaining civilians in the city had sheltered before being executed by the RSF on a door-to-door killing spree.
Another 83 clusters were seen outside El Fasher, consistent with footage shared on social media by the RSF troops, showing themselves chasing down the fleeing civilians, capturing and executing them. Indications consistent with “mass killings” were also observed at the sites used by the RSF for detention.
The “RSF subsequently engaged in a systematic multi-week campaign to destroy evidence of its mass killings through burial, burning, and removal of human remains on a mass scale,” states the report, adding, “This pattern of body disposal and destruction is ongoing.”
There are no reliable estimates of the death toll in the absence of access to the area. “Over 260,000 civilians, including 130,000 children, have been trapped” in El Fasher “under siege for more than 16 months, cut off from food, water, and healthcare,” UNICEF had reported on October 23, three days before the RSF entered the city after breaching its defenses.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) had recorded at least 106,387 people displaced by late-November. The remaining civilians, over 150,000 of them, are unaccounted. How many of them have survived is not known, but “HRL assesses that … RSF has systematically killed and disposed of a number of objects consistent with human remains, likely in the tens of thousands.”
In its aftermath, the city appears depopulated. The “pattern of civilian life in El-Fasher seems to have all but ended following RSF’s total control of El-Fasher,” the report added. “The end of civilian pattern of life is evidenced by abnormal vegetation growth in markets, no visible civilian activity at water points, absence of crowds of people in the street, and no evidence of civilian transport.”
A campaigner during the Defend Our Juries protest in support of Palestine Action at The Peace Garden, Tavistock Square, central London, November 22, 2025
