US signs deal to train Taiwanese navy as island mulls cuts to military exchange budgetsTaiwan’s defence ministry revealed the United States has signed a two-year agreement to help train the Taiwanese navy as the island’s legislature prepared for a Tuesday vote on whether to cut military spending on overseas training.
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3295535/us-signs-deal-train-taiwanese-navy-island-mulls-cuts-military-exchange-budgets?module=top_story&pgtype=subsection Italian leftist student group 'hangs' Elon Musk effigy in square where ᴉuᴉlossnW was strung up The group, which identifies as communist, posted an image of the effigy on social media, writing: "There's always room at Piazzale Loreto, Elon." Cambiare Rotta has made headlines in Italy in the past for its radical stances, including pro-Hezbollah chants at demonstrations, domestic media reported.
https://www.euronews.com/2025/01/22/italian-students-hang-elon-musk-effigy-in-square-where-ᴉuᴉlossnW-was-strung-uphttps://archive.ph/iVlxZIrish parliament delays vote for prime minister after chaotic sittingA vote due on Wednesday in the Irish parliament to elect a new prime minister was delayed by a day after opposition protests over speaking rights for independent lawmakers supporting the incoming coalition government derailed a chaotic sitting.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/irish-parliament-delays-vote-prime-minister-after-speaking-rights-row-2025-01-22/Anti-war campaigners to protest against airbase plans to fly US dronesThe action by Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and Drone Wars targets the operation of US Global Hawk drones from RAF Fairford as part of Nato’s Agile Combat Employment programme, which aims to make it harder for adversaries to conduct pre-emptive strikes.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/anti-war-campaigners-protest-airbase-plans-fly-us-drones SDF thwarts attacks by the Turkish state and allied mercenaries The Press Center of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported that six mercenaries were eliminated, and nine others wounded during the SDF forces’ response to an attack by Turkish occupation mercenaries on the Syriatel front, south of Manbij, yesterday afternoon. Additionally, a military vehicle was destroyed in the same area.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/rojava-syria/sdf-thwarts-attacks-by-the-turkish-state-and-allied-mercenaries-77563Israel launches deadly “Iron Wall” operation in Jenin with support of PAAccording to media reports, Netanyahu decided to launch “Operation Iron Wall” in a bid to convince his Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to not resign from the government. Smotrich had attempted to block a Gaza ceasefire deal and threatened to quit once it was reached, considering it a defeat for Israel.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/01/22/israel-launches-deadly-iron-wall-operation-in-jenin-with-support-of-pa/Israel 'building military bases' in occupied southern SyriaLocal media reports this week indicated that Israel was establishing a permanent presence in the newly-occupied territory with the building of six military bases in Quneitra. Independent Syrian outlet Enab Baladi reported that Israel was building five bases within the 235 square-kilometre buffer zone and one outside it.
https://www.newarab.com/news/israel-building-military-bases-occupied-southern-syriaTrump reinstates Cuba as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism”On his first day in office, US President Donald Trump reinstated Cuba as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism.” Outgoing President Joe Biden had removed Cuba from the US State Department’s list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism” less than a week prior, a long-awaited move that he committed to in his final days in office. Prior to this, Cuba had been on the list since 2021, as Trump had added Cuba in the final days of his first administration.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/01/22/trump-reinstates-cuba-as-a-state-sponsor-of-terrorism/Brazil fires consumed wilderness area larger than Italy in 2024 – reportAfter enduring its worst drought on record in 2024, Brazil closed the year with another alarming milestone: between January and December, 30.86m hectares of wilderness burned – an area larger than Italy. The figure published in a new report is 79% higher than in 2023 and the largest recorded by Fire Monitor since its launch in 2019 by MapBiomas, an initiative by NGOs, universities and technology companies that monitors Brazil’s biomes.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/21/brazil-fires-droughtColombia reactivates arrest orders for top rebels blamed for deadly violence in cocaine turf warAmong the 31 rebel leaders whose arrest was ordered Wednesday by the chief prosecutor’s office is Pablo Beltrán, the lead ELN negotiator in those halting peace talks, as well as the group’s top military commander, best known by his alias, Antonio García. Petro — himself a former member of the M-19 guerrilla group — has also suspended the peace talks in response to the violence.
https://apnews.com/article/colombia-rebels-cocaine-war-national-liberation-army-5d938cb6bf41884bb8f528ee8d69b964