Peru's runoff to pit Fujimori's daughter against Castillo's political heirFujimori, 50, arrives at her fourth runoff with a new strategy. After losing in 2011, 2016 and 2021, the Fuerza Popular leader has openly embraced the memory of her father, who was convicted of corruption, crimes against humanity and espionage, and died in 2024. “I want to be president so I can govern as my father did,” she said days before the vote. On election day she visited the family tomb.
https://en.mercopress.com/2026/05/12/peru-s-runoff-to-pit-fujimori-s-daughter-against-castillo-s-political-heirArgentine Universities Call Fourth National March Over Funding CrisisThe Fourth Federal University March will mobilize students, professors, rectors and unions from more than 60 universities to demand an end to the budget freeze and compensation for the loss of real income caused by rising inflation.
https://www.telesurenglish.net/argentine-universities-call-fourth-national-march-over-funding-crisis/Bukele escalates crackdown on independent media after documentary exposes his alleged gang dealsLast week, the online newspaper El Faro reported that the government of right-wing Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele froze the bank account and a property belonging to two partners of Trípode S.A., the company that founded and supports El Faro. According to the Ministry of Finance, the measure functions as collateral for alleged debts related to tax evasion. However, the media outlet’s partners and journalists assert that this is yet another attempt to intimidate the press that has been critical of the Bukele administration and that, at its core, seeks to silence those who expose the right-wing government’s alleged acts of corruption.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2026/05/12/bukele-escalates-crackdown-on-independent-media-after-documentary-exposes-his-alleged-gang-deals/General strike brings much of Belgium to a standstillAround 100,000 people took to the streets of the capital Brussels in support of the strike called by three trade unions, the ACV, ABVV and the ACLVB, in protest at austerity measures being imposed by Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s government. Transport was brought to a standstill, schools were closed and public services halted across the country.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/general-strike-brings-much-belgium-standstillIrish TV to air Father Ted instead of Eurovision final in protest against Israel’s inclusionIreland’s national broadcaster, RTÉ, which is boycotting the competition in protest against Israel’s inclusion, will instead broadcast the 1996 episode A Song for Europe, in which the characters Father Ted and Father Dougal perform their song My Lovely Horse and earn nul points.
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/may/12/irish-tv-rte-father-ted-eurovision-final-israel45,000 schoolchildren walk out across Germany against conscriptionProtests took place in over 150 towns and cities with key demands being that Germany revoke the Military Service Modernisation Act and the associated return of conscription by stealth, and that the armed forces cease promotional and recruitment activities in schools.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/45000-schoolchildren-walk-out-across-germany-against-conscriptionIndian trade unions mobilize in solidarity with low-wage workersThe workers staged lunch-hour protests, sit-ins, and rallies at factory gates and industrial clusters across the country, carrying banners and posters and shouting chants against “inhuman exploitation”. Slogans focused particularly on contractual and non-regular workers.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2026/05/12/indian-trade-unions-mobilize-in-solidarity-with-low-wage-workers/Chief policy staff's idea of 'national dividends' using AI profit triggers concernsOn the 12th, Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, stated, “The fruits of the AI infrastructure era are not the result of specific companies alone,” and emphasized the need to design a so-called ‘National Dividend’ system to distribute a portion of corporate excess profits to all citizens. In response, opposition parties launched attacks, calling it a “socialist idea.”
https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2026/05/12/WWPDCZ5B3VGS3GSGVZ55L4WL7Q/https://archive.ph/kVP7VPalestinians Lose More Land After Israel Secretly Approves a Record Number of Settlements in the West BankRamataim Zofim is one of 34 settlements secretly approved by the Israeli security cabinet in late March, a decision that was only revealed in Israeli news reports last month. It marked the largest number of settlements approved by any Israeli government at one time. The decision to officially approve new settlements or to legalize outposts allows for the establishment of water and electricity infrastructure, further entrenching their presence on Palestinian land.
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/west-bank-new-israeli-settlements-palestinian-landIraq's PMF begins major desert sweep after reports of 'secret Israeli base'Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) have launched a large-scale military operation in the deserts of Najaf and Karbala aimed at tightening security and reinforcing troop deployments, amid public anger over reports alleging the presence of an Israeli force in the area during the recent war with Iran. The operation, dubbed "Imposing Sovereignty", began on Tuesday across four axes in the desert regions linking the city of Karbala with the Nukhayb area near Iraq's western borders, according to a statement carried by the Iraqi state news agency INA.
https://www.newarab.com/news/iraqs-pmf-begins-major-desert-sweep-after-israel-base-reportsEfforts to restore Kurdish property and turn the page on decades of violationsThe joint integration committees tasked with following up on the January 29 agreement between Syrian Democratic Forces and the transitional government have recently held a series of meetings. These meetings address rights-related files concerning Kurdish citizens in northern and eastern Syria. Foremost among these issues are the restitution of property and addressing the repercussions of the “Arab Belt” project and the exceptional census of 1962.
https://www.syriahr.com/en/382228/ One Killed as Somali Security Forces Break Up Opposition Protest in Mogadishu The protest, organised under the slogan “Dareen Hiil Shacab,” meaning Solidarity with the People, was staged to condemn recent government-led evictions that have reportedly displaced thousands of residents across the capital. Opposition groups said authorities imposed strict restrictions before the demonstrations, limiting gatherings to a single stadium, blocking major roads, and surrounding the homes of prominent opposition figures.
https://www.africannow.com/mogadishu-opposition-protest-shooting-somalia-2026/