Italy on strike again for PalestineThousands of workers across Italy joined a new general strike on May 18, demanding complete severance of ties with Israel, an end to armament policies, and protection for the new civilian flotilla to Gaza – which was attacked again by Israeli forces on the very day of the strike. “We launched today’s general strike with the same strength and spirit as on September 22, 2025: ‘Let’s block everything’ has been and remains the watchword in our struggle against war, against complicity with the genocidal state of Israel, and against rearmament,” the grassroots trade union Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) wrote.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2026/05/19/italy-on-strike-again-for-palestine/Unions hit out at ‘epidemic of insecure work’ as economic fallout from Iran war revealedUNIONS hit out at an “epidemic of insecure work” as the economic fallout from the Iran war was revealed for the first time today. Youth unemployment has risen to its highest rate in more than a decade with one in seven (14.7 per cent) 16 to 24-year-olds looking for work. .. .. ..
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/unions-hit-out-epidemic-insecure-work-economic-fallout-iran-war-revealed“We will give our chest to your bullets, but will not cede an inch of our land”: farmers resist city expansion in southern IndiaFarmers in the south Indian state of Karnataka have been protesting for over a year in defense of their land. On May 10, day 426 of their protest against the notified acquisition of fertile, irrigated land in Ramanagara district to expand Bangalore city, farmers occupied the Byramangala roundabout. Cutting off all four connecting roads with bullock carts and tractors, over 3,000 farmers protested in this roundabout. Scores of cows and bulls they brought along chewed on the cattle feed in this critical node on a state highway, whose occupation disconnected the neighboring industrial areas of Bidadi and Harohalli. ….
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2026/05/19/we-will-give-our-chest-to-your-bullets-but-will-not-cede-an-inch-of-our-land-farmers-resist-city-expansion-in-southern-india/Nearly 9000 public sector jobs to go, government agencies to merge, Nicola Willis announcesThe government has announced plans to slash public service jobs by about 14 percent over the next three years in a shake-up it says will deliver $2.4 billion of savings. The changes announced in a pre-Budget speech delivered by Finance Minister Nicola Willis on Tuesday would result in about 8700 job losses by mid-2029. "Historically, core public service numbers have been equivalent to about 1 percent of the population. After a period of largesse under the last government it now hovers around 1.2 percent.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/595655/nearly-9000-public-sector-jobs-to-go-government-agencies-to-merge-nicola-willis-announces Israeli TV leak exposes 'secret plan' to seize Iran's uranium near Isfahan A report aired by Israel's right-wing Channel 14, widely seen as closely aligned with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, has sparked outrage after appearing to reveal details of a possible Israeli-American plan to seize enriched uranium from Iran through a military operation. The report triggered calls for an emergency session of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee amid accusations that sensitive operational and intelligence information had been recklessly leaked to the media.
https://www.newarab.com/news/israeli-tv-leak-exposes-secret-plan-seize-iran-uranium Israeli police establish special department to monitor foreign journalists The Israeli police is operating a special department in the occupied West Bank to monitor foreign journalists who wish to enter Israel or the occupied Palestinian territory. According to a report by Haaretz on Tuesday, the special police department works closely with Israel's Population and Immigration Authority, which is stationed at international crossings as well as the Allenby Bridge Crossing in the West Bank. Haaretz obtained a police document detailing articles and social media activity by Alessandro Stefanelli, an Italian freelance journalist, who entered Israel and the West Bank several times in the past.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/police-monitoring-foreign-journalistsTürkiye unveils its first intercontinental ballistic missile amid an intensifying imperialist warThe Yıldırımhan missile, which is currently under development by the Ministry of National Defence’s R&D Directorate and has not yet been tested, was the most attention-grabbing item at the fair and made headlines in the international press. With a range of 6,000 kilometres, the Yıldırımhan is Türkiye’s first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and can carry a payload of up to 3,000 kilograms. Its ability to reach speeds of Mach 25 and perform sudden manoeuvres classifies it as a hypersonic missile.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/05/19/wjbc-m19.htmlVenezuela’s Rodríguez Hosts World Bank Delegation as Trump Allies Eye Investment OpportunitiesErebor Bank, backed by far-right tech mogul and close Trump ally Peter Thiel, has reportedly pitched its services to Venezuelan officials to restore the country’s access to the US financial system. According to Bloomberg, Erebor co-founder Jacob Hirshman has made several trips to Caracas in recent weeks and met with Central Bank authorities and private bank executives.
https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/venezuelas-rodriguez-hosts-world-bank-delegation-as-trump-allies-eye-investment-opportunities/Woman shot dead by police in Jamaica at protest over previous police shootingFootage circulating on social media shows a police officer firing at a vehicle during a protest on Sunday in Granville, in Jamaica’s north-western parish of St James. The bullet hit Latoya Bulgin, 45, who was behind the wheel of the vehicle. According to the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom), the police officers were “conducting crowd control duties” during a protest against a previous police shooting, in which 17-year-old Tjey Edwardson was killed on 12 May.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/19/woman-shot-dead-by-police-jamaica-protestBolivia’s capital under siege as protests and blockades deepen crisis for President PazThe COB began by demanding wage increases, while peasant unions demanded a steady supply of gasoline. The miners, meanwhile, are negotiating separately for access to additional mining areas. Public schoolteachers are also holding separate talks regarding salary improvements. “These demands have been largely addressed in a manner consistent with current realities; however, there are dark forces seeking to destabilize our democracy,” said presidential spokesperson José Luis Gálvez, in an allusion to influential former President Evo Morales.
https://apnews.com/article/bolivia-protests-evo-rodrigo-paz-7ac8f394f2e420ca928188e9f46c61ff