Adrienne Martin and Stephanie Petersen

US: Americans Know Where a Privatised NHS is Leading! (2.1.2026)

The Americans have only got themselves to blame (I exclude my US comrades who are ill and injured – if it were up to me – you would receive free healthcare NOW) – but we in the UK possess a working-class which fought a brutal World War to put an end to health poverty. Now, my US relatives (yes – they exist) – used to come to the UK to receive “free” healthcare until one of the UK governments put an end to that perk (my father’s sister married a US soldier stationed in the UK – and went to live in Seattle). Now, when a health issue hits, they have to sell a plot of land to raise the funds to pay for operations and treatments. However, just as in the UK – with a restricted NHS – we have to endure various health issues just because there is no money. We literally “save-up” our illnesses until we can no longer take the pain – or the malady becomes life-threatening. Even then, for many there is no avenue of treatment available. As usual, the workers carry-out all the labour, produce all the profit, and receive very little of the earned benefits. We die of starvation surround by an ocean of food, we freeze surrounded by endless houses, and we die of medical neglect surrounded by first-world hospitals stacked with the most advanced drugs and trained experts. Trained experts that receive huge salaries from the very workers they refuse to treat – due to (fascistic) governmental dogma!

Officials and longtime friends of Laos and Cuba gathered in Vientiane to commemorate the 67th Anniversary of the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution and to mark the upcoming centenary of historic Cuban leader Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro, reaffirming the enduring solidarity between the two nations.

Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP): Laos–Cuban Friendship Celebrates Historic Milestones! (2.1.2026)

The event was attended by Mr. Chaleun Yiapaoheu, Member of the Central Committee of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP), Vice President of the Lao National Assembly, and President of the Lao–Cuban Friendship Association and Parliamentary Group; Mr. Bonleua Phandanouvong, Head of the External Relations Committee of the LPRP Central Committee; and Mr. Malaythong Tammavongsa, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, along with other vice ministers, senior leaders, and officials from Lao ministries and institutions.

Plugging in a microwave does not make a room a flat, a judge has ruled

UK: Judge Johns KC – “A Room Cannot Be Turned into a Flat Simply by Plugging in a Microwave!” (1.1.2026)

The owners also challenged that decision, but judges at another tribunal ruled in the council’s favour again, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Judge Johns KC said a room could not “be turned into a flat simply by plugging in a microwave.”

He added there was “no relevant storage, no food preparation area” and that planning laws were supposed to “protect people in the occupation of their homes, not to encourage them to cook their own meals”.

Despite the second rejection, the company has now sought to appeal the verdict.

A hotel spokesman said the building stopped housing homeless people about two years ago.

Paul Wells, the council’s Conservative portfolio holder for licensing, said the authority was “delighted” with the ruling, which “sets a precedent for all local authorities that want to improve housing standards for residents”.

“Our teams worked exceptionally hard to achieve this result and deserve real credit,” he added.

Photogrammetry map of Brusselstown Ring showing locations of what may be roundhouse footprints!

Eire: Scientists Unearth Ireland’s Largest Prehistoric Hillfort Settlement! (1.1.2026)

Additional survey work revealed a unique structure near one of the trenches. The flat interior outlined by large stones, uncommon for roundhouses at the site, made it unlikely to be a prehistoric roundhouse itself. From previous surveys, it was known that a stream flowed into the structure from a rocky outcrop uphill.

Given its shape and size, it is hypothesized that this might be a Bronze and Iron Age water cistern like those found elsewhere in Europe. Because Brusselstown Hill would have had to accommodate a large population, a source of freshwater would make sense. If further investigations confirm the structure to be a water cistern, it would represent the first of its kind in an Irish hillfort.

More research is needed to better understand the extent and nature of Brusselstown Hill’s potential water cistern, establishing the nature and chronology of the enclosing elements and better understanding how and why the settlement may have been abandoned.

Image of the Russian Volunteer Army in 2023. /AFP-Yonhap

Chosun Daily: Denis Kapustin [“White Rex”] – Commander of Fascist “Russian Volunteer Corps” – Killed by Drone in Neo-Nazi Ukraine! (1.1.2026)

Opposing Russia’s multiculturalization due to the invasion of Ukraine and aiming to ‘overthrow the Putin regime,’ he organized the RVC in August 2022 and began an armed struggle. The group, which displays the slogan “Only our victory brings peace to Russia” on its website, led surprise invasions into the Russian mainland regions of Bryansk and Belgorod across the Ukrainian border in 2023 and 2024. They have conducted regular warfare against Russian forces in major battlegrounds such as Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, supported by Ukraine’s Defense Ministry-affiliated intelligence agency (GUR).

Photos of US soldiers in the visitor centre of the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten. Photograph: Rob O'Brien/The Adopted documentary

Netherlands: US Removal of Panels Honouring Black Soldiers Housed at WWII Dutch Cemetery Draws Backlash! (31.12.2025)

After months of mystery around the disappearance of the panels, two media organizations — the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) and online media Dutch News — this month published emails obtained through a U.S. Freedom of Information Act request showing that Trump’s DEI policies directly prompted the commission to take down the panels.

The White House did not respond to queries from AP about the removed panels.

The American Battle Monuments Commission did not respond to queries from AP about the revelations. Earlier, the ABMC told the AP that the panel that discussed segregation “did not fall within (the) commemorative mission.”

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