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.

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.

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.”

BBC Sinks the Titanic Yet Again!

UK: How the BBC Sank the Titanic for a Second Time – and Still Managed to Omit the Chinese! (30.12.2025)

The BBC recently tried to seduce the licence-fee paying public with a four-part mini-series regarding the sinking of the Titanic. Two so-called “experts” were ex-military – one had been wounded in the illegal war in Afghanistan and the other surveyed the sinking of a Royal Navy ship during the Falklands War – whilst a third was described as a “Psychologist of Disaster”  – a YouTube qualification if ever I have heard of one. Dodgy qualifications aside (the ex-military “experts” did not possess the objectivity of thought to even cognise the falsehood of te causes they killed others in the name of) but most the facts were as false as the narratives being established. There was the usual ahistorical presentation of the make-up of today’s UK being projected into the past – where it did not exist. The Titanic was made to look like a present-day mini-UK – as if this is normal in the past, present, and future.

Demolition of the monument commemorating the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Chinese people in Panama on December 27, 2025 local time. Photo: screenshot of video uploaded by Chinese Ambassador to Panama Xu Xueyuan

PRC Embassy Protests Demolition of “Panama-China Friendship Park”!

This monument declaring “China-Panama Friendship” is situated on a mountain over-looking the Panama Canal (in fact, from what I have read regarding travelogues, this mountain it is quite remote and difficult to access) – and Trump believes this symbolises a Chinese declaration of “control” of the Canal. The Park was built in 2004 by funds raised by various overseas Chinese organisations – with support from the Mainland Chinese government (which provided two stone lions). Chinese people first arrived in Panama in 1854 (during the Qing Dynasty – probably fleeing the highly destructive Taiping Uprising and the Hakka-Punti Clan Wars). Indeed, this park is officially termed the “150th Anniversary Monument to the Arrival of Chinese in Panama” (1854-2004). Ironically, Panama declared (also in 2004) that “March 30th” would be “Chinese People Day” (华人日 – Hua Ren Ri). The way things are going, I suspect “Chinese People Day” will soon be abolished. I have been agitating for years that China should stop using US English in its translations – the language of the enemy.

In Pagliara dei Marsi, an ancient rural village on the slopes of Mount Girifalco in the Abruzzo region of Italy, cats outnumber the inhabitants.

Italy: Villagers in Pagliara dei Marsi Celebrate Birth of First Baby in 30 Years! (27.12.2025)

The reasons for this decline are many: job insecurity, mass emigration of young people, lack of support for working mothers and, as in other countries, rising male infertility. Furthermore, an increasing number of people are simply choosing not to have children.

The couple’s situation is unusual. Trabucco, a music teacher, was born in Frascati, near Rome, and worked in the capital for years before deciding to move to the village where her grandfather was born because she had always wanted to raise her family away from the chaos of the city. She met Bussi, a construction worker from the area, a few years ago.

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