POST MODERN PAGANISM

Madagascar's youth revive ancestral rites in search of identity

Facing unemployment and social tensions, young people in Madagascar are returning to ancestral possession rituals and traditions tied to identity and belonging.


Issued on: 04/01/2026 - RFI

The skull of the zebu, sacrificed to the ancestors during the Alakoasibe ceremony, is later placed at the entrance of the house in honour of ancestral spirits. Its cutting follows specific techniques passed down by elders to younger people. © RFI/Sarah Tetaud

In a small town near Mahajanga, chants of the Sakalava, one of Madagascar’s ethnic groups, drift through the open windows of a house where around 60 guests, mostly young people, are gathered in a living room filled with incense and music.

During the ceremony, some participants fall into a trance, their bodies believed to be temporarily inhabited by ancestral spirits.

At one point, five people are possessed at the same time. Some bodies tremble beneath cloths, while others suddenly grow still. A woman inhabited by a male spirit removes her clothing before slowly returning to her normal state.

Watching closely is Josiane Lazare, 30, seated on a mat in the room.

She continues to welcome guests and serve drinks until well into the early hours. Lazare heads La Fac Madagascar, a platform dedicated to preserving Malagasy traditions, and plays a central role in the ceremony.

“We are searching for identity; especially young people,” she tells RFI. “This ritual allows us to interact with our ancestors, to find ourselves and understand where we come from and where we are going.”

Incantations mark the moment when the Saha, people who allow their bodies to be inhabited by ancestral spirits, enter a state of possession. Those watching wait until the spirit has calmed before approaching to speak with it. © RFI/Sarah Tétaud


Lazare says her generation is determined to keep traditions alive.

“We see ourselves as the 'Gen Z of tradition', fighting to preserve the values of our ancestors,” she explains.

Many young people feel excluded from decisions about the country’s future, she says, adding that communities where elders pass on ritual knowledge offer a different model.

“Among those who keep these traditions, there is mutual respect. Adults pass things on to us and encourage us to take our place.”

Madagascar's Gen Z uprising, as told by three young protesters
Learning the rites

That transmission continues into the early hours of the morning.

After the sacrifice of a zebu, a type of cattle common in Madagascar, elders teach younger participants gathered around them how to cut the animal correctly. At around 3am, an elder gives instructions by the light of a headlamp.

“If you look at these horns, if we cut them properly, we’ll be able to hang the skull outside the house to honour the ancestors. Look, big brother, you need to cut a bit lower here,” he says.

A younger man struggles to follow the guidance. “There’s something I don’t understand. I followed your advice, but look, it’s not coming off, it’s too hard,” he replies.

The elder tells him to "cut even lower".

The zebu sacrificed to the ancestors during the Alakoasibe ceremony is carefully cut. Part of the animal is later shared among those attending the ceremony, with the cutting carried out using techniques taught by elders to younger people. © RFI/Sarah Tétaud


As the sun rises, the ceremony moves into its final stages, with purification rites followed by a shared meal. Johnson Fierens, prince of Belmamoun, a local royal lineage, and host of the ceremony, gathers people in his living room to reflect on what they have witnessed.

“When you take part in something, you have to understand what it means,” he tells them. “This rite educates us, corrects us and shapes us. Respect for tradition is the key to developing our country.”

Fierens urges the younger generation to focus their energy carefully. “You are not going to learn the traditions of other countries. Use your strength for good,” he says.

A photographer’s journey into Malagasy ancestral rituals

A society under strain

The turn towards ancestral practices comes against a backdrop of deep social pressure. Malagasy society is under strain, with many young people facing poverty and lack of jobs. More than 40 percent of 18 to 35-year-olds are unemployed.

Those tensions were laid bare during a recent wave of anger among Generation Z, which led to a sudden change of government in October. Youth-led protests over electricity and water shortages spread nationwide, forcing the president to flee the country.

It is against this backdrop that some young people are turning back to their cultural roots.

Zeena Ranieri, an anthropologist and lecturer at the University of Antananarivo, says the movement reflects a society in transition.

“Every political, economic and cultural context has shaken Malagasy society,” she tells RFI. “It has become a society searching for identity and for ways forward.”

Young people, she says, feel disconnected from the paths laid out for them, education that does not lead to employment and social models that no longer offer stability or fulfilment.

“We cannot find work with what we learned. We cannot find happiness with the reference points we were given,” Ranieri says. “That's why there is a break. We know we need a new identity and new reference points.”

For some young Malagasy, that search does not mean rejecting modern life but living alongside it. Ancestral rites offer defined roles, shared rules and a recognised place within the community.

This story is based on a radio report in French by RFI correspondent Sarah Tétaud

 

Russian man faces fine for AI-generated tiger attack video

Fake video gets Russian man hit with massive fine. / bne IntelliNews

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By bne IntelliNews January 5, 2026

A resident of Primorye in Russia faces a fine of up to RUB100,000 ($1,088) for creating and distributing a fake video using artificial intelligence that depicted an Amur tiger attack, Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources reported on January 5.

The RUB100,000 fine is the maximum penalty under current Russian legislation for deliberately distributing misleading content that could provoke public alarm. Authorities have not indicated whether additional charges related to wildlife protection violations or public safety concerns might be pursued.

The ministry identified the video as fake after concerned citizens contacted authorities about the footage. The AI-generated content spread rapidly through local social media communities, causing panic among residents in the Far Eastern region.

"We carefully examined the footage and reassured Primorye residents that it was made using AI. To prevent the joker from causing more trouble, a police report was filed," the ministry stated.

Law enforcement agencies have launched an investigation into the distribution of potentially dangerous disinformation. The case could establish one of the first legal precedents in Russia for holding individuals accountable for fake content created using neural networks.

The Primorye resident used artificial intelligence tools to simulate the tiger attack scenario, though authorities have not disclosed which specific AI platform was employed. The video's realistic appearance contributed to widespread concern before officials confirmed its artificial origin.

Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources maintains responsibility for monitoring wildlife-related information and has increasingly focused on combating false reports that could affect public safety or wildlife conservation efforts.

The Amur tiger population in Primorye remains a sensitive conservation issue, with approximately 600 individuals living in the wild across the region.

 

Demand for wildfire catastrophe bonds surges in 2025

Last year sw the worst wildfires on record as the climate crisis accelerates. However, the one-way street the crisis has become has made the disasters more predictable and that has made them more easy to price for insurers. / bne IntelliNews

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By Ben Aris in Berlin January 5, 2026

The market for wildfire catastrophe bonds surged in 2025, with more than $5bn in new issuance — more than double the previous year’s total — as investors start to grapple with the accelerating Climate Crisis that is already causing tens billions of dollars of damage each year.

Previously thought to be virtually uninsurable, damage from extreme weather is now part of the annual disaster season of extreme weather events that are only getting worse. Financiers are increasingly facing the problem of how to pay for insurance claims after entire cities have been wrecked by storms, hurricanes or flooding.

Wildfire-linked cat bonds helped drive total catastrophe bond issuance to a record $23bn in 2025, according to insurance- securities tracker Artemis, as fires become a major problem during the increasingly hot and long summer season, Bloomberg reports.

The European Union endured its worst wildfire season since records began, with more than 1.01mn hectares of land scorched in 2025, surpassing previous highs and raising concerns over climate preparedness and environmental management across the bloc.

According to data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), fires burned 1,016,000 hectares of land— an area larger than Cyprus and equivalent to roughly one-third of Belgium -- the first time the EU has crossed the 1mn hectare threshold.

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says that the Paris Agreement goal of keeping temperature increases to less than 1.5°C-2°C above the pre-industrial benchmark has already been missed. Temperature increases are on course to reach a catastrophic 2.7C-3.1C by 2050. After the failure of the last three COP meetings, including COP30 in Brazil, extreme temperature events will become routine and the emphasis has switched from prevention to mere mitigation. That will cost money. A lot of money.

The broader cat bond market is now expected to close 2025 at around $60bn, underscoring the growing role of capital markets to pay for the now inevitable extreme weather damage.

Catastrophe bonds are a type of insurance-linked security that allows insurers to transfer the risk of large-scale natural disasters — such as hurricanes, earthquakes, or now, wildfires — to investors. In exchange for regular coupon payments, investors agree to forfeit all or part of their principal if a pre-defined catastrophe event occurs. If no such event happens, the investors receive their capital back in full, earning above-average yields for the risk. For insurers and reinsurers, cat bonds offer a way to access deeper pools of capital beyond traditional reinsurance markets.

“Historically, wildfire exposure was included within a mix of earthquake and hurricane risk,” Dirk Schmelzer, senior fund manager at Plenum Investments AG told Bloomberg. “Now, it’s become such a big peril in the market, it’s worth placing that risk on a standalone basis.”

The rise of wildfire-linked issuance follows a series of catastrophic fire seasons, particularly in California. The wildfires swept through Los Angeles in January last year destroying over 16,000 buildings and caused $40bn in insured losses — the highest ever for a wildfire event. That contributed to total global insured disaster losses surpassing $100bn for the sixth consecutive year, according to Bloomberg.

Catastrophe bond investors were largely insulated from those losses. Fitch Ratings estimates the total impact to the cat bond market at less than $250mn, a fraction of overall insured losses. That performance has bolstered investor confidence in the asset class, even as climate-driven disasters become more frequent and severe.

Experts say the surge in issuance is underpinned by major improvements in risk modelling, particularly for wildfires, which were long considered too complex and unpredictable to price accurately. The one-way street that the Climate Crisis has become is making it more predictable and so easier to price the risk.

While wildfire bonds still represent a small segment of the overall market, their rapid growth suggests a broader shift in how risk is being structured and securitised. As insurers face rising premiums and tightening capacity in traditional reinsurance, catastrophe bonds are increasingly viewed as a vital instrument for managing climate-related volatility.

As the crisis accelerates, experts are expecting new classes of cat bonds to appear — potentially including bonds to cover the impact of heatwaves, floods, and other perils. For example, Category 5 hurricane Melissa devastated Jamaica last year, the worst storm in recorded history, but meteorologists say it is only a matter of time before the world sees its first ever Category 6 hurricane – a city killer. The message from the capital markets is already clear: no catastrophe is off-limits — if the price is right.

Project 2025: From Nightmare To Reality

Thomas Piketty
18th December 2025
SOCIAL EUROPE

The year 2025 was marked by the Trump shock: an unprecedented wave of extreme brutality, unapologetic nationalism, and unrestrained extractivism that shook the world as never before since 1945.

To better understand what made it all possible, and how to confront it in the future, we must turn to its roots. Namely, to Project 2025, the 920-page report published by the Heritage Foundation, Washington’s most influential conservative think tank, in 2023. From one state department to another (security, immigration, education, energy, trade, etc.), the report outlines the strategy to follow after taking office, targeted for January 2025. It even specifies the content and timetable for executive orders, the presidential decrees signed publicly and in rapid succession by Donald Trump since his inauguration.

The report drew on the work of hundreds of conservative experts – as they call themselves – brought together by the foundation, which is lavishly funded by corporations and billionaires. What stands out most when reading the report today is the degree of technical, political and ideological preparation behind the Trump administration. Over the past year, Trump has followed the plans laid out by Project 2025 almost to the letter. The new National Security Strategy published by the White House on December 5 reads almost like a copy-and-paste of the project.

Revealingly, Project 2025 identifies several political and ideological enemies. First, there are the globalist liberals, staunch advocates of absolute free trade and unfettered globalization, who are portrayed as useful idiots. Easy to defeat and despise, these liberal elites care little for deindustrialization, job losses and the destruction of local communities and family ties. In contrast, the proud conservatives behind Project 2025 claim to protect these communities. They do so first by asserting US power in the world, relying heavily on tariffs and all-out extractivism: outright asset seizures (Ukraine, Panama, Greenland), imposing military tribute on Europe, and doubling down on fossil fuels. Next, they champion hard work, family values, and respect for natural and cultural hierarchies. The scourge of « fatherlessness » (growing up without a father, a situation that particularly affects ethnic minorities) is repeatedly condemned and blamed on liberal narratives that deny traditional gender roles and undermine the traditional family.

But Project 2025 is mainly concerned with an enemy it deems much more dangerous: internationalist socialists and their plans for a global superstate. The fear may seem laughable, as Trumpists sometimes tend to conflate mild-mannered European social democrats with fearsome Marxist revolutionaries. Yet it must be taken seriously. First, because supporters of democratic socialism such as Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani have become very popular among young Americans over the past decade.

Even more importantly, the authors of Project 2025 seem genuinely alarmed by international debates on taxation, climate reparations or reforms of the global financial system that have gained traction since the 2008 crisis and the Paris Agreement of 2015. They loathe Brazil’s proposal to create a global tax on billionaires just as much as they resent the significant issuance of international currency (Special Drawing Rights by the International Monetary Fund) that occurred after the crises of 2008 and 2020. All the more so because the US will soon lose its veto power over such decisions as its share of global GDP declines.

A particularly telling section concerns trade, which takes the very unusual form in Project 2025 of two chapters setting out opposing positions. The main chapter advocates an avalanche of tariffs closely resembling what Trump implemented in 2025. Like the US president, the author seems to be under no illusions about the extent of industrial job creation this could bring. In general, the report displays little empathy for the poorest and relies on an instrumental, paternalistic and hierarchical approach to the working-class vote. The main objective of tariffs seems to be to generate revenue for the federal government and to continue dismantling the progressive tax system – a project shared by liberals and conservatives since the 1980s, though conservatives have always maintained a lead in this area.

Project 2025’s second chapter on trade opposes such a strategy. The dissenting conservative author fears that by so openly repudiating the principles of free trade, the door may eventually be opened to global socialist planning. In future, opponents of the market will use this precedent to regulate trade based on social and climate criteria: the ultimate nightmare for conservatives. In the end, Trumpists opted for protectionism for both electoral and financial reasons, but the fear of a socialist drift is clearly acknowledged.

In reality, the true enemy of the nationalist and extractivist right embodied by Trumpists is the global social-democratic left. That left can win, provided it learns to organize and move beyond the liberal ruts of the past. Trumpist brutality is a sign of weakness. The US is losing its grip on the world. Across the Atlantic, some believe they can escape this decline by brandishing weapons and instructing Europeans to preserve their racial purity to maintain the Western alliance. All they will do is further tarnish their country’s image and convince the rest of the world that the future will increasingly be written without them.

This column was first published by Le Monde

Author Profile


Thomas Piketty
Thomas Piketty is professor of economics at the Paris School of Economics and author of Capital and Ideology and Capital in the Twenty-First Century (both Belknap Press).

 

Anarchism and Law

Comment, Dec 30th

The recently published brochure Anarchistisch Recht explores ‘anarchist law’ as a collective term for furthering critiques of the social and legal order

~ Thom Holterman ~

Anarchism can offer an excellent framework for fundamental legal criticism. Since anarchists critique capitalist society, which relies on oppressive laws to maintain its existence, the addition of legal perspectives can allow for decisive criticisms of the present social order. The two approaches do not exclude each other; instead, anarchists can advance legal criticism without compromise.

This aligns with what is known as ‘positive anarchy’, a term borrowed from Proudhon. Fundamentally, it encompasses a view of society without oppressive power and refers to order, dynamism, and rationality, in addition to mutualism and federalism. Such views and ideas can also be found in Kropotkin and Bakunin. Here, I would like to emphasise Clara Meijer-Wichmann (1885-1922) in particular, as she was one of the first female jurists, challenging existing criminal law and the entire penitentiary system over a century ago.

What I call ‘anarchist law’ here should be understood as a collective term with plural meanings. ‘Anarchist’ refers both ideologically to ‘anti-capitalist’ and sociologically/politically to ‘without coercion’. Referring to ‘law’ as anarchist law thus places the term into a forward-looking perspective towards a libertarian society. This future-oriented focus does not imply that it is new, or without a past. Forms of anarchist law have always existed, but have remained largely unknown.

As is evident in my first contribution in the recently-published brochure Anarchistisch Recht, entitled ‘Law and Power in a Libertarian Perspective’, one of the sources of law is human co-operation. This is further elaborated in my second contribution, ‘George Gurvitch (1894-1965) and Social Law’, where his ideas of ‘social law’ and political pluralism are discussed.

The third contribution, entitled ‘State, Law, and Legitimacy’, addresses the foundations of that ‘other’, libertarian society, by French libertarian activist, anarcho-syndicalist, and historian René Berthier. The fourth contribution comes from French libertarian jurist Anne-Sophie Chambost, a university lecturer in legal history specializing in Proudhon. She demonstrates that anarchist law already has a history. Her text is titled ‘Anarchist Thoughts on Law in the 19th and 20th Centuries’.

In these first four contributions, anarchism and law are seen as converging. As already noted, this doesn’t preclude viewing the two phenomena in a divergent, mutually-opposed sense. Law that is used to maintain the existing capitalist society, which is precisely what anarchists are fighting against, is a main aspect of this opposition. The Armenian physician, activist anarchist, and author Alexander Atabekyan (1868-1933) makes clear to us that this has been the case for a long time. His contribution, the fifth, was sent to me in a German translation from Russian, published here under the title ‘Law and Supremacy’.

The apparent divergence between anarchism and law can be put into practice or worked around in various ways. In the sixth contribution, I listed some of these anarchists’ ways: ‘Apart from the Law – On Illegalists, Direct Action, Take and Eat movement’. Finally, the seventh contribution is by French libertarian jurist and anarcho-syndicalist Pierre Bance, who once again comprehensively examines the ‘question of law in anarchy’ and encourages recognising ‘anarchist law’ as a key issue.

Iranian anarchists: Uprising is “genuine self-organisation by ordinary people”

World, Jan 5th

Interview with members of Anarchist Front, a collective spreading information about events in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan

~ Gabriel Fonten ~

The uprising in Iran has been ongoing for over a week. It is not only an economic protest, but also a practical revolt against the entire logic of state power. People have disrupted control of the streets, destroyed the symbols of repression, and stood against bullets. This is precisely anarchy in action: paralysis of the government machine from below, without the need for immediate replacement with new power.

The regime responded with direct shooting, raids on hospitals and mass arrests, but the crackdown has failed so far. Sporadic and floating tactics (burning cars, breaking cameras and blocking dispatch routes) have moved power from the centre to the sidelines and created a space for real self-management: mass donation, hospital defense, and direct display of information without intermediaries.

To find out more, we sent some questions to the Anarchist Front, a collective spreading information about events in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan.

How widespread is support for the strikes among the general population?

Support for radical strikes and protests in Iran is extremely widespread. Out of Iran’s thirty-two provinces, only two or three have not participated in these strikes and protests.

How would you characterise the current general strike in Iran? What caused the strike?

At present, strikes and protests are unfolding simultaneously, and the situation is escalating rapidly. What began as a peaceful shutdown of Tehran’s Grand Bazaar by shopkeepers turned violent after security forces intervened. From there, protests quickly spread to cities across the country.

At the heart of this unrest lies unbearable economic pressure and rampant inflation that has made everyday life impossible for large segments of society. The first strikes emerged among mobile phone sellers, driven by the chaos of fluctuating exchange rates and the soaring cost of imported goods.

These protests are entirely spontaneous and self-organized. There is no leadership, no political faction directing them, and no central command issuing orders. This is anger rising directly from the ground.

At the same time, the son of Iran’s former king is once again attempting to capitalize on the situation. Whenever protests erupt in Iran, he rushes to claim them as his own. While it is true that he has some supporters inside the country, the vast majority of his base resides abroad. Beyond royalists, decades of repression by the Islamic Republic have effectively destroyed the possibility of other organized opposition forces emerging inside the country.

How are protests being organised and what groups are looking to benefit from them?

This wave began with the closure of markets in response to the catastrophic collapse of the rial, extreme inflation, rising taxes, and the regime’s complete inability to manage the economic crisis. It rapidly transformed into accumulated rage against the entire structure of power. Slogans such as “Death to Khamenei” and “Basij, Sepah, ISIS — you are all the same” reflect the depth of this anger.

The root causes are the total economic collapse of the regime, stemming from systemic corruption, massive military expenditures, and foreign sanctions. However, sanctions are merely an excuse the regime uses to justify repression.

Organization is largely horizontal and decentralised: through social media networks, local calls by bazaar merchants, and the organic spread of street-level rage—without a central leader or guiding party. This is precisely its strength: genuine self-organisation by ordinary people against domination.

However, this is where the danger lies. Exiled opposition groups—particularly royalists aligned with Reza Pahlavi—have entered the scene and are attempting to hijack this popular uprising. Through calls issued from abroad, they inject slogans like “Long Live the Shah” in an effort to steer protests toward the restoration of another hereditary dictatorship—one that previously crushed people through SAVAK and bloody repression, and now seeks to reclaim power through diplomatic smiles and empty promises.

Beyond these groups, anarchists, segments of communists, parts of liberals, and republicans also support this movement and stand to benefit from the fall of the Islamic Republic.

Meanwhile, sections of the Islamic Republic itself are attempting to portray this uprising as an internal reformist movement, in order to preserve the regime in a modified form.

Could you introduce yourselves as a collective: where did you emerge from, what is your purpose, how are you organised?

The Anarchist Front is the newest form of a path that began in 2009—a path marked by many rises and falls, from The Voice of Anarchism to the Federation of the Era of Anarchism. Today, with a renewed structure that brings together experienced comrades and new forces, we once again place emphasis on self-organisation and radical struggle—both in raising political awareness and in actively encouraging and supporting struggles on the ground.

The Anarchist Front is founded on the principles of solidarity, anti-authoritarianism, and relentless resistance against all forms of domination. We do not seek to reform the existing order; we seek to destroy it—so that no power, no class, and no borders remain. Our struggle is rooted in the historical protests and resistance of people in the geographies of Iran and Afghanistan, while at the same time remaining deeply connected to the global anarchist movement.

While our primary focus is on Iran and Afghanistan, our horizon goes far beyond borders. We strive for a world where freedom, equality, solidarity, and genuine mutual aid are realised—without any form of rule or exploitation. For us, anarchism is not merely a theory; it is a way of life, a mode of action, and the process of building a world free from power, repression, and lies.

A lot of your coverage focuses on violence against women. Do you see this as part of the current strike?

Today, women, students, and youth are actively present in the streets. They formed the core social body of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. Therefore, yes—the current strikes are aligned with the demands of the Mahsa movement and with women’s rights struggles.

We believe this movement, while preserving the spirit of Woman, Life, Freedom, has also created an opportunity for more passive and conservative segments of society to enter collective struggle against the Islamic Republic and unite with others.

Our primary concern—beyond confronting the criminal Islamic Republic, which killed more than seven people in our geography just last night—is confronting royalist currents that have infiltrated the movement and are exploiting the situation. Their misogynistic tendencies are clearly visible in both their discourse and political practice.

What is the state of anarchism in Iran and Afghanistan, and what challenges do activists face?

Threats, summons, beatings, death threats, imprisonment, and sexual violence are realities anarchists have faced over the past two years and even before that.

In the past five months alone, two of our comrades have been arrested and four others summoned. Conditions inside Iran are extremely dangerous for us. At present, one of our direct comrades from the Anarchist Front, Afshin Heyratian, is imprisoned in Evin Prison. Other anarchist comrades are imprisoned in prisons in Yazd Province.

We hope that through struggle we can free our comrades and create conditions of safety for ourselves.

Do you see a risk of foreign intervention in Iran? What would be the result?

As mentioned earlier, royalists and supporters of Reza Pahlavi are deeply dependent on Western powers. Along with other sections of the opposition, they have created conditions in which Western governments—under the guise of helping the Iranian people—openly discuss military attacks or media intervention in Iran.

Trump and Netanyahu have repeatedly threatened Iran with military action, particularly during moments of active protest.

We take this opportunity to state our absolute and unconditional opposition to any military occupation or foreign intervention by Western states in Iran—at any level and in any form.

Just as we were present during the twelve-day Iran–Israel conflict in the fields of reporting, mutual aid, and resistance inside Iran, we insist that if foreign intervention occurs, we have both the will and readiness to confront it.

We are a local force, composed of horizontal and diverse networks of anarchist activists who previously organized together within the Federation of the Era of Anarchism. We are not primarily a militarist group. However, depending on future developments, we may adopt new positions and prepare ourselves accordingly.

We do not view Iranian society as a whole as eager for foreign intervention.

Finally, how can people overseas keep up to date with events in Iran and Afghanistan?

We provide real-time reporting and organising in Persian. Our reporters are in direct contact and physically present in major Iranian cities. At the end of each day, the Anarchist Front’s news and journalism platform publishes a comprehensive daily report in Persian.

In addition, we publish daily news in Italian, Spanish (Argentina), Arabic, English, and occasionally in German and Swedish. A platform also exists for comrades from non–Persian-speaking countries, including an international coordination group. We receive reports from around the world and act as an anarchist political force offering solidarity and support during ongoing crises.

Regarding Afghanistan and Tajikistan: our comrades are present inside Afghanistan, and we also have comrades in Tajikistan. Similar to Iran, we engage in both news work and practical action in these regions.

Our final demand is the continued awareness of free people of all tendencies across the world. We ask them not to turn their eyes away from the specific conditions of the Middle East and North Africa—especially Iran and Afghanistan—and to resist false information, misleading narratives, and grand narratives that erase society, its dynamics, and its demands from political analysis.

We also call for solidarity and mutual cooperation.

Iran protests over economy spread to dozens of cities; 20 dead, nearly 1,000 arrested

Yenişafak English AA
05/01/2026, Monday


AAFile photo
Nationwide protests in Iran, driven by severe economic hardship, have entered their eighth day, spreading to at least 78 cities. A human rights monitor reports 20 fatalities and nearly 1,000 arrests as security forces clash with demonstrators, drawing international calls for restraint.

Widespread civil unrest over a deepening economic crisis has entered its second week in Iran, with protests now reported in dozens of cities and towns. According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the demonstrations, which include strikes and university actions, have resulted in at least 20 deaths and the arrest of nearly 1,000 people.

The scale and human cost of unrest

In a detailed report covering the eight consecutive days of protests, HRANA stated that unrest has been recorded in at least 222 locations across 26 provinces. The agency confirmed that the 20 fatalities include citizens aged 16 to 45, as well as one member of the security forces. At least 51 people have been injured, many by pellets and plastic bullets. Among the roughly 990 documented arrests are minors between 15 and 17 years old, with mass detentions reported in cities like Isfahan, Shiraz, and Yazd.

Economic grievances and official response

The protests were initially triggered by soaring inflation, a collapsing national currency, and widespread job insecurity. While some officials have blamed foreign interference, domestic civil society groups like the Workers’ House of Iran have stated that citizens have a legitimate right to protest their economic conditions. Police Chief Ahmadreza Radan announced the start of "targeted arrests of protest leaders," accusing them of incitement.

International reactions and principle of sovereignty

The escalating situation has drawn international concern. The European Union called for maximum restraint and dialogue, while Amnesty International demanded an end to violence. For nations like Türkiye, which prioritizes regional stability and respects the principle of non-interference in domestic affairs, the events highlight the complex challenge of addressing legitimate socio-economic grievances within the framework of national sovereignty and internal security. The coming days will be critical in determining whether the protests subside or intensify further.

Missing $8 Billion in Shadow-Fleet Oil Revenue Primes Iran for Revolt

Pixabay / public domain

Published Jan 4, 2026 7:06 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

Early readers of the Maritime Executive magazine’s Nov/Dec edition will have been pre-warned about Iran’s Velayat-e Faqih regime being on the brink of imminent collapse. As protests and street riots continue, it is evident, as predicted, that the prime mover bringing Iranians onto the street are the economic hardships that the general population is now suffering. Iranians have tried to get on with their lives, ignoring what they dislike about the regime. But with inflation, unemployment, rising food prices, shortages of water and electricity, and noxious air quality, ordinary Iranians can no longer bear the deteriorating conditions, and despair then turns to blaming the regime and street protests.

The religious leadership in Iran has always sought to placate the population by providing heavy subsidies for basic commodities. But implementing this policy has become harder and harder in recent months, especially as hardliners refuse to compromise and keep diverting resources to the much-reduced Axis of Resistance and to nuclear and missile programs. There hasn’t been enough in the bank both to pay for Iran’s external posturing and to cover the domestic budget. Without government money feeding into the economy – in the form of subsidies, employment, wage increases, infrastructure spending and investment – then ordinary Iranians suffer deteriorating living standards, particularly in rural areas. Of late, that drop in living standards has become extreme, creating hunger and acute shortages of basic necessities.

Although this trend has been felt by Iranians for some time, matters came to a head politically in recent weeks, when the draft government budget was put before the Iranian majlis – and was rejected by lawmakers because it planned to put even more burdens on the population.

It has now emerged that one of the principal reasons for the revenue shortages necessitating price and tax increases and effective wage cuts has been the shortfall in revenues expected from oil sales.

Revenues generated from oil sales have been under pressure for some time, with sanctions forcing Iran to offer larger and larger discounts to purchasers worried about being listed by the US Treasury and others. China has provided no relief, using Iran’s difficulties not to aid a supposed ally but instead to demand larger and larger discounts. Worse, to sell its oil, Iran has had to rely on a network of trusted third-party shipping brokers and oil traders registered in supposedly friendly countries. But it turns out that figures such as Hussein Shamkani and Babak Zanjani, closely connected to the regime or related to senior regime figures, have been pocketing up to 38 percent of revenues, failing to pass the money on to the government.

The head of the Budget Committee in the Iranian Majlis has told law-makers in recent weeks that of $21 billion in oil sales made between March and November this year, the government only received $13 billion, with the rest purloined by the regime’s “trusted” middlemen. Gholamreza Tajgardoun also told the Majlis that he wasn’t expecting the government to get more than $8 billion from oil sales next year, such being the pressure of sanctions. So matters are scheduled to get worse, and particularly so if, as some analysts believe, ship and cargo seizures become more frequent next year.

For ordinary Iranians, the huge amount of money being stolen by regime insiders has at least one benefit: key regime leaders may be inclined to flee the country with their ill-gotten gains to live a less stressful (and more secular) life in exile, rather than put up resistance to the street protests growing in momentum. If insiders abandon the regime and flee, security force defections will increase and the regime’s internal security defenses will begin to crumble.

For the US Treasury and the shipping community there is a simple message: the missing billions indicate that sanctions are working, and the penalties for avoidance are a sufficiently effective deterrent.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

Chinese cyberattacks on Taiwan infrastructure averaged 2.6 million a day in 2025, report says

REUTERS
January 5, 2026 

A giant screen shows a news report on patrol and law‑enforcement operation drills around Taiwan conducted by China's Fujian Coast Guard, in Beijing on Dec. 30, 2025. (Reuters)


TAIPEI--Chinese cyberattacks on Taiwan’s key infrastructure ⁠from hospitals to banks rose 6% in 2025 from ‌the previous year to ‍an average of 2.63 million attacks a day, the island’s National Security Bureau said, adding some were synchronized with military drills in “hybrid threats” to paralyze the island.

Taiwan has in recent years complained about what it sees as China’s “hybrid warfare” - from daily military drills near the island to disinformation ‍campaigns and cyberattacks - as ​Beijing ramps up military and political pressure on the democratically governed island to force Taipei to accept its claims of sovereignty.

The average number of daily attacks in 2025 jumped 113% from 2023 when the bureau first began publishing such data, with sectors such as energy, emergency rescue and hospitals seeing the sharpest year-on-year increases, according to a report by the National Security Bureau on Sunday.

“Such a trend indicates a deliberate attempt by China to compromise Taiwan’s crucial infrastructure comprehensively and to disrupt or paralyze Taiwanese government and social functions,” the report said.

The bureau said China’s “cyber army” timed operations to coincide ​with military and political ​coercion. For example, China launched 40 “joint combat ‍readiness patrols” by sending military planes and ships close to Taiwan and cyberattacks escalated on 23 ⁠of those occasions. China also ramped up hacking activities during politically sensitive moments such as when President Lai Ching-te marked his first year in office with a speech in May and when Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim spoke at a meeting with lawmakers at the European Parliament in November.

“China’s moves align with its strategic need to employ hybrid threats against Taiwan during both peacetime and wartime,” the ‌report said.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment.

China routinely denies being involved in hacking attacks.

Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taipei strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims and says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

The Taiwanese report said the Chinese attacks included distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks designed to disrupt Taiwan’s daily life as well as man-in-the-middle attacks to steal information and penetrate the island’s telecommunications networks.

Science parks that anchor ​Taiwan’s semiconductor industry—home ⁠to firms such as TSMC—have also been prime targets, with attackers employing a range of techniques to steal advanced technologies.

The move was “an attempt to support China’s ​self-reliance in technology and economic development and prevent ​China from ​being put in a disadvantaged position in the U.S.-China technology competition,” the report said.

CHINA VS USA

Two Views on Global Governance

Jan 05, 2026
Wang Youming

Senior Research Fellow of BRICS Economic Think Tank, 

Tsinghua University


China’s Global Governance Initiative contains some clear structural and cognitive differences compared with the West. Global governance has entered a post-Western era and requires the building of a new governance regime that features consultation and sharing.

No concept has triggered such long, dramatic debates in international academia as global governance. The concept originated in Europe, yet academic circles there have yet to agree on a uniform definition. “Global governance” has been a pragmatist term subject to dramatically different interpretations. In the United State, the anti-globalist Donald Trump scoffs at global governance, which has been replaced by “transactionalism” and marginalized in the latest U.S. National Security Strategy.

Taking advantage of the positive resonance its proposed Global Governance Initiative has received in Global South nations, China has formed a 43-member “group of friends of global governance” under the UN framework. There is obviously divergent positioning and understanding of global governance in different contexts.

Different ideas and plans

China and the West proposed their own ideas and plans for global governance in different international conditions. Along with the mighty waves of globalization in the 1990s, increasingly prominent challenges emerged. The previous model of “hard management” of international affairs by major powers appeared inefficient in coping with the global crises that combined traditional and non-traditional problems. Germany’s former chancellor, Willy Brandt, was the first to propose the idea of global governance as distinguished from state-centrism. In 1995, the Commission on Global Governance—composed of international celebrities—issued Our Global Neighborhood, which comprehensively and systematically elaborated a fresh model for the governance of global affairs based on rules and regulations rather than on government authority, with participation by diverse actors. Post-nation-state diversity， multilateralism and consultative governance have since served as the core elements of global governance. NGO, civic society and climate change are the key terms.

Deepening international changes in the 2020s have revealed rising tides of anti-globalization and geopolitical hotspots. Under Trump 2.0, international politics and the global economy have entered a new biosphere. Unilateralism and the law of the jungle are coming back, the postwar “liberal international order” is fading out and the U.S. is no longer willing to provide the public good of global governance.

Meanwhile, the collective rise of the Global South has resulted in further changes in the global balance of power, but the structure of the distribution of international institutionalized power remains unbalanced. Belated reforms of such institutions as the United Nations have raised questions and challenges to their authority and effectiveness. The global governance regime is in an unprecedented state of “imbalance, ineffectiveness, disorder.” As the world reached a crossroads, China put forward its Global Governance Initiative, showing the world the principles, path and direction of future governance from five dimensions—sovereignty, equality, people-first and action-oriented approaches.

What sovereignty means

Since Europe put forward the idea of global governance, it has attempted to innovate from the perspective of supra nationalism. Western globalists believe globalization has brought global governance into a post-nation-state era; countries would be unable to cope with such challenges as climate change and epidemics, or adapt to the new situation in which actors such as NGOs, transnational corporations and civil societies actively participate in global governance if they stick to the dogma of national sovereignty. Therefore under the European framework of global governance, sovereignty is no longer as sacred and untouchable as it used to be. Under this view, for the greater good of the world, nation-states need to relinquish part of their sovereignty—that is, transfer financial and currency sovereignty like members of the European Union.

Under China’s Global Governance Initiative, sovereignty equality is the most important principle. Today’s world is far from the ideal of a “state of unity.” The interests of nation-states remain the primary concern of each government, and equal sovereignty remains a fundamental guarantee when it comes to preserving those interests.

As the U.S. deploys a massive military force against Venezuela, illustrating the evident rise of unilaterali bullying and “might is right” thinking, the emphasis on equal sovereignty is highly relevant and has strong historical significance. The core connotation lies in the belief that all countries, big or small, rich or poor, are entitled to equal participation in the governance of global affairs and in sharing the achievements of global governance. The outlook on global governance featuring consultation, participation and sharing is a necessary prerequisite and the ultimate outcome of sovereignty equality.

Interpretations of multilateralism

The initial European advocates of global governance came to the understanding that it’s no longer possible to rely on any single power to resolve global hot spot issues and troubles, and so the era of unilateral governance by big powers is over. Therefore, they advocate multilateral governance in international affairs and accentuate the indispensable role and functions of the UN.

In its 2003 European Security Strategy, the EU proposed the idea of “effective multilateralism,” which advocates the establishment of a rules-based global governance regime featuring multilateral cooperation and consultative action. Multilateralism in the European view is in sharp contrast with American unilateralism as well as other “mini-multilateral” groupings or “small circles,” such as the QUAD. But effective multilateralism remains a multilateral governance model in which the West plays the central role, and other countries coordinate with them. So it is still confined in the trap of “West-centrism,” and it remains a “core-periphery” governance model in its basic nature.

China advocates genuine multilateralism, which is a correction and upgrade of effective multilateralism. It exposes and critiques the pseudo-multilateralism of Western small circles and camp confrontations. Global governance should transcend West-centrism and avoid any discriminatory, exclusive arrangements. Every country should have a say in global affairs, which should not be dictated by a single power or a certain small group.

China resolutely supports the UN’s authority as the core platform of global governance and opposes any form of unilateralism. This includes the exclusivity of the emerging hegemony in the Western Hemisphere. The global governance regime must undergo a transition from a “core-periphery” model to an “equal-orderly” one.

Western values vs. Chinese nature

The Western narrative about global governance has a premise, which is that global governance must be based on Western values featuring human rights and democracy. All actors may smoothly participate only under such conditions. Based on this ideological premise, Western nations often interfere with the internal affairs of other countries with the excuse that they are merely coping with global crises under a banner asserting that “human rights override sovereignty.” This is an important reason that many Global South nations, including China, don’t subscribe to the Western model of global governance.

China advocates a people-centered values for its proposed initiative, assuming only that when global governance targets people’s practical gains can it win broad support and operate efficiently. Compared with the widely disputed claim of Western human rights and democratic values, the people-centered orientation is likely to attract broader endorsement. That’s because it is the only guarantee protecting the most basic of human rights. The purpose and goal of global governance is to promote development through equal multilateral cooperation, thus bringing a sense of gain, security and happiness.

To sum up, the current state of global governance is seeing some changes because of the actors, strategic direction and capacity for implementation. The Western outlook, unfortunately, is already unable to reflect the new realities of the worldwide balance of power or the new biosphere of international politics.

China’s Global Governance Initiative, which conforms to the interests of the Global South, has some clear structural and cognitive differences compared with the Western outlook. Global governance has entered a post-Western era and calls for the building of a new governance regime that features consultation and sharing by both the Global North and the Global South.

No bail for Indian activists after five years in jail without trial

Geeta Pandey and Abhishek Dey

BBC

Hindustan Times via Getty Images
Protests have been held to demand release of Umar Khalid and other student activists

Two prominent student activists in India have been denied bail after being held in prison for more than five years without trial.

India's Supreme Court on Monday rejected pleas of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who were arrested after the 2020 Delhi riots.

Police accused them of conspiracy to incite deadly clashes in the capital that killed 53 people, mostly Muslims. They were held under strict anti-terror laws that make bail difficult. They denied the charges and unsuccessfully applied for bail in courts over the years.

The court, however, granted bail to five other activists who were also arrested in the same case.

The riots occurred amid months-long protests against a citizenship law that the United Nations called "fundamentally discriminatory".

In its order on Monday morning, the two-judge bench said the bail petitions of all the seven accused had to be examined individually since they were not on "equal footing as regards culpability", reported legal website Bar and Bench.

The judges said they were making a distinction between the charges that were levelled against Khalid and Imam from the others while denying them bail.

The court added that the petitioners could apply for bail again only after one year.

Khalid completed his PhD in 2019 from Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University. Imam was a doctoral scholar at the time of his arrest at the same university. Both men are 37.

The case of the jailed activists has attracted a lot of attention in India and globally.

Umar Khalid: Indian activist languishes in jail without bail or trial

In October 2022, a former Supreme Court judge, three retired high court judges and a former federal home secretary wrote in a report on the riots that they found no substantiating evidence to warrant the imposition of terrorism charges against the activists.

Just last week, a group of US Congressmen and Senators wrote a letter to the Indian ambassador in Washington expressing "continued concern" over the activists' "prolonged pre-trial detention".

The activists have so far been unable to get bail as they are charged with the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA - a stringent anti-terror law that makes it exceptionally challenging to get bail and often results in years of detention until trial concludes.

Khalid's bail pleas have been rejected on at least five separate occasions in different courts over the past five years. He was granted two short outings in 2024 and 2025 to attend weddings in his family. Imam's bail pleas have been rejected at least twice before.

The case of the jailed activists has attracted a lot of attention in India and globally

The five activists who were granted bail on Monday include Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shadab Ahmed and Shifa ur Rehman.

Ms Fatima, 32, is a business administration graduate from Delhi University, while the others are human rights activists who protested against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Khalid, Imam and the others had approached the Supreme Court in September 2025 after being denied bail by the Delhi high court.

The activists told the court they had spent more than five years in jail without any evidence proving their involvement in the violence, arguing that their continued detention amounted to "punishment without trial".