Russia has pledged to provide Cuba with approximately 80,000 tons of diesel fuel worth $60 million to assist the island nation in its energy crisis, Russian state-run RIA news agency reported on Friday, citing Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

Cuba's electric grid collapsed on Wednesday as Hurricane Rafael moved across the island with top winds of more than 115 mph (185 kph), damaging homes, uprooting trees and toppling telephone poles.

"Russia is ready to provide brotherly Cuba with emergency assistance in connection with the current situation in the energy sector, including the supply of about 80,000 tons of diesel fuel for the amount approved in accordance with the president's instruction - $60 million," Chernyshenko said.

On Thursday, the local authorities said they had begun restoring power to the eastern half of the island. Cuba's energy grid failed several times last month.

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Wikipedia has officially added “Gaza genocide” to its “List of Genocides” page, marking a major shift in how Israel’s aggression on the besieged enclave is being documented on the world’s largest online encyclopaedia.

The addition, which now appears as the first entry due to the list’s reverse chronological order, comes after months of extensive debate among the platform’s editors. On its “Gaza genocide” page, it states that “Experts, governments, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organisations have accused Israel of carrying out a genocide against the Palestinian people during its invasion and bombing of the Gaza Strip in the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.”

The entry for “List of genocides,” Wikipedia states that “Israel has been accused by experts, governments, UN agencies and non-governmental organisations of carrying out a genocide against the Palestinian population during its invasion and bombing of Gaza during the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.” The page goes on to list the death toll in Gaza while mentioning that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians killed are civilians.

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The Spanish government has announced it will block two ships—Denver and Seletar—operated by shipping giant Maersk and carrying military cargo bound for Israel, from docking at the port of Algeciras. This decision comes just days after the Mask off Maersk campaign released a report exposing the company’s regular use of the Spanish port for transferring cargo that enables the ongoing genocide against Palestinians, despite Spain’s stated arms embargo.

Researchers from the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) and Progressive International (PI), who contributed to the report, told Peoples Dispatch that it is unclear whether Pedro Sánchez’s administration was genuinely unaware of the shipments or deliberately chose to look the other way. What is clear, however, is that since Sánchez announced the embargo in May, Maersk has succeeded in delivering thousands of tons of military cargo to Israel. It appears that Maersk typically sends one ship per week from New Jersey to Spain, carrying around 1,000 tons of military cargo destined for the Israeli military, the report states.

These shipments end up being used in Gaza, facilitating the killing, torture, and kidnapping of Palestinians. In recent months, Maersk has transported aircraft parts, armored vehicles, and projectile bodies—much of which has been essentially subsidized by US tax dollars. The shipments also included nearly 300 tons of goods labeled as “diplomatic cargo,” a classification that, according to PYM and PI researchers, is undoubtedly being used to obscure the true nature of the containers. This is one of several strategies used to evade oversight over shipments bound for Israel; others include submitting blank designations and relying on freight forwarders to mask the trace of what is being transported.

These entities, including Interglobal Forwarding Services (IFS) used by Israel, can get very creative in how they describe cargo. The Mask off Maersk report documents such practices and makes it clear that shipments bound for Israel should undergo regular oversight and inspection in order to stop ammunition and other military cargo being transported there. Between 2011 and 2014, for example, IFS managed to transport over 16,000 tons of “diplomatic” cargo on Maersk ships, according to the report. This designation appears to establish a stable supply chain of goods whose true nature remains concealed from customs authorities and the public, PYM and PI warn.

Maersk is fully aware of these operations, as well as of the nature of the cargo its ships transport, and could halt them immediately if it chose to, the report’s authors told Peoples Dispatch. However, it continues to enable this flow of deadly cargo, fueling the genocide. As a result, responsibility to block these shipments now lies with the governments of the countries whose ports are used in the transfers. Researchers noted that Morocco, Egypt, Italy, and Turkey must all be held to the same scrutiny as Spanish authorities. For instance, after being denied access to Spanish ports, the Maersk Denver sought permission to dock in Tangier, Morocco, sparking a BDS call urging local activists to mobilize and prevent this. Reports that Mediterranean ports might allow these ships to dock are deeply troubling and, moreover, stand in violation of several UN resolutions and recommendations.

The researchers emphasize that pressure must continue on the Sánchez administration until it commits to inspect every Maersk vessel originating from the US and carrying cargo to Israel, given the practices highlighted in the report. “These vessels must be blocked from docking—nothing more and nothing less,” stated PYM and PI activists.

Without grassroots pressure, governments are likely to ignore public opposition and continue allowing military cargo to flow to Israel through their logistical hubs. What’s needed now, according to the researchers, is a stronger mobilization of trade unions and workers’ actions against these shipments. For example, in October, dockworkers at Athens’ Piraeus port successfully blocked a shipment of ammunition destined for Israel.

Though such direct action triggers government repression, PYM and PI researchers argue that it remains one of the few effective ways to disrupt and halt Israel’s arms supply chain. The two Maersk ships Spain decided to block are not the only ones expected to bring more weapons to Israel—but the full list can be stopped through strong workplace mobilizations. Advocacy alone will not be enough to get the governments to act against the genocide in Palestine; only a people-led strategy, with trade unions playing a central role, can accomplish this goal.

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cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/3865626

Seized from here

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Chinese and Indonesian firms will sign business agreements totaling more than $10 billion on Sunday, President Prabowo Subianto said as he met his counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing during a state visit.

Prabowo, on his first foreign trip since his inauguration last month, said the relationship between China and Indonesia is getting “stronger and stronger,” according to a pool report of Saturday’s welcoming ceremony. Xi said Prabowo’s decision to visit China first is a reflection of the Indonesian leader’s emphasis on developing ties between the two sides.

Xi and Prabowo presided over the signings of several documents and memorandums of understanding between their governments. They include the joint development of fisheries and oil and gas in maritime areas of overlapping claims between the two countries as well as on maritime safety, and deepening cooperation on the blue economy, water and mineral resources and green minerals.

China, which was also Prabowo’s initial foreign destination as president-elect in April, is a priority as Indonesia’s biggest trading partner and the source of more than $7 billion of investment in commodity processing capacity and infrastructure.

“Indonesia considers China not only as a great power, but as a great civilization,” Prabowo said. “It is only natural that now in the present situation — geopolitical and geoeconomic — that Indonesia and China have become very close partners and in many, many fields.”

Prabowo said he will attend a meeting on Sunday between the Indonesian Trade and Industry Chamber of Commerce and top Chinese corporations, where billions of dollars of deals will be inked.

“This is a very significant milestone in our relationship,” he said. “Over a decade of comprehensive strategic partnership, our cooperation stretches all sectors.”

Prabowo will be in Beijing until Sunday before heading to the US to meet President Joe Biden and, possibly, his successor Donald Trump, balancing relations with the world’s two biggest economies.

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Chinese authorities banned a popular blogger known for his strong anti-Western comments, according to the South China Morning Post.

Sima Nan, who has more than 3 million followers on China’s social media site Weibo, has been banned across different platforms for a year, according to the paper, which cited two unidentified sources. Sima last posted on Nov. 5 to voice support for Donald Trump during the US election, saying his victory will be more beneficial for China.

According to the paper, Sima Nan is seen by many as “a symbolic voice on the nationalistic left.” He frequently accused groups or individuals of betraying China’s interests and colluding with the US. In 2021, he accused Lenovo Group Ltd. of selling state assets for less than they were worth and paying top executives unreasonably high salaries.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has notified Chinese chip design companies that it will suspend production of their most advanced artificial intelligence chips, as Washington continues to impede Beijing’s AI ambitions.

TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, told Chinese customers it would no longer manufacture AI chips at advanced process nodes of 7 nanometres or smaller as of this coming Monday, three people familiar with the matter said.

Two of the people said any future supplies of such semiconductors by TSMC to Chinese customers would be subject to an approval process likely to involve Washington.

TSMC’s tighter rules could reset the ambitions of Chinese technology giants such as Alibaba and Baidu, which have invested heavily in designing semiconductors for their AI clouds, as well as a growing number of AI chip design start-ups that have turned to the Taiwanese group for manufacturing.

The US has barred American companies like Nvidia from shipping cutting-edge processors to China and also created an extensive export control system to stop chipmakers worldwide that are using US technology from shipping advanced AI processors to China. There have been reports that a new US rule would ban foundries from making advanced AI chips designed by Chinese firms, according to analysts at investment bank Jefferies.

TSMC is rolling out its new policy as the US Commerce Department investigates how cutting-edge chips the group made for a Chinese customer ended up in a Huawei AI device. The Chinese national tech champion is subject to multiple US sanctions and export controls.

People familiar with TSMC’s move said its decision was driven by a “combination” of the need to improve internal controls in the wake of that ongoing probe and the next wave of US export controls on chip supplies to China, expected before US President Joe Biden leaves office.

“We want to start mitigating before there are solid, structured regulations,” one of the people said.

The company is understood to be particularly wary of being targeted as unreliable or uncooperative as Donald Trump is set to become the next US president.

This year, Trump accused Taiwan of “stealing” the US chip industry, and suggested TSMC could move its production back home after pocketing billions of dollars in subsidies from Washington for building fabrication plants in the US.

A person close to TSMC said its move was “not a show for Trump but definitely designed to underscore that we are the good guys and not acting against US interests”.

Being cut off from TSMC could hurt Chinese tech giants that have bet on making their most advanced AI chips in Taiwan. Search giant Baidu, in particular, is aiming to build a full stack of software and hardware to underpin its AI business.

Near the centre of those efforts is its Kunlun series of AI chips. Its Kunlun II processor is made by TSMC on its 7-nanometre level of miniaturisation, according to Bernstein Research.

“Kunlun chips are now especially well-suited for large model inference and will eventually be suitable for training,” Baidu founder Robin Li told a conference last year. Li added that the group had been effective in cutting costs by designing its own chips.

The people briefed on the situation said TSMC’s new rules were clear in targeting AI processors, but it was so far unclear how widely that would be applied to other chips. China has a number of leading start-ups designing AI chips for self-driving, including Hong Kong-listed Horizon Robotics and Black Sesame International Holding.

Executives and company materials at both groups have indicated their newest generation of chips would be made by TSMC on the 7-nanometre node.

The people close to TSMC said its new restrictions would not have a major impact on its revenue. TSMC’s October revenue increased 29.2 per cent to NT$314bn ($9.8bn), a slight deceleration of growth compared with preceding months.

In a statement, TSMC said it was a “law-abiding company and we are committed to complying with all applicable rules and regulations, including applicable export controls”.

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Europe won’t be able to finance Ukraine’s defenses against Russia’s invasion on its own if the US withdraws support under Donald Trump’s next presidency, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Friday.

Orban said recent events vindicated the conclusions from his controversial July diplomatic mission to Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing and showed Ukraine was losing the war.

“The Americans are going to get out of this war,” Orban, who is hosting a European Union summit in Budapest on Friday, said on public radio. “Europe can’t finance this war on its own.”

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You do not vote fascism away. Even though this feels obvious, the right-wing political establishment in the U.S. has accomplished something remarkable with the help of the Democratic Party. They managed to shift the discourse so far right that they normalized positions that were possibly once inconceivable for many liberal voters.

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