✊ Progressive News | 24 February 2025
International
Growing multipolarity as US hegemony declines. Tensions between US/West and China/Russia over Ukraine, tech, economy and global governance. Developing countries asserting independence. Focus on BRICS, Belt and Road Initiative. Calls for peace, diplomacy and reform of world order.
TricontinentalWe Want to Build Communities of Readers, Not Turn Readers into Commodities: The Eighth Newsletter (2025)Transnational FoundationHistory made a long overdue comeback on 12 FebruaryTransnational FoundationThe Geopolitical Theater: Trump, NATO, and the Road to 2028Transnational FoundationWhat to do pro-peace - and with Eutopia thinkingSecond Thought“The Economy” Isn’t What You ThinkProgressive InternationalPI Briefing No. 7 The web of warGlenn DiesenFrom International Law to the “Rules-Based International Order”Glenn DiesenMiscalculation: An Autopsy of NATO’s Failed Strategy for a Long WarGlenn DiesenThe Think Tank RacketThink BRICSFrom BRICS to BRI: How China’s Investments are Shaping Africa’s FutureThink BRICSBRICS Charity Projects Silently Reshaping Global Relations ForeverThink BRICSTrump’s Tariff Threat to BRICS Over Dollar Alternative… Again.Think BRICSOnce upon a time in ParisThe China AcademyDebate: 21st Century: Asia or Africa—Whose Century Is It?People's DispatchTrump’s Reverse Kissinger AttemptNew Economic ThinkingBeyond Borders: Global Justice & Economic PatriotismMichael Robets BlogGermany: drained of power; der Kraft beraubtIndia & Global LeftDanny Haiphong: Is US IMPERIALISM About To Get WORSE Under Trump?Empire WatchDeepSeek: the end for US Global economic dominance? with Radhika DesaiEmpire WatchUs Hegemony: Has It Ever Been Real? with Radhika DesaiT-HouseTech for dominance or prosperity?Planet: CriticalHow to Cool The Planet Sailesh Rao
China
Technological advancement in AI, robotics, solar. Shifting domestic policies on private sector. Geopolitical tensions with US but outreach to developing world. Soft power through movies, aid. DeepSeek’s intellectual property model debated.
Geopolitical Economy ReportTrump’s Ukraine talks aim to divide Russia from China. Can he do it?Democracy at WorkEconomic Update: U. S. Policy toward China: A Failing Effort to Contain Historic ChangeWave MediaNe Zha 2: The Greatest ‘Anti-USA’ Movie EverWave MediaChina Equips Egypt With J-10 Fighter JetsThinkers ForumWhy People Are Mad at Chinese Companies Fmr. Singapore Foreign MinisterThinkers ForumXi’s Meeting With China’s Top Entrepreneurs, Explained Shaun ReinThe China AcademyXi’s Rendezvous with Jack MaThe China AcademyHow Deepseek Challenges the Definition of Intellectual PropertyReports on ChinaBBC really tried it with Ne Zha 2!Neutrality StudiesThe West CANNOT Beat China. This Is Why. Arnaud BertrandT-HouseChina’s inclusive global governance approach vs. Trump’s “America First”T-HouseMaking DeepSeek TikTok again? Think twiceT-HouseChina’s multilateralism policy challenges U. S. “America First” doctrineT-HouseSymposium on private sector: Key trends for China’s private enterprisesT-HouseRural household solar panels power micro-grid innovation: Trina Solar executiveSouth China Morning PostWhat’s behind the exodus of US-based Chinese academics?New China TVGLOBALink Danish scientist develops next-generation solar cells in ChinaNew China TV2025 Spring Festival travel rush concludes: voices from China’s railway and aviation professionalsNew China TVGLOBALink China completes drilling of Asia’s deepest vertical wellFridayEverydayJustice Bao: China’s real life Sherlock HolmesCGTNInside Unitree Robotics: China’s hottest humanoid robot companyCGTNChina’s low-altitude economy boosts agricultureCGTNChina’s 2025 roadmap: deepening rural reformsCCTV Video News AgencyGlobal Developer Conference Showcases China’s Advancements in AI Field
South Asia
Domestic unrest in places like Manipur, India. Improving China-India ties. Spotlights on Sri Lankan tea industry, regional AI development.
Progressive InternationalHow state repression and deliberate ethnic polarisation made Manipur boil overThinkers ForumWhy China and India Will Not DeteriorateSouth China Morning PostWhat makes Sri Lanka the tea island of the world?
Southeast Asia
Regional integration through ASEAN digital economy agreement. Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand seen leading in AI. Geopolitical balancing with US, Russia. Economic challenges like austerity protests in Indonesia.
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public PolicyASEAN in Practice: Episode 7- Digital Economy Framework Agreement DEFA: How did ASEAN get here?DiplomatifyWhy Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand will lead AI in Southeast AsiaT-HouseNavigating a multipolar world Dr. Ng Eng Hen InterviewSouth China Morning Post‘Dark Indonesia’ protests against austerity measuresSouth China Morning PostTrafficked scam workers heading home from MyanmarSouth China Morning PostUS aid freeze threatens Cambodian demining effortsSouth China Morning Post‘Asean’s moment is now’: Malaysia’s Anwar on the bloc’s response to AI, tariff challengesChannel News AsiaRussia’s security chief to visit Indonesia, Malaysia this week for talksChannel News AsiaRussia-Ukraine war: Zelenskyy proposes complete prisoner exchange as first step for peaceChannel News AsiaIndonesian president’s quest to ensure food security faces challengesChannel News AsiaFewer graduates secured employment in 2024: SurveyChannel News AsiaSpace Technology Convention and Exhibition to take place next weekChannel News AsiaBudget 2025: Budget measures will boost innovation, ease manpower crunch, say retailersChannel News AsiaWill Singapore’s housing prices always rise, or is that a myth? CommentaryChannel News AsiaSingapore’s public housing policies must keep pace as society evolves: National Development MinisterAl JazeeraRohingya refugee children denied an education in India over policy barriers
East Asia
Tensions around Japan’s nuclear wastewater release, South Korean president’s insurrection charge, Philippines security cooperation with Japan and US. Challenges like HIV in Philippines.
Telesur EnglishJapan: China joins nuclear plant’s water sample analysisTelesur EnglishCrisis in South Korea: Yoon Suk-yeol appeared at his first criminal hearing for insurrectionChannel News AsiaJapan, Philippines vow to boost security cooperation amid regional tensionsAl JazeeraUSAID cuts threaten Philippines’ fight against rising HIV cases
West Asia (Middle East)
Escalating violence and human rights abuses by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank. Shifting geopolitics in Syria. Debates over US-Israel relationship. Iran-Hezbollah ties.
Electronic IntifadaIsrael steps up West Bank attacks and other news on ceasefire day 33, with Nora Barrows-FriedmanElectronic IntifadaDoes Israel have a future? with Ilan PappéThe Socialist ProgramTrump’s Rhetoric Encourages Israeli Fantasies of Gaza TakeoverBreakthrough NewsSyria’s Regime Change: How Gulf States, Turkey, and Israel Are Redrawing the MapBreakthrough News‘Incomprehensible Brutality’: Israel’s Mass Torture of Palestinian PrisonersRobinson ErhardtNorman Finkelstein: Donald J. Trump, Mossad Conspiracies in Israel, and the Dying LeftNovara MediaIsrael Used 80 Year Old As Human Shield, Then Killed HimNovara MediaThey’re Trying To Ban This Gaza DocumentaryMiddle East EyeHow Israel employs the ‘dark arts’ to evade international justice Norman Finkelstein UNAPOLOGETICEmpire WatchUS Proxy Wars: How Syria’s Fall Reshaped the Region with Sami RamadaniEmpire WatchWho Really Controls US-Israel Policies? with Sam RamadaniDouble Down NewsJewish Journalist EXPOSES Israel’s DARK SECRET HistoryAl Mayadeen EnglishWho’s making Gaza ‘unlivable’?Telesur EnglishMiddle East tensions: prisoner release demanded, Israel reinforces presenceCCTV Video News AgencyIran Holds Memorial to Commemorate Slain Hezbollah LeaderAl JazeeraIsraeli tanks rolled into occupied West Bank for the first time in more than 20 years
Russia
Peace talks with US and Ukraine. Debate over Ukraine’s future, realism vs idealism. Impact on EU. Claims of battlefield success and US decline.
Tarik Cyril AmarThe Russia-US Riyadh Meeting: A Breakthrough for SanityGlenn DiesenRussia-Ukraine conflict demonstrates security must be reconceptualizedWave MediaAfter Putin’s Call, Trump SurrenderedThink BRICSThe Geopolitical Implications of Western Brands Returning to RussiaIndia & Global LeftScott Ritter: Why Trump admitted that Russia has won the Ukraine war?Democracy Now!“A Victory for Putin”? Jeffrey Sachs & Matt Duss Debate U. S.-Russia Talks to End Ukraine WarTelesur EnglishRussian forces have carried out 11 attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure in recent daysT-HouseTwo Diplomatic Tracks: Russia-Ukraine ConflictShanghai EyeHear what Lavrov says in Ankara as part of Russian diplomacy on 3rd year of Ukraine warShanghai EyeRussia’s Putin on eve of 3rd year of Ukraine war, thanks soldiers and vows to boost armed forcesAl JazeeraRussia-Ukraine war: 3 years on, at what cost? ExplainerAl JazeeraWill US-Russia ties strain Europe? The Bottom Line
Europe
Tensions over US “abandonment”, German election interference and far-right surge, migrant deaths, Ukraine war and peace talks exclusion. Intra-EU divisions. Economic challenges. Shifting US ties.
Transnational FoundationTrump Caught the EU Off GuardTransnational FoundationTFF PressInfo # 765: Europe is now facing two Cold Wars thanks to NATO’s expansion and its self-righteous groupthink covering up that Himalayan miscalculationTransnational FoundationWang Yi at Munich Security ConferenceBreakthrough News LiveElon Musk Is Trying to Foist the German Far-Right Back Into Power. Will It Work?Breakthrough NewsGerman MP: Germany Must Ditch NATO & Stop Serving US OligarchsBreakthrough NewsTrump, Europe’s Collapse & Why Liberals Keep Losing, w/ Yanis VaroufakisWave Media2025 Germany Elections: A Civil War of U. S. PuppetsTarik Cyril AmarGermany’s Annalena Baerbock – The Debility of Evil?Tarik Cyril AmarThe US is giving its European vassals what they’ve been asking for, and it’s brutalTarik Cyril AmarGonzalo LiraRichard D WolffWolff Responds: “The Dilemmas Of Europe” Dated February 19, 2025Progressive InternationalMigrant Deaths Off Spain’s Coast Are Worse Than EverGlenn DiesenUkraine War & US Hegemony Have Ended?Glenn DiesenEnd of the Political WestGlenn DiesenThe future of Ukraine: Realism vs Dangerous IdealismGlenn DiesenEU Elites Are in Panic Over the US Leaving Ukraine and EuropeGlenn DiesenToward a Multipolar World: Armenians Should Beware of Ukraine’s FateThinkers ForumEurope: Efficiency at What Cost? More Money for Private Firms Yanis VaroufakisThinkers ForumTrump Caught the EU Off GuardNovara MediaLuigi Mangione Raises Hundreds of Thousands Of DollarsNovara MediaUkraine Excluded From Russia-US Peace Talks #NovaraLIVENovara MediaFar-Right Set To Double Their Support In German Election #NovaraLIVENovara MediaEurope’s Political Elite Are COMPLETELY Finished Aaron Bastani meets Philip PilkingtonNeutrality StudiesHere’s What The German Elections ACTUALLY Mean.Neutrality StudiesHow The USA Tricked Europe Into Total Strategic Defeat E. Bistoletti & P. LottazNeutrality StudiesReality On Battlefield & Trump Are Hitting Hard: Europe In Full DENIALNeutrality StudiesEx-Ambassador REVEALS The TRUTH on Russia & Ukraine. Europe Always Knew! Amb. J. A. ZorrillaNeutrality StudiesEurope’s Century Of Humiliation Has Just Begun Arnaud BertrandNeutrality StudiesEU Elites Are Freaking-out Over USA Dumping Them Dr. Glenn DiesenIndia & Global LeftTRUMP Takes On UKRAINE With NEW PlanTelesur EnglishUkraine doesn’t acknowledge any debt to US, ZelenskyTelesur EnglishConservatives win German elections, far-right comes in second placeShanghai EyeUkraine, Geopolitics, Economic Recession: Why Germany is Struggling - Schiller researcher OssenkoppShanghai EyeUkraine’s Zelensky speaks out on US loan, mineral deal amid growing Trump pressureShanghai EyeSocial media and Elon Musk’s interference in German election - Prof. Lutz Hagen of TU DresdenShanghai EyeHungary’s Orban on Ukraine’s NATO membership, national economy and conservative victoryNew China TVSerbian president hails opening of new Danubian Corridor sectionsCGTNZelenskyy: Ready to step down for peace or NATO membershipCGTNConservative CDU/CSU leads German federal election: preliminary resultsCCTV Video News AgencyGermany’s Political Landscape Likely to Remain Centrist Amid Upcoming Election: ObserverAl JazeeraWho is Friedrich Merz, the man set to be Germany’s next Chancellor?
Africa
Conflicts and foreign interference in DRC, Sudan. Domestic politics in South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda. Decolonization of museums. Economic nationalism in Burkina Faso. Criticism of Rwandan role in DRC
Breakthrough News‘There Is No White Genocide in South Africa’: Activist Destroys Trump’s LieMiddle East EyeFrom South Africa to Palestine: Trump’s war to defend apartheidDemocracy Now!“Congolese Are Paying the Price” for Western Demand for Minerals & Support for Rwanda’s Paul KagameDemocracy Now!Rebels Take 2nd Major City in Eastern DRC Amid Fight to Control Congo’s Vast Mineral WealthAl Mayadeen EnglishElon Musk turns his meddling hands to South AfricaAfrica StreamEnd Of USAID? Or Under New Management?Africa StreamFrance Fleecing Africa: A Simple GuideAfrica StreamNetherlands To Return Stolen Benin BronzesAfrica StreamBurkina Faso Nationalises Sugar & Tomato ProcessingAfrica StreamLiberian Prez Boakai Suspends Over 450 Government OfficialsAfrica StreamIs Kenya Relying On Foreign Death Squads?Africa StreamRwanda Cancels Belgium AidAfrica StreamSilence Of Rwandans On Congo Is A TragedyAfrica StreamKenya Under Fire For Hosting RSFAl JazeeraConflict in Sudan drives deforestation along the Blue NileAl JazeeraFormer DRC police join M23 as rebels advance, while Lubero residents fear imminent attack
North America
Trump drastically cutting federal budget, services, workforce. Pushback from workers. Economic risks from policies. Debates over Pentagon, Fed, aid transparency. Mexican unity against US sanctions. Social issues like addiction, child welfare.
Transnational FoundationPresident Trump Wants to Cut the Pentagon Budget in Half. How?The Socialist ProgramTrump’s Drastic Cuts: Federal Workforce, Services & Billionaires’ TaxesSeymour Hersh‘ZERO EMPATHY, ZERO SHAME’Seymour HershNORD STREAM AND THE FAILURES OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATIONGlenn DiesenRon Paul: Audit the Federal Reserve, Pentagon & USAIDGlenn DiesenTrump’s Economic Recovery - A Dead End?First ThoughtHow Trump Will Destroy The US EconomyDemocracy at WorkEconomic Update: Capitalism, Lost Empathy and Rising AddictionsDemocracy at WorkCapitalism Hits Home: What’s Love Got to Do With It?Breakthrough News‘ICE Failed’: How One Colorado Town Threw a Wrench in Trump’s Deportation MachineBreakthrough NewsDOGE Debunked: Billionaires Are Robbing You and Calling It ‘Efficiency’ w/ Prof. Richard WolffBreakthrough NewsLeonard Peltier’s Homecoming SpeechBreakthrough NewsRepublicans Are Trying To Make Workers Pay For Billionaire Tax CutsNovara MediaSteve Bannon Performs Nazi Salute At CPACNovara MediaGrimes Calls Out Elon Musk For Ignoring “Child’s Medical Crisis”Neutrality StudiesUSA Is Defunding Regime-Change NGOs: This Changes Everything Dr. Glenn DiesenMiddle East EyeTrump’s victory & theatrics are just symptoms of US decline Richard Wolff Real TalkDemocracy Now!“Grand Theft Government”: Federal Workers Send SOS over Musk’s DOGE, Mass Firings & Service CutsDemocracy Now!To Fight the Trump/Musk Purge, Federal Workers Hold Nationwide Day of Action to “Save Our Services”Democracy Now!Trump Order to Halt Global Medical Trials “Profoundly Unethical, ” Says Dr. Ruth FadenDemocracy Now!Trump vs. Public Health: Funding Cuts Gut CDC’s Disease Detectors, Medical Research & MoreAl Mayadeen English‘Trump trade’ backfires: US dollar at risk?Straits TimesIRS fires 6, 000 employees as Trump slashes US governmentTelesur EnglishUnited States: Bird flu outbreak causes severe egg shortageShanghai EyeUS economy, Trump challenges and tariff war: James RobinsonAl JazeeraUS Department of Government Efficiency Fact Check
Latin America and The Caribbean
Economic crises in Argentina. Natural disasters. US deportations to Panama. Privatization pushback.
Geopolitical Economy ReportJavier Milei is destroying Argentina’s economy, making it a resource colony for foreign oligarchsThinkers ForumMexicans Unite Now More Than Ever Against US SanctionsTelesur EnglishArgentina: Trade unions condemn govt.’s intention to privatize the national bankTelesur EnglishArgentina: Nearly 37, 000 acres of forest damaged by forest fires during 2025Telesur EnglishPeru: Overflowing of Tambo and Urubamba rivers affect UcayaliSouth China Morning PostHundreds of US deportees mostly from Asia held in Panama hotel
Oceania
China-Australia tensions. Criticism of pro-Israel media bias.
Reports on ChinaChina’s PLA Navy nears Sydney in master flex against Aussie gov’tMiddle East EyeIs Australian Media Pro-Israel? A Look at Bias in Coverage