For those in the West, hunger is often just the familiar feeling of a growling stomach between meals — in Gaza, it has become a strategic weapon of slow, systematic and deadly destruction, writes MARC VANDEPITTE

THE return of Donald Trump to the US presidency raises the spectre of him renewing his interventions and “regime change” efforts in neighbouring Latin America, alongside giving a massive boost to the region’s significant far-right forces.
On the latter point, one place where this will be of particular concern to progressives globally is the economic powerhouse Brazil. Here, the far right — and top Trump buddy — Jair Bolsonaro lost the last presidential election to Lula in 2022. Now, anti-democratic forces have welcomed the Trump victory and are now seeking a renewed wave of organisation.
Bolsonaro himself has said: “Trump is back, and it’s a sign we’ll be back, too,” and this week said he has been invited to the upcoming inauguration.





FRANCISCO DOMINGUEZ says the US’s bullying conduct in what it considers its backyard is a bid to reassert imperial primacy over a rising China — but it faces huge resistance


