Around the world, with inspiring heroism and courage, people are putting everything on the line to defend democracy and prevent the consolidation of dictatorships. In the Republic of Georgia, protests continue in the wake of contested elections that consolidated the rule of an authoritarian pro-Russia party, and the incumbent opposition-backed president is refusing to step down until new polls are held. In Romania, where a Putin-favored right-wing populist won the first-round vote in the presidential election, that round has now been anulled by the country's high court in response to a public outcry over Russian meddling. In South Korea, President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law was met with defiant protests, prompting an overturn of the declaration by the National Assembly, followed by a vote to impeach Yoon, and the opening of criminal investigation by judicial authorities on charges of "insurrection." Mozambique has seen months of angry protests since contested elections that saw yet another victory for the entrenched machine FRELIMO—despite a deadly police crackdown. And in Brazil, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, indicted for leading a Trump-style attempted auto-golpe in 2022, has been barred from office. In Episode 256 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg again asks: Why is everyone so quiet here in the United States, the seat of the empire, where the stakes are the highest?

One was wounded as Israeli troops opened fire on Syrian protesters Dec. 20 near the village of Maariyah, in southern Daraa province. Local residents gathered at a position the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had established in the area, chanting "Free, free Syria; Israel get out!" One protester was shot in the leg. The IDF said its soldiers had fired in response to "a threat." The incident came after villagers said that the troops, stationed in an abandoned Syrian army outpost, were preventing local farmers from accessing their fields. Maariya is near the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, but outside the demilitarized "buffer zone" established by a 1974 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria. (MEE, ToI) The news appears to confirm reports that IDF troops have advanced beyond the "buffer zone."

The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced Dec. 11 the transfer of Mohammed Farik bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir bin Lep from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. According to DoD detainee profiles, bin Amin and bin Lep arrived at Guantanamo in September 2006. The US accused the individuals of planning attacks in California and facilitating terrorist operations in Southeast Asia. Both men pled guilty to several offenses.

Paraguay authorities have arrested 26 suspects, dismantled two criminal networks, and identified 12 companies engaged in systematic illegal deforestation and trafficking of native tree species. The Paraguayan government, along with INTERPOL and 14 other agencies, launched Operation Panthera Onca to combat environmental crimes and the exploitation of natural resources in the Tri-Border Region where Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet.

Canadian bicycling advocacy group Cycle Toronto along with two individual cyclists, Eva Stranger-Ross and Narada Kiondo, have filed a court challenge Dec. 11 against new provincial legislation granting the Ontario government authority over the installation and removal of municipal bike lanes. The group argues that the law, Ontario Bill 212, infringes on cyclists' rights to life and security under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is being represented by the firms Paliare Roland LLP and Ecojustice.

The rebel Arakan Army announced its full control of Burma's border with Bangladesh after the seizure of the last junta base in Maungdaw township on Dec. 11. The rebel army said it had taken captive a general and dozens of other soldiers, including around 80 Rohingya fighters—raising fears of further reprisals against the Muslim minority. The Arakan Army seeks autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine people and is part of an alliance of armed groups that has also seized key towns in eastern Burma. (TNH)

Two attacks on "defenseless civilian populations" along Niger's border with Burkina Faso left some 40 dead between Dec. 12 and 14, authorities said. Niamey's defense ministry said 21 were killed in Libiri village and 18 in Kokorou, both in Tillabéri region. The statement blamed "criminals," but the borderlands are a stronghold of jihadist insurgents. An even worse attack was reported days earlier, but is being denied by Niger's ruling junta. Authorities suspended the operations of the BBC in Niger after it reported that jihadists had killed 90 soldiers and upwards of 40 civilians at Chatoumane, also in Tillabéri. According to the monitor Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), at least 1,500 soldiers and civilians have been killed in jihadist attacks in Niger in the past year—more than double the 650 killed from July 2022 to July 2023. (AFP, France24, RFI, BBC News, TRT World)

Amid jubilation following the overthrow of long-ruling dictator Bashar Assad, the only fighting in Syria is now between Arabs and Kurds—as the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) expels the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from the town of Manbij. Ankara's design is clearly to expunge the Kurdish autonomous zone in the northeast region of Rojava. Yet there are also positive signs of an accommodation between the Rojava Kurds and the new revolutionary administration in Damascus. In Episode 255 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg examines the new political landscape in Syria and tries to identify a way forward—past the threat of ethnic war and toward a multicultural democracy.