An advocacy group has warned that a Palestinian activist on remand [awaiting trial] in a UK prison is suffering worsening medical complications as her hunger strike surpasses the 60-day mark.

In a statement on Tuesday, Prisoners for Palestine (P4P) said detainees, including Heba Muraisi, face a serious risk of organ failure as their protest enters its third month.

Muraisi told the group she has been “experiencing muscle spasms and twitches in her arm” and sometimes feels “like she is holding her breath and doesn’t know why, like she has to remind herself to breathe.”

P4P said these symptoms could indicate emerging neurological damage.

Muraisi, who has been awaiting trial for more than a year over her Palestine-related activism, has now gone 64 days without food.

She began her strike on November 3, 2025, after being transferred without notice from HMP Bronzefield to HMP New Hall, hundreds of miles from her family and support network.

Muraisi has vowed not to end her hunger strike unless she is returned to Bronzefield and granted immediate bail

Her mother, Dunya, who has been unable to visit her daughter, expressed support in a letter shared by the group.

“We are here behind you, supporting you and loving you without limits,” said Dunya. “No matter how long the night of waiting lasts, the sun of freedom will surely rise.”

Muraisi is one of eight activists linked to Palestine Action who have undertaken hunger strikes to protest the UK government’s decision to hold them on remand and proscribe the direct-action group.

Last week, another striker, Kamran Ahmed, was hospitalized for the fifth time since beginning his protest. Ahmed has now reached 58 days on hunger strike and has reported intermittent hearing loss.

P4P says the treatment of all hunger strikers reflects a broader pattern of punitive transfers, prolonged remand, and inadequate medical care for detainees linked to Palestine activism.

The detainees are being held on remand in various UK prisons over alleged involvement in break-ins at factories owned by the Israeli arms company Elbit Systems and a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire.

Last month, seven UN human rights experts warned the UK government that the activists risk organ failure and death if the hunger strikes continue.

The British government has so far refused to meet the hunger strikers or their representatives despite the escalating health risks. In response, the activists’ lawyers are now launching legal action against the UK government over its refusal to engage.

In July, the British government voted in favor of proscribing Palestine Action as a “terrorist” organization.

The protest group, launched in 2020, has described itself as a movement “committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime”.

[…]

Via https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2026/01/06/761993/Palestine-UK-Israel-Gaza-Palestine-Action-

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

The dollar system is under unprecedented strain, largely due to the behavior and actions of the United States itself, says a world-renowned economist.

In an interview with the Press TV website, Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr., a Brazilian economist and former Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), noted that the dollar has been weaponized by the United States.

“It (US dollar) is no longer seen by many as a safe haven. Moreover, the fragilities of the US economy also undermine trust in the dollar,” said Batista Jr., who was one of the founding members of the New Development Bank (NDB) in Shanghai.

“In my view, the most probable scenario is the continuation of a gradual decline in the dollar. This decline may be accelerated if a new major financial crisis occurs in the US.”

The process of de-dollarization has gained significant momentum in recent years with the emergence of new regional alliances such as BRICS, led by China and Russia.

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and the subsequent freezing of Russian assets in the United States and Europe, the global push toward de-dollarization has grown exponentially, with countries in the Global South increasingly seeing it as essential to reduce their dependence on the US dollar.

Many countries are already conducting international transactions in their national currencies or adopting alternative payment systems. There is also a growing discussion about a potential BRICS currency.

Batista Jr., however, said he does not believe that a BRICS currency can become a reality in the near future but feels the need for a new reserve currency as “undeniable.”

“It is a complicated endeavor, from a technical as well as a political point of view. But the need for a new reserve currency seems undeniable. Let us hope that the BRICS can rise to the challenge,” he told the Press TV website.

There is also a widespread belief that emerging blocs like BRICS, which includes China, Russia, Brazil, India, and Iran, will challenge and ultimately reshape the existing global financial architecture, with institutions such as the New Development Bank poised to play a central role.

The Brazilian economist and author of several books, including The BRICS and the Financing Mechanisms They Created: Progress and Shortcomings (2021, Anthem Press), said the Global South “expects a lot from the BRICS.”

“This group of countries needs to take this into account. China, Russia, Brazil, India, Iran, and the other BRICS members have a role to play in reshaping the international financial architecture,” he told the Press TV website.

“But we have yet to act accordingly. The New Development Bank has great potential but is still struggling to play a global role. I was one of the founders of the institution and can tell you that many of those involved in the project expected much more from the Bank in its initial 10 years.”

He said Iran was the first country to ask formally to join the New Development Bank.

“But, a decade has gone by and Iran is still not a member. It is a member of the BRICS political formation, but not of the development bank the group created.”

[…]

Via https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2025/12/13/760549/Dollar-no-longer-safe-haven-US-economic-fragilities-erode-trust-Economist

Bernard Lautaro
Press TV, Caracas

In Venezuela, protesters against the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro have taken to the streets of every city in the country. The main demand is that the leader and the first lady be returned to national territory.

The mobilization is expected to be only the beginning of a prolonged war of attrition against the United States government.

https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2026/01/05/761912/Venezuelans-support-kidnapped-president-

Press TV

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has said that people’s protests must be heard, while warning that individuals linked to foreign spy services who seek to hijack protests and turn them into riots must be dealt with separately.

Speaking in an open session of the parliament on Monday, Qalibaf emphasized that such measures are necessary to ensure that the security and peace of the people are not compromised.

Protests erupted last week after shopkeepers in Tehran temporarily closed their businesses to protest the sharp fall of the national currency, which plunged to record lows against the US dollar.

Iranian officials have acknowledged the economic pressure facing the public and said peaceful protests are legitimate. At the same time, they have warned that foreign-backed elements are seeking to exploit the situation and fuel violence.

Qalibaf said that “the Iranian nation, throughout history, has put many mercenaries, traitors and sellouts in their place, and today as well it will not take long before the enemy—despite deploying all of its intelligence, security and media capacities—once again suffers defeat at the hands of the Iranian people.”

He noted that Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s guidance on separating protesters from rioters and instigators is “clear and instructive,” calling it a roadmap for managing unrest.

The Leader warned Saturday that “protest is legitimate, but protest is different from rioting,” adding that officials must engage with protesters, because “talking to the protester is different from talking to the rioter; talking to the rioter is of no use, and the rioter must be put in his place.”

Qalibaf stated that the government must engage in dialogue with protesters, underlining that many of their grievances are legitimate.

“Every effort must be made to create economic stability,” he said, adding that the government is determined to act and expressing hope that planned measures will address the rightful demands of protesters.

Turning to international affairs, Qalibaf slammed Israel for committing war crimes in Gaza, saying that “hundreds of thousands of women, children and civilians” have been killed, deprived of food and water, and dehumanized, while Israeli leaders openly boast about such actions.

Despite condemnation in international courts, he said, Israeli officials are applauded in the US Congress.

“By contrast, someone like the legitimate president of Venezuela [Nicolas Maduro] is kidnapped in violation of all international laws. Venezuela has neither committed child killings nor genocide; rather, this is the price it pays for possessing rich mineral and fossil resources and for refusing to hand control of them over to the US,” he noted.

Qalibaf further said the US resorts to hard power when it believes soft power is no longer effective.

He added that as Washington perceives itself to be in decline and seeks to exploit its final opportunities to maintain dominance and extract resources, it has adopted “the behavior of a madman.”

“Today marks the end of the era of international law and the beginning of the law of the jungle in international relations,” he said.

In such a world, Qalibaf noted, countries must be strong to remain independent, and unity is essential to achieving that strength. “A united and resilient Iran is the enemy’s nightmare,” he said.

[…]

Via https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2026/01/05/761897/Qalibaf-Protesters-must-be-heard-but-foreign-linked-agitators-will-be-confronted-separately