 Hello and welcome to today's episode of the International Daily Roundup by People's Dispatch where we bring you some of the top stories from around the world. Let's take a look at today's headlines. Violence in Sudan's Darfur displaces over 83,000. Migrant caravan secures agreement with Mexico. Italian unions go on strike against fiscal policies. And report fines rising hunger across the Arab world. We begin with Sudan where over 83,000 people have been displaced due to increasing armed violence in the Darfur region. As of December 13th, 200 people had been killed in West Darfur alone. A majority of the killings took place between December 10th and 11th in Jebel Moon and Karnik. Heavily armed militias of nomadic herdsmen attack sedentary pastoralists and camps sheltering internally displaced people. Similar violence was also reported in North and South Darfur. The Committee for Stopping Massacres in West Darfur has warned against classifying the violence as a tribal conflict as seen in some media reports. The general coordination for refugees and displaced in Darfur has said that the armed nomadic militias were part of the rapid support forces. The RSF was created, funded and armed under the former dictator Omar al-Bashir. Its violent campaign in Darfur led to Bashir being charged with genocide by the International Criminal Court. While the Darfur war ended with the Juba peace agreement in 2020, critics argue that the deal failed to resolve the root causes of the conflict. Nomadic herdsmen and pastoralists have historically been in conflict over resources including land. Moreover, not all armed rebel groups signed the Juba agreement and some denounced it as a power-sharing deal. Observers say that this means that even if the Juba peace signatories wanted to end the violence, they may not be in a position to do so. Another angle to the conflict has emerged in relation to reserves of precious metals and stones in Darfur. The RSF is headed by the deputy of the ruling military junta, General Mohamad Hamdan Tagalo. There have been allegations that he is using the RSF to displace people from Darfur's mineral-rich areas. Protests were held in several cities on December 16th, with people raising the slogans stop the bleeding of Darfur. Next we go to Mexico, where another group of migrants have secured an agreement with the government. The caravan arrived in Mexico City last week from the southern state of Chiapas. Following a meeting with the Interior Minister on December 17th, they agreed to a 7-point proposal. A census will be conducted to figure out which people would like to stay in Mexico, who need humanitarian visas or safe transit guarantees. The status of the migrants will be regularised and Mexican officials have committed to complying with migration laws. The proposal addressed the demands raised by the migrants during a march through the capital earlier on Thursday. People reached the government palace raising the slogan to migrate is not a crime, the criminal is a government that represses migrants. The caravan was dissolved after the meeting with the government and a follow-up has been scheduled for January 17th. Nearly 230,000 undocumented migrants were detained by Mexican authorities between January and October. People also remain stranded in border towns like Tapachula, where migrants are protesting to demand a transfer to other states. 2021 has been marked not only by an increase in migratory flows, but also a surge in deaths and disappearances. According to the International Organization of Migration, the migrant death toll in Mexico crossed 4,470 in 2021. An estimated 651 people have died while trying to cross the border to the United States. Meanwhile, the US has deported hundreds of migrants under its Remain in Mexico policy. Another attempt to revoke this Trump-era protocol was rejected by a US judge on December 13th. Now we take a look at Italy, where an 8-hour general strike was observed on December 16th. The action was organised by two of the country's largest trade unions, CGIL and UIL, against the government's economic policies. The issues raised included pension reforms, industrial policies, offshoring of production and precarity in the job market. CGIL and UIL have also objected to proposed tax cuts of 8 billion euros. Under the new tax rates, people earning 15,000 euros a year will only see a benefit of about 6-7 euros a month. Unions argue that higher earners who have already benefited from tax evasion will gain even more advantages with these cuts. CGIL and UIL have demanded that the government funds should instead be diverted to workers and retirees. Both unions reported high participation from the transport, metalworking, service, industrial and agricultural sectors in the strike. However, the government had prevented health and education sector workers from taking part in the action. Tens of thousands of people also helped protest across five squares in Rome, Milan, Bari, Palermo and Cagliari. Thursday's strike also raised issues including lower employment rates among women and young people. Unions have also argued that the government's budget does not include adequate social security nets. Talks on the tax reforms will be held between the government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi and the unions on December 20th. And finally, we look at rising hunger across the Arab world. According to the United Nations, one-third of the region's 420 million people are facing hunger. This is an increase of 10 million as compared to 2019. Between 2019 and 2020, the number of malnourished people also increased by 4.8 million to reach 69 million. This is nearly 16% of the total population. The report argues that the crisis has been triggered by social unrest, conflicts, poverty, inequality and climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic also brought another major shock to the region. Approximately 53.4 million people are facing hunger in countries affected by conflict. This rate is six times higher as compared to non-confected areas. 60% of Somalia's population face hunger and 45% of Yemen's people were undernourished in 2020. Yemen also had the highest prevalence of anemia, which affected 61.5% of women between 15 and 49 years of age. The rate of stunting among children is also high at 20.5%. According to the United Nations FAO, hunger has increased by over 91% across the countries in the Arab world over the past 20 years. And that's all for today's episode. For more such stories, visit our website at www.peoplesdispatch.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Thank you for watching.