Ethiopia’s federal government on Tuesday acknowledged for the first time that troops from neighboring Eritrea took part in the war in the Tigray region, which formally ended in 2022. The government said Eritrean forces were responsible for mass killings, destroying homes, and looting factories. The Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s acknowledgment marks a major change [...]

The European Union (EU) has designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization following a violent crackdown on protesters that killed thousands in recent weeks. The designation was adopted by EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday, and places the IRGC under the bloc’s terrorism framework. EU officials framed the designation [...]

A Dutch criminal court has sentenced a 42-year-old man to 20 years in prison for heading one of the Netherlands’ largest and most violent migrant-smuggling operations. The defendant was ordered to pay over €30,000 in compensation to the victims. The proceedings spanned multiple hearings from November 2025 to January 2026. Authorities stated the network primarily [...]

Former South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Wednesday after a Seoul court found him guilty of rebellion for his role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law in December 2024. The sentence exceeded the 15 years sought by the special counsel and marked the [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday reported that Vietnam has intensified arrests of perceived government critics in the weeks leading up to the 14th Communist Party Congress, set to open on January 19.  “It’s that time again for escalating arrests and jailing prominent critics ahead of Vietnam’s Communist Party Congress. Not only does the government [...]

The UN Committee against Torture found Wednesday that Australia violated the Convention against Torture by exposing an Iranian asylum seeker to torture and cruel treatment through offshore transfer and prolonged immigration detention. The decision concerns an asylum seeker known as Mr A, who fled Iran in 2013, fearing persecution, and arrived in Australia by boat [...]

The UN Special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar urged the international community on Thursday to reject Myanmar’s current election, describing it as a “sham” that exposed the “coercion, violence, and exclusion” behind the polls. After the first round of voting, Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said the polls failed to meet any [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Tuesday that Iranian authorities have intensified a “brutal” crackdown on nationwide protests, urging them to halt the unlawful use of force and release those arbitrarily detained. According to HRW, the government has used lethal force to suppress the unrest, deploying military-grade weapons as well as metal pellets fired from shotguns, [...]

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on leaders of the armed rebel coalition controlling Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to fully account for the abduction and torture of journalist Honneur-David Safari, and to prevent any further attacks on reporters.  The RSF shared the following about Safari’s release and urged an end to [...]

Turkish police detained 357 people on Tuesday in large-scale, coordinated operations targeting the Islamic State group, according to the country’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. Authorities carried out raids across 21 provinces following a deadly clash between police and ISIS militants in Yalova, a small northwestern city, amid heightened security ahead of New Year’s celebrations. Three [...]