US News

• The Senate voted against two bills that would have blocked arms sales to the UAE. [Link]
• The US sanctioned three people and three businesses under the Global Magnitsky Act. [Link]
• The US sanctioned a man they claim to be a Chinese crime boss and three of his companies. [Link]

Europe

• The UN top official on torture calls for the UK to release Assange from prison. [Link]
• An ICC prosecutor will drop the investigation into possible war crimes committed by UK soldiers in Iraq. The prosecutor believed the claims of war crimes were credible. However, she dropped the investigation because the UK looked into it. [Link]
• Denmark killed 17 million minks out of Covid fears. First, the dead minks began resurfacing from their graves. Now, a study finds the dead minks are contaminating the groundwater. [Link]
• Sweden is softening its anti-NATO membership position. [Link]

Afghanistan

• An Afghan female journalist was killed by unknown attacks. The Taliban denied being involved and the attack happened in an area with an ISIS-K presence. [Link]

Middle East

• Iraqi militias loyal to Ayatollah Sistani break away from the government-led PMF militias. The militias will now be under the control of Sistani. [Link]
• The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports 387,000 people have been killed in Syrian’s decade-long war. Over 100,000 of the dead are civilians. [Link]

Africa

• The leader of the government in eastern Libya seized a Turkish ship headed to the area controlled by the western government of Libya – backed by Turkey. Turkey is demanding the ship be released. [Link]
• The US believes Eritrean forces are now supporting Ethiopian forces in their fight against a militant group from Tigray. Tigray is in Ethiopia on the border with Eritrea. [Link]
• Senators Carden and Risch call for sanctions to be placed on any Ethiopian officials who were involved in human rights abuses. [Link]