Dec 09 2025
China’s national security office in Hong Kong summoned senior journalists from major international outlets. Officials declined to say whether those media had done anything wrong. The meeting came after allegedly critical reporting on the blaze, which killed at least 159 people. The fire dominated local news coverage for more than a week and led to …
Dec 07 2025
The UN General Assembly has called on Russia to return Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia. The resolution passed with 91 votes in favor, 12 against, and 57 abstentions. Russia rejected the resolution, with its ambassador, Maria Zabolotskaya, calling it a “particularly cynical lie.” The Ukrainian government says several hundred thousand children have been forcibly …
Dec 05 2025
Nomma Zarubina, 34, had her bail revoked and was ordered into pre-trial detention in an emergency hearing late on December 2. She was indicted in a U.S. federal court last year for allegedly lying to the FBI about her contact with an officer from Russia’s intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB) She was later …
Dec 05 2025
More than 20 humanitarian workers are set to stand trial in Greece on migrant-smuggling and money-laundering charges. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison. The charges concern the defendants’ work with the now-defence group. The Mytilene Court of Appeals on the Greek island of Lesvos is expected to hear the case on …
Dec 05 2025
Antonino Vadalà was convicted in October 2024 for cocaine trafficking in a criminal organisation with ties to the ‘Ndrangheta Italian mafia group. His name had come up when Slovakian investigative journalist Jan Kuciak was looking into an agricultural subsidies fraud scheme. The killings sparked nationwide protests that eventually brought down the government of Prime Minister …
Oct 28 2025
Solomon Islands Water Authority, known as Solomon Water, initiated the plan to build the facility after heavy rains overwhelmed Honaira’s decrepit water treatment system in 2014. Heavy rains spread water-born diseases that killed over a dozen people, and struck thousands more with diarrheal disease. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) backed the initiative, but pressured Solomon …
Oct 24 2025
The U.K. has imposed sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, on several Balkan-based crime figures and gangs. Among those targeted is the Krasniqi forgery network, a Kosovan group that operated a “sophisticated forgery lab producing fake documents” Also sanctioned is Nusret Seferović, alleged leader of a Croatian forgery ring that supplied Balkan gangs with …
Oct 21 2025
The European Union’s attempt to sanction Serbia’s Karić family over their ties to the authoritarian president of Belarus ultimately failed because it listed the wrong company details, according to an investigation. The family used their relationship with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko to obtain real estate development and construction contracts worth more than $1 billion. When …
Oct 18 2025
Italian mafia is using TikTok to glamorize criminal life, recruit followers, and experiment with new forms of money laundering. Researchers found striking similarities between Italian and Mexican criminal strategies, including the use of music, luxury imagery, emojis, and viral trends to attract followers and build identities. The authors describe a parallel “communicative ecosystem” where the …
Oct 17 2025
South Sudan’s leaders are looting public resources, an investigative group says. The Sentry warns that systemic corruption is driving violence and political breakdown. The group echoes a United Nations’ warning that corruption and political paralysis are pushing South Sudan to the brink of another war. The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said …