Amnesty International on Dec. 18 urged all states to prevent the Portuguese-flagged Holger G vessel, carrying munition components bound for Israel, from docking at their ports. Having departed from India on Nov. 16, the cargo is destined for Israel's biggest arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems, and its subsidiary IMI Systems.

The rising wave of far-right populism has arrived in Chile with the run-off presidential election of Dec. 14. José Antonio Kast, a 59-year old ultra-conservative who campaigned on fighting crime and carrying out mass deportations, defeated left-wing candidate Jeanette Jara by about 16 points. His victory marks the country's furthest shift to the right since the restoration of democracy after the brutal dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet 30 years ago—an era and figure Kast has openly admired.

​​In a move that will shock absolutely nobody following the war in Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) declared a three-month unilateral humanitarian truce on Nov. 24—and then promptly broke it with an attack on an army position in the West Kordofan town of Babanusa. RSF leader Hemedti billed the pause as a first step towards a political solution, but it looks like just another attempt to con mediators and journalists. As ever, those attempts have been drowned out by a stream of grim revelations, including reports that RSF fighters forcibly took blood from civilians fleeing El Fasher—prompting one commentator to label them "literal vampires." A Doctors Without Borders update found that many of the 260,000 civilians still alive in El Fasher before the RSF takeover on Oct. 26 are now dead, detained, trapped, or unable to access lifesaving aid.

Amnesty International on Nov. 20 denounced authorities in Chad for their failure to protect victims of armed clashes between herders and farmers. The group documented seven instances of herder-farmer violence  in four provinces between 2022 and 2024, which resulted in 98 people dead, at least 100 injured, and 600 left without homes or sources of income.

The UN Security Council passed a US-backed resolution on Nov. 17 endorsing the Trump administration's 20-point Gaza peace plan. The Security Council urged all parties to implement the peace plan "in good faith and without delay."

Throughout the 18-month siege of El Fasher, capital of Sudan's North Darfur state, international human rights observers had been warning that the city's residents faced a general massacre when it eventually fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Yet nothing was done, apart from ineffectual Great Power diplomacy that had zero impact on the ground. Now that the foretold massacre is underway—with hundreds killed, thousands missing, and no end in sight—calls are at last emerging for boycott, divestment and sanctions against the United Arab Emirates, the apparent underwriter of the genocidal RSF. In Episode 302 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg notes the contrast with the situation 20 years ago, when #SaveDarfur was a cause célèbre—and asks what has changed.

The United States decertified Colombia as a reliable partner in the War on Drugs on Sept. 15, citing a rise in coca cultivation and cocaine production. While the White House waived the crushing sanctions that usually come with decertification, the decision underscores the strained relations between the US and Colombia under President Trump. Alongside Colombia, the administration also decertified Afghanistan, Bolivia, Myanmar, and Venezuela, waiving sanctions for the last three.

Syria, Jordan and the United States on Sept. 16 jointly announced a "roadmap" to resolve the ongoing crisis in the southern Syrian province of as-Suwayda, where July clashes between Druze and Bedouin forces escalated to sectarian killings and mass displacement. The plan seeks to strengthen a fragile ceasefire, let UN investigators look into the July events while holding perpetrators accountable under Syrian law, allow aid deliveries, and facilitate the return of some 160,000 people who remain displaced. However, some Druze leaders have rejected the plan. Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri ruled out negotiations with the government, adding: "I thanked Israel because it defended us and provided us with protection." His followers have announced the creation of a "National Guard" for as-Suwayda region, which according to regional media reports has received thousands of light arms from Israel. (TNH, TNA, YNet)