Houthi de facto authorities in Yemen have detained dozens of political opponents since July, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Nov. 27. The rights group said that at least 70 people associated with the opposition party Yemeni Congregation for Reform, or Islah, were detained on Oct. 28 in Dhamar governorate. HRW noted that 21 of these individuals have been subject to an "unfair trial" on "dubious accusations of espionage," with 17 sentenced to death by firing squad, and two sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

President Donald Trump praised Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as "incredible in terms of human rights" during an Oval Office meeting Nov. 18, preemptively deflecting questions about the kingdom's extensive record of abuses as the crown prince pledged $1 trillion in US investments.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on July 16 criticized attacks launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels on two commercial cargo ships in the Red Sea between July 6 and July 9. HRW characterized the attacks as violations of the laws of war amounting to war crimes and called for their immediate cessation. "It is critical for concerned governments to recognize war crimes, regardless of which party is responsible," said Niku Jafarnia, Yemen researcher at HRW. "The Houthis should end all attacks on ships not taking part in the conflict and immediately release the crew members in their custody."

A late May ceasefire between Yemen's Houthi rebels and the US appears to be holding, although Israel and the Houthis are still in conflict, with the latter saying this week that they have joined Iran's war effort. A new report from casualty monitor AirWars looks at the civilian death toll during the 53 days of "Operation Rough Rider," when Trump escalated a long-running US bombing campaign in Yemen. The monitor says at least 224 civilians were killed between the operation's start in mid-March until the May truce, marking a massive escalation from previous US campaigns. If you also include the 258 civilians counted as killed in the previous 23 years of US operations against the Houthis, al-Qaeda, and other groups, it takes the overall civilian toll from US bombing in Yemen to almost 500.

President Donald Trump issued a proclamation June 4 implementing a nearly full travel ban on nationals from a dozen countries, severely restricting potential entry into the United States. The proclamation is based on an executive order issued on Trump's first day in office that laid the foundation for the administration to enact extensive immigration controls. Trump claimed the action serves national security interests:

The Trump administration's deportation policies took center stage this week as Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele visited the White House, courts continued challenging the legality of the deportations, and a Maryland senator travelled to El Salvador in an attempt to make contact with a man known to be wrongfully deported.

Some of the world's poorest countries, including nations grappling with protracted humanitarian crises, are among those most affected by US President Donald Trump's new trade tariffs regime, which has compounded pre-existing economic strains and debt woes. Asian markets will be particularly hard hit, including imports to the US from Myanmar to be charged at 45%, and Bangladesh at 37%. Big charges were also imposed on fragile economies in the Middle East and North Africa, with Syria at 41%, Libya at 31%, and Iraq at 39%. But among the worst effects will likely be felt in Africa, where Trump's decision has created an "inexplicably cruel situation," according to the Center for Global Development (CGD). "It is hard to fathom that the administration set out to destabilize poor African countries and unclear what they hope to gain," wrote CGD researchers. The tariffs have effectively tanked the African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allowed duty-free imports to the US for 32 countries and was credited with helping economic growth. Lesotho and Madagascar could be among the Trump tariffs' biggest losers, CGD predicted. Amid existential financial worries in the international aid sector—triggered by Trump's closure of USAID—economists have also raised the possibility of a global trade war, with far-reaching ramifications for inflation and the cost of living worldwide.

Nearly 60 people, including children, have been killed as the United States expands its two-week bombing campaign in Yemen to include (according to a review by the Associated Press) "firing at ranking personnel as well as dropping bombs in cities." This comes as recently exposed Signal messages between senior US officials discussing the air-strikes demonstrated a flippant attitude towards the lives of Yemeni civilians. In one disturbing exchange concerning an apparent strike on a civilian apartment building, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz writes: "The first target—their top missile guy—we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend's building and it's now collapsed." "Excellent," comes the reply from Vice President JD Vance. The messages, which were brought to light after a journalist from The Atlantic was mistakenly added to the officials' group chat in a staggering breach of normal security protocols, show a callous indifference to the ethical implications of bombing civilian areas. This is perhaps unsurprising for a country that provided many of the planes and trained many of the pilots involved in the Saudi-led bombing campaign that killed over 9,000 Yemenis between 2015 and 2022.