South Korea and the EU condemned North Korea's contribution of military arms and personnel to Russia as illegal under international law in a joint statement on Nov. 5. The statement follows recent reports that Russia has deployed North Korean troops in its war against Ukraine. According to a White House press briefing, over 3,000 North Korean soldiers were moved to Vladivostok in October, and underwent training at sites in eastern Russia. This was the first dispatchment of an estimated 12,000 North Korean troops said to be readied for deployment to fight Ukraine. South Korea and the EU maintain that the deployment violates multiple UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions as well as Russian obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The UK announced Oct. 3 that it will transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, now ruled as the British Indian Ocean Territory, to Mauritius after more than two centuries of control.

A joint statement issued by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth hails the accord as an "historic political agreement on the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago," which will mark the end of British control over the islands. The UK-US military base on the archipelago's principal island of Diego Garcia will remain operational for an initial period of 99 years to ensure its continued "vital role in regional and global security." The UK will be "authorised to exercise the sovereign rights of Mauritius" on Diego Garcia. The decision follows two years of negotiations over the future of the islands between the two nations.

Iran launched scores of ballistic missiles into Israeli territory on Oct. 1, in what it described as an exercise of its "legitimate right to self-defense under the UN Charter." The attack came hours after Israel announced a ground incursion into Lebanon, and as UN experts warned of the dire consequences of regional hostilities.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated Sept. 18 that the simultaneous detonation of thousands of communication devices across Lebanon and Syria violated customary international law. Thousands of pagers exploded the day before, killing 12 and injuring more than 2,000 people. Walkie-talkie explosions the following day killed an additional 25 and injured at least 600. The devices were evidently part of the Hezbollah communication network. Israel is widely believed to be behind the explosions, but has not commented.

Last week, a UN fact-finding mission for Sudan called for an independent and impartial force to be deployed "without delay" to protect civilians. Its case would not have been harmed by reports this week of a new set of grave human rights violations in the country. In southeastern Sennar state, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were accused of killing 40 people in artillery strikes on local markets and residential areas, while in North Darfur's famine-stricken Zam Zam displacement site, the RSF reportedly tightened a siege and arrested traders trying to supply the camp.

Tensions are ratcheting up in the Horn of Africa over the deployment of Egyptian troops to Somalia. Ethiopia, Somalia's neighbor, isn’t happy. It has soldiers in Somalia acting as a buffer against al-Shabab insurgents, but now Mogadishu has asked them to withdraw. High-stakes strategic interests are at play. Ethiopia and Egypt have been locked in a long-standing dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Egypt regards as an existential threat. Meanwhile, landlocked Ethiopia has also enraged Somalia over its determination to find a port to lease. It has turned to the breakaway region of Somaliland, dangling the prospect of recognizing its independence—an absolute red line for Mogadishu. The new defense agreement between Egypt and Somalia has underlined just how serious the tensions are. Egypt is planning to send 5,000 soldiers to Somalia to join a new-look African Union force, with a separate 5,000 stationed on the Ethiopian border.

The US Department of Justice on Sept. 4 announced the seizure of 32 internet domains linked to an alleged Russian government-backed disinformation campaign aimed at influencing US and global audiences. According to the DoJ, the operation, known as "Doppelganger," sought to sway public opinion in favor of Russian interests and interfere in the 2024 US presidential election. The campaign was allegedly orchestrated by several Russian organizations under the supervision of Sergei Kiriyenko, a senior official in the Russian Presidential Administration. These organizations utilized the domains to distribute pro-Russian propaganda and undermine support for Ukraine. The operation used deceptive methods that violated US "money laundering and criminal trademark law."

Russia is withdrawing 100 of its paramilitary troops from Burkina Faso to assist in the war with Ukraine, reports indicate. The troops are part of a contingent of some 300 fighters from the Medvedi or Bear Brigade—one of the Russian private military companies operating in West Africa—who arrived in Burkina Faso in May to support the country's ruling military junta. In a statement, the group said its forces would return home to support Russia's defense of Kursk oblast against Ukraine's recent cross-border offensive. There are fears the pull-out could embolden jihadist insurgents in Burkina Faso, who recently killed up to 300 people in one of the biggest attacks in years. (BBC News, Kyiv Post)