World

South Sudan could be sliding toward a civil war . The country's senior military commander, Johnson Olony, reportedly urged troops recently to act decisively and "spare no lives," including civilians, as part of preparations for a government offensive against opposition forces in Jonglei state.  The United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and other human rights organizations have condemned Olony's remarks as encouragement for potential war cimes.  The country's political situation has worsened following the detention and trial of former Vice President Riek Machar. For Tim Glawion of the Arnold Bergstraesser Institute in Freiburg, the situation is "really frightening. More than three quarters of the population are in extreme distress, threatened by hunger and exposed to...

Immigration crackdowns ordered by US President Donald Trump have turned deadly, with a second US citizen killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents this month.  Cell phone videos from eyewitnesses in Minneapolisshow how several ICE agents tackle 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti to the ground and then shoot him. He had not drawn his gun, as initially stated by the Department of Homeland Security.Footage from different cell phone recordings shows his gun on a belt, which an ICE officer removes before Pretti is killed.  Earlier this month, ICE agents had shot 37-year-old Renee Goodas she was driving away in her car. Videos taken from multiple angles also discredit the official statementthat Good was trying to run over an officer, killing her point-blank by firing through he...

"I was involuntarily undressed by Elon Musk's Grok on X," Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch said in a recent video on the platform. She is one of countless victims of a feature on X's AI chatbot, Grok, that allows users to digitally strip women and children of their clothing. In less than two weeks, Grok generated three million sexualized images, including tens of thousands that appear to depict children.  Now, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, has launched an investigation into Grok under the Digital Services Act, or DSA. The Commission said it would "assess whether the company [X] properly assessed and mitigated risks associated with the deployment of Grok's functionalities into X in the EU."  The investigation could set an important precedent in confronting US te...

After Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Janos Lazar is one of the most recognizable politicians in Hungary. In fact, the construction and transpor minister, who regularly makes headlines with racist and belittling attacks on minorities and poor people, is one of the few recognizable politicians within Orban's Fidesz party. He is still remembered for saying years ago that "those who have nothing are worth exactly that." Lazar, who is said to be keen to replace Orban one day, has now created the biggest scandal yet in Hungary's 2026 election campaign. On January 22, Lazar told residents of the town of Balatonalmadi, just outside the capital, Budapest, that he does not consider immigration to be the solution to Hungary's labor shortage. "If someone has to scrub the toilets on our Intercity train...