The protests that began on December 28, 2025, represent a critical inflection point for Iran, fueled by an economic “perfect storm” that has effectively hollowed out the country’s middle class. As of January 4, 2026, the movement has spread to over 100 locations across 22 provinces, marking it as one of the most geographically expansive challenges to the Islamic Republic since 1979.
In December 2025, mass protests erupted across Iran, sparked not by a revolutionary movement but by the sheer desperation of a collapsing economy. The Iranian rial plummeted to a historic low of 1.42 million per dollar, triggering market shutdowns and the largest civil unrest since 2022.
A Palestinian journalist chronicles a harrowing 2025 in Gaza, marked by a brief, emotional return to the north followed by a reimposed siege and systemic starvation. The narrative weaves personal survival with historical echoes of 1948, framing the act of documenting Gaza’s “compressed lifetimes” as a final form of resistance.
Rising tensions over Gaza and West Bank settlements have forced a reassessment of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. While Spain, Ireland, and Norway’s recognition of Palestine marks a diplomatic rift, the EU remains Israel’s largest trading partner. Future cooperation faces a deadlock between legal obligations to the ICJ and internal opposition from pro-Israel members like Germany and Hungary.
Sudan faces the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis, with 21.2 million people suffering from acute food insecurity and 12 million displaced. Despite confirming famine and widespread atrocities by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the conflict remains largely neglected by U.S. media. Drastic 2025 U.S. aid cuts and foreign arms supplies continue to fuel the devastation, leaving millions at risk of starvation and death.
With 25 million people facing extreme hunger and 14 million displaced, Sudan’s civil conflict has escalated into a genocide largely ignored by the global spotlight. As the Trump administration’s 2025 aid cuts and foreign military interventions fuel the fire between warring factions, the collapse of Sudan’s democratic transition has left half the population in famine conditions, desperate for a diplomatic breakthrough that remains out of reach.
The last-minute cancellation of a “60 Minutes” report on torture at El Salvador’s CECOT prison has ignited a firestorm over editorial independence and political interference at CBS News. While Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss cites a lack of new information, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi and critics label the move as corporate censorship, raising urgent questions about media integrity and government influence in the wake of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies.
The December 2025 decision by UK police to arrest protesters for chanting “globalise the intifada” has ignited a fierce debate over democratic erosion and selective enforcement. While authorities cite security concerns following recent global tensions, legal experts and activists warn that criminalizing political speech without evidence of violence constitutes institutionalized bias, threatening the fundamental right to peaceful mobilization and free expression.
Israel’s October 10 ceasefire is viewed as a tactical adjustment rather than a move toward peace, as it continues systematic genocide through starvation, land seizure, and violence under the guise of humanitarian efforts. Since the ceasefire began, at least 401 Palestinians have been killed, including 67 children, revealing the deceptive narrative of peace as Israel strengthens its permanent occupation of 58% of Gaza.
Five countries—Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain—are boycotting Eurovision 2026 in protest of Israel’s participation, following UN reports of genocide in Gaza. This marks the largest withdrawal from the event since 1970, although 35 countries are still confirmed to participate, highlighting inconsistencies in Europe’s cultural sanctions against nations involved in mass atrocities.
The twenty-point Gaza peace agreement has successfully halted active hostilities and enabled hostage returns. Yet, as it moves to implementation, concerns arise over whether its complex framework can effectively address the deeper power dynamics and political realities at play.
UN Security Council Resolution 2803, passed on November 17, 2025, endorses Trump’s Gaza peace plan, establishing a U.S.-chaired Board of Peace and an International Stabilization Force with broad powers. This plan follows UN Commission of Inquiry findings of Israel’s genocide actions against Palestinians, highlighting a critical tension between the goals of stabilization and the demands for accountability.
