IRAN
At least 3,090 people have died in nationwide protests in Iran. HRANA, a US-based human rights group, reports that 2,885 protesters were killed in the government crackdown. Meanwhile, in the capital Tehran, the situation has been relatively calm for four days, while a "very slight rise” in Internet activity has been reported. Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian, offering to mediate between the two countries. Finally, US President Donald Trump said he refrained from taking “very strong action” against Iran after the latter “called off” mass hangings.
THAILAND
The Thai Ministry of Transport has ordered a 15-day halt to construction work on 14 contracts involving the Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited (ITD) and other large-scale projects. This measure follows two fatal accidents in two days involving two cranes: The first on Wednesday caused a train derailment and the deaths of 32 passengers, while the second saw two people killed, crushed to death in their vehicles, the following day.
SYRIA
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa yesterday signed a decree making Kurdish a "national language," a gesture of goodwill towards the minority in the wake of recent violence in Aleppo. This is the first formal recognition of Kurdish rights in Syria since independence in 1946. The decree describes the Kurds as “an essential and integral part” of the country where they suffered decades of marginalisation and oppression under past regimes.
AFGHANISTAN – PAKISTAN
More than 5.2 million Afghans have returned home from Iran and Pakistan between January and November 2025, severely worsening the country's already fragile humanitarian situation, this according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), which have called for greater international support. More than 3.6 million people have returned from Iran, including 1.2 million forcibly deported, while more than 804,000 have returned from Pakistan. The scale and speed of returns are overwhelming the country’s already limited reception capacity.
PHILIPPINES
The official death toll following a landfill collapse in the central Philippines last week has risen to 28, according to Cebu police, while rescue teams continue searching for eight people who are still missing. Dozens were buried in the incident on 9 January at a private landfill in Binaliw, a mountainous area outside the city.
SOUTH KOREA
The South Korean Ministry of Education yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Ministry of Justice to create a new selection process for state-funded scholarships exclusively for refugees. A new track will be created under the Global Korea Scholarship Programme, which will allow five students nominated by the UNHCR to study in South Korea each year.
RUSSIA – INDIA
Russia will welcome at least 40,000 more migrants from India this year to fill existing labour gaps, primarily in Moscow and St Petersburg, this according to India’s labour office. Most migrant workers are men ranging in age from 19 to 43, with little or no knowledge of Russian. They are drawn from the lowest castes and are trained by gestures, according to Maria Tyabina, acting head of the Comprehensive Cleaning Department at Kolomyazhskoye JSC, a road maintenance firm, where 17 Indians have been employed for months.
GEORGIA
The EU delegation in Georgia released a video to mark Georgia’s State Flag Day on 14 January, which features pro-European demonstrations, sparking angry reactions from members of the Georgian Dream party and Prime Minister Irakliy Kobakhidze, who slammed the video as “yet another demonstration of the EU’s shameless relations with our country, trampling on our interests and honour.”
