Armenia
(Ray Furlong, Hannah Kaviani and Robert Zargaryan – RFE/RL) Armenia has staged a Republic Day military parade showcasing hardware including rocket launchers, drones, and armored vehicles from countries such as France and India — as well as what appears to be an Iranian air defense system. A weapons purchase from Tehran could strike an awkward note as Armenia forges closer relations with Washington, with the Yerevan parade coming just hours after US President Donald Trump endorsed Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7. The first reported sighting of the AD-08 Majid, a truck-mounted short-range air defense system, came during rehearsals for the parade the previous day. Multiple Armenian media outlets carried photos of what they identified as partially covered Majids. On May 28, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service witnessed the same systems trundling across Republic Square with the covers off. But amid a martial drumbeat, an official announcer was coy about their origin. “The Scorpion short-range self-propelled surface-to-air missile system is designed for the detection and destruction of low-flying aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as for the air defense of vital military and industrial facilities,” he said. – Armenian Military Parade Appears To Include Iranian Air Defense System
Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights
(Amnesty International) Companies are extracting vast troves of online data through unlawful web scraping to build their generative artificial intelligence (AI) products in a way that is enabling a mass invasion of privacy, making these systems unlawful by design, Amnesty International said in a new briefing ‘Unlawful by Design: Exposing the Human Rights Costs of Generative AI’ documents serious risks in the large-scale data scraping and processing being used to build and train these systems, including violations of the right to privacy by design and adverse consequences for the environment and historically marginalized communities. “Companies across the world are supplying generative AI products under the veneer of efficiency and sophistication, but in reality, these systems perpetuate mass invasions of privacy through unlawful web scraping: an automated process for extracting data from websites, including personal data, such as images and social media activity, to train AI models,” said Likhita Banerji, Head of the Algorithmic Accountability Lab, Amnesty International. “The extractive data pipeline, inherent design choices made by tech companies and exploitative supply chains, to build generative AI systems have enabled a paradigm of technology development that opens up a risk of mass abuse of human rights.”. Amnesty International researched the models powering some of the most popular publicly available standalone generative AI tools, including GPT 3 by Open AI, Google’s Gemini, Meta’s Llama, DeepSeek and tools by Midjourney and Stable Diffusion. Such systems rely on extracting information from billions of public online posts and images often without the explicit consent of the individuals appearing in or creating them. Not only does this infringe on privacy by design but as datasets powering AI models scale up, the presence of hateful and discriminatory content in their outputs also gets amplified, along with negative stereotypes and prejudices, especially along racial and gendered lines. – Global: Enormous data pipelines powering major generative AI systems are rooted in mass invasions of privacy by design – Amnesty International
Brazil
(Human Rights Watch) The acting governor of the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro should seek passage of a bill for independent forensic services in the state and take additional measures to strengthen forensic analysis, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the acting governor, Ricardo Couto. Rio de Janeiro remains one of six Brazilian states, together with the federal district, that still have official forensic units fully subordinate to civil police, who investigate crimes, including killings by the police. About 77 percent of homicides remain unsolved in Rio, one of the highest rates in Brazil. In addition, Human Rights Watch has identified serious shortcomings in investigations led by civil police into killings by police. – Brazil: Ensure Independent Criminal Investigations in Rio State | Human Rights Watch
Climate change
(UN News) The world is heading into another period of dangerous heat, a new UN report warns on Thursday, and it’s nearly certain global temperatures over the next five years will stay “at or near record levels” as climate change accelerates across land and sea. A report produced by the UK Met Office and released on Thursday by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said there is an 86 per cent chance that at least one year between 2026 and 2030 will surpass 2024 as the hottest year ever recorded. It also found there is a 91 per cent likelihood that average global temperatures will temporarily exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels during at least one of the next five years. The 1.5°C mark is a key benchmark under the Paris Agreement on climate change, with scientists warning that exceeding it for prolonged periods would sharply increase the risks of extreme weather, ecosystem collapse, food insecurity and displacement. – Global temperatures set to stay near record levels: UN weather agency | UN News –
Democratic Republic of the Congo
(UN News) The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) headed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Thursday as the country continues to combat a deadly resurgence of Ebola in its volatile eastern region where instability is rife. Ahead of his arrival, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appealed to armed groups to declare a ceasefire so that health workers can reach people and halt spread of the disease. Since 15 May, UN agencies have been supporting the DRC and neighbouring Uganda to contain the outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is no treatment. As of Wednesday, there were more than 900 suspected cases, 105 confirmed cases and 10 confirmed deaths in the DRC, while Uganda reported seven confirmed cases and one death. – WHO chief calls for ceasefire amid DR Congo Ebola outbreak | UN News
Hungary – Europe
(Chris Powers – The Kyiv Independent) Hungary is set to receive 16.4 billion euros ($19 billion) in funds that had been frozen by the EU over rule of law concerns, following a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on May 29. The meeting with von der Leyen was also expected to touch upon several issues linked to Ukraine, including advancing Kyiv’s EU membership negotiations, resolving the issue of the Hungarian minority’s rights in Ukraine, and undoing a new illegal ban on Ukrainian agricultural produce. “We have been discussing many topics, among them accession of candidate countries,” von der Leyen told journalists at a press conference in Brussels. – Hungary’s Magyar secures frozen EU money, Ukraine issues remain stuck
Iran
(Amnesty International) Iranian authorities are using the cover of what they call “wartime conditions” to intensify their repression of dissent through mass arbitrary arrests, accelerated grossly unfair judicial proceedings, politically motivated executions, harsh prison sentences, and asset confiscations, Amnesty International said today. Since the unlawful military attack launched by the USA and Israel against Iran on 28 February 2026, Iranian authorities have arbitrarily arrested more than 6,000 people, including protesters, journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders, dissidents, and members of ethnic and religious minorities. Senior judicial officials have ordered expedited prosecutions against those arrested, including on capital charges, amid widespread concerns of enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment, and the use of forced “confessions” in grossly unfair sham trials. During the same period, authorities have imposed decades-long prison sentences against individuals and carried out at least 39 political executions. Authorities systematically isolated more than 90 million people through an internet shutdown, violating their right to freedom of information, through the longest and most suffocating internet shutdown on record lasting 88 days, while criminalizing online activity as “espionage,” which is punishable by death. The internet was restored, with restrictions, on 26 May 2026. “Iranian authorities are exploiting the crisis to further erode the human rights of people in Iran who are already suffering from the devastating consequences of unlawful air strikes by US and Israeli forces, as well as decades of crimes under international law at the hands of the Islamic Republic,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director of Research, Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns at Amnesty International. – Iran: Mass arbitrary arrests, executions mark intensifying repression
(Al Arabiya) Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has killed two Kurdish activists in the west of the country who went into hiding following anti-government protests in January, two rights groups said on Friday. Iranian media confirmed the incident, which took place on Thursday, but said that the men were armed, had been instigators of “riots,” and were killed by security forces when they opened fire from their hideout in the western province of Kermanshah. – Iran’s IRGC kills two Kurds in hiding after protests: Rights groups
Kazakhstan
(Human Rights Watch) Kazakhstan authorities on May 25, 2026, forcibly transferred a defrocked Russian Orthodox priest, Yakov Vorontsov, to a psychiatric facility outside Almaty, Human Rights Watch said today. A Kazakhstan court on May 18 had ordered his transfer there from pretrial detention, where he had been held since February on dubious drug-related criminal charges. “Kazakhstan’s record of politically motivated prosecution of critics, activists, and others engaged in peaceful expression of critical views is well-documented,” said Mihra Rittmann, senior Central Asia advisor at Human Rights Watch. “But Kazakhstan also has a growing and troubling record of using psychiatric detention as another abusive repression tactic.” – Kazakhstan: Psychiatric Detention of Activist Priest | Human Rights Watch
North Korea, South Korea, US
(AFP/Al Arabiya) North Korea does not seem keen on diplomacy with Washington and Seoul, instead choosing to strengthen self-reliance and military deterrence, Singapore’s foreign minister has said after a rare trip to the politically isolated nation. Pyongyang has repeatedly shunned peace overtures from the South Korean government while throwing its backing behind Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. – North Korea ‘not keen’ on engaging with US, South: Singapore FM
Russia
(Human Rights Watch) Russian authorities have banned nine groups that provide support to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as “extremist,” Human Rights Watch said today. The apparent aim is to further suppress, stigmatize, and criminalize those who document abuses, share information, and provide legal, medical, and other assistance to Russia’s LGBT population. Following the 2023 Russian Supreme Court decision to outlaw as “extremist” the “International LGBT Movement”—a legal and factual mischaracterization of a diverse, decentralized global human rights cause—the authorities have targeted numerous civil society organizations. Between March and May 2026, courts banned nine LGBT groups in seven Russian regions as “extremist,” namely Coming Out, LGBT Resource Centre, Parni Plus, Moscow Community Center for LGBT+ Initiatives, Irida, Russian LGBT Network, Kallisto movement, T9 NSK, and Centre T. A lawsuit against Alliance of Straights and LGBT for Equality is pending. – Russia: LGBT Rights Groups Further Criminalized | Human Rights Watch
Russia – Europe
(Reuters/All Arabiya) Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia’s powerful Security Council, warned European leaders on Friday that drones would continue to stray into their countries and prevent their populations from sleeping peacefully. Medvedev spoke out after NATO accused Moscow of reckless behavior and pledged to “defend every inch of Allied territory” after Romania said a Russian drone had crashed into an apartment block in the alliance member state during an attack on neighboring Ukraine. – Russian official warns Europe to brace for more drone incidents after Romania episode
Russia – Afghanistan
(Farangis Najibullah (RFE/RL) Russia and Afghanistan’s Taliban government have signed a military agreement, in a move that signals deepening cooperation between the sides, experts said. The deal was signed on May 27 by Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, and the Taliban’s defense minister, Mohammad Yaqub, on the sidelines of a security forum outside of Moscow, Russian media reported. Neither side has released the text of the military cooperation agreement or offered details about its scope, making it difficult to gauge whether the deal represents a substantive shift in military cooperation or a symbolic political gesture, experts said. – In Sign Of Deepening Ties, Russia And Afghan Taliban Sign Military Deal
Russia – Romania
(Reuters/Al Al Arabiya) Russia will respond swiftly to Romania’s decision to close down the Russian consulate in Constanta, the state-run TASS news agency cited Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying. – Russia vows swift response to Romanian closure of its consulate
(RFE/RL) Romania has accused Russia of a “serious and irresponsible escalation” after a drone hit a high-rise building inside Romanian territory near the border with Ukraine. The drone entered Romanian airspace during overnight attacks on Ukraine and crashed into a residential building in Galati, a city on the Danube River, Romania’s Defense Ministry said in a May 29 press release. According to the ministry, the crash sparked a fire, prompting an emergency response involving multiple security and rescue agencies. According to Romanian officials, the building was evacuated and at least two people sustained minor injuries. – Romania Accuses Russia Of ‘Serious Escalation’ After Drone Hits Apartment Building
(Volodymyr Ivanyshyn – The Kyiv Independent) A drone struck a residential building in Galati, Romania, overnight on May 29, Romania’s Defense Ministry confirmed, after an air raid alert was declared in all of Ukraine. “(T)he Russian Federation resumed drone attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, in the vicinity of the river border with Romania. A drone entered Romanian airspace, being tracked by radar to the southern area of the city of Galati, and crashed onto the roof of a block of apartments, the impact being followed by a fire,” the statement read. – Russian drone strikes residential building in Romania, injuring 2, amid aerial attack on Ukraine
Russia – Ukraine
(UN News) The United Nations on Thursday warned of a dangerous escalation in the war in Ukraine after a wave of large-scale Russian strikes and threats of further attacks, with Secretary-General António Guterres saying “the death spiral must stop.”. Addressing the Security Council in New York, Mr. Guterres said the latest attacks launched by Russia on 23 and 24 May – and the prospect of additional strikes – underscored “the gravity of this moment.”. “The current course is not sustainable,” he said. “This trajectory must change.”. He warned that the intensifying conflict risked spiralling “out of control,” citing the dangers of miscalculation and “unknown and unintended consequences.”. “What is needed now is de-escalation – immediate and sustained,” the Secretary-General said. “What is needed now is a full and unconditional ceasefire.” – UN warns Ukraine war risks spiralling ‘out of control’ | UN News
Sri Lanka
(Amnesty International) Malaiyaha Tamils working on private tea estates and smallholdings in Sri Lanka are being subjected to abuses that meet many of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) indicators of forced labour, while being denied access to the country’s strict labour protections, Amnesty International said in a new report. The research, which documents the plight of workers in Sri Lanka’s Southern Province, found that members of the marginalized Malaiyaha Tamil community suffered multiple and widespread forms of abuse including intimidation and threats, physical violence and harassment, debt bondage, restrictions on movement, and poor working and living conditions. The report found that, in addition to its failure to address these labour abuses, the state is failing in its duty to ensure workers’ rights to social security, unionization, and access to justice. As an ILO member and party to 44 of its conventions, as well as UN human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Sri Lanka is obliged to ensure that workers are protected from discrimination and labour and human rights abuses. “Private tea estates in Sri Lanka are systematically violating labour laws in their treatment of Malaiyaha Tamil workers with no accountability. Across the sites we visited, workers reported a consistent pattern of discrimination and abuse, including violence, debt bondage, withheld wages, and poor living and working conditions, raising serious concerns about forced labour. The persistence of these abuses despite existing legal safeguards reflects a serious failure of the state to enforce labour protections and safeguard workers’ rights,” said Smriti Singh, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for South Asia. – Sri Lanka: Malaiyaha Tamil workers in private tea estates suffer serious labour abuses – new report – Amnesty International
Turkey
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Turkey on Friday warned against “uncontrolled escalation” in the Black Sea region after a drone attack on Thursday night hit a Turkish cargo ship. “We reiterate our warning to all parties concerned: any action that could lead to an uncontrolled escalation of the conflict must be avoided,” the Turkish foreign ministry wrote in a statement, without naming a suspect. – Turkey warns against ‘uncontrolled escalation’ after ship drone attack
UN
(UN News) UN chief António Guterres has outlined further progress in the wide-ranging UN80 Initiative, a major reform and restructuring project aimed at making the global body more effective, agile and better equipped to respond to global challenges. On Thursday, Mr. Guterres told the General Assembly that reform is required because “inaction in the face of geopolitical turmoil would compound human suffering.”. Launched in March 2025, the initiative seeks to ensure that “every mandate, dollar and decision” delivers greater impact for people and the planet, at a time of growing demands and constrained resources. The UN chief described the project as “a paradigm shift in how the UN system organises its work and collaborates for greater impact,” and declared that the project has now entered a critical new phase of decision-making and delivery. – UN80 Initiative: ‘Critical new phase’ for UN reform effort | UN News
US
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) A federal judge threw out a lawsuit that US President Donald Trump’s administration filed challenging a Boston ordinance that restricts police cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Boston-based US District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled that the US Department of Justice lacked legal grounds to pursue the lawsuit, one of around a dozen it has filed challenging laws adopted by so-called “sanctuary jurisdictions” run by Democrats. – US judge tosses Trump administration’s challenge to Boston’s ‘sanctuary’ immigration law
(The Associated Press/Al Arabiya) Protesters clashed with armed federal immigration officers in front of a New Jersey detention center where advocates have demonstrated for days while asserting that people detained there are staging a hunger strike over poor living conditions. The families of detainees and their supporters said Thursday that immigrants being held at Delaney Hall in Newark have been subjected to pepper spray and physical force as the situation inside deteriorates. – Protesters arrested after clash with ICE officers outside a New Jersey detention center
(Human Rights Watch) On May 20, a court in California temporarily suspended a Trump administration policy that stripped key protections from immigrant survivors of domestic violence. The 2025 directive at issue had made many immigrant survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking much more vulnerable to arrest, detention or deportation by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). – US Court Rules to Protect Immigrant Domestic Violence Survivors | Human Rights Watch
US – Brazil
(AFP/Al Arabiya) The United States on Thursday designated two well-known Brazilian crime groups, the so-called Red Command (CV) and First Capital Command (PCC), as terrorist organizations, despite opposition from Brasilia. “CV and PCC are two of the most violent criminal organizations in Brazil,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. “Their influence and illicit networks extend far beyond Brazil’s borders, across our region and into our country.” – US labels two Brazilians crime groups as terrorist organizations
US – iran
(Alex Raufoglu – RFE/RL) As conflicting signals continue to emerge from Washington and Tehran over reports of a possible interim agreement, the White House has struggled to clarify whether the US and Iran are actually on the verge of a deal. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that negotiations were ongoing and stressed that President Donald Trump would not accept a “bad deal” for the US.
The uncertainty comes amid reports that Washington and Tehran may be discussing a 60-day framework aimed at extending a cease-fire and reopening negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. The reported diplomacy has exposed divisions both within the Trump administration and among Republicans, with critics accusing the White House of softening its stance toward Tehran even as tensions continue in the Strait of Hormuz. To better understand what may be happening behind the scenes, RFE/RL spoke with Alexander Gray, who served as chief of staff of the National Security Council during President Donald Trump’s first term and is now CEO of the geopolitical consulting firm American Global Strategies. – Tentative US-Iran Deal Nears ‘Finish Line,’ Former Trump NSC Official Says
