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Ethiopia’s government and Tigray’s ruling TPLF accuse each other of launching offensives, raising fears of a return to full-scale war after the 2020–22 conflict. Federal officials say TPLF fighters seized federally run airports in Tigray and attacked Afar and Amhara; Tigrayan authorities claim they entered a defensive war after reported drone strikes. Recent strikes reportedly killed civilians in Alamata, and Ethiopian Airlines has suspended flights to Tigray. The TPLF has formed an alliance with six other rebel groups aiming to remove the Addis Ababa government, while both sides face criticism for failing to implement the AU-brokered Pretoria peace deal and for alleged abuses that risk renewing large-scale violence.
Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 15 years in New York after being convicted of sexually assaulting former TV production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006. Haley delivered a victim impact statement describing long-term harm and public smearing; prosecutors sought 20 years, the defense asked for nine citing poor health. Judge Curtis Farber noted Weinstein’s role in sparking the #MeToo movement and condemned his exploitation of Haley’s career hopes. The sentence follows years of appeals, retrials and mixed verdicts—including an earlier 2020 conviction overturned in 2024—and comes while Weinstein faces other charges and a upheld 2022 conviction in California that may affect how sentences are served.
The European Commission is preparing a roadmap that would formally back Albania’s goal of completing EU accession negotiations by December 2027, while listing priority deliverables Tirana must complete to close remaining gaps—especially on justice and the rule of law. Although the EU normally avoids fixed deadlines, officials say the Commission will use an indicative timeline within its upcoming enlargement package and a closing-benchmark assessment to spell out concrete reforms, mirroring an approach used for Montenegro. The roadmaps, announced by President von der Leyen, aim to give candidate countries clearer signals on priorities ahead of the Commission’s October enlargement health check.
