Philippines, Syria, Uganda

Today's three stories you should know

Philippines

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered death squads to carry out extrajudicial killings as part of a crackdown on the drug trade, International Criminal Court prosecutors said, as they pushed to put the 80-year-old on trial. Judges must decide whether the evidence against Duterte, who is in custody accused of three counts of crimes against humanity, is strong enough to proceed with a trial. "Duterte's so-called war on drugs resulted in the killings of thousands of civilians and many of these victims were children," prosecutor Mame Niang said at the opening of the pre-trial hearings. Estimates of the death toll range from 8,000 cited by police to up to 30,000 claimed by rights groups.

More from Reuters here.

Syria

ISIS has launched a broadside against Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in a new audio message, calling him “a puppet without a soul” controlled by the West. The message, recorded by spokesman Abu Huzaifa al-Ansari, also called on ISIS supporters worldwide to attack Jewish and Western targets and celebrated what it deemed its successes in African countries, urging supporters to go there and fight. Though the group was largely defeated in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019, it maintains sleeper cells with the ability to launch hit-and-run attacks on security forces. Al-Sharaa, who came to power in January 2025, is a former leader of al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch who has now been embraced by Western leaders.

More from Middle East Eye here.

Uganda

Hundreds of people held a church service in the Ugandan capital Kampala to pray for jailed opposition grandee Kizza Besigye in defiance of an alleged order from the country’s president to postpone it. Besigye, once Uganda’s leading opposition figure and four-time presidential candidate, is reported to be in poor health and his wife and lawyers say he is being denied adequate medical care. The 69-year-old is accused of plotting to topple President Yoweri Museveni by force – a charge supporters and rights groups dismiss as bogus. Museveni, in power since 1986, was declared winner of a presidential election last month with 71 percent of the vote. His main rival, Bobi Wine, has gone into hiding fearing for his safety.

More from AP here.