Saudi Arabia, DR Congo, Syria
Today's three stories you should know
Saudi Arabia
Five Ethiopians have been executed in Saudi Arabia on drug-related charges, according to the interior ministry, after a trial that human rights groups said did not follow due process and during which the accused were denied translation. “Saudi authorities are executing marginalized Ethiopian migrants after court hearings that sometimes barely last a few minutes without a lawyer or a translator,” Joey Shea, senior Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch, said. The New York-based rights group says at least 17 Ethiopian nationals have been executed in Saudi Arabia since the beginning of 2026, all on drug-related charges. Riyadh is one of the world’s most prolific users of the death penalty.
More from HRW here.
Episode 9 of the Proximities podcast is now live on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
DR Congo
Thousands of people in the cities of Goma and Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have taken to the streets to protest proposed constitutional changes that would allow President Felix Tshisekedi to run for a third term. Both cities are controlled by the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group, and a government spokesperson accused the rebels of forcing residents to demonstrate. Goma and Bukavu are in the DRC’s eastern region, which is currently the center of the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in recorded history. The demonstrations took place under police supervision, locals said, despite a ban on gatherings introduced to curb the spread of the virus. Security forces have broken up opposition-led protests against the proposals in the capital Kinshasa.
More from Reuters here.
NB: Proximities has published deep dives on the Ebola outbreak here and here.
Syria
A fringe group of Israeli settlers has been making incursions into southern Syria in an attempt to establish settlements. Though the Israeli army has occupied southern Syria for more than a year, it is believed to be the first time civilians have tried to settle the area. Groups with members numbering in the dozens are reported to have tried to cross the border every few days in recent weeks. The wider settler movement, centered on the illegally occupied West Bank, enjoys strong support from members of Israel’s far-right government, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is accused by the opposition and rights groups of turning a blind eye to settler violence against Palestinians.
More from AP here.