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North Korea Fires Two Ballistic Missiles Ahead of Harris’ Visit to South

A TV screen shows a file image of a North Korean missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (AP)
A TV screen shows a file image of a North Korean missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (AP)
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North Korea Fires Two Ballistic Missiles Ahead of Harris’ Visit to South

A TV screen shows a file image of a North Korean missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (AP)
A TV screen shows a file image of a North Korean missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (AP)

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Wednesday, the South's military said, just a day before US Vice President Kamala Harris is set to arrive in Seoul.

After a stop in Japan, Harris is set to arrive in the South Korean capital and visit the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the neighbors on Thursday.

Japan's coast guard also reported a suspected ballistic missile test.

The launch came two days after South Korea and US forces launched a military drill in waters off the South's east coast involving an aircraft carrier. On Sunday, North Korea had fired another ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast.

In a speech hours earlier aboard the destroyer USS Howard destroyer in the Japanese city of Yokosuka, Harris said Sunday's launch was part of an "illicit weapons program which threatens regional stability and violates multiple UN Security Council resolutions".

Since 2006, North Korea has been subject to UN sanctions, which the Security Council has steadily, and unanimously, stepped up over the years to cut off funding for its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

North Korea rejects the UN resolutions as an infringement of its sovereign right to self-defense and space exploration, and has criticized military exercises by the United States and South Korea as proof of their hostile intentions.

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UN Experts Slam Swiss Penalties Over Anti-Israel Student Protests

Palestinians walk along tents at a makeshift camp for displaced people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians walk along tents at a makeshift camp for displaced people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP)
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UN Experts Slam Swiss Penalties Over Anti-Israel Student Protests

Palestinians walk along tents at a makeshift camp for displaced people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians walk along tents at a makeshift camp for displaced people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP)

United Nations experts on Tuesday harshly criticized a top Swiss university's decision to pursue the criminal prosecution of students who peacefully protested against its partnerships with Israeli institutions.

"Peaceful student activism, on and off campus, is part of students' rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and must not be criminalized," 10 independent UN experts said in a statement.

The experts pointed to criminal penalties sought by the publicly funded Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) as mass student protests over Israel's war in Gaza rocked universities in many countries in May 2024.

Around 70 students had staged sit-ins at ETHZ, demanding transparency and disengagement from research linked to the Israeli military.

The experts, including the special rapporteurs on the right to education, to free expression, and on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories, pointed out that police were reportedly called within minutes.

"A large security presence (was) deployed, and the sit-ins forcibly dispersed, despite no teaching being interrupted and no violence occurring," the statement said.

After the protests, 38 ETHZ students received "penal orders" -- mainly fines of up to 2,700 Swiss francs ($3,500) -- including 17 who opted to appeal, it said.

"Recent court decisions have upheld trespass convictions against five students, while acquitting two others on procedural grounds," the statement said.

However, all students involved, including those acquitted, were required to bear court and administrative costs, amounting to at least 2,400 Swiss francs per person, a spokeswoman for the experts told AFP.

Decisions for the remaining 10 students are still pending.

The experts, who are mandated by the UN Human Rights Council, but who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, called on the Swiss authorities and judicial system to "take full account of Switzerland's human rights obligations".

"Universities and states must ensure that expressing solidarity with human rights causes and demanding accountability from state institutions, especially in relation to well-documented instances of international crimes, do not lead to intimidation, prosecution, or long-term harm to students' futures," they said.

World

Rule of Law 'Routinely Challenged', Says ICC Head

The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, January 16, 2019. (Reuters)
The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, January 16, 2019. (Reuters)
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Rule of Law 'Routinely Challenged', Says ICC Head

The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, January 16, 2019. (Reuters)
The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, January 16, 2019. (Reuters)

The global rule of law is frequently coming under threat, the president of the International Criminal Court warned on Tuesday, vowing to stand up for justice and victims of atrocities.

At a ceremony marking the opening of the ICC's judicial year, Tomoko Akane said international justice was facing an "extraordinary moment."

"The ICC, as well as other judicial institutions around the globe, have been facing significant pressures, coercive measures and attempts to undermine their function," she said.

"Values and premises that we have accepted as a given, as well as the very notion of the rule of law, are being routinely questioned and challenged," added Akane.

The ICC is facing the most difficult period in its history.

Furious at arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the United States has slapped sanctions on top ICC officials, including judges.

This has hindered the court's ability to function and affected the lives of those sanctioned.

In addition, Russia has sentenced ICC officials to jail terms, in retaliation for arrest warrants against President Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine war.

"Now, more than ever, we must return to the fundamental ideas upon which we stand, the values of justice and humanity that transcend borders," said Akane.

She revealed the court had issued "numerous" further arrest warrants, although these have not yet been made public.

The ICC, based in The Hague, tries individuals suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

On Monday, it announced a major step in one of its most high-profile cases.

Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte will face a so-called "confirmation of charges" hearing on February 23, after judges passed him fit.

World

France’s President to Meet Denmark, Greenland Leaders

France's President Emmanuel Macron waits before the arrival of Indonesia's president at the Elysee palace in Paris, on January 23, 2026. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron waits before the arrival of Indonesia's president at the Elysee palace in Paris, on January 23, 2026. (AFP)
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France’s President to Meet Denmark, Greenland Leaders

France's President Emmanuel Macron waits before the arrival of Indonesia's president at the Elysee palace in Paris, on January 23, 2026. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron waits before the arrival of Indonesia's president at the Elysee palace in Paris, on January 23, 2026. (AFP)

France's president will meet the leaders of Denmark and Greenland in Paris on Wednesday for "a working lunch", his office said Tuesday.

Emmanuel Macron will "reaffirm European solidarity and France's support for Denmark, Greenland, their sovereignty and their territorial integrity", the presidency said.

The meeting comes days after US President Donald Trump backed down from threats to seize Greenland, a mineral-rich Arctic island that is an autonomous Danish territory.

The three leaders will discuss "security issues in the Arctic and the economic and social development of Greenland, which France and the European Union are ready to support", Macron's office said.

Faced with Russian threats and US ambitions for Greenland, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen have been making rounds with European allies this week including talks in Hamburg and Berlin ahead of visiting Paris Wednesday.

Trump earlier this month had threatened to seize Greenland and impose tariffs on any European countries, including France, Germany and Britain, that opposed him.

Trump later backed down on the threat to take the territory after meeting NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte last week.

Trump and Rutte had agreed on what the US leader called a "framework", the details of which have not been disclosed.

France has positioned itself at the forefront of European solidarity with Denmark, and is planning to open a consulate in the Greenland capital of Nuuk next month.