War against terrorism – 200 new army officers join military mandate

Twenty years ago, Portugal was plagued with heroin addiction and HIV infections. The country decided to take a new approach to the problem, becoming the first in the world to decriminalise drug taking. Since then, drug users are no longer treated as criminals to be locked up in jail, but as people who need medical care and supervision. The gamble has paid off, as our team found out.

Can NATO strike the right balance of force and diplomatic fortitude to make the Kremlin back off? Aboard the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, Teri Schultz tees up a key meeting of foreign ministers in Riga.

According to an investigation by AP news, Myanmar's military has been systematically torturing detainees in the wake of pro-democracy protests in the country. The military junta has arrested more than 7,000 people since a coup in February of this year.

Thousands take part in massive protests in Sudan's capital. Dozens are arrested as anger mounts against the country's military. In Ethiopia, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says his army is making significant gains as he calls on Tigrayan rebels to surrender. And African fashion pays tribute to world-renowned designer Virgil Abloh, who died this weekend at the age of 41.

Fighting continues in Ethiopia, where rebel groups are advancing on the capital Addis Ababa. While much has been said about the northern front, where the army is at war with the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF), another armed group – allied to Tigrayans – is fighting from the south and west of the country. The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) now controls a large swathe of territory. Together, the TDF and OLA plan to topple the government and take over the capital. The government accuses these rebel groups of committing crimes against civilians, including several massacres. Our regional correspondent reports.

Ethiopian authorities have closed all secondary schools so pupils can harvest crops for those on the frontline of the civil war, state-affiliated media says. ... More than 2 million pupils were already out of school due to the war which started in the northern region of Tigray last year, the government says.

The Indian Air Force confirmed that the country's military chief of defense staff, Bipin Rawat, was aboard a helicopter that crashed in the south of the country.

The accused — Mahamat Said Abdel Kani — faces a slew of charges, including persecution, enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts. The alleged militia leader rose to prominence amid a coup in Bangui in 2013.

Sudanese security forces have shot dead at least 14 anti-coup protesters and wounded dozens more, in the bloodiest day since the military seized power on 25 October. The fatalities in Khartoum on Wednesday raised to 38 the death toll from unrest since the military seized power, a pro-democracy doctors' union said.

A new report by Amnesty international has documented war crimes and atrocities committed during the fall of the internationally backed Afghan government in August.

Many Facebook groups based in Mali and Nigeria began sharing a video of a helicopter on December 9, claiming it showed an aircraft delivering weapons to terrorists. In Mali, the posts often accused the French government of operating the helicopter, while posts coming from Nigeria laid the blame on the Nigerian government. In reality, the video is from neither one of these countries – it was filmed in the Central African Republic during a routine supply drop.

Fighting between Ethiopian government forces and militants from the Tigray region has now lasted a year. The conflict threatens to widen as military clashes spread beyond the region.