More than 25 million wildlife trade transactions have been reported over the past 50 years by signatory parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the world's most comprehensive international wildlife trade organization announced.

The U.S. has sanctioned 28 individuals and companies responsible for producing and distributing deadly drugs such as fentanyl, methamphetamine, MDMA, and precursor chemicals for drug production to the United States and Mexico through a Chinese supply chain.

A Russian court has sentenced journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who dared to openly challenge state propaganda, to 8.5 years in a penal colony for “spreading false news about the Russian Army,” as reported by the Russian independent human rights monitor OVD-Info on Wednesday.

The European Parliament is progressing towards the final stages of the draft of the European Media Freedom Act, which aims to establish a set of rules for European member states to safeguard journalists, media freedom, and independence, protecting them from government, private, and political interference.

The head of the U.S. company Metalhouse LLC pleaded guilty this week to conspiracy to commit money laundering to promote violations of U.S. sanctions against a sanctioned Russian oligarch and his companies.

Faced with Western condemnation and hundreds of sanctions following its war on Ukraine, Russia is seeking allies in Latin America by hosting the First Russia-Latin America Parliamentary Conference, held in Moscow from September 29 to October 2.

British authorities have reported that people in the U.K. lost more than US$113 million last year in so-called "romance scams" – a type of scam where a perpetrator creates a fake identity, gains the victim's affection and trust and then empties his or her bank account.

Argentine naval authorities announced on Monday the seizure of more than 17,000 kilograms of soybeans that were to be smuggled to Brazil, where soy is in high demand.

Romania has blocked the distribution of EU funds that Brussels had redirected from other projects to help Ukrainian refugees, as revealed by an investigation by OCCRP partner Context.ro. This move left many of those who fled from shells and bullets without income and forced them to return to war-torn Ukraine.

Nigerian authorities have arrested a suspected wildlife trafficking kingpin whom they hold responsible for a large shipment of illegal wildlife products that police discovered and seized in 2021 before it managed to be sent to Vietnam.