The Flynn resignation has been followed by a fast and dramatic escalation of US-Russia tensions, with Pentagon troops deployed to Romania and a near-skirmish in the Black Sea.
Romania's government capitulated in the face of a sustained protest campaign and repealed a decree that had decriminalized corruption offenses.
More than 14,000 asylum seekers currently confined to five Greek islands in the Aegean Sea are facing dire circumstances due to unusually harsh winter conditions.
The UN International Organization for Migration reports that 2016 saw more recorded migrant deaths than any previous year, with a minimum of 5,079 lost at sea.
Poland's increasingly authoritarian government capitulated after days of angry protests and agreed to scrap a proposed law that would have imposed harsh restrictions on the media.
Crimean Tatars have faced systematic persecution by Russian authorities since the illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, Amnesty International charges.
The UK government said it will use its terrorism laws to ban the neo-Nazi group linked to the assassination of MP Jo Cox, marking the first time such a step has been taken.
The UK's Investigatory Powers Bill was given royal assent and became law, providing intelligence agencies broad powers to monitor the online activity of all citizens.
The European Parliament voted to halt EU accession negotiations with Turkey due to the government's "disproportionate repressive measures" after a failed coup in July.
The UK Supreme Court ruled that Scotland and Wales may join a case challenging Prime Minister Theresa May’s power to leave the EU without a parliamentary vote.
Montenegro's chief prosecutor accused "nationalists in Russia" of having organized a criminal group to overthrow the government during last month's elections in the Balkan country.
With two months still to go, deaths of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean so far this year have hit a record high, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
