Overview
- President Donald Trump says he was told executions of protesters have been halted in Iran, even as the judiciary chief urges rapid trials and rights monitors report at least 2,586 deaths and more than 18,000 arrests.
- Senior U.S. officials reviewed response options, Trump canceled meetings with Iranian counterparts and warned of "very strong action" over executions, and a secret envoy meeting with exiled figure Reza Pahlavi was reported.
- The U.S. administration’s Persian-language account publicly urged Tehran to free eight named political prisoners, including Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi and activist Hossein Ronaghi.
- India’s Supreme Court said states should compensate victims of stray-dog attacks and stressed governmental responsibility for control measures, with the matter listed again for January 20.
- A Sambhal court ordered FIRs against 12 police officers over 2024 mosque-survey violence, Ladakh suspended the Chadar trek as the Zanskar river thaws with a review after January 20, and investigative reports flagged rising illegal-mining violence in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.