Guinea’s Supreme Court has upheld the election victory of junta leader Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya. The Dec. 28 vote was the country's first since a 2021 coup deposed its elected government. Doumbouya's win cements his transition from a military leader to a democratically elected president. Four years ago Doumbouya staged a coup in the West African nation. The election has been held under a new constitution that revokes a ban on military leaders running for office. The change also extends the presidential mandate from five years to seven years. Runner-up Yero Baldé had filed a petition accusing the electoral body of manipulating the results. Authorities say he withdrew the petition a day before the Supreme Court verdict.

When Nicolás Maduro appears in a New York courtroom to face U.S. drug charges, he'll be following a path taken by Panama's Manuel Noriega, another strongman who was toppled by American forces. As was the case with Noriega, lawyers for Maduro are expected to challenge his arrest by claiming sovereign immunity. That's a bedrock principal of international and U.S. law. But legal experts say that argument is unlikely to succeed because the U.S. doesn't recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. They say courts are likely to allow the prosecution to proceed despite broader constitutional questions about the U.S. military action that led to his capture.

Yemen’s separatist movement has announced a constitution for an independent nation in the south and demanded other factions in the war-torn country accept the move. The announcement Friday marked an escalation of a confrontation that has pitted Gulf powerhouses Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates against each other. The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council depicted the announcement as a declaration of independence for the south. But it was not immediately clear if the move could be implemented or was largely symbolic. The STC’s seizure last month of two provinces in southern Yemen has prompted airstrikes from Saudi Arabia, threatening to unravel the coalition that has been fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Chief Justice John Roberts says that the Constitution remains a sturdy pillar for the country, a message that comes after a tumultuous year in the nation’s judicial system with pivotal Supreme Court decisions on the horizon. Roberts released his annual letter to the judiciary on Wednesday and said the nation’s founding documents remain firm and unshaken, a reference to a century-old quote from President Calvin Coolidge. It comes after a year in which some raised fears of a possible constitutional crisis amid legal pushback to President Donald Trump's agenda. The Republican administration has scored wins at the Supreme Court, though major rulings on birthright citizenship and tariffs are yet to come.

Chief Justice says Constitution remains 'firm and unshaken' with major Supreme Court rulings ahead.

Today is Thursday, Dec. 18, the 352nd day of 2025. There are 13 days left in the year.

Thailand is preparing for new elections early next year after Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dissolved the House of Representatives. Anutin's move received endorsement from King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Thursday, and the dissolution became effective with its publication on Friday in the Royal Gazette. Elections must be held within 45 to 60 days. Anutin will now lead a caretaker government with limited powers. His decision comes amid political tension and ongoing armed conflict with Cambodia over border disputes. Anutin's move follows a promise to dissolve Parliament by January and organize a referendum on drafting a new constitution in an unusual deal that had the opposition People's Party back his September bid to become prime minister.