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Human rights

Human rights
Latest news, features and analysis on human rights, with a focus on civil liberties in Hong Kong, mainland China and Asia.
Federal agents and police keep protesters back outside a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Oregon in October. Photo: AFP
US immigration

At least 4 migrants have died in US ICE custody since start of 2026

Reported deaths occurred in the first 10 days of the year; two of them attributed to ‘heart-related health issues’.

Africa

Uganda shuts down internet as Museveni seeks to extend 40-year rule

Middle East

Trump urges on protesters in Iran as crackdown death toll hits 2,000

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Hong Kong courts

Hong Kong activist loses legal fight over prison shorts ban for female inmates

High Court judge Russell Coleman upholds prison rules, citing ‘little merit’ in Chow Hang‑tung’s equality challenge.

Jailed activist Chow Hang-tung lost a judicial review against a Hong Kong Correctional Services Department rule that prohibits female inmates from wearing shorts in summer. Photo: Peter Parks
Iran

German chancellor says Iran’s leadership may be in ‘final days’

Friedrich Merz warns that a government relying on violence is ‘effectively finished’ as the reported death toll from Iran’s protests passes 640.

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Iran

Exiled shah’s son emerges as a rallying figure as Iranians protest

After decades in the US, Reza Pahlavi’s prominence in Iran’s latest protests has surprised some observers.

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Japan

‘Easier targets’: is Japan safe for foreigners if disaster strikes?

Rising xenophobia, ‘vigilante’ patrols and memories of 1923 have rights advocates concerned that history could repeat itself.

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Foreign tourists visit a temple in Tokyo, Japan, last month. Photo: EPA
Myanmar

Myanmar’s pro-junta party wins Aung San Suu Kyi’s seat: ‘surprise no one’

The military-backed party claims to have won 90 per cent of the available seats so far in a poll activists have derided as ‘engineered’.

United States

US surges hundreds more agents to Minneapolis amid furore over ICE killing

Kristi Noem defends actions of the ICE agent who shot Renee Nicole Good, a killing that has sparked renewed protests nationwide.

Iran

Trump says Iran wants to negotiate after reports of hundreds killed in unrest

Amidst unrest, Trump claims Iran seeks talks, but warns of strong action. Tehran blames the US and Israel, but signals openness to diplomacy.

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A masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran on Friday. Photo: UGC via AP
Israel-Gaza war

Hamas says will dissolve its Gaza government when Palestinian body takes over

Militant group agrees to cede power to technocratic committee under Trump-brokered plan, but silence remains over disarmament.

Palestinian armed fighters in Gaza during the handover of Israeli captives in October last year. Photo: dpa
Israel-Gaza war

Gaza clings to Medecins Sans Frontieres following Israeli aid ban

Israel announced it would ban 37 aid groups, including MSF, from operating in Gaza from for failing to provide information on Palestinian staff.

United States

‘Inviting danger’: Trump’s immigration crackdown sparks violent confrontations

The contentious encounters stem from a dramatic shift in the approach to immigration enforcement, current and former officials say.

Singapore

Singapore steps up migrant worker reforms amid calls for deeper change

The government has rolled out a slew of new initiatives, such as improved safety and living conditions and better healthcare access.

Migrant workers in the back of an open lorry in Singapore on December 6, 2025. Photo: Kyodo
Middle East

‘Tools of repression’: crackdown fears grow as Iran rocked by new rallies

Activists warn authorities could intensify suppression of the protests under cover of the internet blackout.

A frame grab from video shows a fire as people protest in Tehran, Iran, on Friday. Photo: UGC via AP
Middle East

Trump says protest-hit Iran in ‘big trouble’, again threatens military strike

The US president warned that ‘we’ll start shooting too’, if the authorities kill demonstrators.

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Iran

Protests sweep Iran amid internet blackout and state TV warning of casualties

Iranian state media breaks silence on protests as internet and phone access is restricted amid widening unrest.

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Iran

Video | Iran shuts down internet amid growing protests

The latest unrest, sparked by Iran’s worsening economy, has led to the deaths of at least 35 people.

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US-Venezuela conflict

Venezuela frees opposition figures and activists, which Trump says US requested

The releases are the first by Venezuela’s new leaders in an apparent concession to the US after its ouster of Nicolas Maduro.

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Israel-Gaza war

‘Where is the ceasefire?’: Israeli gunfire kills 11-year-old in Gaza ‘safe zone’

Despite the agreement, Israel has killed 424 people since the ceasefire started nearly three months ago.

US immigration

Video | ICE officer shoots woman dead in US immigration operation

Bystander video shows an ICE agent firing at the vehicle, killing the 37-year-old woman who allegedly tried to run over ICE agents.

A bullet hole is seen in the windshield as law enforcement officers work the scene of a shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
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Israel

UN accuses Israel of subjecting Palestinians in West Bank to ‘apartheid’

For first time, UN rights chief labels situation in occupied Palestinian territories ‘apartheid’, a term previously used only by UN experts.

Israeli security forces check Palestinians’ IDs as they line up to return to Jenin through a gap in a security fence in September 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE
Indonesia

Indonesia’s criminal law overhaul prompts fears of rights erosion

Observers say the new Criminal Code and revised Criminal Procedure Code entrench provisions that undermine democracy.

Middle East

Iran protests death toll hits 35 and 1,200 detained, activists say

Iran’s judiciary vows ‘no leniency’ for rioters as nationwide unrest enters its second week.

Britain

Mobile seizure powers launch in UK crackdown on people smugglers

New UK laws allow officers to seize SIM cards and mobiles to gather intelligence on smuggling operators.

Migrants try to board a smuggler’s boat in an attempt to cross the English Channel off the beach of Gravelines, northern France. Photo: AFP
Middle East

At least 16 dead in Iran during week of protests: rights groups

Rights groups report rising fatalities and hundreds of arrests in the biggest Iran protests in three years.

Protesters in the Malekshahi district of Iran’s western Ilam province, in UGC images published on January 3. Photo: UGC via AFP
Africa

War in Sudan: drone strikes cut power supply in oil-rich south

Over the past week, some 15,000 people have been displaced from the region, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration.

Britain

Iranian diaspora in UK rallies in London to support protesters in Iran

Pro-democracy demonstrators gathered outside Downing Street for the rally organised by the Association of Anglo-Iranian Women in the UK.

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