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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.
Fifteen Chinese women in Spain have been freed after police smashed a prostitution ring. Photo: Shutterstock Images
Spain

‘Slavery’: Spanish police free 15 Chinese women forced into prostitution

Fourteen people were arrested, including Chinese nationals, after a woman escaped her captors and reported sexual and physical assaults.

Cambodia

Video | South Korean scam suspects brought home from Cambodia

Israel-Gaza war

Israel to empty Gaza of Palestinians with ‘more out than in’ policy: sources

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United States

‘Used as bait’: outrage after ICE detains 5-year-old boy in Minnesota

ICE allegedly had the boy knock on his front door to lure family out. Father and son are now detained in Texas, with their asylum case under review.

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Liam Conejo Ramos, 5, is detained by ICE officers after arriving home from school on Tuesday. Photo: AP
Israel-Gaza war

Israeli forces kill Palestinian children, journalists in Gaza despite ceasefire

Eleven Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire on Wednesday, threatening the peace deal as the US tries to push the agreement forward.

Malaysia

Rohingya refugees at risk of removal as Malaysia begins biometric documentation

Rohingya are often undocumented as Myanmar’s authorities refuse to recognise them as a legitimate community.

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Iran

Iran says 3,117 died in protests in first official toll. Activists fear it’s much higher

Activists report toll is at least 4,902, with many more feared dead in the demonstrations that began December 28.

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A woman with a mock-up of a gunshot bullet wound on her forehead participates in a rally in Rome on January 13 in support of nationwide protests in Iran. Photo: Reuters
Americas and the Caribbean

Chile’s president-elect picks Pinochet lawyers as ministers of human rights, defence

Jose Antonio Kast installs a ‘great team for difficult times’, after being elected on a wave of anti-crime and anti-immigrant sentiment.

Middle East

Opinion | Will Iran’s instability force China to rethink its Middle East strategy?

The assumption that domestic unrest can be treated as background noise, unlikely to disrupt energy flows, is becoming increasingly untenable.

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Israel-Gaza war

Israel’s demolition of UN compound in East Jerusalem raises legal concerns

Israel banned UNRWA in October 2024 over alleged Hamas ties. The agency says demolition of sites that stored Gaza aid violates international law.

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Heavy machinery operates as Israeli forces dismantle UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
Poverty

Opinion | Why we should aspire to raising living standards for all

Our history of progress shows we can care for a growing population, but only if we tackle inequality and protect the environment.

Young people enjoy the waves on a beach near the Nouakchott Artisanal Port in Mauritania on July 17 last year. The UN projects that the world population will grow to 11.2 billion by 2100. Photo: Reuters
Iran

Hackers target Iran state TV with exiled prince’s message to forces

In clips, Reza Pahlavi urges security forces to ‘join the people’ in the nationwide demonstrations.

United States

Pentagon readies 1,500 troops for potential Minnesota deployment

US Army units from Alaska ordered to prepare for Minnesota surge as governor mobilises National Guard.

Donald Trump

Trump thanks Iran for ‘cancelling’ hanging of hundreds of political prisoners

The president has suggested for days that the US might strike Iran if its government triggered mass killings in its crackdown on protesters.

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A member of the Iranian community holds a poster depicitng Iran’s exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi and US President Donald Trump outside the US embassy in Bucharest, Romania, on Wednesday. Photo: AP
Middle East

Iran cleric demands death for protesters, threatens Trump amid unrest

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami urged the execution of detained protesters, a step the Trump administration warned could spark military action.

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Iranian senior cleric Ahmad Khatami delivers his sermon during Friday prayer in Tehran in January 2018. Photo: AP
Hong Kong society

Hongkonger missing in protest-hit Iran safe and ‘in touch’ with authorities

Immigration Department says it has also advised the woman to leave Iran as soon as possible.

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United States

Trump admin closer to deporting pro-Palestinian activist after court ruling

The ruling, which reversed an earlier decision to release Khalil, is a win for the Trump administration’s efforts to deport the ex-student.

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United States

Minneapolis on edge as Trump threatens to use Insurrection Act and send troops

US president wants to quickly ‘put an end to the travesty’ in Minnesota where protests have flared after violent encounters involving federal agents.

US federal agents use tear gas, pepper balls and flash bangs to secure a perimeter as protests erupted after an ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis. Photo: dpa
United States

Man shot by US officer in Minneapolis as tensions flare over crackdown

A week after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, an agent fired ‘defensive shots’ during a struggle involving a snow shovel and three people.

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Middle East

Trump claims ‘killing in Iran is stopping’, but keeps US options open

US president says that Iran hangings are off the table, and to ‘watch it and see’ about military action.

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Iran

Iran signals fast trials and executions for detained protesters

As the death toll surpasses 2,500, Iran’s judiciary chief calls for fast action for suspects arrested over protests.

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Iranian security forces watch over a pro-government rally in Tehran on Monday. Photo: Getty Images via TNS
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 issues’.

Federal agents and police keep protesters back outside a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Oregon in October. Photo: AFP
Africa

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

Government imposes a blackout as the 81-year-old leader moves to secure a seventh term in Thursday’s election.

Middle East

Trump urges on protesters in Iran as crackdown death toll surges

As Tehran accuses the US of inciting violence, Trump warns of ‘very strong action’ if Iran hangs protesters.

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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

Iran hits back as Germany’s chancellor says leadership facing ‘final days’

Germany’s Friedrich Merz warns that a government relying on violence is ‘effectively finished’.

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Iranians at a pro-government rally in Tehran on January 12. Photo: West Asia News Agency via Reuters
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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