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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.
Women cross a street under a huge banner showing hands firmly holding Iranian flags in Tehran on Wednesday. Photo: AP
Middle East

Trump claims ‘killing in Iran is stopping’, plans for executions halted

US president says he has ‘good authority’ that hangings are off the table, but refuses to rule out intervention as Iranians protest.

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Iran

Iran signals fast trials and executions for detained protesters

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US immigration

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

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.

A wall decorated with posters supporting Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni. Photo: AFP
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.

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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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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’.

A protester holds up a poster featuring Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration against the military coup on February 15, 2021. Photo: AFP
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.

A woman reacts after a federal immigration officer used a battering ram to break down a door before making an arrest in Minneapolis on Sunday. Photo: AP
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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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.

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.

A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City on new year’s eve. Photo: AFP
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.

A person holds a sign as people protest against increased immigration enforcement, after the ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday . Photo: Reuters
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.

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.

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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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Protesters gather as vehicles burn, amid evolving anti-government unrest in Tehran, Iran, in a social media image released on Friday. Photo: Social media via Reuters
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.

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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Bolivarian National Police unload riot control gear outside the Helicoide detention centre in Caracas before the release of foreign and Venezuelan prisoners. Photo: Reuters
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.

The body of 11-year-old Palestinian girl Hamsa Hosou, killed by Israeli fire in Jabalia, is brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Thursday. Photo: AP
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.

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.

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.

People walk along a sidewalk in Jakarta’s main business district. Indonesia’s new Criminal Code and revised Criminal Procedure Code came into force on Friday. Photo: EPA
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.

Protestors attacking a government building in Fasa, in southern Iran on December 31. Photo: Photo: UGC via AFP
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.

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.

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