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July 12, 2026
 

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HUMAN RIGHTS

A prison van believed to be carrying Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, leaves the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts building following sentencing in a national security collusion trial, in Hong Kong on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 10, 2026
China to deepen Hong Kong security focus as Jimmy Lai case stirs outcry
Beijing’s State Council has outlined plans to strengthen security in the city, naming finance and shipping among areas of focus.
A billboard depicting the wreckage of American fighter jets is seen in Tehran on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 10, 2026
Iran steps up arrests while remaining positive on U.S. talks
Since the latest nuclear talks began, the United States has not given any sign that the crackdown on Tehran’s domestic critics is a major concern.
A woman from El-Fasher cries after learning about the killing of her son and brother, in a camp in Al-Dabbah, Sudan, on Nov. 3, 2025.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 10, 2026
U.N. decries ‘preventable human rights catastrophe’ in Sudan’s El-Fasher
The conflict has been ongoing since April 2023, killing tens of thousands of people, displacing millions more and triggering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Media tycoon Jimmy Lai at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong in 2020. A Hong Kong court sentenced Lai to 20 years in prison on Monday, following a yearslong, high-profile national security trial that rights groups and Western nations have condemned as a symbol of the city's shriveling press freedoms.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 9, 2026
Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai given 20 years’ prison after national security trial
The founder of the shuttered Apple Daily newspaper was first arrested in August 2020 and was ​convicted last year.
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, 72, at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong on June 16, 2020
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 9, 2026
After years of legal battles, Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai faces sentencing
Lai’s plight has been criticized by global leaders spotlighting a yearslong crackdown following mass pro-democracy protests in ‍2019.
A person holds a sign calling for the protection, and not detention, of children as people gather during a demonstration and vigil outside the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, on Jan. 28.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 8, 2026
Toddler returned to ICE custody was denied medication, lawsuit says
Detention center staff allegedly took away medication and nutritional drinks given to the 18-month-old girl after she was hospitalized with a life-threatening respiratory illness.
The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, on Jan. 28. The facility has become a harsh symbol of U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, with disease running rampant among the throng of people held there, including some families who entered the United States legally.
WORLD
Feb 8, 2026
Bugs in food and sickness haunt immigrants held in Texas
Historically, asylum-seekers have generally been allowed to live and work in the United States while their claims work their way through the court system.
Artist and free speech advocate Ai Weiwei in London on Jan. 29
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 8, 2026
Ai Weiwei on China, the West and shrinking space for dissent
Speaking ahead of the launch of his new book, the artist and dissident discussed visiting China after a decade and what he sees as the erosion of free speech in the West.
Carlos, a Mexican resident of Minneapolis, peeks through the blinds of his home as federal immigration raids continue in the city.
WORLD / Society
Feb 6, 2026
Deportation raids drive Minneapolis immigrant family into hiding
A Mexican family have locked themselves in at home, feeling trapped behind their own deadbolt.
The quality of democracy in the U.S. has declined significantly as a result of President Donald Trump's policies, Human Rights Watch warned Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 5, 2026
Trump has attacked pillars of democracy, Human Rights Watch says
The Republican president’s immigration crackdown, threats to voting rights and other policies were raised as examples.
A billboard threatening action against American warships is seen in Enghelab Square in Tehran on Jan. 27.
WORLD
Feb 4, 2026
‘Unprecedented mass killing’: NGOs battle to quantify Iran crackdown scale
Groups say their task has been complicated by the internet shutdown, manipulated content and threats against sources inside Iran.
Children ride sleds as they skate on the frozen Kunming Lake ice rink at Summer Palace in Beijing on Jan. 20.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 4, 2026
Chinese families ache for sons stolen in one-child era
When China had its one-child policy, the trafficking of young boys was fueled by parents seeking a son to carry on the family line, experts say.
Ueki Yuriko (left), director of the Vice and Public Morals Office at the National Police Agency, and Royal Thai Police Deputy Commissioner General Thatchai Pitaneelaboot (right) during a meeting in Bangkok on Tuesday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 4, 2026
Japanese and Thai police discuss cooperation against human trafficking
The meeting of senior law enforcement officials comes after a Thai girl was discovered to have been forced to provide sexual services at a massage parlor in Tokyo.
A meeting of a criminal law subcommittee of the Legislative Council to discuss reforms to the retrial system, at the Justice Ministry on Monday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 3, 2026
Japan retrial system to retain appeals by prosecutors
The decision by the criminal law subcommittee of the Legislative Council is consistent with a Justice Ministry proposal.
Federal agents confront protesters in Minneapolis on Jan. 24. The killing of two civilians by ICE has intensified fears of an accelerating slide toward authoritarian rule by the government.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2026
Bloody Minnesota and the normalization of state violence
A key distinguishing feature of authoritarian governments is their ability to use excessive force against opponents.
Liam Conejo Ramos is held by his father Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias while boarding an aircraft to return to Minneapolis, in San Antonio, Texas, on Sunday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 2, 2026
Five-year-old boy detained by ICE returned to Minnesota with father, lawmaker says
A federal judge on Saturday ordered ​their release as the two were held at a detention facility in Texas.
Takeshi Furumoto addresses an event held in New Jersey on Saturday to honor Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American civil rights activist.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2026
Event held to honor WWII-era Japanese-American rights activist
At a time of immigration raids in the U.S. participants emphasized that forced detentions like those during WWII must never be repeated.
An ICE agent holds onto the backpack of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, a student at Valley View Elementary, as he is detained on Jan. 20 in Minneapolis.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 1, 2026
Judge orders release of 5-year-old and father detained in Minnesota ICE raid
The Ecuadorean boy and his father, who entered the United States legally ‍as ‍asylum applicants, were sent to a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas.
A picture of Wutt Yee Aung, a Myanmar student protester who died in prison in July 2025, is placed next to flowers at her funeral in an undisclosed location in Myanmar.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 31, 2026
Thousands marched for democracy in Myanmar. Some died in prison.
Interviews with relatives and associates of detained students provide a glimpse into the horrible circumstances that led to their deaths.
Demonstrators take part in an "ICE Out" protest, after the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents, in Minneapolis, on Friday.
WORLD
Jan 31, 2026
Thousands demonstrate in Minnesota and across U.S. to protest ICE
The nationwide protest came amid mixed messages from the government about whether it would de-escalate its immigration crackdown.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

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One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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