HUMAN RIGHTS

A famous law professor in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to death for having a Twitter account.

Britain criticised on Thursday what it said was the systematic erosion of freedoms in Hong Kong by the Chinese government and a crackdown on free speech by authorities in the former British colony, drawing an angry response from China.

The Church of England knew it was investing in the transatlantic slave trade during the 18th century, the head of its investment arm said on Wednesday, after it committed 100 million pounds ($121 million) to address the "shameful" wrongs of links to slavery.

The Taliban has said that it is merely "postponing" their education and not putting a permanent ban on it.

A 17-year-old girl was publicly attacked by 16 men in Iraq for dressing "immodestly" at a motorcycle race.

The family of famous actor Benedict Cumberbatch may face legal action for their links to the slave trade in Barbados.

Several top football players were detained by Iranian police on New Year's Eve in Tehran.

Sara Khadem is reportedly planning to settle in Spain after photos of her taking part in an international tournament without a hijab went viral.

There has long been a debate whether to allow transgenders to compete against biological men or women.

The University of California, in San Francisco, has released a report apologising for unethical dermatology experiments conducted on prisoners.

Opponents of the law fear it could be a danger to women and girls, particularly around the provision of single-sex spaces.

Afghanistan's Taliban-run higher education ministry on Tuesday suspended access to universities by female students until further notice, drawing strong condemnation from the United States, Britain and the United Nations.

The Dutch funded their "Golden Age" of empire and culture in the 16th and 17th centuries by shipping around 600,000 Africans as part of the slave trade

Labour rights have been a hot topic for Qatar, virtually since it was awarded the World Cup 12 years ago.

An 18-year-old from Hong Kong has been sentenced to three years in detention for making fun of the national flag.

A 23-year-old man was executed in a public hanging carried out in the city of Mashhad, Iran.

North Korea executed two high school students for reportedly watching and distributing South Korean dramas among their friends.

The five sentenced to death were convicted of "corruption on earth" -- one of the most serious offences under Islamic sharia law in Iran.

The 2026 World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Japanese, Serbian and Croatian football chiefs are among those who have preferred to steer clear of rights issues.

A 27-year-old man was reportedly shot dead by Iranian security forces for celebrating his national football team's defeat against the US in the FIFA World Cup.

Protests have erupted in and out of Iran in the past several months following the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody of the country's morality police.

The dollar gained broadly on Monday as protests against COVID restrictions in China stoked uncertainty and dented sentiment, sending the yuan sliding and pushing nervous investors toward the safe-haven greenback.

Hundreds of people took to the streets in China's major cities on Sunday in a rare outpouring of public anger against the state.

AFP saw multiple people arrested as officers told demonstrators to leave the area.

Although highly critical of the rulers in Tehran, they still proudly projected their Iranian heritage.

The ultraconservative Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia executed 12 people in 10 days for drug offences, according to a human rights organisation.

Some offences are punishable by the death penalty so visitors are urged to be very careful.

Iranian security forces opened fire on anti-hijab protesters and beat women in capital Tehran.