… In Iran, at least 56 people had been executed on national security-related charges since 19 March, including 27 in cases linked to January’s nationwide anti-government protests, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said earlier this month.
… Volker Türk said at least 56 people had been executed on national security-related charges since 19 March, including 27 in cases linked to January’s nationwide anti-government protests. …
… United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk has warned that government repression has deepened further since then, with the rule of law steadily eroded and the persecution of political dissidents escalating. …
… After Trump said in April that the US would bomb civilian infrastructure in Iran, including bridges and power plants, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said “deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime”. …
… After Trump said in April that the US would bomb civilian infrastructure in Iran, including bridges and power plants, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said “deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime”. …
… After Trump said in April that the US would bomb civilian infrastructure in Iran, including bridges and power plants, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said “deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime”. …
… A previous threat by Trump to bomb Iran’s civilian infrastructure, which was made in April, drew condemnation at the time from UN human rights chief Volker Türk, who said: “Under international law, deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime.” Mean …
… A previous threat by Trump to bomb Iran’s civilian infrastructure, which was made in April, drew condemnation at the time from UN human rights chief Volker Türk, who said: “Under international law, deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime.” A re …
Three Hong Kong activists who organised annual vigils commemorating Beijing's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown have been sentenced to up to seven years in prison under the city's national security law. Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung were convicted of inciting subversion of state power, while Albert Ho pleaded guilty; the UN human rights office has called for the sentences to be quashed.
Three Hong Kong activists who organised annual vigils commemorating Beijing's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown have been sentenced to up to seven years in prison under the city's national security law. Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung were convicted of inciting subversion of state power, while Albert Ho pleaded guilty; the UN human rights office has called for the sentences to be quashed.
After Meta settled a US lawsuit by agreeing to add child safety measures, the UN human rights chief said all social media platforms should be redesigned to protect children and that governments must act rather than wait for courts to intervene. Meta's proposed changes include time limits and parental supervision controls, aligned with the UN's May framework for safer platform design.
Lebanon's parliament voted to abolish the death penalty, making it the first country in the Middle East to formally end capital punishment. Capital punishment will be replaced with life imprisonment with hard labour, and the legislation must now be approved by the cabinet and president.
The UN human rights chief said he is alarmed by a rise in executions in Iran, with at least 56 people executed on national security-related charges since 19 March, including 27 linked to January's anti-government protests. Iran is the world's second-most prolific executioner after China, putting to death at least 2,159 people last year according to Amnesty International.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, in power since 2007, has proposed extending the presidential term by another year as part of a constitutional reform that would also bar opposition members deemed "traitors" or "coup plotters" from running for office. The government-controlled National Assembly is expected to approve the extension in September, continuing a pattern of term-limit changes during Ortega's 19-year rule.
Iran has accused the US of hitting civilian infrastructure including bridges, a train station and an airport in air strikes since peace talks collapsed. BBC Verify confirmed an attack on a bridge in Hormozgan province, and provincial authorities said seven people were killed on Thursday night.
Iran has accused the US of hitting civilian infrastructure including bridges, a train station and an airport in air strikes since peace talks collapsed. US Central Command says the attacks were intended to degrade Iranian military capabilities, and seven people were killed in strikes on Thursday night according to provincial authorities.
The US launched new strikes against Iran for a sixth consecutive night, with Centcom saying the attacks aimed to "further degrade Iranian military capabilities" and that US forces had boarded vessels as part of a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's state media reported US missiles struck near the island of Qeshm, in Bandar Abbas and Bushehr (site of a nuclear power plant), and hit two bridges in Hormozgan province, with the BBC verifying an attack on one bridge west of Bandar Abbas.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz and other regional oil and gas export channels until the US ends "acts of aggression," while the US military carried out new strikes on Iranian military targets including coastal defences and missile sites on Greater Tunb Island, triggering rising oil prices amid stalled tanker traffic.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards have threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz and other regional oil and gas export channels in response to US military strikes on Iranian targets, which the US military said degraded Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping in the region.
US President Trump threatened to strike Iran's bridges and power plants next week if the country does not return to talks, as the two countries exchanged fire for the fourth consecutive day. The threats, which have drawn UN condemnation as potential war crimes under international law, came as Trump reversed a threatened 20% fee on Strait of Hormuz shipping but maintained a blockade of Iranian ports.
El-Obeid, a city of 500,000 on the front line of Sudan's three-year civil war, endured 27 drone strikes in June and has been under siege-like conditions for 18 months, with UN human rights chief Volker Turk reporting at least 45 people killed and 41 injured in 15 strikes between 6 and 28 June, alongside summary executions, abductions, torture, and sexual violence affecting those fleeing the conflict.
Violent clashes have erupted between inmates and security at a prison in the Venezuelan state of Barinas after prisoners protested alleged mistreatment including violent searches, solitary confinement, and shootings. Prisoner rights organisations say inmates at Injuba jail have been complaining for over a week about conditions under the prison's new director.
A drone strike hit a crowded market in the town of Ghubaysh in West Kordofan province, Sudan on Tuesday morning, killing 28 people and wounding dozens more, according to the Emergency Lawyers rights group. The strike occurred during peak shopping hours in an area serving as an economic lifeline for thousands across the region amid the ongoing war that began in April 2023.
Nigeria's National Human Rights Commission called on the military to launch a thorough investigation into recurring civilian casualties from military airstrikes. Amnesty International cited witnesses reporting at least 100 civilians killed in a Nigerian military airstrike on a market in Zamfara state last weekend, the third reported incident since April, though the military said there was no evidence of civilian casualties.