Hong Kong’s last democrats: Activists fight for freedom despite Beijing’s crackdown

The UN Human Rights Council was considering an international investigation into the human rights situation in Iran. Tehran said the West "lack the moral credibility" to criticize it.

Fresh protests were reported from China's Guangzhou despite massive police deployment across the country. China is currently facing its largest civil disobedience movement since the Tiananmen massacre.

Cities across China have rolled back some Covid-19 restrictions, requiring less testing and allowing people to isolate at home instead of in quarantine centres. The authorities have been careful not to send any signal that the relaxing of rules were in any way a response to rare displays of public discontent.

Shops closed in several Iranian cities after activists called for a general strike. Meanwhile, Iranian authorities said that protesters' sentences will be "carried out swiftly."

A three-day general strike is taking place in Iran this week. It's a show of defiance, as the anti-regime protest movement approaches its three-month mark with no sign of abating. On Monday, the strike was observed in dozens of Iranian cities, from the capital Tehran to Isfahan, Tabriz and the Kurdish regions.

Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock has defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a run-off vote in Georgia. It was the final Senate seat left undecided from the 2022 midterms. While the Democrats already held the majority, Warnock's victory now gives the party an outright, 51-seat hold on the Senate.

Lai, who is also facing a national security trial, has been found guilty of concealing the operation of a consultancy firm at Apple Daily's headquarters.

Overseas travelers will now be allowed to visit bars and restaurants immediately after arriving in Hong Kong. But several other COVID rules remain in place.

A Hong Kong judge has criticized police for banning a vigil to mourn the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. The court overturned the conviction of an activist who had urged people to attend.

Tehran has been voted out of a UN commission on women's rights for "increasingly" suppressing human rights amid nationwide protests. The US, which proposed the vote, said it marked a victory for the protesters.

Despite President Kais Saied pursuing an increasingly undemocratic roadmap, the majority of Tunisians continue to be too occupied to protest. That could mean a low turnout for the second round of the election.

Travelers will no longer need to take a PCR test on arrival as the city moves to scrap a range of coronavirus measures starting Thursday.