A shrine in central Japan is defending a popular ritual that often sees the horses taking part mistreated or injured. Animal rights activists say its about tourism and money, not history.

June 4 marks the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in China. Usually, Hong Kongers take the lead in commemorating this event with massive candle light vigils. But, since China imposed its national security law in 2020, public criticism of the regime in Beijing has become dangerous.

Choy had been accused of making false statements to access vehicle registration records for a documentary. The film covered the 2019 attack on pro-democracy protesters.

Critics of Laos' repressive one-party state, both in the country and in exile in Thailand, have been targeted in a recent series of arrests and attacks.

As big energy companies make record profits and expand production of climate-wrecking fossil fuels, activists are appealing directly to shareholders to demand rapid emission cuts.

Three years ago, Beijing imposed a set of new laws on Hong Kong that dissolved many civil liberties. "We've lost our freedom and all forms of protests are now criminalized," a former Hong Kong legislator told DW.

Coco Lee, who was the first Chinese-descent singer to grace the Oscar stage in 2001, had been suffering from depression for a few years. She had fans around the world.

Masked climate activists blocked traffic in Berlin, claiming the government has broken the law. The group defended protests a day earlier that blocked airport runways.

Cheng Wing-chun is accused of replacing China's national anthem with a popular Hong Kong protest song in a YouTube video. A 2020 law in Hong Kong makes insulting the Chinese national anthem illegal.

After massive layoffs, experts doubt that Twitter can hold up its security standards and effectively battle fake news. This could put activists worldwide in harms way and endanger lives of people in disaster areas.

A top court in the semi-autonomous territory has turned down an effort to ban the protest song "Glory to Hong Kong." The anthem emerged from the city's widespread pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Hong Kong police have been cracking down on pro-democracy activists and civil liberties since China imposed a sweeping national security law.