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Human rights

Human rights
Latest news, features and analysis on human rights, with a focus on civil liberties in Hong Kong, mainland China and Asia.
Migrants try to make their way past Spanish police officers on August 1, following recent mass crossings of migrants on foot and by sea from Morocco into Spanish territory, in Ceuta. Photo: Reuters
Spain

Spain PM blames Russia, Israel for Ceuta migrant crisis’ disinformation

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also dismisses speculation on the involvement of Moroccan authorities in the crisis.

Malaysia

Malaysian state’s cash handouts for teen weddings trigger backlash

Vietnam

Vietnam’s move to end executions for drug trafficking sparks debate in region

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Belt and Road Initiative

In Focus | Can Beijing’s gateway plan for Tibet survive geopolitics and natural disasters?

Beijing hopes trade will stabilise Tibet, but friction with India and the looming Dalai Lama succession are hampering its efforts.

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Illustration: Huy Truong
The Netherlands

Dutch court jails man for life over role in Rwanda genocide

He had prevented Tutsis from escaping and threw a grenade into the crowd.

United States

ICE agents in US to be equipped with pain-delivering shock gloves

Agency says gloves will be used in ‘high-tension environments’, like managing detainees and controlling crowds.

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Crime

Colombia mulls locking up dangerous criminals on prison ships

Humanitarian watchdogs warn that this form of incarceration breaches human rights.

Colombia’s President Abelardo de la Espriella on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
NBA

The Enes Kanter Freedom-WNBA controversy over trans athletes, explained

The former New York Knicks player joined a rally in support of the Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham, before clashing courtside with Natasha Cloud of the Chicago Sky.

Americas and the Caribbean

Gang attack in Haiti leaves at least 47 dead as anger mounts over police failures

Raid on hillside town prompts community fury after police fail to prevent latest assault minutes from local station.

Middle East

Macron hosts Saudi’s crown prince for visit ranging from esports to Middle East

A French official said agreements, on health, transport and energy, will be signed on Monday alongside talks likely to focus on Iran.

French President Emmanuel Macron (centre), Fifa President Gianni Infantino (left) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attend the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup at the Grand Palais in Paris, France on Sunday. Photo: Pool via Reuters
European Union

Sword attack that killed 1 at Sweden high school prompts social media probe

Police are investigating whether the teenager who carried out the attack was involved in online communities promoting school violence.

Police and rescue services on site at Brinellskolan school during an emergency response after a man with a sword reportedly attacked several people at the school in Fagersta, Sweden, on Friday. Photo: EPA
Myanmar

Myanmar air strike kills 14 praying at monastery, rebel witnesses say

Public buildings, most often monasteries and schools, are frequently the sites of reported air strikes according to a UN report from last week.

Israel-Gaza war

Turkey issues ‘genocide’ warrant for Israel’s Netanyahu over Gaza flotilla

Israel’s interception of the flotilla carrying some 430 activists in May sparked an international outcry.

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US-China relations

US designates academic Min Zin as ‘wrongfully detained’ in China

Case adds friction weeks before Trump-Xi summit, with Washington pressing Beijing over Americans held in the country.

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Min Zin founded the Institute for Strategy and Policy – Myanmar in 2016 and has written extensively about the country’s politics and economy. Photo: LinkedIn
US-China relations

Fewer anti-Asian hate crimes in US, but immigration crackdowns raise concerns

Advocates say new FBI figures likely represent only ‘tip of the iceberg’ and many suffering abuse decline to report it to authorities.

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New Federal Bureau of Investigation data shows a downward trend in anti-Asian hate in the US, but serious concerns remain. Photo: Shutterstock
Israel-Gaza war

Israel admits its troops killed 5-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza

The Palestinian girl died after being trapped in a car for hours while begging for help, in one of the highest-profile incidents in the war.

US-China relations

US Democrats rebuke Trump for easing sanctions on Beijing, Hong Kong officials

Lawmakers said sanctions should remain as mainland Chinese, Hong Kong officials were ‘complicit in Beijing’s dismantling of Hong Kong’s autonomy’.

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Spain

‘It’s really bad’: migrant women’s fears of sexual violence in Spain’s Ceuta

Some women at a makeshift camp say they are afraid to sleep at night: ‘a lot of guys are trying to attack the girls every night’.

Moroccan women migrants arrange blankets and belongings at a makeshift sleeping area near the Temporary Immigrant Reception Centre in Ceuta, Spain, on Sunday. Photo: Reuters
Israel

Israeli military ‘paralysis’ on settler violence exposed in West Bank siege

The government’s support for extremist settlers puts the military in an ‘impossible situation’, observers say.

Middle East

Kushner talks with Israel, Hamas end without breakthrough on Trump Gaza plan

Netanyahu has rejected a US-backed agreement that would see Hamas surrender its arms in exchange for Israel withdrawing from Gaza.

Israel-Gaza war

Far-right Ben-Gvir urges Israel to kill ‘30 to 40 every night’ in Gaza

The national security minister does not have power to order strikes but is one of the most influential people in Israel.

Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a parliamentary session on July 16. Photo: Reuters
Bangladesh

Rahman will not visit India until Hasina extradited to Bangladesh

Foreign ministry officials played down media speculation about a possible trip to India next week by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman attends a meeting with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (not pictured) at the Federal Government office ‘Perdana Putra’ in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on June 22. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

From TikTok to war weariness, a new generation of Americans’ view of China

On US college campuses, a generation shaped by China’s rise is challenging the assumptions behind Washington’s approach to Beijing.

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Bangladesh

Toxic gas leak kills 8 at Bangladesh ship-breaking yard

Ship-breaking in Bangladesh has long faced global criticism due to its unsafe and environmentally damaging practices.

Myanmar

UN atrocity report adds friction to Myanmar junta’s push for legitimacy

The report says abuses escalated around the time Myanmar was conducting junta-led elections that saw Min Aung Hlaing elected as president.

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Myanmar’s President Min Aung Hlaing reviews a Thai guard of honour during a welcome ceremony at Bangkok’s Government House on August 6. Photo: Reuters
Australia

Australian jury convicts ex-Catholic bishop of sexually abusing 2 men

Christopher Saunders, 76, is one of the most senior Australian Catholics to be convicted in a global clergy abuse scandal.

Bishop Christopher Saunders of Broome tries to play a didgeridoo in Sydney, Australia in 2008. Prosecutors alleged Saunders lured young Indigenous men to his church-owned house with free alcohol and cigarettes paid for with church funds. Photo: AP
Afghanistan

2.4 million Afghan girls banned from schools 5 years after Taliban takeover: UN

The United Nations is urging an end to the ‘discriminatory’ Taliban policy that prevents girls from studying beyond primary school.

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United States

Rights groups sue the Trump administration over ICC sanctions

Lawsuit says Trump’s executive order targeting the International Criminal Court for investigating Israeli crimes in Palestine is ‘illegal’.

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