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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.
Demonstrators hold a banner demanding the release of all political prisoners during a protest in Caracas, Venezuela on January 9. On Friday, the prisons authority said it had released 99 prisoners. Photo: AFP
Venezuela

Venezuela ‘frees 99 prisoners’ detained after 2024 election protests

Rights groups said the number released ‘does not correspond to reality’ despite growing pressure from Washington on President Maduro.

Middle East

Blast in Syria kills 8 at mosque targeting Alawite minority in Homs

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Africa

The brutal life of child recruits under a shadowy African rebel group

Myanmar

Stay or go? Rohingya see no way out of predicament as Myanmar heads to poll

Myanmar’s phased election, set to start on Sunday, is likely to be steered by the same leaders responsible for driving the Rohingya out.

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A boat with Rohingya refugees attempts to enter Malaysia from Langkawi in this photo released on January 4. Photo: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency/AP
The Philippines

Philippine court upholds murder verdict in Duterte’s drug war case

While the ruling has been hailed as a win for human rights, it may not have much impact on Duterte’s ICC case, legal analysts say.

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Hong Kong society

Opinion | Hong Kong’s new legislators must strengthen child protection laws

The city’s children need better legal protection from cruelty, sexual grooming and internet advances.

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Africa

Algeria brands French colonisation a crime, demands reparations, apology

France’s rule over Algeria from 1830 until 1962 remains a sore spot in relations between the two countries.

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French troops in Algiers in 1956. The North African nation of Algeria suffered some of the most brutal forms of colonial rule. Photo: AP
Singapore

Former Singapore lawyer and human rights activist M Ravi dies

The 56-year-old was a vocal advocate for the LGBTQ community and supported the abolition of the death penalty in the city state.

Donald Trump

Pulled story on Trump immigration crackdown accidentally airs on Canadian app

The ‘60 Minutes’ segment on migrants sent to a notorious El Salvador mega-prison was quickly removed, but copies have spread online.

US-China relations

‘Missing’ 6-year-old Yuanxin and father reunited, then deported together to China

Activist says separation from son pressured dad to accept deportation so they could be together, despite fear of returning to homeland.

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Yuanxin, the six-year-old son of Chinese asylum seeker Fei Zheng, whose separation by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in late 2025 sparked national attention and public outcry. Photo: Handout
United States

Trump administration triples ‘self-deport’ stipend to US$3,000

The limited-time offer includes a free flight and requires use of the CBP Home app before the end of the year.

US officials oversee a deportation flight at Fort Bliss, Texas in February. Photo: Department of Defence/AFP
United States

Did ‘political’ reasons postpone ‘60 Minutes’ report on El Salvador prison?

CBS delayed its CECOT prison report, where the US has sent hundreds of migrants, citing more reporting and sparking outcry over censorship.

Africa

Sudan war drags on as drone attack kills 10 in Darfur market

The conflict has split Sudan in two as the army controls the north, east and centre while the UAE-backed RSF dominates Darfur and parts of the south.

Malaysia

31 Malaysians repatriated from Myanmar job scam syndicate

The job scam victims rescued from a Myawaddy job syndicate return home safely after intensive diplomatic negotiations and a 26-hour land journey.

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People from China, Vietnam, and Ethiopia – believed trafficked and forced to work in scam centers – sit masked in detention after their February release in Myawaddy, eastern Myanmar. Photo: AP
Israel-Iran conflict

Man executed in Iran for spying for Israel tortured to confess: rights group

The 27-year-old, arrested while taking pictures of a military headquarters, was accused of executing over 200 similar assignments for Mossad.

Israeli air defence systems intercept Iranian missiles over the Israeli city of Tel Aviv early on June 18. Photo: AFP
Israel-Gaza war

UN declares Gaza famine over, but ‘situation remains critical’

Meanwhile, Oxfam says hunger in Gaza remains ‘appalling and preventable’, accusing Israel of blocking aid from humanitarian agencies.

Africa

UN says Sudan’s RSF killed 1,000 civilians in horrific 3-day attack on camp

New report details three days of terror at the Zamzam displacement camp in April, citing mass executions and gang rapes.

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Myanmar

Are Myanmar hospital air strikes a bid to ‘intimidate’ voters ahead of poll?

The junta has been emboldened to strike as China, Russia and the US are looking the other way to serve their own interests, analysts say.

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People check a hospital that was hit by a military air strike in Mrauk-U in Myanmar earlier this month. Photo: AP
Accidents and disasters in China

How will Jimmy Lai’s conviction affect China-UK ties, Starmer’s planned visit?

Outcome of ex-media tycoon’s Hong Kong trial poses stern test for Labour government’s balancing act with Beijing, observers say.

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War and conflict

War-torn Sudan tops global humanitarian crisis watch list for third year

International Rescue Committee highlights a stark concentration of human suffering in a small number of countries in latest rankings.

Singapore

Singapore court dismisses challenge to mandatory death penalty for drugs

Singapore’s High Court rejects first constitutional challenge in 15 years to decades-old law as executions rise; activists may appeal.

People gather next to the Merlion statue at the Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade in Singapore. Officials say Singapore’s death penalty helps keep the city among the world’s safest. Photo: AFP
United Nations

Aid cuts causing millions of refugees ‘unnecessary pain’: UN

‘The sudden, drastic, irresponsible and short-sighted collapse of foreign assistance’ has inflicted ‘so much unnecessary pain in its wake’.

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Sudanese refugee children stand at sunset in a transit camp amid the conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Army, in November. Photo: Reuters
Iran

No contact with Iran Nobel winner laureate arrest, supporters say

Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 Peace Prize laureate, was detained on Friday alongside dozens of activists and may face national security charges.

Japan

Security or freedom? Japan’s proposed anti-spy laws raise human rights concerns

Prime Minister Takaichi’s plans to tighten spying and secrecy rules could be used to stifle free speech and media freedom, analysts say.

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Africa

6 UN peacekeepers killed in Sudan drone strike blamed on RSF paramilitary group

The victims were all Bangladeshi nationals working at a United Nations logistics base in Kadugli.

Protesters take part in a rally in support of the Sudanese Army and against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Merowe on Saturday. Photo: EPA
Belarus

Belarus frees 123 prisoners in exchange for US sanctions relief

Peace prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova and 121 others have been released by one of Russia’s key allies.

Tatsiana Khomich holds up a picture of her detained sister Maria Kalesnikava after accepting a prize on her behalf in 2022. Kalesnikava is one of those now due to be released by the authorities in Belarus. Photo: Reuters
Israel-Gaza war

‘My future is paralysed’: Gaza amputees desperate to walk again

The World Health Organization estimates there are some 5,000 to 6,000 amputees from the Israel-Gaza war, 25 per cent of them children.

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Middle East

Iran detains Nobel Prize winner Narges Mohammadi in ‘brutal’ arrest

The activist’s brother says she was beaten on the legs, held by her hair and ‘dragged down’ by security forces personnel.

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