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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.
A Chinese flag flies from a ship at the Port of Oakland in the US state of California. Photo: AP
US-China trade war

‘Utterly absurd’: China and EU push back on US forced labour tariff claims

Trump administration threatens tariffs of up to 12.5 per cent on imports from 60 economies over failure to ban goods made with forced labour.

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Nordic nations

Sweden prepares prisons for 13-year-old gang killers

United States

Court blocks US military removing transgender troops for now

The Philippines

Philippine lawmaker charged with corruption to surrender

Senator Jinggoy Estrada has strongly denied allegations that he received more than 570 million pesos (US$9.3 million) in kickbacks.

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Philippine Senator Jinggoy Estrada (right) is escorted by Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla (left), as Estrada leaves the Senate to surrender to police authorities, in Metro Manila, on Monday. Photo: EPA
Indonesia

Video | Why is this Indonesian documentary causing controversy?

The documentary ‘Pig Feast: Colonialism in Our Time’ has sparked controversy across the country since it began screening in April 2026.

The Philippines

Philippine lawmaker surrenders, posts bail after court orders his arrest

This will allow Senator Jinggoy Estrada to remain free while the corruption case against him proceeds.

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War and conflict

Israel, Russia hit back after being added to UN blacklist for sexual violence in conflicts

UN documentation of alleged abuses sparks furious denials from both nations.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has faced fierce diplomatic pushback from both Israel and Russia. Photo: Reuters
Israel-Gaza war

Netanyahu orders Israeli military to seize 70% of Gaza, expanding control

Israel effectively controls an estimated 64 per cent of the tiny coastal strip, bombarded to ruins by war.

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Middle East

Israel launches deadly strike near Beirut as it widens offensive in Lebanon

Escalating hostilities in Lebanon strain a fragile ceasefire ahead of crucial negotiations in Washington.

Donald Trump

‘Gestapo tactics’: Springsteen hits out at Trump, announces protest festival

Rock icon launches ‘Power to the People’ line-up as artists back out of Trump’s US 250th anniversary events.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performing in 2024. Photo: TNS
United States

US judge allows Trump to implement mail-in voting executive order

The decision comes as Trump’s Republicans battle to keep control ‌of both houses of the US Congress in the November midterm elections.

President Donald Trump gestures outside the White House in December. Trump has for years pushed the false claim that his 2020 election defeat was the result of widespread voter fraud and has criticised voting by mail. Photo: AP
The Philippines

Philippine ex-president Duterte’s ICC trial to start on November 30

He faces three counts of crimes against humanity, and will be the first Asian former head of state to face trial at the ICC.

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Cambodia

Video | Cambodia’s Hun Sen pardons detained opposition leader

Many political opponents were convicted during Hun Sen’s time in power while Sam Rainsy, the co-founder of Sokha’s party, CNRP, remains in self-exile in France.

US, Israel war on Iran

Iran signals moves to reconnect to global internet after wartime blackout

Presidential decree aims to restore connectivity to its pre-war state after almost 90 days of digital isolation.

An Iranian man in Tehran looks at a social media post by US President Donald Trump. Photo: West Asia News Agency via Reuters
India

India orders new deportation centres days after BJP election victory

The Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has ordered detention centres for undocumented migrants in West Bengal state, sparking fear of arbitrary expulsions.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) congratulates newly elected Chief Minister of Assam state Himanta Biswa Sarma (centre), and elected minister Atul Bora after the oath taking ceremony in Guwahati, India, on May 12. Photo: AP
Pakistan

UAE deports Pakistani Shiites: jobs lost and savings frozen amid Iran war

Over one hundred deported Pakistanis said they were unable to retrieve their luggage or savings before being placed ‌on deportation flights.

Israel-Gaza war

Israeli strike kills parents and infant son in Gaza refugee camp

The attack on Nuseirat sends the enclave’s death toll past 880 since the brokered October truce.

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Middle East

Yemen family eats boiled tree leaves as aid dies out

‘We have no sugar, no flour, nothing.’ The nation, ravaged by civil war for over a decade, is seeing less and less humanitarian funding.

Displaced Yemeni woman Saeedah Mohammed feeds one of her grandchildren with boiled tree leaves. Photo: AFP
Japan

Japanese female prison’s rehabilitation goal faces health, language barriers

A human rights group says Japan’s penal system still fails to treat prison inmates ‘like human beings’.

United States

US judge tosses case against wrongly deported Salvadorean man Abrego Garcia

The indictment was ‘an abuse of prosecuting power’ against a man at the centre of a row over Trump’s migrant crackdown, the judge ruled.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh protestors clash with police over alleged child rape

Protesters tried to seize a man accused of raping a four-year-old girl who is now undergoing treatment in hospital.

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A police vehicle is set ablaze by people protesting against the alleged rape of a girl, in Chattogram, Bangladesh on Thursday. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

‘So rough’: father of Indonesian on Gaza flotilla claims Israeli mistreatment

Nine Indonesians were among those detained when Israeli forces intercepted the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla on Monday.

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Alliance of Independent Journalists members rally for the return of Indonesians on board the Global Sumud Flotilla in Surabaya on Thursday. Photo: Andre Yuris
Israel

Video | Asian nations condemn Israel over flotilla detentions

South Korea accused Israel of ‘going too far’ in detaining two of its nationals who were part of an aid flotilla headed to Gaza.

Americas and the Caribbean

At least 19 killed in Honduras palm plantation massacre

The mass shooting came as the military prepares a sweeping domestic crackdown on drug cartels and gangs.

Israel-Gaza war

Israel deports hundreds of Gaza flotilla activists as arrivals recount abuse

Detainees land in Turkey as their treatment in Israeli custody draws an international outcry.

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Activists disembark from a plane upon arrival at Istanbul Airport. Photo: Reuters
Afghanistan

New Taliban law in Afghanistan implies that child marriage is permitted, UN says

UN says the new family code tacitly permits union with minors, despite Kabul claiming forced weddings are banned.

Afghan burqa-clad women in Kabul. Photo: AFP
India

Young Indians protest through parody ‘cockroach’ party

The Cockroach Janta Party echoes a broader trend across South Asia, where youths have played a central role in anti-government movements.

The Philippines

Philippine justice chief orders arrest of senator wanted by ICC

Senator Ronald dela Rosa is a former national police chief who enforced then-president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody crackdown against drugs.

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