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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.
Cotton is harvested in China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Photo: Zuma Press
US-China relations

China hits back at US forced labour blacklist as ‘classic act of coercion’

Washington has sanctioned 43 Chinese companies accused of human rights abuses in the western region of Xinjiang.

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US-China relations

Selection for next UN chief gets under way with Grynspan early front runner

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Malaysia

‘Incomprehensible’: Malaysia’s Rohingya return deal sparks refoulement fears

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Asean

Justice beyond borders: East Timor’s Myanmar case tests Asean diplomacy

The case, which alleges abuses in Myanmar’s northwestern Chin state, is now under consideration by the courts in Dili.

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Fires destroy numerous buildings in the town of Thantlang in Chin state in northwest Myanmar, in December 2021. Photo: Chin Human Rights Organization via AP
Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina vows to return despite believing she ‘may be killed’

The ex-prime minister sidesteps the question of her return to politics, saying: ‘Power is not my destination. Service to the people is’.

United Nations

Prominent figures appeal for refugee protections as UN convention turns 75

Global advocates sign ‘The Promise’ statement as UNHCR faces severe funding cuts and tightening border restrictions worldwide.

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United States

As I see it | America declares international law for thee but not for me

While the US is seeking to dismantle the International Criminal Court, it has signed a statement upholding the Hague tribunal’s South China Sea ruling.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends the 33rd Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines, on July 23. Photo: AFP
Myanmar

Myanmar approves death sentence in crackdown on scam centres

Junta-backed bill targets syndicate bosses with life in prison and capital punishment.

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United Nations

US walks out on France at UN over human rights criticism

Rift deepens after sharp clash over UN rights chief’s second term and a scathing social media post.

Myanmar

Myanmar military escalates civilian killings under new command, monitor reports

A conflict monitor records more than a dozen ⁠mass killings in 2026, over 450 civilians ⁠dead.

Myanmar Air Force fighter jets perform manoeuvres in 2023. A report by conflict monitor ACLED indicates the junta has intensified its aerial bombing campaign in 2026. Photo: AFP
United States

US border tsar says vetting of ICE officer under review after Maine shooting

Tom Homan said if claims that David Brouillette had a history of mental health struggles are true, he should not have cleared vetting.

White House border tsar Tom Homan outside the White House in Washington. Photo: AP
Middle East

Netanyahu claims New York mayor ‘fomenting hate’ ahead of expected UN trip

The Israeli PM dismissed war-crimes charges as ‘bogus’ after Zohran Mamdani urged US federal authorities to detain him.

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Middle East

Israeli settlers set fire to West Bank mosques after deadly clash

As part of a security clampdown across the West Bank over the weekend, Israeli forces arrested around 60 Palestinians.

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Asean

Why new US tariffs threaten Trump government’s credibility in Asean

The additional duties come just a day after Marco Rubio tells Southeast Asian foreign ministers that the US is ‘with Asean 100 per cent’.

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An American Flag hangs from a crane at Port Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey, on Friday. US President Donald Trump has slapped new tariffs on 60 trading partners. Photo: AFP
India

India’s education minister quits in major win for youth protesters

India’s latest street protests have been a challenge to PM Narendra Modi as politicians joined youngsters’ calls ‌to demand action.

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Indian Youth Congress party workers hold placards of India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan during a protest against the National Testing Agency over alleged exam irregularities in Mumbai on June 2, Photo: AFP
Malaysia

Malaysia’s refugee registration halt risks ‘ultimate disaster’ for new arrivals

The asylum seekers would be ‘susceptible to enforcement raids’ and ‘extortion by both authorities and locals’, an activist says.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh president quits, leaving Hasina isolated ahead of return from exile

Mohammed Shahabuddin was pressured to step aside because of his long-standing ties to the former prime minister, sources say.

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US-China trade war

Liberation Day 2.0? US slaps fresh wave of tariffs on China, 50-plus economies

‘Forced labour’ duties replace Trump administration’s original sweeping levies but are unlikely to generate the same level of global shock.

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US President Donald Trump at a rally in Georgia on Wednesday, before the administration’s tariff announcement. Photo: AP
Americas and the Caribbean

Nicaragua will no longer hold elections, president says

Central American nation’s long-time leader vows US-backed parties will ‘never again’ take power.

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Cambodia

Asia-Pacific cyberscam victims lost up to US$114 billion last year: UN

The losses from online scams, mostly investment fraud, are at least triple that from 2023, reflecting a ‘dramatic scaling’, the report says.

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Indonesia

In Indonesia’s island paradise, humans are still born into slavery

Though slavery has been illegal in what is now Indonesia for more than 160 years, it survives in Sumba’s rigid caste system.

Umbu Ana Rara (left) watches as his “ata”, Kanisius Kanyali Hambarita, prepares drinks at Tanggedu village in East Sumba on June 23. Photo: AFP

Letters | China’s new human rights action plan is a significant step forward

Readers discuss the obligations of Chinese enterprises and projects abroad, and the economic landscape of Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Relatives carry a coffin in Polewali Mandar, Indonesia in 2023, during the funeral for a victim of the explosion of a smelting furnace at a Chinese-owned nickel plant on Sulawesi island. Photo: AP
Israel-Gaza war

Israelis march to Gaza border demanding re-establishment of settlements

‘We are walking today to tell the government of Israel and show all the world that this land belongs to us,’ one demonstrator said.

Americas and the Caribbean

Cuban dissident artist Otero Alcantara lands in US exile

One of the most prominent figures in Cuba’s new dissident movement, Otero Alcantara had just completed a five-year sentence on the island.

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India

Sonam Wangchuk hospitalised after 21-day hunger strike over exam leaks

The 59-year-old Wangchuk has been fasting to demand the resignation of Modi’s education minister ‌over exam paper leaks that affected millions of students.

Abhijeet Dipke, head of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) holds a picture of Sonam Wangchuk, after Wangchuk was taken to a hospital by authorities during his hunger strike, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

Asian-American groups fear Trump’s escalating rhetoric will fuel racism in US

Community leaders warn US president’s explosive China election-interference allegations may see rise in anti-Asian hate crimes.

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President Donald Trump’s allegations of US election manipulation by China have triggered concern among Asian-American community leaders and groups in the US. Photo: Shutterstock
Britain

J.K. Rowling condemns Amnesty for branding her women’s crisis centre anti-rights

The ‘Harry Potter’ author, who has spoken in the past of being a survivor of domestic violence, set up Beira’s Place in 2022.

Italy

Italian police raid luxury brands over exploitation of Chinese workers

Earlier operations have revealed numerous cases of poor work conditions in the supply chains for the country’s leading fashion houses.

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