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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.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
Supporters of Israeli hostages during a protest in Tel Aviv, Israel on Monday. Photo: Reuters
Israel-Gaza war

Gaza ceasefire deal close after ‘breakthrough’ in Doha

A deal would cap over a year of stop-start talks, and include hostage releases and phased withdrawals.

Hong Kong society

70% of Hongkongers in same-sex relationships want to get married: survey

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Myanmar

Myanmar’s thriving ‘Scam City’ outfoxes efforts to shut it down

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Fashion

Photographer behind Benetton’s shock ads Oliviero Toscani dies

As artistic director of Benetton, Olivieiro Toscani helped make it one of the world’s leading fashion chains with his controversial imagery.

An Oliviero Toscani photograph used in a 1996 advert for the Benetton fashion chain to make a point about race. Toscani has died in Italy at the age of 82. Photo: AP
Myanmar

Myanmar junta air strike on market kills 15 civilians, ethnic rebel group says

The junta has been accused of carrying out multiple attacks on civilian targets as it struggles to quell resistance to its 2021 coup.

The Philippines

Opinion | How the Philippines is managing a cold war abroad – and at home

The removal of the Dutertes from the security council is a calculated move by Marcos Jnr to prevent the family, perceived as pro-China proxies, from exerting influence.

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India

Indian nurse’s death sentence in Yemen spotlights migrant workers’ woes

Nimisha Priya’s claims of passport confiscation among ‘problematic practices’ experienced by migrant workers in the Middle East, analysts say.

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Nimisha Priya, who travelled to Yemen from Southern India’s Kerala in 2008 to look for a nursing job, was found guilty of murdering her business partner in a clinic, a Yemeni man named Talal Abdo Mahdi, in 2020. Photo: Handout
Israel-Gaza war

Poland says won’t arrest Netanyahu if he visits for Auschwitz commemoration

The Israeli leader is subject to a warrant by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Indonesia

Indonesian court’s ruling on citizens’ religion sparks discrimination fears

Rights activists say the court’s decision could reduce religion to a bureaucratic formality and ‘thicken religious polarisation’.

Technology

Opinion | How the Global South can defend against Trump’s AI offensive

US removal of AI safeguards risks widening the global divide. Global South must invest in AI regional partnerships, education and infrastructure.

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Attendees are given a sneak peak on January 5 into the latest gadgets at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, where gadgets, robots and vehicles imbued with artificial intelligence will once again vie for attention. Photo: AFP
The Philippines

Filipinos fear US’ anti-ICC bill may impede probe into Duterte’s drug war

The bill slams the ICC’s ‘illegitimate’ charges against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes related to the Israel-Gaza war.

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Relatives of drug war victims calling for justice against then President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila in 2021. Photo: Reuters
Britain

Shein lawyer evades questions on China cotton at UK hearing, angering lawmakers

The fast-fashion giant is accused of forced labour in its supply chains as it reportedly prepares for a US$62 billion listing in London.

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India

Journalist’s body found stuffed inside septic tank in India

Freelance journalist Mukesh Chandrakar had reported widely on corruption and a decades-old Maoist insurgency in central Chhattisgarh state.

Israel-Gaza war

Hamas official says ready to free 34 Gaza hostages under mooted deal

Israel and Hamas wrangle over the details of a deal to halt fighting in the Gaza Strip and return hostages home.

People protest against the Israeli government and show support for Gaza hostages, in Tel Aviv on Saturday. Photo: Reuters
Israel-Gaza war

UNRWA says 7 babies dead in Gaza from cold weather, lack of shelter

Displaced Palestinians in war-torn Gaza are living in tents with little protection against the elements.

A father holds the blanket-wrapped body of his newborn, who reportedly died of hypothermia. Photo: AFP
Middle East

Red Cross says determining fate of Syria’s missing ‘huge challenge’

The fate of tens of thousands of missing people remains one of the most harrowing legacies of the conflict that started in 2011.

United States

Carter’s casket arrives in Atlanta as ex-US president’s state funeral begins

State funeral is on Thursday at Washington National Cathedral followed by invitation-only service in Carter’s hometown of Plains, Georgia.

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Myanmar

Myanmar releases thousands of prisoners to mark Independence Day

The ruling junta released more than 6,000 prisoners as part of a mass amnesty marking the 77th anniversary of independence from Britain.

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Released prisoners, in a bus, are welcomed by family members and colleagues after they left Insein Prison, on Saturday, in Yangon, Myanmar. Photo: AP
Israel-Gaza war

Opinion | The West and the rest: how genocide in Gaza will usher in the end of ‘his-story’

The breach of international laws by the West has led non-Western countries to seek new global historical narratives and tell ‘our-stories’.

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Indonesia

Indonesia’s Widodo slams ‘baseless’ report listing him as corruption enabler

The OCCRP report lists Joko Widodo as the among individuals who have ‘done the most to advance crime and corruption globally’.

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India

Why India is unlikely to extradite ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina

New Delhi’s muted response to a formal extradition request has sparked tensions as India weighs legal and diplomatic risks.

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Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina checks her watch as she waits for the official opening time to cast her vote in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on January 7, 2024. Photo: AP
E-commerce

UK lawmakers summon Shein and Temu for questioning over labour practices

Both online retailers have faced allegations of poor working practices at product factories in China and of forced labour in supply chains.

Shein and Temu sell clothes, shoes, gadgets and accessories at rock-bottom prices. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong workers/labour rights

How Hong Kong-US ties will shift when Trump returns to power in 2025

Experts say human rights will be ‘far less of a concern’ while the city’s financial services could face increased scrutiny from Washington.

Africa

Zimbabwe abolishes death penalty almost 20 years after its last hanging

New law will commute to jail time the sentences of about 60 prisoners on death row.

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Israel-Gaza war

Gaza hospitals turned into ‘death traps’ by Israeli strikes: UN

A UN report details numerous attacks on medical facilities, resulting in significant casualties and damage, leaving Palestinians with limited access to healthcare.

A Palestinian man inspects the site of an Israeli strike on Al-Wafaa hospital. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

Opinion | How Jimmy Carter opened the door for China – and how Beijing can repay the favour

The Carter era has lessons for a rising China as it frets about a recession and what Trump may bring.

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Officials in Beijing have rarely talked about the link between China’s rapid rise and the largely conflict-free development of ties with the US since the Carter era. Photo: Getty Images
Indonesia

Indonesia reviews France’s request to transfer death-row convict

Frenchman Serge Atlaoui has spent the past 20 years in prison in Indonesia after being arrested on drug charges.

Americas and the Caribbean

Argentine judge orders arrest of Nicaragua’s Ortega over human rights violations

Crimes Daniel Ortega and vice-president wife are accused of include murder, forced disappearances and torture.

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