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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.
Mary Jane Veloso leaves the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, the Philippines, on Friday after being granted clemency. Photo: EPA
Mary Jane Veloso holds a copy of an absolute pardon document during her release from the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, the Philippines, on Friday. Photo: EPA
The Philippines

How Mary Jane Veloso’s case exposes gaps in Filipino migrant protection

Advocates say her case spotlights the dangers Philippine workers face overseas and Manila’s inability to sufficiently protect its citizens.

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South Korea

In South Korea, plans to serve deportees airline meals splits officials

Britain

UK arrests 5 on suspicion of terror plot near airbase used by US forces

Africa

South African police probe mining feud shooting, 27 dead as elections near

Illegal miners live in the area, where powerful gangs control the illicit gold mining trade.

A member of the South African Police Service (SAPS) stands guard as bystanders look on behind police tape near an entertainment venue in Somerset West outside Cape Town on Sunday. Photo: AFP
France

Pope Leo pledges action on child abuse by priests after meeting French survivors

The pope met privately with victims and heard proposals for how to improve the Church’s safeguarding measures, ‌said a Vatican statement.

Italy

Italy to ban burkas in schools, with 30% cap on pupils with poor Italian

The move comes ahead of Italy’s election next year, in which PM Meloni’s party faces pressure the even further right National Future party.

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Israel-Gaza war

Actors, politicians among 100 arrested in New York anti-Netanyahu protest

Police detain Oscar winner and fellow activists blocking traffic near the UN ahead of diplomatic speech.

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Actor Susan Sarandon being detained in New York City. Photo: Reuters
Hannah Einbinder, centre, and other demonstrators being arrested. Photo: AP
Police arrest protesters. Photo: AP
Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier is detained alongside another protester. Photo: Reuters
A person displays a sign as demonstrators protest. Photo: Reuters
United States

‘Fundamentally broken’: Amnesty urges US to abolish ICE

Report finds US government implementing system of mass detention fueled by racist, xenophobic rhetoric.

Middle East

Netanyahu blasts critics at UN, dismissing Gaza genocide accusations

Israeli prime minister denounces walkout delegates as ‘moral cowards’ during a fiery address defending the war against Iran.

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Britain

UK far-right activist charged after migrant boat slashed in English Channel

Police said a 37-year-old man was detained and charged with one count of criminal damage and one of failing to disclose the PIN to his phone.

Protesters gather in support of arrested activist Daniel Thomas, also known as Danny Tommo, founder of the Patriot Platform nationalist protest network, outside Basingstoke Police Investigation Centre in Basingstoke, Britain on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
Middle East

Trump’s Board of Peace proposes US$2.45 billion Gaza reconstruction plan

Physical damage across Gaza will cost roughly US$35.2 billion in the medium term and another US$71.4 billion in the next 10 years.

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US President Donald Trump signs the charter of his Board of Peace initiative at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January. Photo: AP
Southeast Asia forced-labour scams

Video | Chinese live-streamer held for US$90,000 ransom in Myanmar

Chinese state media said Wang Ran was first lured to Thailand and later told a friend she was being held against her will in Myanmar.

Myanmar

Beatings, electric shocks, burns: women endure torture in Myanmar prisons

Human Rights Watch said detainees routinely experienced systemic abuse and life-threatening medical neglect.

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Americas and the Caribbean

Nicaragua govt responsible for at least 8 deaths in custody since 2018: UN

Experts also documented the disappearance of at least 161 people since 2018, when a crackdown on dissent began after mass protests.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. File photo: AFP
United States

Man shot by ICE in Texas says bullet still inside him

Lawyer says Venezuelan DoorDash driver is experiencing left-side paralysis following Austin encounter.

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez’s vehicle at the scene of the ICE shooting in Austin, Texas. Photo: Reuters
Africa

UK brings first charges over the 1994 Rwanda genocide

Vincent Brown, 65, is accused of inciting and aiding murders of Tutsis after seven-year British investigation.

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Donald Trump

US prepares sanctions against the ICC: sources

Trump administration readies entity-wide measures that could severely disrupt tribunal’s war crimes probes.

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Israel-Gaza war

Rapper Macklemore’s US$1 million pledge highlights Palestinian suffering

‘There are children dying every single day’: non-profit leaders have welcomed both money and renewed public awareness.

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Palestinian children line up on the first day of the new academic year at a UN-run school in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday. Photo:
2026 Xi-Trump summits

China hawks join forces in US Congress to pressure Trump ahead of Xi’s visit

Trump administration criticised for focusing on achieving economic gains from Beijing while neglecting political and human rights issues.

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Rodrigo Duterte

Video | Rodrigo Duterte appears in ICC courtroom for first time

The former Philippine leader’s trial over his ‘war on drugs’ that killed thousands starts on November 30.

Malaysia

Malaysia to invite Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing for Rohingya repatriation talks

Anwar Ibrahim says it is necessary to formally recognise Minh Aung Hlaing’s government if Malaysia wants to resolve the Rohingya crisis.

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Myanmar’s President Min Aung Hlaing is seen in Vietnam on September 5. Photo: EPA
Crime

Former Kosovo president Thaci gets 25 years in prison for war crimes

A tribunal said Thaci was guilty of the murder of 96 political opponents during the 1990s conflict with Serbia.

Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci. Photo: EPA-EFE
Singapore

Singapore is open to chemical castration, but what are ethical, health concerns?

Experts point to considerations on who receives the treatment, duration of the process and whether it is proportional to the offence.

France

France apologises for criticising US’ human rights record after backlash

France’s permanent mission to the UN expressed regret over a social media post questioning Washington’s commitment to human rights.

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Syria

Alarm as Syria plans private jet hub on former torture site

Rights groups warn turning Mezzeh airbase into a VIP airport could destroy mass graves and evidence of Assad-era atrocities.

Abandoned tanks are seen parked in an aircraft hangar at a military airport in the suburb of Mezzeh, Syria. Photo: Reuters
Britain

UK lawmakers reject bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales

The bill had proposed allowing adults with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval.

A campaigner against a change in the law on assisted dying holds a placard outside The Palace of Westminster, home to the Houses of Parliament in central London, on Friday. Photo: AFP
Italy

Emma Bonino, Italy’s activist politician, dies aged 78

Bonino was a passionate advocate for social justice and gender equality who deliberately courted controversy to advance her many causes.

Israel-Gaza war

Lives ‘at serious risk’ as Gaza’s hospitals, homes battle fuel shortages

Doctors say hospitals have resorted to rotating power cuts between buildings, putting patients in ‘severe danger’.

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