https://www.scmp.com/rss/308324/feed Rohingya Muslims are an ethnic group who practice Islam and speak a language related to Bengali. The origin of this group of people is disputed with some saying they are indigenous to the state of Rakhine in Myanmar while others contend they are migrants who came from Bengal (now Bangladesh), to Myanmar during the period of British colonial rule. According to the United Nations, Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. Many have fled Myanmar to refugee camps in... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters Rohingya refugee Rahila Begum spent two days adrift ⁠in the Andaman Sea this month, clinging to a wooden shard after her ⁠overcrowded boat capsized, one of the few survivors of a disaster that left 250 missing and feared dead. She was among the thousands of Rohingya Muslims who brave hunger and accidents on rickety boats each year to flee desperate conditions in camps in southeastern Bangladesh for countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia. Hundreds die en route from hunger or accidents at sea,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3350814/why-more-rohingya-risk-sea-escapes-malaysia-indonesia-some-make-it-some-die?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3350814/why-more-rohingya-risk-sea-escapes-malaysia-indonesia-some-make-it-some-die?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2026 03:58:07 +0000 Resty Woro Yuniar Resty Woro Yuniar A genocide complaint filed with Indonesian prosecutors against Myanmar’s newly elected President Min Aung Hlaing marks a further step by rights activists to hold the country’s military rulers accountable for their alleged international crimes, regardless of where they were committed. The complaint, lodged on Monday with Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office (AGO), accuses the former military chief of genocide against the Rohingya, including mass rape, forced eviction, killings and arson attacks... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3349532/indonesian-activists-target-myanmars-president-genocide-case-against-him?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3349532/indonesian-activists-target-myanmars-president-genocide-case-against-him?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 11:00:12 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Myanmar cleared the way on Monday for coup-leading General Min Aung Hlaing to become president and maintain his rule in civilian garb, with lawmakers nominating him as a vice-presidential candidate and the junta replacing him as military commander. Min Aung Hlaing has ruled Myanmar since 2021 when he ordered a coup toppling the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi – detaining the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, dissolving her party and triggering civil war. After five years of hardline rule, he... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3348416/myanmar-paves-way-junta-chief-be-civilian-president-ruling-iron-fist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3348416/myanmar-paves-way-junta-chief-be-civilian-president-ruling-iron-fist?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:23:09 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele In a quiet suburb of the Malaysian city of Klang, Farouk* scrolls through his phone, replaying videos of a toddler learning to walk, laugh and reach out to steady himself – milestone moments of a son whom he is forced to love through a screen. “He is now two years old, but I have never held him,” the 26-year-old Rohingya man said. “I have only seen him twice from afar at the gate.” Farouk’s wife gave birth in a Malaysian immigration detention centre a day after the family were arrested in early... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347559/malaysias-rohingya-spend-another-eid-torn-their-families?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347559/malaysias-rohingya-spend-another-eid-torn-their-families?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 10:00:09 +0000 Reuters Reuters A nearly blind refugee from Myanmar missing since his release from a Buffalo jail into the custody of US Border Patrol has been found dead on a downtown street, according to city authorities on Wednesday. Police officers in the upstate New York city located the body of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, 56, on Tuesday evening, the Buffalo Police Department said. Shah Alam had been missing since February 19, when US Border Patrol agents dropped ‌him off at a coffee shop miles from his home following his... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344687/near-blind-rohingya-refugee-found-dead-after-us-border-agents-release-him-out-cold?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344687/near-blind-rohingya-refugee-found-dead-after-us-border-agents-release-him-out-cold?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 04:38:25 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Rohingya migrants – including children – held in detention centres across Malaysia are at risk of forced removal, rights advocates warn, as the government carries out a biometric registration scheme to determine who can stay and who will be deported. Tens of thousands of Rohingya, a Muslim minority from Myanmar’s Rakhine State described by the United Nations as among the world’s most persecuted people, have sought sanctuary in Malaysia since the 1990s. As Malaysia does not formally recognise... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3340831/malaysias-rohingya-face-new-threat-removal-biometric-documentation-begins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3340831/malaysias-rohingya-face-new-threat-removal-biometric-documentation-begins?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 08:51:15 +0000 Kamal Ahmad Kamal Ahmad Things had to change in Bangladesh. The brutality of an autocratic regime which tolerated little dissent gravely undermined its legitimacy. Its relentless kleptocracy exposed a capacity for private greed and theft that had no limits, turning it into a criminal state. The surrender of a proud nation’s sovereignty to a giant neighbour for its guarantee of an illicit political status quo ultimately proved untenable. Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, was the right man at the right hour to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3338565/bangladesh-needs-structural-change-how-will-it-get-there?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3338565/bangladesh-needs-structural-change-how-will-it-get-there?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Jan 2026 08:00:20 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Rashid arrived on the Malaysian island of Langkawi as a young child after spending weeks at sea in a fishing boat crammed with Myanmar’s unwanted: Rohingya Muslims driven out by soldiers and ethnic Buddhist militias who had razed their villages. A decade on, the now 14-year-old has witnessed countless boats arrive on the island over the years, as his stateless community continues to flee persecution. “We did not choose Malaysia because we thought it was a good or nice country,” he told This Week... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3337690/rohingya-crisis-deepens-myanmar-election-offers-no-hope-return?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3337690/rohingya-crisis-deepens-myanmar-election-offers-no-hope-return?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Dec 2025 03:00:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Eleven survivors of a deadly boat capsize two weeks ago appeared in a Malaysian court on Wednesday, charged with illegally being in the Southeast Asian country, officials said. The accused – nine Myanmar nationals and two Bangladeshi citizens – were among 14 people rescued after the November 6 shipwreck off a Thai island near the Malaysian maritime border. They are said to be from a group of around 70 undocumented migrants, mostly from Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya community, who were trying to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3333423/malaysia-court-charges-11-shipwreck-survivors-langkawi-boat-tragedy-illegal-entry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3333423/malaysia-court-charges-11-shipwreck-survivors-langkawi-boat-tragedy-illegal-entry?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Nov 2025 10:18:37 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof The deaths of at least 16 people, including several children, in a boat accident off Malaysia’s coast have reignited fears of a renewed surge in perilous sea crossings by refugees fleeing conflict in Myanmar and worsening conditions in neighbouring Bangladesh. The vessel had reportedly departed from Rakhine state in Myanmar, where members of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority continue to face severe restrictions on movement, access to aid and basic rights. Many others are stranded in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3332176/malaysia-boat-tragedy-reignites-concern-over-rising-toll-rohingya-sea-exodus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3332176/malaysia-boat-tragedy-reignites-concern-over-rising-toll-rohingya-sea-exodus?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Nov 2025 07:11:47 +0000 Reuters Reuters Hundreds of people were missing on Sunday after a boat carrying migrants sank near the Thailand-Malaysia border, the Malaysian maritime authority said. At least seven bodies have been found, an agency official said. More victims might still be found at sea some three days after the sinking of the vessel, which left Buthidaung, Myanmar, with about 300 people on board, said First Admiral Romli Mustafa, the maritime authority director of the northern Malaysian states of Kedah and Perlis. Among... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3332094/hundreds-missing-after-migrant-boat-sinks-malaysia-thailand-border?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3332094/hundreds-missing-after-migrant-boat-sinks-malaysia-thailand-border?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Nov 2025 07:59:33 +0000 Ashfaq Zaman Ashfaq Zaman The Rohingya people have endured one of the world’s most protracted, yet least visible, humanitarian crises. Nearly one million Rohingya refugees live in what were supposed to be temporary camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar. They still have little prospect of returning to Myanmar’s Rakhine state. But at a recent conference in Dhaka, the Rohingya people were, for the first time, given a voice. Their message was clear: they do not want more aid. They need to go home. China is well placed to help... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3327042/why-china-should-lead-commission-phased-rohingya-repatriation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3327042/why-china-should-lead-commission-phased-rohingya-repatriation?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Sep 2025 12:30:09 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Bangladesh’s renewed quest for Asean membership comes at a moment of acute internal flux and regional scepticism, as interim leader Muhammad Yunus looks to Malaysia for support but finds the path to entry blocked by questions over governance and stability. On Sunday, he revived his country’s call for Malaysia’s backing to secure a place among the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. According to his office, Yunus met with Nurul Izzah, daughter of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3320334/bangladesh-wants-malaysias-help-join-asean-it-faces-uphill-battle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3320334/bangladesh-wants-malaysias-help-join-asean-it-faces-uphill-battle?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Aug 2025 03:37:20 +0000 Reuters Reuters Beneath a sea of blue tarpaulin in a corner of northeastern India near Bangladesh, hundreds of Muslim men, women and babies take shelter after being evicted from their homes, in the latest crackdown in Assam ahead of state elections. They are among thousands of families whose houses have been bulldozed in the past few weeks by authorities – the most intense such action in decades – who accuse them of illegally staying on government land. The demolitions in Assam, where Prime Minister Narendra... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3319791/india-expels-muslims-bangladesh-assam-state-polls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3319791/india-expels-muslims-bangladesh-assam-state-polls?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Jul 2025 03:56:33 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification On September 30, the UN will hold a high-level conference on the Rohingya crisis. This conference is seen as a key moment to resolve one of the world’s worst humanitarian tragedies. It is expected... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3315191/world-must-deliver-justice-rohingya?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3315191/world-must-deliver-justice-rohingya?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Jun 2025 03:30:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Hundreds of Myanmar families were being uprooted from their homes on Saturday, a community organiser said, piling their belongings onto evacuation convoys to escape fighting between the military and anti-coup guerillas. Myanmar has been consumed by a many-sided civil war since the military snatched power in a 2021 coup, leaving more than 3.5 million people displaced, according to UN figures. Heavy combat has been raging since Monday around the village of Saung Nang Khae in the eastern state of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3314457/over-600-evacuated-myanmar-military-fights-anti-coup-forces?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3314457/over-600-evacuated-myanmar-military-fights-anti-coup-forces?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Jun 2025 10:31:01 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Indian authorities allegedly forced dozens of Rohingya refugees off a naval vessel into the sea near Myanmar last week after providing them with life jackets, a United Nations agency, family members of the refugees and their lawyer said. The UNHCR said in a statement on Thursday that at least 40 Rohingya refugees were detained in New Delhi and cast into the sea by the Indian navy near the maritime border with Myanmar. The refugees – including children, women and older people – swam ashore, but... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3310743/india-accused-forcing-rohingya-refugees-sea-near-myanmar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3310743/india-accused-forcing-rohingya-refugees-sea-near-myanmar?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 May 2025 04:00:44 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Rampant labour trafficking that left tens of thousands of Bangladeshis stranded without jobs in Malaysia must be addressed first before signing any deal to end a year-long freeze on entry for a fresh cohort of migrant workers, activist groups have warned. Bangladesh, one of Asia’s poorest nations, sent as many as 450,000 people to work in the Southeast Asian country between 2021 and 2023, according to labour authorities in Dhaka, most staffing low-paid jobs on building sites, farms and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3310473/malaysia-bangladesh-urged-act-labour-trafficking-ending-migrant-worker-freeze?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3310473/malaysia-bangladesh-urged-act-labour-trafficking-ending-migrant-worker-freeze?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 May 2025 08:49:24 +0000 Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus concluded a four-day visit to China last month, marking his first state visit since assuming office. Significantly, he chose to be in Beijing on Bangladesh’s independence day. During his trip, Beijing committed to US$2.1 billion in investments, loans and grants, including US$400 million to modernise Mongla Port and US$350 million to develop an industrial zone to host Chinese manufacturing and boost Dhaka’s capacity. Yunus also sought Chinese support to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3305570/how-china-can-help-bangladesh-escape-indias-foreign-policy-grip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3305570/how-china-can-help-bangladesh-escape-indias-foreign-policy-grip?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Apr 2025 21:30:07 +0000 They first faced persecution in their country. Then a deadly crackdown by Myanmar’s army sent hundreds of thousands fleeing into Bangladesh. Driven from their homes, many of the Rohingya have since lived in refugee settlements entirely dependent on humanitarian help. That help – largely led by the United States – is at the risk of being cut, following President Donald Trump’s decree to freeze most of his country’s foreign aid. For more than 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, it means... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3303427/trumps-us-aid-cuts-looming-rohingya-refugees-bangladesh-face-rations-and-misery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3303427/trumps-us-aid-cuts-looming-rohingya-refugees-bangladesh-face-rations-and-misery?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Mar 2025 03:11:08 +0000 The panic and chaos caused by US President Donald Trump’s executive order to halt foreign aid, followed by the shutdown plan of USAID, have roiled global humanitarian efforts, and Myanmar is no exception. The United States has been a significant contributor to the country’s emergency and community resilience work. The US Agency for International Development’s shutdown, along with the broader reduction in US government funding, will have far-reaching implications for cross-border and in-country... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3298767/trumps-aid-freeze-will-hit-myanmar-hard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3298767/trumps-aid-freeze-will-hit-myanmar-hard?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Feb 2025 02:30:09 +0000 Myanmar’s ruling junta criticised an Argentine court on Saturday for issuing an arrest warrant for its top leader over alleged “genocide and crimes against humanity” towards the Rohingya minority. The Rohingya are a predominantly Muslim community from Buddhist-majority Myanmar where, according to Amnesty International, they have been subjected to apartheid conditions. This week an Argentine court issued warrants for military and civilian officials including junta leader Min Aung Hlaing,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3298823/myanmar-junta-criticises-argentina-arrest-warrant?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3298823/myanmar-junta-criticises-argentina-arrest-warrant?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Feb 2025 08:00:12 +0000 Malaysian restaurant groups are urging the government to allow them to hire Rohingya refugees and recent migrants from India, with a ban on new foreign workers leaving as many as 25,000 food service roles unfilled even as many locals shun these jobs that are seen as lowly paid. For decades, Malaysia has relied on foreign workers – mainly from Bangladesh, Indonesia and Myanmar – to staff its farms, factories, construction sites and service industries. In April last year, the government stopped... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3297149/malaysian-restaurants-call-rohingya-refugees-fill-25000-job-vacancies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3297149/malaysian-restaurants-call-rohingya-refugees-fill-25000-job-vacancies?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Feb 2025 07:14:50 +0000 Washington’s abrupt suspension of nearly all foreign aid could upend Bangladesh’s fragile efforts to stabilise its economy and hold national elections, analysts said, warning that vital US-funded programmes from governance to health may be in jeopardy. Bangladesh, a major recipient of funds from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has long relied on the money to bolster global food security and education initiatives and manage economic turbulence. The aid suspension... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3296616/us-aid-freeze-threatens-bangladeshs-fragile-economy-and-political-stability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3296616/us-aid-freeze-threatens-bangladeshs-fragile-economy-and-political-stability?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jan 2025 11:00:14 +0000 Hadi Azmi Hadi Azmi As a child in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, Faruk Arian remembers watching members of his Rohingya community being stripped of any power they once had, trapped in a vortex of poverty, ethnic hatred and violence. He was shot as a teenager by soldiers from the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military. Years later, when the Rohingya faced another wave of brutal persecution, he fled by boat to Malaysia, eventually finding safety in Kuala Lumpur. “People could take anything from us because we weren’t strong,” he told... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3296203/malaysia-rohingya-bodybuilder-chases-mr-olympia-glory-anything-possible?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3296203/malaysia-rohingya-bodybuilder-chases-mr-olympia-glory-anything-possible?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jan 2025 07:00:15 +0000 In early October last year, a video circulated on social media showing several Palestinians in Malaysia making a scene at a federal holding facility, yelling at local authorities and breaking furniture. A more serious incident occurred earlier this month at the same facility, where some Palestinians broke more furniture and started a bonfire to protest against the slow processing of their return to Egypt. The Palestinians are in Malaysia based on a promise made by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3296212/malaysians-rethink-support-palestinian-refugees-after-viral-incidents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3296212/malaysians-rethink-support-palestinian-refugees-after-viral-incidents?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jan 2025 04:00:21 +0000 For Myanmar’s people, year four under military junta rule has only brought more death, displacement and despair, as their troubled homeland is torn further apart by a seemingly intractable civil war. In capital Naypyidaw, the military – or Tatmadaw – calls all the shots, but after a series of chastening battlefield defeats, the generals increasingly find themselves boxed-in to the country’s central heartlands. Still, few among the anti-junta resistance forces harbour any illusions about an... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3296205/asias-forgotten-war-generation-sacrifices-its-youth-defying-myanmars-brutal-junta?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3296205/asias-forgotten-war-generation-sacrifices-its-youth-defying-myanmars-brutal-junta?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jan 2025 00:00:16 +0000 After being driven from their ancestral villages and witnessing the erosion of their heritage through decades of persecution and forced migration, hope often appears in perilously short supply for the Rohingya. For many among this stateless population of nearly 3 million, uprooted and scattered across the globe, daily life involves navigating the challenges of accessing food, finance, work, health and education – all without any legal documents. In Kuala Lumpur, computer scientist Muhammad Noor... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3293316/rohingya-malaysia-turn-tech-fight-erasure-have-identity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3293316/rohingya-malaysia-turn-tech-fight-erasure-have-identity?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Jan 2025 09:00:09 +0000 Malaysian authorities said on Saturday that they have turned away two boats carrying nearly 300 people believed to be Muslim Rohingya refugees who were found to have entered the country illegally. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said that it had information that two more boats were attempting to enter the country after a boatload of 196 Rohingya landed early on Friday on a beach on the northeastern resort island of Langkawi. They were all detained by authorities. The agency said... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3293450/malaysia-turns-away-hundreds-rohingya-refugees-dozens-land-island?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3293450/malaysia-turns-away-hundreds-rohingya-refugees-dozens-land-island?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jan 2025 15:28:55 +0000 Myanmar’s military government has released more than 6,000 prisoners and has reduced other inmates’ sentences as part of a mass amnesty marking the 77th anniversary of independence from Britain on Saturday. They included just a small proportion of hundreds of political detainees jailed for opposing army rule, since the military seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. That takeover was met with massive nonviolent resistance, which has since become a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3293417/myanmar-releases-thousands-prisoners-mark-independence-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3293417/myanmar-releases-thousands-prisoners-mark-independence-day?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jan 2025 09:15:12 +0000 Malaysia’s coastguard said on Friday it was doubling patrols in its waters to locate boats carrying undocumented Myanmar migrants, after almost 200 were detained on an island in the northwestern Malaysian state of Kedah. The coastguard said police had detained 196 undocumented Myanmar migrants in the early hours of Friday after their boat came ashore on a beach on the resort island of Langkawi. “Based on information the coastguard received, there are two more boats carrying undocumented Myanmar... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3293375/malaysia-doubles-patrols-find-myanmar-migrant-boats-after-nearly-200-people-detained?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3293375/malaysia-doubles-patrols-find-myanmar-migrant-boats-after-nearly-200-people-detained?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jan 2025 15:26:31 +0000 From legal strides in LGBTQ rights to alarming rates of violence against women, Asia in 2024 witnessed progress in gender equality shadowed by stark reminders that systemic challenges remain. Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to legally recognise same-sex marriages, paving the way for the fight for marriage equality in the region. Women achieved a significant milestone during this year’s Paris Summer Olympics, marking the first time in history that the games featured an equal... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3292530/lgbtq-rights-deepfake-threats-falling-fertility-asias-gender-equality-landscape-2024?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3292530/lgbtq-rights-deepfake-threats-falling-fertility-asias-gender-equality-landscape-2024?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Dec 2024 04:00:09 +0000 Sri Lanka’s navy rescued more than 100 people believed to be Rohingya refugees who were found adrift aboard a fishing trawler off the island nation, a navy spokesman said on Friday. Gayan Wickramasuriya said fishermen spotted the refugees, including 25 children and 30 women, off Sri Lanka’s northern coast on Thursday. Navy vessels then escorted the boat to a naval base on the nation’s east coast where they were given medical care, food and water. Wickramasuriya said the navy has not yet... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3291712/sri-lanka-rescues-102-people-thought-be-rohingya-refugees-adrift-fishing-boat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3291712/sri-lanka-rescues-102-people-thought-be-rohingya-refugees-adrift-fishing-boat?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Dec 2024 09:10:34 +0000 Hundreds of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are being arbitrarily and indefinitely detained across India and face dehumanising living conditions that violate their basic human rights, according to a new report. The study, published on Monday by the non-profit Refugees International and The Azadi Project, documents the segregation of family members and poor sanitation measures at the “jail-like facilities” known as holding centres or transit camps. It says the improper treatment of the detainees... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3291104/inside-indias-inhumane-detention-camps-rohingya-refugees?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3291104/inside-indias-inhumane-detention-camps-rohingya-refugees?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Dec 2024 05:00:07 +0000 China’s involvement in mediating a peace deal between Myanmar’s rebel groups and the ruling military junta has given Beijing leverage over India as both powers jostle to bolster their strategic interests in the country. Last month, two key members of the anti-junta Brotherhood Alliance – Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) – said they were willing to hold peace talks under China’s mediation. The announcement came shortly after a visit to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3290945/india-plays-catch-influence-myanmar-chinas-clout-over-junta-and-rebels-grows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3290945/india-plays-catch-influence-myanmar-chinas-clout-over-junta-and-rebels-grows?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Dec 2024 04:36:27 +0000 As the world watches, an arrest warrant request for Myanmar’s junta chief at the International Criminal Court marks a crucial step towards justice for the persecuted Rohingya community, observers say – though as long as he remains in power, true accountability appears elusive. Min Aung Hlaing likely “bears criminal responsibility for the crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution of the Rohingya”, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s office said in a statement on November 27, announcing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3289696/will-myanmars-junta-chief-face-justice-crimes-against-rohingya?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3289696/will-myanmars-junta-chief-face-justice-crimes-against-rohingya?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Dec 2024 07:30:08 +0000 More than 100 Rohingya refugees including women and children have been rescued after their boat sank off the coast of Indonesia, the United Nations refugee agency said Saturday. The mostly Muslim ethnic Rohingya are heavily persecuted in Myanmar and thousands risk their lives each year on long and dangerous sea journeys to reach Malaysia or Indonesia. “We received a report from the East Aceh government that there are 116 refugees in total,” UNHCR’s Faisal Rahman said on Saturday. “The refugees... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3288822/rohingya-refugees-rescued-indonesian-coast-un?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3288822/rohingya-refugees-rescued-indonesian-coast-un?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Nov 2024 12:48:34 +0000 The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Wednesday he would seek an arrest warrant for Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing for crimes against humanity over the alleged persecution of the Rohingya, a mainly Muslim minority. A spokesperson for Myanmar’s ruling junta did not answer calls from Reuters immediately after the announcement. Reuters has requested comment from the military government by email. A million Rohingya fled, most to neighbouring Bangladesh, to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3288367/icc-prosecutor-seeks-arrest-warrant-myanmar-junta-chief-over-crimes-against-humanity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3288367/icc-prosecutor-seeks-arrest-warrant-myanmar-junta-chief-over-crimes-against-humanity?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Nov 2024 09:32:36 +0000 Sometimes, Nilufah* and her dedicated team at the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic in Penang, Malaysia, encounter pregnant Rohingya girls as young as 12 or 13. Fleeing dire circumstances, these girls seek medical care and support. “Some are very, very young. They don’t understand what is happening sometimes, that they are mothers or how to be a mother,” said Nilufah, a Rohingya refugee herself, who works as a volunteer with the international humanitarian organisation. She said a lot of such... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3287831/rohingya-child-brides-trapped-malaysias-refugee-crisis-we-do-not-have-choice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3287831/rohingya-child-brides-trapped-malaysias-refugee-crisis-we-do-not-have-choice?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Nov 2024 09:00:09 +0000 Myanmar’s desperate military junta is ramping up attacks on villages that have fallen to opposition groups, carrying out beheadings, gang rapes and torture, with women, children and the elderly among the victims, the UN independent human rights investigator for Myanmar said in a new report. Thomas Andrews, a former US congressman from Maine, said in the report to the UN General Assembly circulated on Friday that the junta has responded to military defeats and the loss of territory by using... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3287827/beheadings-rapes-torture-myanmars-junta-unleashes-violence-rebel-held-areas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3287827/beheadings-rapes-torture-myanmars-junta-unleashes-violence-rebel-held-areas?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Nov 2024 03:33:30 +0000 As the Arakan Army (AA) gains more ground against the forces of the state Administration Council (SAC) regime in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, analysts are asking questions about the AA’s administrative capacity. The AA has steadily gained momentum against SAC troops since November last year, when it opened a new front as a part of Operation 1027, a coordinated attack against SAC forces that started in October 2023, primarily in northern Myanmar. Since its formation in 2009 with the aim of greater... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3286803/myanmars-arakan-army-capable-governing-rakhine-state?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3286803/myanmars-arakan-army-capable-governing-rakhine-state?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Nov 2024 02:00:15 +0000 Two Thai fugitives, accused of leading 24 Rohingya refugees to their deaths in a harrowing human trafficking case, have been deported back to Thailand after being apprehended in South Korea. South Korean authorities tracked and arrested the suspects, who evaded capture for five years, according to police officials. A Thai police representative expressed gratitude last month for the cooperation between the two countries, made possible under a 1999 deportation agreement. “Extradition is a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3286709/thai-fugitives-accused-rohingya-trafficking-deported-south-korea-after-5-year-manhunt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3286709/thai-fugitives-accused-rohingya-trafficking-deported-south-korea-after-5-year-manhunt?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Nov 2024 06:24:09 +0000 Human traffickers left dozens of Rohingya refugees, including children, stranded on a shoreline in westernmost Indonesia on Thursday, while six dead bodies were found nearby, local officials said. Members of the persecuted minority risk their lives each year on long and dangerous sea journeys, often crowding into rickety boats in the hopes of reaching Malaysia or Indonesia. The refugees were abandoned before dawn on Thursday around 100 metres off a beach in Aceh Province, said Saiful Anwar, a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3284618/dozens-rohingya-refugees-stranded-indonesia-beach-traffickers-6-bodies-found?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3284618/dozens-rohingya-refugees-stranded-indonesia-beach-traffickers-6-bodies-found?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Oct 2024 08:30:27 +0000 The United Nations’ special envoy to Myanmar has denounced what she called a “zero-sum mentality” among those involved in the long-simmering conflict there, saying that only a stop to the violence would open the door to reconciliation. Julie Bishop made the comments on Tuesday in her first address to a UN General Assembly committee since being named to the position in April. Myanmar’s military, which seized power in a 2021 coup, has faced intensified fighting for the past year from armed groups... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3284403/myanmar-risks-becoming-forgotten-crisis-un-envoy-warns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3284403/myanmar-risks-becoming-forgotten-crisis-un-envoy-warns?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Oct 2024 03:36:14 +0000 At first glance, 21-year-old Abu seems like an ordinary young man living in Malaysia’s Penang state. He enjoys football, has a keen interest in history and, in his spare time, he prepares for university entrance exams in the United States. However, deep down, the Rohingya refugee doubts he will ever get the chance to obtain a higher education. Abu’s family fled their home in Myanmar – where Rohingyas are persecuted – almost 13 years ago in search of a brighter future in Malaysia, but ended up... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3284055/im-unwanted-here-rohingya-refugees-malaysian-dreams-dashed-amid-arrest-fears-prejudice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3284055/im-unwanted-here-rohingya-refugees-malaysian-dreams-dashed-amid-arrest-fears-prejudice?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Oct 2024 09:00:13 +0000 A boat loaded with more than 100 Rohingya refugees was spotted off Indonesia’s westernmost province with at least one dead body seen on board, local officials said Saturday. The mostly Muslim ethnic Rohingya are heavily persecuted in Myanmar, and thousands risk their lives each year on long and dangerous sea journeys to try to reach Malaysia or Indonesia. The Rohingya boat is anchored around three to four miles (five to six kilometres) off the coast of South Aceh district with its engine turned... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3283055/boat-carrying-more-100-rohingya-sighted-near-western-indonesia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3283055/boat-carrying-more-100-rohingya-sighted-near-western-indonesia?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Oct 2024 09:53:09 +0000 The persecuted and stateless Rohingya minority is caught in a new violent crackdown in Myanmar, with children among those killed, two reports from influential expert groups warned on Tuesday. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Myanmar for neighbouring Bangladesh in 2017 during a crackdown by the military that is now the subject of a United Nations genocide court case. But around 600,000 remain in the country’s western state of Rakhine, where they have found themselves in the middle of an... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3276111/persecuted-rohingya-face-dire-new-crackdown-myanmar-children-among-those-killed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3276111/persecuted-rohingya-face-dire-new-crackdown-myanmar-children-among-those-killed?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Aug 2024 11:19:08 +0000 Bangladesh will maintain support both for its immense Rohingya refugee population and its vital garment trade, Nobel laureate and new leader Muhammad Yunus said Sunday in his first major policy address. Yunus, 84, returned from Europe this month after a student-led revolution to take up the monumental task of steering democratic reforms in a country torn by institutional decay. His predecessor Sheikh Hasina, 76, had suddenly fled the country days earlier by helicopter after 15 years of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3274959/bangladeshs-yunus-reassures-rohingya-refugees-garment-exports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3274959/bangladeshs-yunus-reassures-rohingya-refugees-garment-exports?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Aug 2024 15:59:37 +0000 Ducking as mortar fire exploded around them, Rohingya refugee Mustafa Kamal and his family narrowly escaped the attack by a rebel militia on their town in western Myanmar. Crowds had gathered on a small island to seek shelter after witnessing killings in the coastal town of Maungdaw, he said, but “many died on the spot”, including one of his nephews, Noor Sadek. Others crawled and swam to reach neighbouring Bangladesh, he said. His family are among many Rohingyas, members of a persecuted mostly... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3274855/wounded-and-grieving-rohingya-flee-deadly-attacks-myanmar-lots-gunshots-injuries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3274855/wounded-and-grieving-rohingya-flee-deadly-attacks-myanmar-lots-gunshots-injuries?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Aug 2024 04:25:12 +0000 A drone attack on Rohingya fleeing Myanmar killed many dozens of people, including families with children, several witnesses said, describing survivors wandering between piles of bodies to identify dead and injured relatives. Four witnesses, activists and a diplomat described drone attacks on Monday that struck down families waiting to cross the border into neighbouring Bangladesh. A heavily pregnant woman and her 2-year-old daughter were among the victims in the attack, the single deadliest... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3274007/drone-attack-kills-dozens-rohingya-fleeing-myanmar-including-children?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3274007/drone-attack-kills-dozens-rohingya-fleeing-myanmar-including-children?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Aug 2024 09:02:18 +0000