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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 labourer inspects a Hindustan Ambassador yellow taxi, transporting fish at a wholesale market on January 30, in Kolkata, West Bengal state, India. Photo: AFP
India

Fish and vegetarianism major flashpoints in India’s West Bengal election

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party has promoted dietary restrictions as part of its Hindu nationalist agenda.

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Indonesia

Indonesian activists target Myanmar’s president in genocide case against him

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Japan

Japan’s deportation drive strikes fear into asylum seekers, foreign residents

China-Latin America relations

Brazil blacklists China EV giant BYD for its slave labour conditions

Government officials said staff were working excessively long hours while being kept in degrading circumstances in their accommodation.

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BYD’s electric vehicle factory’s construction site in Camaçari, Brazil, in December 2024. Photo: Reuters
France

France’s Sarkozy challenges conviction over alleged Libya funding

He was found guilty in September of criminal conspiracy and sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Middle East

1 dead after gunmen open fire outside Israeli consulate in Istanbul

The two other assailants were captured with injuries.

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Gun violence in the US

Video sheds light on Minnesota ICE shooting after charges against men collapsed

Authorities initially accused 2 Venezuelan men of beating an ICE officer during a chase and scuffle in Minneapolis in January.

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Police officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota on January 14. Photo: AP
Afghanistan

Afghan mother demands answers after son dies in Pakistani hospital bombing

Human rights groups have called for an independent investigation into the March 16 strike on a drug treatment centre that killed 411.

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Africa

DR Congo to receive third-country deportees from US under deal

Kinshasa to receive US-funded deportees as the Trump administration expands controversial migration agreements across Africa.

United States

US court reinstates US$656 million judgment against PLO and Palestinian Authority

Following a 2025 Supreme Court ruling, judges revive a decade-old verdict for American victims of terror attacks in Israel.

The Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse on Foley Square, New York, where the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals is headquartered. Photo: AP
US, Israel war on Iran

Rights groups raise alarm after Iran executes 2 more opposition group members

The hangings are the latest targeting members of the banned People’s Mojahedin of Iran after four others were executed earlier in the week.

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People protest outside the US State Department on Monday to highlight the executions of MEK members in Karaj, Iran. Photo: AP
Scams and swindles

Cambodia’s high-stakes war on online scam compounds

Cambodia has vowed to stamp out the scam compounds on its soil by month’s end – but perpetrators remain drawn to the potential for huge profits.

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Malaysia

Malaysia drops appeal on abducted activist’s case, family still seeks answers

Rights group Suhakam says the police Special Branch was involved in the disappearances of Raymond Koh and another activist, Amri Che Mat.

Malaysia

‘Feels unreal’: Indonesian grandma freed from Malaysian death row flies home

Ani Anggraeni spent nearly 15 years in prison for drug trafficking before her death sentence was commuted and she was later pardoned.

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Ani Anggraeni is seen in prison last year. Photo: Handout
United States

Trump fires Pam Bondi as US president’s frustration with bad news grows

Attorney general’s removal follows the ouster of Trump’s homeland security and border patrol chiefs amid a wave of negative headlines.

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US Attorney General Pam Bondi and US President Donald Trump on Monday. Bondi was fired on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
Middle East

Surging ‘Jewish terrorism’ in West Bank condemned but goes unpunished

Tel Aviv-based INSS reports an increase in settler attacks since the start of the Iran war, along with a rise in ‘the severity of the acts’.

US-China relations

China targeted in US birthright citizenship debate, but court justices sceptical

China benefiting from ‘birth tourism industry’, top litigator claims, with Trump in attendance – a historic first for a sitting president.

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Myanmar

Why Myanmar top general’s exit is window dressing to cement military rule

Min Aung Hlaing, who has resigned from the armed forces, is set to get approval from the military-allied parliament to become president.

Myanmar junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing hands over a flag to newly appointed Commander-in-Chief General Ye Win Oo at a ceremony in Naypyitaw on Monday. Photo: Handout via Reuters
US-China relations

‘Lack of moral character’: pair who stole secrets for China loses US citizenship

Case reflects the Trump administration’s stated goal of ‘maximally pursuing’ denaturalisation wherever legally possible.

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Nepal

Untouchable no more: Nepal to apologise to Dalits for first time

Nepal has banned caste discrimination, yet many Dalits still live in poverty. Can a formal state apology inspire change?

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Myanmar

Video | Myanmar’s junta chief set to continue rule as civilian president

With the military controlling parliament, Min Aung Hlaing is widely expected to be elected president.

epa12859710 A handout picture made available by the Myanmar military information team shows outgoing Myanmar military Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing (R) greeting as he leaves after a ceremony to transfer the duties of the Myanmar military Commander-in-Chief in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, 30 March 2026. Myanmar's military chief Min Aung Hlaing was nominated for the presidency on 29 March, as parliament convened after a general election that excluded the country's largest opposition parties. EPA/MYANMAR MILITARY INFORMATION TEAM HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
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US-China relations

Born in the USA? China targeted in Trump’s birthright citizenship fight

As Supreme Court decision looms, Chinese nationals find themselves at the centre of disputed core constitutional issue: who is an American?

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Protester Hannah Liu holds a sign in support of birthright citizenship outside the US Supreme Court in May, 2025. Photo: AP
Israel

Israel suspends military unit that assaulted CNN crew in West Bank

It suspended the Netzah Yehuda, a unit of ultra-Orthodox soldiers that has been linked to abuses of Palestinian civilians in the past.

Myanmar

Myanmar paves way for junta chief to be civilian president

Min Aung Hlaing has ruled Myanmar since 2021 when he ordered a coup toppling the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

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Africa

Mob retaliates after gunmen kill 12 in Nigeria bar

27 people in total were killed between the shooting and the retaliatory violence.

A person rides a bicycle in Jos, Plateau State in Nigeria. Jos has seen bouts of sectarian violence in the past, but deadly, mass casualty attacks in the crowded city have been rare in recent years. Photo: Reuters
Israel

European countries appeal to Israel to abandon plans to revive death penalty

Foreign ministers from France, Germany, Italy and the UK expressed concern about the bill which opponents say would target only Palestinians.

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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a session of the Israeli parliament (Knesset) in Jerusalem. On Monday, the Knesset will meet to discuss a bill seeking to revive the death penalty for people convicted of acts of terrorism. Photo: AFP
Israel-Gaza war

Jerusalem police stop Catholic leaders from celebrating Palm Sunday mass

Police said the Church of the Holy Sepulchre had been notified that no mass could take place on Palm Sunday because of safety considerations.

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China-EU relations

European Parliament heads to China after 8 years and lobbying from Beijing

Chair of consumer protection delegation due in China next week wants to convey ‘that our rules on product standards are to be followed’.

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