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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.
Banners are held by pro-assisted dying campaigners as they gather outside parliament in Westminster, London in May. On Thursday, Jersey voted to approve assisted dying. Photo: AP
Britain

Jersey votes to approve assisted dying as similar UK bill stalls in parliament

Opponents say disabled, elderly, ill and depressed people could be pressured to end their lives so they are not a burden on others.

United States

Near-blind Rohingya refugee found dead after US officers release him out in cold

Japan

Cash-for-tips scheme in Japan sparks debate over migrant rights

Malaysia

Malaysia blocks Grindr, Blued for promoting ‘deviant’ relationships

The move signals tightening social climate and civil liberties concerns in the country.

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Malaysia is reviewing laws to curb LGBTQ dating apps like Grindr. Photo: Reuters
The Philippines

Philippine Supreme Court ruling adds momentum to same-sex marriage debate

Advocates hailed the ruling as a breakthrough, though observers said its reach remains limited without congressional action.

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Rodrigo Duterte

Video | From drug tsar to ICC detainee: the rise and fall of Rodrigo Duterte

The former Philippine leader has long insisted he instructed police to kill only in self-defence and has always defended the drug crackdown.

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The Philippines

Duterte was ‘pivotal’ in murder of thousands, ICC prosecutors say

He has long insisted he instructed police to kill only in self-defence and has always defended the drug crackdown.

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People protest in favour of the detention of former Philippines’ president Rodrigo Duterte outside the International Criminal Court where he will be questioned on charges of crimes against humanity, in The Hague on Monday. Photo: AFP
The Netherlands

New Dutch government under centrist Jetten takes power

Jetten pulled off a stunning election win in October to dethrone the far-right party led by firebrand politician Geert Wilders.

Protests around the world

30 people in Iran face death penalty after protests, Amnesty says

A death sentence has been passed in eight cases, while two minors are among the 22 other cases before the courts.

The Philippines

Families of Philippine drug war victims seek ICC justice as Duterte trial looms

A hearing that begins in The Hague on Monday will determine whether the ex-president will stand trial over at least 76 of those deaths.

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Catholic priest Flavie Villanueva (right) joins hands with relatives of those killed in former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war during inurnment rites on Friday. Photo: AFP
Turkey

6 Europeans activists held in Turkey while investigating prison conditions

Their arrest came on the same day that police detained a Turkish journalist working for Deutsche Welle for ‘spreading false news’.

A high-security prison is seen in the border city of Edirne, Turkey. Photo: Reuters
Scams and swindles

Water prisons, torture: UN urges crackdown on brutal Southeast Asia scam centres

The agency’s latest report documents torture, sexual abuse, forced abortions, food deprivation and solitary confinement in the centres.

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Americas and the Caribbean

Venezuela approves amnesty law that could free hundreds of political prisoners

Landmark amnesty bill was signed by Venezuela’s interim president nearly seven weeks after the capture of Nicolas Maduro by the US.

Myanmar

Myanmar rebel leader Bo Nagar surrenders to junta amid resistance infighting

The Burma National Revolutionary Army leader’s surrender is a dramatic reminder of fractures within the armed resistance movement.

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People inspect their damaged homes in Tabayin, Sagaing region, after Myanmar’s military air strikes on December 6, 2025. Photo: AFP
Espionage

Iran sentences British world travellers to 10 years for spying

Lindsay and Craig Foreman were arrested while travelling through the country on a round-the-world trip, according to relatives.

Craig and Lindsay Foreman take a selfie at Naqsh-e Jahan Square, with the Shah Mosque in the background, in Isfahan, Iran. Photo: Foreman family / AFP
Russia

Russia demands ‘concrete’ proof that it poisoned Navalny with dart frog toxin

Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands claim Russia had the ‘means, motive and opportunity’ to kill its opposition leader.

Indonesia

‘Wake-up call’: child deaths in Indonesia spotlight gaps in social aid

Experts warn many other such cases may not be recorded, and urge educators to be more vigilant to signs of emotional distress among students.

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Italy

‘I have to be worried’: Ukraine’s Olympic sign bearer was a Russian woman

Disguised in dark glasses and a silver puffer jacket, Anastasia Kucherova says she wept silently as Ukraine got a standing ovation.

Anastasia Kucherova and Ukraine’s flag bearer Yelyzaveta Sydorko (centre) lead the country’s contingent at the opening ceremony. Photo: Reuters
South Africa

Trump’s new ambassador to South Africa arrives in country amid strained ties

The US president has accused South Africa of persecuting its white minority, criticised its ties with China and imposed tariffs on exports.

Israel-Gaza war

Hamas ‘used emojis’ to signal start of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel

Citing the army, Israeli media reported that emojis were found on mobile phones belonging to members of Hamas’ elite Nukhba Forces unit.

The Philippines

ICC naming of Duterte’s allies sharpens Philippines’ political fault lines

Senators Ronald dela Rosa and Christopher Go named as alleged ‘co-perpetrators’ in the former president’s crimes against humanity case.

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Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte (left) listening to Ronald Dela Rosa, then director general of the Philippine National Police, during a press conference at the Malacanang palace in Manila in 2017. Photo: AFP
Myanmar

East Timor triggers Asean first, accuses Myanmar of war crimes

East Timor’s laws allow its domestic courts to investigate and potentially prosecute serious international crimes regardless of where they were committed.

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East Timor’s President Jose Ramos-Horta during an interview with The Associated Press in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 27 last year. Photo: AP
ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

ICE releases detained Filipino after ‘unreasonable failures of care’

Greggy Sorio, a Filipino green card holder who lost a toe and part of his foot to a bone infection, wins release following medical neglect.

ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

Over 1,000 agents leave Minnesota as immigration surge winds down

US border tsar says a ‘small’ security force will remain to protect remaining personnel following weeks of volatile protests.

Israel-Gaza war

Israel launches new West Bank land policy seen as a ‘mega land grab’

West Bank land registration will force anyone who has a claim to land to prove ownership, a move decried by Palestinians.

Palestinians walk along the separation barrier between the West Bank and east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Beit Hanina. Photo: AP
Cambodia

Opinion | Cambodia’s scam factory survivors find no escape in freedom

A government crackdown freed thousands, but with no passports or support, survivors have simply traded captivity for destitution.

People carry their belongings onto a bus as they leave a suspected scam centre compound in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, last month. Photo: AFP
Israel-Gaza war

World artists back Palestine rapporteur Francesca Albanese despite criticism

Albanese faces calls from France and Germany to step down over remarks in which she criticised ‘most of the world’ for enabling Israel’s ‘genocide’ in Gaza.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh PM-to-be celebrates landslide win, thanks protesters

Prime minister-in-waiting Tarique Rahman dedicated his victory to those who ‘sacrificed for democracy’ after the first polls since a deadly 2024 uprising.

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