Victims of scam centers, who were trafficked into working in Myanmar, wait for their embassies to pick them up in Tak province, Thailand, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 20, 2025
Myanmar scam center survivors recall torture and coercion
"I got a lot of punishments," said one man, who had cuts along his leg. "I received electric shocks every day."
People walk past a banner that reads "no to divorce" outside the Quiapo Church in Manila. The Philippines is one of just two countries — along with Vatican City — where divorce is illegal, and the Catholic Church retains a powerful grip on society and outsize influence on politics.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 11, 2025
Philippine divorce activists vow to fight on
The Philippines is one of just two countries — along with Vatican City — where divorce remains illegal.
Drug rehab patients walk in formation to have lunch at the Mega Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center, north of Manila, in 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 10, 2025
Abuse and coercion rife in Philippines drugs rehab, rights groups say
Rights groups say some facilities fail standards and have called for more health and social support.
Fentanyl precursors on display in Mexico City on Oct. 4, 2023. Chemical components are said to be shipped from China to Mexico, where they are then made into fentanyl and smuggled across the border.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 4, 2025
How China allegedly contributes to the deadly fentanyl crisis
Chemical components are said to be shipped from China to Mexico, where they are then made into fentanyl and smuggled across the border.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing for his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 25, 2025
Seoul court rejects second request to extend Yoon detention
Yoon was arrested last week on insurrection charges, becoming the first sitting South Korean head of state to be detained in a criminal probe.
Chinese actor Wang Xing shakes hands with a Thai police officer after being assisted in his return to the country, after being kidnapped into one of the telecom fraud centers, at a police station in Thailand-Myanmar border's Mae Sot district, Tak province, Thailand, on Jan. 7.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 22, 2025
China families appeal to free relatives held by scam gangs in Myanmar
Chinese law does not consider men as potential victims of human trafficking.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers an address to the nation at the Presidential Office in Seoul on Dec. 12.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 17, 2025
South Korea investigators file request to extend President Yoon's detention
In order to hold Yoon in custody for longer, investigators need a court to approve a detention warrant for up to 20 days.

Longform

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The race to save 20th-century history