Authorities in Malaysia harass, punish and discriminate against the country's transgender community says a new report from Human Rights Watch released today. “Transgender people in Malaysia risk arrest every time they step out of their front door simply because of the way they express themselves", the report says. Many transgender people face criminal prosecution and huge difficulties in accessing employment, health care and education.
A deal for Australia to send asylum seekers to a remote island off Cambodia is more about Australia "palming off its refugee problem" than the country genuinely doing what's best for refugees, Human Rights Watch said today. The new agreement does not meet Australia’s commitment to send refugees to a “safe third country” because Cambodia has "a terrible record for protecting refugees and is mired in serious human rights abuses", said HRW.
Air strikes against Islamic State (ISIS) targets inside Syria are continuing, with fresh attacks launched overnight targeting oil refineries. The raids were carried out by US, Saudi and UAE aircraft and reportedly killed 14 ISIS fighters and five civilians in eastern Syria.
There are reports that a human rights activist has been executed by ISIS militants in the Iraqi city of Mosul.
