Latest Forced labor News
US senators demand action after AP exposes palm oil abuses
Lawmakers said Friday that the U.S. government needs to ban the import of products made with child or forced labor after an Associated Press investigation found widespread exploitation in the palm oil industry, from debt bondage to outright slavery. U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and Ron Wyden —who spearheaded...
Palm oil labor abuses linked to world’s top brands, banks
PENINSULAR MALAYSIA (AP) — Jum’s words tumble out over the phone, his voice growing ever more frantic. Between sobs, he says he’s trapped on a Malaysian plantation run by government-owned Felda, one of the world’s largest palm oil companies. His boss confiscated and then lost his...
China blasts US House bill, denies forced labor in Xinjiang
BEIJING (AP) — China on Tuesday lashed out at the passage of a bill by the U.S. House of Representatives that threatens sanctions over the alleged use of forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region, calling the accusation a lie. Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the bill “maliciously...
Congress seeks to block goods from China over forced labor
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan bill aimed at keeping goods out of the U.S. that are made with the forced labor of detained ethnic minorities in China passed overwhelmingly Tuesday in the House of Representatives despite concerns about the potential effects on global commerce. The House voted 406-3 to...
US halts imports from China's Uighur region for forced labor
WASHINGTON (AP) — Four companies and a manufacturing facility in northwestern China were blocked Monday from shipping their products to the U.S. because of their suspected reliance on forced labor from people detained as part of a massive campaign against ethnic minorities in the region. U.S. Customs and...
Prosecutors: Self-help guru calls sex slave scheme 'noble'
NEW YORK (AP) — Communications from jail show the leader of a cult-like self-improvement group in upstate New York has no remorse over his conviction last year on charges he turned some of his followers into sex slaves, even calling his conspiracy “noble,” prosecutors said Friday in court...
Thousands of videos offered to prove abuse of college youths
NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors have turned over tens of thousands of video and audio files to lawyers for an ex-convict charged with weaponizing electronics as a coercive tool as he forced vulnerable college students into prostitution or unpaid labor. Lawrence Ray, 60, is accused of moving into his...
US halts imports linked to Taiwan-based fishing vessel
WASHINGTON (AP) — Accounts of abusive conditions and forced labor have prompted the U.S. to halt imports from a Taiwan-based fishing vessel that reportedly has supplied the global tuna trading company that acquired Bumble Bee Seafoods this year. U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued the order blocking...
Sentencing date set for NY self-help guru in sex slave case
NEW YORK (AP) — The leader of a cult-like self-improvement group in upstate New York who was convicted last year on charges that he turned some of his followers into sex slaves will face sentencing on Oct. 27, a judge said Friday. In a conference call, U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis told lawyers for...
Japan's legacy of forced labor haunts ties with neighbors
TOKYO (AP) — For years, Yeom Chan-soon was haunted by the cracking sound of a leather belt eating into the flesh of a fellow Korean mine worker being punished for trying to escape from forced labor in Japan. That dark chapter in Japan’s history, when hundreds of thousands of people were brought...
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