Latest Forced labor News
US bans new types of goods from China over allegations of forced labor
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that it would ban the import of goods from a Chinese steel manufacturer and a Chinese maker of artificial sweetener, accusing both of being involved in the use of forced labor from China's far-west region of Xinjiang. ...
Argentine prosecutors accuse Opus Dei leaders in South America of trafficking and labor exploitation
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine prosecutors have concluded that there are grounds for launching a criminal investigation into the highest authorities of Opus Dei in South America between 1983 and 2015 for the crimes of human trafficking and labor exploitation against at least 44 women...
Cult leaders convicted of forcing children to work 16-hour days without pay
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Six members of a Kansas-based cult have been convicted in a scheme to house children in overcrowded, rodent-infested facilities and force them to work up to 16 hours a day without pay while subjecting them to beatings and other abuse. The defendants were...
Cambodia decries US sanctions against one of its top tycoons implicated in forced labor
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia on Friday decried newly imposed U.S. sanctions on one of the country's top tycoons who has been implicated in allegations of forced labor, human trafficking and lucrative online scams. Cambodia’s foreign ministry expressed “deep regret over...
Japan's leader makes a farewell visit to Seoul and reaffirms sympathy for Korean colonial victims
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Less than a month before leaving office, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Seoul and reaffirmed his sympathy for the suffering of Koreans during Japan’s colonial rule, as he and his South Korean counterpart Friday underscored the need to maintain warming...
Federal judge reinforces order for heat protection for Louisiana inmates at prison farm
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ordered officials at the Louisiana State Penitentiary to increase shade and take other steps to protect prisoners doing agricultural labor from dangerous heat. U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson's order reinforced a similar one he...
Prisoners fight against working in heat on former slave plantation, raising hope for change in South
Beneath the blazing summer sun on a former slave plantation, Lamont Gross and fellow prisoners stooped in long rows, picking vegetables by hand under the watchful eyes of armed guards on horseback. He said breaks were short and infrequent, with nothing to protect workers from the heat. ...
Tennessee sheriff pleads not guilty to using prison labor for personal profit
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A sitting Tennessee sheriff pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that he illegally profited from the work of jail inmates under his supervision and housed dozens of them in a home outside of the prison without permission. Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas...
Takeaways from AP's report on how China's textile recycling efforts take a back seat to fast fashion
WENZHOU, China (AP) — China is the world’s largest textile producer and consumer, throwing away 26 million tons of clothes each year, mostly made of unrecyclable synthetics. A recycling factory in Zhejiang province on China’s east coast repurposes discarded cotton clothes to...
