Latest Human trafficking News

Over 100 Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar arrive in Indonesia's Aceh

Jan. 29, 2025 21:55 PM EST

PEREULAK, Indonesia (AP) — A rickety wooden boat carrying more than 100 Rohingya Muslims landed Wednesday in Indonesia as the northernmost province of Aceh continued to receive the refugees fleeing persecution and political unrest in Myanmar. Indonesia's government blames a surge...

West Virginia couple convicted of forced labor, human trafficking of adopted kids

Jan. 29, 2025 19:19 PM EST

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia couple accused of neglect and forced labor involving their adopted children was convicted by a jury on Wednesday after eight hours of deliberations. Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and Donald Ray Lantz went on trial in mid-January and each faced...

China detains suspect in human trafficking cases linked to online scam networks in Myanmar

Jan. 27, 2025 05:33 AM EST

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities have detained a key suspect in human trafficking cases linked to online scam networks near the borders of Myanmar and Thailand, China’s Ministry of Public Security said, weeks after the high-profile disappearance of an actor sparked safety concerns. ...

Man says he was behind some of the viral googly eyes on public art in Oregon

Jan. 24, 2025 20:33 PM EST

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A resident of the central Oregon city of Bend says he was the person behind some of the googly eyes that appeared on sculptures around the city in recent months and sparked a viral sensation widely covered by news outlets. Jeff Keith, founder of a Bend-based...

Cuban woman pleads guilty to human smuggling conspiracy that led to 16 deaths

Jan. 24, 2025 16:28 PM EST

MIAMI (AP) — A Cuban woman who had come to the United States illegally faces life in prison for her part in a human smuggling operation that led to the deaths of 16 people. Yaquelin Dominguez-Nieves, 26, who had been living in Sebring, Florida, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Miami...

Sean 'Diddy' Combs sues man who claimed to have incriminating sex tapes, says they didn't exist

Jan. 22, 2025 19:41 PM EST

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against a man they said had falsely claimed to possess videos implicating the music mogul in sexual assaults on eight celebrities. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York City,...

France's Macron leads tributes to World War II Resistance activist and author Geneviève Callerot

Jan. 18, 2025 17:03 PM EST

PARIS (AP) — France's President Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to former French Resistance activist and author Geneviève Callerot, who has died aged 108. Callerot, who was among the last survivors of the groups that combatted the country’s World War II occupation by Nazi...

More than 40 Pakistanis feared drowned in the capsizing of a migrant boat off African coast

Jan. 17, 2025 23:11 PM EST

ISLAMABAD (AP) — More than 40 Pakistanis were feared to have drowned in the capsizing of a boat off West Africa's Atlantic coastline, which has emerged as a primary point of departure for migrants aiming to reach Europe. President Asif Ali Zardari expressed grief over the deaths...

NY federal judge denies bail for two real estate brokers and their brother in sex trafficking case

Jan. 15, 2025 18:46 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — Two luxury real estate brokers and their brother accused of raping dozens of women over two decades will remain in jail to await their trial on sex trafficking charges, a federal judge in New York City ruled Wednesday. Judge Valerie E. Caproni heard bail arguments...

5 killed in Mexican town caught between battling criminal groups

Jan. 15, 2025 00:17 AM EST

HUITZILAC, Mexico (AP) — Schools and some businesses were closed and few people walked the streets of this town south of Mexico’s capital Tuesday, hours after five people were gunned down on the same street where another attack left eight dead just eight months earlier. Huitzilac...