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Malaysian authorities detained more than 100 Rohingya Muslim asylum seekers Monday who had gathered outside the UN refugee agency in Kuala Lumpur, saying they were seeking protection after being evicted from their homes. All of the refugees outside the UNHCR were taken away with their belongings in four police trucks at around 8:30pm (1230 GMT), according to Reuters witnesses at the scene. A police official, who declined to be identified, said they were being taken to police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur for further checks. The refugees, who included women and children, said they were driven out of their homes by local residents in the northern state of Penang on Sunday and had travelled to the Malaysian capital on buses overnight to seek assistance on resettlement from the UNHCR. Penang police said the Rohingya “voluntarily moved” to Kuala Lumpur with the assistance of state and federal authorities, including the national security council. “This transfer was carried out due to economic and territorial competition that arose following an increase in the Rohingya population in the area,” Seberang Perai Utara district police chief Anuar Abdul Rahman said in a statement. The evictions came amid a rise in online hate speech and misinformation targeting the Rohingya since May that has led to greater harassment and scrutiny of the community, including widespread school closures. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Monday the gathering outside the UNHCR building had raised concerns from the public, and warned that anyone without proper permits would be detained by immigration authorities. “No one has the right to take over any part of the city,” he said in a video posted on social media. Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said Rohingya refugees in Malaysia live under constant threat of arrests and raids in a climate of fear that has only gotten worse due to the surge of online hate directed towards them. “The Malaysian government should prioritise protecting refugees who have been evicted from their homes instead of terrifying them further by detaining them,” she said. Around 126,000 Rohingya Muslims were registered with the UNHCR in Malaysia as of the end of February, according to the agency’s website, though rights groups say many more remain undocumented. 

Palestinian National Council President Rawhi Fattouh has warned of the risks posed by Israeli government statements suggesting that the evacuation model used in some refugee camps could be expanded to other areas of the occupied West Bank.Fattouh said the remarks represented an open declaration of plans to escalate military actions and extend policies of forced displacement.In a statement Monday, he described the reported plans as part of a broader program aimed at altering the demographic and geographic situation in Palestinian territories, similar to the destruction of residential areas and displacement of residents in Gaza and refugee camps in the northern West Bank.Fattouh said forced displacement, property destruction and attacks on civilian communities constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity that require international accountability.He called on the UN, the Security Council and the European Union to take urgent action to provide protection for Palestinians, warning that continued inaction could further threaten regional stability and weaken the international legal order.  

The Philippine embassy in Doha illuminated its chancery in blue on Sunday (June 21) and held a commemorative flag-raising ceremony the following day as part of its observance of National Refugee Day and World Refugee Day. The event highlighted the Philippines’ longstanding commitment to protecting refugees, stateless persons, and asylum seekers, the embassy noted. The initiative, dubbed “Blue Monday”, coincided with global efforts to raise awareness of the plight of people displaced by conflict, violence, and persecution. Blue is the official colour of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), symbolising calm, dignity, and hope for a safer future for refugees worldwide. In a statement shared by the embassy on its social media pages, Philippine President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr underlined the country’s tradition of extending protection and compassion to those forced to flee their homes. “The Philippines has long upheld a proud tradition of extending compassion and protection to those forced to flee conflict, violence, and persecution. “As a nation founded on the values of humanity and fairness, we recognise that safeguarding the worth of every individual is not merely an act of goodwill but a responsibility of a just and civilised society,” Marcos said. The president also cited the efforts of the Philippine Department of Justice’s Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit and the Inter-Agency Steering Committee on Refugee Protection, Stateless Persons and Asylum Seekers in strengthening mechanisms that help refugees and stateless persons rebuild their lives. The embassy noted that the Philippines has provided refuge to people fleeing conflict, persecution, and hardship since 1923. It said the country’s approach is rooted in its commitment to international agreements, including the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, the 1964 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Recognising the need to promote awareness and uphold the rights of refugees, stateless persons, and asylum seekers, the Philippine government institutionalised the annual observance of National Refugee Day every June 20 through Proclamation No. 265, signed in 2023. This year’s observance carries added significance as it coincides with the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 45th anniversary of the Philippines’ accession to the treaty. 

Al Jazeera cameraman Ahmed Wishah was killed in an Israeli air strike that targeted a house in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Saturday.In a statement , the network said it "strongly condemns the heinous crime of targeting and killing" the Al Jazeera Mubasher correspondent."This constitutes a new and flagrant violation of all international laws and norms, and reflects a continued systematic policy of targeting journalists and silencing the voice of truth," the statement added.At least 10 people were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza Saturday.Wishah's killing comes barely two months after his brother, Mohammed Wishah, also a correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher, was killed on April 8 when an Israeli drone fired a missile that struck his car on the al-Rashid coastal road as he drove home to Bureij. He was declared dead at the scene.Mohammed Wishah, born in 1986 in Bureij, had joined Al Jazeera's Arabic-language live channel in 2018 and was among 12 Al Jazeera journalists and media workers killed in Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023. At the time of his death, Palestinian authorities put the number of media workers killed across the enclave at 262.

Qatar Charity (QC) has launched a major humanitarian campaign titled “Every Refugee Tent Holds a Story” to mark World Refugee Day, which is observed annually on June 20. The initiative aims to shed light on the harsh realities faced by displaced populations worldwide, amplify their hopes for a better future, and deliver integrated relief and development aid to the most vulnerable communities. Aligning with global efforts to protect displaced people, the campaign focuses on safeguarding refugee rights and easing their daily hardships. By securing vital food, water, shelter, and medical care, the initiative works to restore basic living standards. Through this targeted push, the QC is mobilising both public and institutional support to ensure refugee families can rebuild their lives in safety, stability, and dignity. With the support of donors, the campaign targets refugees from several countries, including Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Myanmar (Rohingya refugees), Syria, and Palestine. These populations are hosted across several countries such as Pakistan, Ethiopia, Chad, Egypt, Kenya, Djibouti, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Jordan, Turkiye, and Lebanon. The campaign focuses on a wide range of humanitarian interventions. These include the provision of food, clean water, and sanitation services, as well as shelter support and non-food items. It also covers healthcare services, access to education for children, and programmes that strengthen refugees’ resilience and ability to cope with displacement conditions. These efforts aim to improve living conditions and help restore stability in their daily lives. Abdulaziz Jassim Hejji, the executive director of communications and community impact at the QC, urged donors and the public to support the cause. He noted that the suffering of refugees is a daily reality for families who have lost everything, adding that every donation brings hope and warmth back to camps exhausted by waiting. Refugee aid is a major part of the QC’s interventions. In 2025, the organisation spent QR645mn on relief projects, helping 10mn people globally. The largest portion of this aid went to urgent humanitarian situations in Palestine (including Gaza), Syria, and Sudan. Donors can contribute to the campaign through multiple convenient channels. Options include using the QC’s website or mobile app, calling the hotline at 44290000, or requesting a “Home Collector” through the application. Donations are also accepted in person at Qatar Charity branches and collection booths inside local shopping malls. 

Qatar Charity (QC) continues to prioritise raising awareness of refugee issues and mobilising support through integrated humanitarian campaigns, field interventions, and international partnerships.According to the QC, such efforts aim to meet basic needs and help refugees restore stability and live with dignity.This comes as part of the observance of World Refugee Day 2026, observed on June 20, which highlights the suffering of millions of refugees worldwide and emphasises that protecting the most vulnerable is a shared responsibility.Millions of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) benefit from the QC’s various campaigns, including seasonal and specialised initiatives.Through campaigns such as Ramadan, winter, and Udhiyah (Qurbani), support is directed to countries most affected by displacement, particularly Palestine (including the Gaza Strip), Syria, Sudan, Yemen, and Somalia.**media[459076]**The organisation has also launched dedicated campaigns to support those affected by displacement, alongside initiatives to address drought in several African countries, helping to ease suffering and strengthen resilience.In mid-June 2026, the QC launched a campaign titled “Every Refugee Tent Holds a Story” in conjunction with World Refugee Day, aiming to mobilise support through integrated interventions that include food, water, sanitation, shelter, healthcare, education, and livelihood support.The campaign targets refugees from crisis-affected countries, including Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Myanmar, Syria, and Palestine, across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.Figures reflect the scale of the QC’s work.In 2025, it implemented humanitarian projects worth QR645mn, benefiting more than 10mn people, mainly in countries affected by displacement.The QC has maintained a strategic partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) since 2012, contributing over $60mn over the past decade to support its programmes in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, helping more than 2.1mn forcibly displaced people.The QC’s efforts extend beyond emergency relief to long-term, high-impact projects.These include the Zaatari Health Centre in Jordan, which serves tens of thousands of Syrian refugees in the camp, and Al-Amal City in northern Syria, which comprises 1,400 housing units with integrated facilities and accommodates around 8,800 people.**media[459075]**The organisation has also rehabilitated approximately 1,800 homes in rural Hama and the Al Ghab Plain.So far this year the QC also provided emergency shelter for Sudanese refugees in Chad through 600 tents, benefiting 4,200 people, as part of its rapid response to displacement crises.The organisation further contributed to rebuilding 326 homes for Rohingya refugees following fires in Cox’s Bazar camp in Bangladesh, in addition to delivering hundreds of other housing units.As part of strengthening partnerships, the QC is expected to sign a $10mn agreement with the Islamic Development Bank, in its capacity as Trustee of the Global Islamic Fund for Refugees (GIFR), to support sustainable financing and advance long-term solutions. 

A Cambodian refugee long-settled in the US, ex-convict Pheap Rom, remains bewildered at how he wound up behind bars in the African nation of Eswatini for months after being swept up in Donald Trump's deportation blitz.When Rom and nine other men — shackled and escorted onto a plane by US authorities — landed in the kingdom of Eswatini in October, they were greeted on the tarmac by a squad of "military guys with guns and masks", the 43-year-old said."I didn't know what was going to happen," he said in an interview in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, where he was repatriated in late March."I didn't understand why I was being deported to Africa because I'm Cambodian."Rom is one of around 20 men the US has deported to landlocked Eswatini — bordering South Africa and Mozambique — under a Trump administration scheme challenged in courts and described by rights advocates as akin to "human trafficking".Eswatini, Africa's last absolute monarchy, is among several "third countries" accepting migrants under shadowy deals enabling the US president's push for mass deportations.The nation formerly known as Swaziland agreed to accept up to 160 deportees in exchange for around $5.1mn, with plans to forward them to their home countries after Washington said their direct repatriations were denied.But Rom — living in the US with "permanent resident" status since 1985 after his family fled Cambodia's genocidal Khmer Rouge regime — is just the second to be repatriated from Eswatini, after a Jamaican was returned home last year.The remainder may still be trapped inside the deportation process, opaque even to those inside it.Rom served a 15-year prison sentence in the US after pleading guilty to attempted murder for firing a gun during two neighbourhood disputes, leaving several people wounded."I know what I did was wrong," he said. "I accepted my punishment."He was detained by immigration authorities upon his release in November 2024, and his green card was revoked after an immigration judge ordered his deportation due to his felony conviction.He expected to be sent to Cambodia. But landing in Eswatini was like turning back the clock to his prison term, Rom said.His jailers seemed unaware that the men had served their time and looked at them as if they were "criminals because of what the (US) administration was portraying us to be".For the first two months at the Matsapha Correctional Centre, Rom said he and fellow deportees "went through misery" — allowed outdoors for only 15 minutes a day and given one weekly phone call."We had an attorney there that was willing to try to come and talk to us, but they weren't letting that attorney in," he said.Lawyers in Eswatini have corroborated his claim to AFP, saying they have been repeatedly denied access to people expelled by the US who have been detained without charge.Eswatini's government has said US deportees were "in good hands" and receiving healthcare, including counselling.Much of Trump's deportation campaign has been executed by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), criticised for using heavy-handed tactics during crackdowns in US cities.ICE did not reply to a request for comment about Rom's case.In July, when the first deportees were sent to Eswatini, a US Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said on social media they were "so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back".But Rom and his lawyer Tin Thanh Nguyen both expressed doubts the agency even tried to deport him directly to Cambodia, the only country where he has citizenship.Nguyen is struggling to piece together the logic that led to his client being marooned in a country where he had no ties.The lawyer painted a picture of a chaotic process, saying Rom was not interviewed in the US to verify his nationality and was registered for deportation to Thailand, the country where he was born in a refugee camp."If ICE was requesting travel documents from Thailand, they went to the wrong country," Nguyen said.Chann Rotana, a spokesman for Cambodia's foreign ministry, told AFP that the US had previously sent Cambodian deportees to the country directly with no issues."We also don't know why the US this time sent him to Eswatini," the spokesman said.Now living in Phnom Penh after the Cambodian government facilitated his repatriation from Eswatini, Rom said he was still "getting used to the freedom" but was ready to move on.Eventually, he hopes to find work, stay in touch with his relatives in the US and start a new family in Cambodia, he said."I want to create a new memory here, because this is my second chance in life." 

More than half of Sudan's population is in need of humanitarian aid, the head of the Danish Refugee Council said, as fighting ravages the northeast African nation.Since breaking out in April 2023, the war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced nearly 12 mn and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises."We see a situation where more than 30mn people are in need of humanitarian assistance. That is half of the population of Sudan," Danish Refugee Council Secretary General Charlotte Slente told AFP by phone this week after a visit to a border region in neighbouring Chad."The suffering we see is unimaginable." Sudan had a population of around 50mn people in 2024, according to the World Bank.The aid official's comments came after a field visit to an area in Chad that borders Sudan's western Darfur region, which has seen fierce fighting of late.Violence has escalated dramatically in recent weeks, with the RSF seizing control of the key town of El-Fasher — the army's last stronghold in Darfur — after an 18-month siege and reports of atrocities multiplying."There are violations that cross all international humanitarian laws," she added.Slente said the NGO had seen evidence of mass killings and sexual violence in Sudan.**media[382270]**"We see detentions, we see abductions, forced displacement and torture," she said.She accused the international community of not doing enough."Statements have a very limited impact both on the ongoing humanitarian needs on the ground, and they have not been able to stop the violence," she said.She warned that there were other cities still under siege that were not receiving the same level of attention.The town of Babanusa, the last army stronghold in West Kordofan state, has been under siege for several months, as have North Kordofan state capital El-Obeid and South Kordofan's Kadugli and Dilling."The international community must stop managing the consequences of this conflict and must start preventing the atrocities," said Slente.

Two Palestinians were killed, and a third wounded by Israeli occupation forces in various areas of the Gaza Strip. Palestinian news agency (WAFA) reported that Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat had received the body of a martyr recovered by civilians from the city of Al-Zahra. The hospital also received a wounded person injured by Israeli fire east of Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. In the same context, another person died from wounds sustained yesterday when he was shot by Israeli forces in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City, according to medical sources. The Israeli occupation continues to violate the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, which came into effect on October 10. Last Tuesday and Wednesday, it carried out intensive airstrikes and shelling targeting Palestinian homes and tents in various parts of the Strip, resulting in the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians, including more than 46 children and 20 women.

Four Palestinian citizens were martyred on Thursday in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip as the Israeli occupation forces escalated the aggression on Gaza City, intensifying the aerial and artillery bombardment and detonating booby-trapped robots to destroy homes and force citizens to leave the city. The Palestinian news agency (WAFA) said that four citizens were martyred, and ten others were injured when Israeli aircraft bombed a house in the Block 7 area of ​​Al-Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza Strip. The occupation forces carried out operations to destroy infrastructure and demolish residential buildings south and north of Gaza City, forcing citizens to flee to the southern part of the Strip, WAFA said. This escalation in Gaza City and its neighborhoods comes amid the continued disruption of internet and landline services in Gaza and North Gaza governorates due to the ongoing aggression and the targeting of key network routes, according to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. The ongoing aggression on Gaza City has resulted in the forced displacement of more than 40,000 people over the past two days, according to the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric. Medical sources announced last night that 99 citizens were martyred in massacres committed by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, including 77 martyrs in the northern Gaza Strip. Since Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation has committed genocidal crimes in the Gaza Strip, killing 65,062 and injuring 165,697 wounded, most of them children and women. A famine has also claimed the lives of 432 Palestinians, including 146 children.

Two Palestinians were martyed and several others injured on Saturday in Israeli oocupation strikes targeting a house south of Gaza City and Shati refugee camp to its west, in addition to attacks on three schools. Local sources reported that two civilians were martyed and others wounded when an Israeli strike hit a house south of Gaza City. They added that an Israeli occupation drone targeted shelters hosting displaced persons in Shati Camp west of Gaza City, causing injuries that required transfer to Al-Shifa Hospital. The Israeli army also targeted a house near Al-Sinaa Street in southern Gaza City, resulting in further casualties. Meanwhile, three schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Shati Camp were shelled, displacing thousands of displaced persons who were sheltering there. Earlier, Gaza Ministry of Health reported that the ongoing Israeli aggression against Gaza Strip, which began on 7 October 2023, has claimed the lives of 64,803 people and injured 164,264.