China criticized a “woeful” human rights record in the United States on Friday, a day after a U.S. report said Beijing's own record is getting worse, with harsh crackdowns on dissidents.

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China hits back on U.S. human rights

Human rights campaigners in Azerbaijan have been using the run up to the Eurovision final to stage further protests against the country’s poor human rights record.

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VIDEO: Azerbaijan protests ahead of Eurovision

The European Court of Human Rights says individual governments can decide how to implement a ban on convicted prisoners voting.

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UK can decide votes for prisoners

Leading Bahraini political and human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja appears in court in the capital, Manama, for his retrial.

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Bahrain activist attends retrial

The Supreme Court will decide next term whether a group of lawyers, human rights activists and journalists may challenge the federal government’s widespread use of electronic surveillance to monitor suspected terrorist activities overseas. Read full article > >

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Supreme Court agrees to hear case on electronic surveillance

For two nations whose exchanges are perennially fraught with tension and distrust, the arrival of blind activist Chen Guangcheng in New York during the weekend marked a tidy conclusion to a month-long diplomatic drama and an encouraging sign for U.S.-Chinese ties. Read full article > >

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Resolution of Chen crisis indicates possible maturation in U.S.-China relationship

Shelling by Syrian forces kills 34 people, according to the British-based group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

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Syria town shelling ‘kills 34′

Chen Guangcheng, the Chinese human rights activist who ignited a diplomatic frenzy when he escaped house arrest last month, says he is at a Beijing airport about to board a flight for New York.

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Blind Chinese activist arrives in U.S.

LINYI, China — At the turnoff road leading to the home village of activist lawyer Chen Guangcheng , burly thugs still hold sway, hiding their faces behind sunglasses, broad-brimmed straw hats and shirts held up to their noses. They prevent anyone from entering the village of Dongshigu, shouting and kicking the sides of cars that slow down or venture too close. Read full article > >

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In Chen’s frightened village, surveillance increases, thugs keep outsiders at bay

Human rights groups are calling on the organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest to put pressure on this year’s host country, Azerbaijan, over its treatment of political dissenters.

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VIDEO: Eurovision host under scrutiny

Human rights row hits Eurovision host Azerbaijan

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Azerbaijan ‘targets activists’ ahead of Eurovision

THROUGH THE last week, senior U.S. and Chinese officials have intensively engaged with each other in Beijing along two parallel fronts. A Strategic and Economic Dialogue, involving months of preparation and hundreds of participants on both sides, concluded with some modest agreements on opening China’s securities markets and liberalizing U.S. export controls. But far more important were the ad hoc and tension-filled negotiations about the fate of Chen Guangcheng , the activist given refuge in the U.S. Embassy days before the arrival of the U.S. delegation. Read full article > >

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Editorial Board: Encouraging results from Chen diplomacy

BEIJING —Blind activist Chen Guangcheng and his family “have had a change of heart” about staying in China, the U.S. State Department spokeswoman said Thursday, and American officials are planning to talk with them more to decide whether they should leave their homeland and seek asylum in the United States. Read full article > >

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Activist Chen Guangcheng wants to leave China with Hillary Clinton

An imprisoned journalist, who could face the death penalty for criticising Ethiopia’s human rights record, is given a prestigious freedom of expression award.

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Jailed Ethiopian writer honoured

Human Rights Watch accuses Syrian government forces of committing war crimes in the province of Idlib as the 12 April ceasefire approached.

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Syria army ‘committed war crimes’