The flogging of 20 Saudi teenagers involved in a rampage in the Eastern Province of the kingdom has infuriated the country's liberals and human rights activists.
A United Nations investigator has defended a report published earlier this month that accuses Israel and Palestinian fighters of war crimes following the Israeli offensive in Gaza earlier this year.
Guinea junta troops 'killed and raped hundreds at democracy rally'The African Union threatened to impose sanctions on the junta in Guinea yesterday after more than 150 pro-democracy demonstrators were killed and hundreds were raped by government soldiers on Monday.
UK protesters call for arrest of Israeli war ministerBritish lawmakers and pro-Palestinian activists have pilloried the governing Labour Party for entertaining Israeli War Minister Ehud Barak at their annual conference instead of calling for his arrest for war crimes committed against the Palestinians.
Nutrition Emergency in Central African RepublicMSF Assessments Reveal Severe Malnutrition Rates Exceeding Emergency Threshold in Southwestern CAR; Over 1,000 Children at Risk From Malnutrition and Other Severe Medical Complications
Drug Companies Called On to Pool HIV PatentsThe international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) today called on nine of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies to help accelerate the availability of new treatments for millions of people living with HIV/AIDS, by pooling their patents on a list of key HIV medicines.
Help sought in war on drugs< Despite recent progress in the fight against illegal drugs, Cambodia needs help from the international community if it is to meet the regional goal of eradicating illegal drugs by 2015, the Kingdom's drug tsar said Tuesday.
Donors air next year's aid agendaLand rights, judicial reform and the global economic crisis are to be among the key challenges for Cambodia in 2010, according to foreign donors, who have expressed cautious optimism about the government's progress in key areas.
Iran will have a positive approach as it engages with the world powers, top Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said a day before talks aimed at resolving the dispute over the country's atomic development...
U.S. Cost-Saving Policy Forces New Kidney TransplantSAN DIEGO — Melissa J. Whitaker has one very compelling reason to keep up with the health care legislation being written in Washington: her second transplanted kidney.
A Milwaukee Clinic Fills a Need but Faces Failure MILWAUKEE — Like many low-income neighborhoods, the north side of Milwaukee has seen a gradual depletion of its primary care doctors over the last two decades. One by one, they have retired or surrendered to financial reality, rarely to be replaced.
Iranian Students Stage 2nd Big Protest Since Returning to University CampusesStudents at one of Iran's largest universities staged an antigovernment protest on Tuesday, the second big demonstration at a major university in two days and a further indication that government efforts to intimidate student leaders have not been entirely successful.
Guinea's Capital Fades Into a Ghost Town After Soldiers' RampageDAKAR, Senegal — Streets were deserted and shops were shut tight Tuesday in Conakry, Guinea, a day after government troops went on a brutal rampage at an opposition rally, shooting, stabbing, raping and assaulting dozens of men and women in a packed stadium.
Unity Is Rallying Cry Ahead of Iraq Elections Iraqi politics has a new catchphrase, the "yes, we can" of the country's coming parliamentary elections. It is "national unity," and while skepticism abounds, it could well signal the decline of the religious and sectarian parties that have fractured Iraq since 2003.
Rare Source of Attack on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'In an unusual show of support for allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the armed forces, an article in an official military journal argues forcefully for repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" law, which requires homosexuals in the services to keep their sexual orientation secret.
The number of people being tested for H.I.V. more than doubled in dozens of countries last year, improving detection of AIDS and contributing to a major surge in those being treated.
Darfur rebels want assurances before talksDarfur's most active rebel group is seeking reassurances from Qatari mediators about a new round of talks with the Sudanese government planned for October.
Trouser-wearing woman freedA Sudanese woman jailed for wearing trousers deemed indecent in a landmark court case was freed on Tuesday after the country's journalist union paid a court- imposed $209 fine.
AIDS breakthrough with vaccineFor the first time, an experimental vaccine has cut the risk of becoming infected with the AIDS virus, a major advance in the fight against the deadly epidemic.
Aid appeal as millions starve in East AfricaDrought for a fifth year running is driving more than 23 million east Africans in seven countries towards severe hunger and destitution, the international aid agency Oxfam said on Tuesday.
US does more harm than good in SomaliaFew tears will be shed at the killing of Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan by the United States on Monday, a man responsible for at least three acts of terrorism in Africa.
Bribes and prejudiceIn Kenya, bribery is a fact of life and political parties exist to funnel money to rival ethnic groups.
New Delhi declares war on its slumdog residentsAiming to protect the sensibilities of the thousands of expected sport fans coming for next year's Commonwealth Games, the government is cracking down on begging and a range of other bad habits that India's capital city has become synonymous for.Obama hosts Middle East peace talksBarack Obama yesterday acknowledged the long road to Middle East peace after he directly entered the diplomatic process and brought the current Israeli and Palestinian leaders together for the first time.
Qadafi addresses UNIt was hard to imagine how Libya's flamboyant leader, Moammar Qadafi, could upstage the US president, Barack Obama, when the two statesmen performed back-to-back in the UN's assembly hall yesterday.Security Council to pursue nuclear disarmamentBarack Obama's efforts to engage world leaders gained traction yesterday with Security Council members adopting a US-backed resolution on nuclear disarmament and consensus emerged on tackling Iran's atomic programme.
Debate rages over execution of sniperWhen a Virginia judge set November 10 as the execution date for John Allen Muhammad, mastermind of the sniper attacks that left 10 dead and and terrorised the Washington, DC region in October 2002, the blogosphere was filled with the expected rants about capital punishment.
Obama promises aid to Samoa tsunami victimsUS President Barack Obama on Wednesday promised a "swift and aggressive" government response to the tsunami in the Pacific that hit Samoa, Tonga and their US- owned neighbour American Samoa, claiming at least 113 lives.
Israeli drive to prevent Jewish girls dating ArabsNAZARETH // A local authority in Israel has announced that it is establishing a special team of youth counsellors and psychologists whose job it will be to identify young Jewish women who are dating Arab men and "rescue" them.
Migrants feel left out of German politicsFrank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister campaigning to become chancellor in the federal election on Sunday, wooed the immigrant vote by visiting a Turkish family in Berlin to celebrate the Sugar Festival with them
EU report on Russia-Georgia war dueA report ordered by the European Union into the causes of the 2008 Russia-Georgia war is to be released on Wednesday, with potentially explosive findings that could prove delicate for the EU
Turkey plans more strikes against KurdsThe Turkish government will ask parliament to extend a mandate for military strikes on Kurdish rebel bases in neighbouring Iraq
Turks embrace Ottoman pastThe funeral of Osman Ertugrul Osmanoglu, the last surviving grandson of an Ottoman sultan, forces Turkey to re-assess its history.
Q, W and X spell trouble for Kurdish integrationAnkara is accused of treason against the Turkish language as it tries to end decades of conflict by allowing Kurdish characters into its alphabet
Qadafi speech wins him fans in KashmirThe Libyan leader has become instantly popular with vast sections of the Kashmiri population after advocating an independent Kashmir and slamming both the United Nations and the United States
Pashtun elders remain defiantEthnicity was a crucial factor in the Afghan presidential election as foreign forces are blamed for the increased violence.
Aid work 'more dangerous', UN saysAid agencies are gathering in Switzerland to highlight the growing dangers faced by relief workers around the world, with attacks rising dramatically over the past decade.
Liberia: "Sexual violence is a stain on our society""Every day I meet the victims of sexual violence and their parents," says Saday. "Meeting them motivates me and ignites my passion to fight sexual violence. These are children who need my help, and I want other children, women, and men to be safe and respected."
South Africa: "If they keep it inside, it destroys them""[The rapists] will threaten the victim after the rape: 'If you tell, I will kill you. I will kill your mother,' There is fear and the victim does not want to talk about it. And, if they keep it inside, it destroys them," says Sis-Ntutu Ntwana, a MSF nurse and Simelela Center project coordinator.
DRC: Survivors of Attack Tell Their Story"...They took my little girl to the village... They came back without her. They only brought back the rope they had tied her with."
Syrian lawyer faces prosecution for defending human rightsMuhannad al-Hassani, who had regularly carried out observations of trials before the Supreme State Security Court, was arrested by Syrian State Security on 28 July and charged with "weakening national sentiments" and "spreading false news".
Pressure mounts as time is running out for justice for 'Comfort Women'On the anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Asia, women who faced abuse and sexual slavery at the hand of the Japanese Imperial army have now been waiting 64 years for an official apology and adequate reparations.
Displaced civilians in Philippines still at risk despite Mindanao ceasefireThe report, Philippines: Shattered lives, beyond the 2008 – 2009 Mindanao armed conflict, details the risks that hundreds of thousands of people face as they are forced to live in camps or makeshift shelters, sometimes surrounded by a heavy military presence.
Living and Fighting Alongside Men, and Fitting InFORWARD OPERATING BASE WARHORSE, Iraq — There is no mistaking that this dusty, gravel-strewn camp northeast of Baghdad is anything other than a combat outpost in a still-hostile land. And there is no mistaking that women in uniform have had a transformative effect on it.
Calm, but Moved to Be Heard on Health CareMONTEZUMA, Ga. — Until Thursday evening, nothing in Bob Collier's 62 years had stirred in him the slightest desire to take a stand — about anything — in public.
Dealing With Being the Health Care 'Villains'LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Max Shireman says that when he looks in the mirror he does not see the monster the politicians have made him out to be...
JULY 2009
Colombia: Life in the Shadow of Violence"Colombians have long been forced to live in a climate of total unpredictability. Many grew up with experiences of unimaginable brutality – having had to watch public executions in the village square or witness point blank the murder of their own parents. Traumatic events from the past continue to have an effect."
Taylor denies murder and cannibalism in Sierra LeoneCharles Taylor, the former Liberian president, claimed the war crimes case against him was built on lies and deceit as he took the stand as a witness in his trial at a special court in The Hague yesterday.
Taylor's trial lacks impact in AfricaDAKAR, SENEGAL // More than 4,800km from the hills and valleys of Sierra Leone, the former Liberian president Charles Taylor is on the witness stand for the second week of his defence case in The Hague...
Barack Obama has issued his strongest comments on race since becoming US president, saying it still "haunts" the country, in remarks that overshadowed his push to win support for healthcare reform.
Obama tackles racism in NAACP speech Barack Obama, US president, told the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on Thursday that Americans must keep fighting to eradicate bigotry, racism and discrimination and acknowledged civil rights pioneers for making his own election possible.
Ex-Kosovo Min Acquitted For Intimidating War Crimes WitnessKosovo's former culture minister Astrit Haraqija, sentenced to five months in prison by a U.N. court in December for intimidating a war crimes witness, was cleared on appeal Thursday.
ICTY - Appeals Chamber reverses Haraqija's, confirms Morina's Conviction for Contempt The Appeals Chamber today reversed Astrit Haraqija's conviction and affirmed Bajrush Morina's conviction and sentence for contempt of the Tribunal for intimidating a protected witness in the trial of the former Kosovo Albanian military leader Ramush Haradinaj and others.
Saudi Arabia - human rights abuses in the name of fighting terrorism We were afraid that something bad might have happened to him, that he might have been tortured. We called the prison but they would respond: "Be patient, the investigation is not finished." I cried: "Let me just hear my husband's voice". His disappearance was so sudden…me and my family kept asking ourselves: why is it happening?
Iranian Elections Divide Arabs, Their Leaders Around the Arab world, reactions to the Iranian election have ranged from demonstrations to Internet protests. But Arab leaders, many of whom are wary of the regime of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have either remained silent or embraced his re-election.
Where do the two June elections leave Hezbollah? Some Legmen for the US Israeli lobby, and even some here in Lebanon appear barely able to contain themselves, such is their felt glee over the Lebanese and Iranian election results. Some supporters of Israel see this election as two recent victories while others calculate that Israelis..
Beyond Politics: People for Sale in Hungry World One might be tempted to dismiss the recent findings of the US State Department on human trafficking as largely political. But do not be too hasty. Criticism of the State Department's report on trafficked persons...
'The Barrier is Broken and Women are Throwing Rocks' The iconic images of Iran 's elections: a young woman in full hijab hurling stones at riot police, the wives of reformist candidates actively and aggressively campaigning and a shot woman named Neda bleeding profusely out of her mouth, slowly dying on video...
Khmer Rouge lawyer sees failures The international prosecutor at the Khmer Rouge tribunal has warned that the process is failing to make a connection with the Cambodian people.
Cambodia Tribunal Reduces Sentence for Khmer Rouge Torture Chief Cambodia 's U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal has ruled a former Khmer Rouge torture chief now on trial was detained "unlawfully" by the military and would be compensated for time served. The ruling means the only Khmer Rouge official to face justice can no longer be sentenced to life in prison...
Legal Strategy Fails to Hide Torturer's Pride PHNOM PENH,Cambodia — He is deceptively unassuming, a small man in a neat white shirt, sometimes wearing reading glasses as he studies the stack of legal documents he brings with him every day from his cell to the courtroom. But in nearly three months of trial proceedings, a harder man has emerged — alert, vigorous, with a self-confidence that has begun to shade into condescension as he corrects a lawyer or a witness about details of his life as the chief torturer of theKhmer Rouge.
Genocide or Massacre , US Repeating Mistakes of the Past "We come here today partly in recognition of the fact that we in the United States and the world community did not do as much as we could have and should have done to try to limit what occurred...All over the world there were people like me sitting in offices who did not fully appreciate the depth and speed with which you were being engulfed by this unimaginable terror." – Pres. Bill Clinton in his apology to the Rwandan people for his lack of intervention during the Rwandan genocide of 1994.
Have faith in Zimbabwe 's resurrection Tsvangirai's fundraising failures are already being mocked by his opponents. If he stumbles, the unity government could implode...
Torture claims against British secret agents go to inquiry Farid Hilali alleges security services knew he was beaten while held in UAE and Morocco two years before 9/11 attacks. Farid Hilali, a Moroccan-born former resident of the UK , alleges he was tortured with the complicity of the British intelligence services...
Zimbabwe : End Repression in Marange Diamond Fields ( Johannesburg ) - Zimbabwe 's armed forces are engaging in the forced labor of children and adults, and are torturing and beating local villagers on the diamond fields of Marange district in eastern Zimbabwe , Human Rights Watch said....
Peru: Radio Closure Could Undermine Press Freedom ( Washington , DC ) - The Peruvian government's decision this month to revoke the broadcast license of a local radio station could have a chilling effect on community broadcasting in Peru , Human Rights Watch said... "
Seventeen Minors and Mentally Ill Spend Years Awaiting Minister's Orders ( New York ) - The Ugandan minister of justice should immediately inform 17 individuals who have languished in prison for years of their legal status, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the minister of justice. The individuals have long awaited "minister's orders" from the minister of justice to determine whether they should be imprisoned, released, or placed in the appropriate custodial care...
US/Yemen:Negotiate Return of Guantanamo Detainees ( New York ) - The apparent suicide of a Yemeni detainee at Guantanamo Bay underscores the urgent need for the United States to reach agreement with Yemen on sending uncharged prisoners home, Human Rights Watch said today...
Police abuse and impunity in Indonesia must end The Indonesian police carry out widespread abuse with impunity against criminal suspects and poor and marginalized communities, according to a new Amnesty International report published on Wednesday. The report, Unfinished Business: Police Accountability in Indonesia , reveals the torture and ill-treatment of criminal suspects, repeat offenders, drug users, and sex workers during arrests, interrogation and detention...
Senate Holds Hearing on Hate Crimes Legislation Washington – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, today thanked the Senate Judiciary Committee for holding a hearing on the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act...
Kazakhstan to tighten internet law Kazakhstan 's parliament has approved a law tightening state control of the internet, which, media rights activists say, will limit freedom of speech in the former Soviet state....
Iran 's Neda killing 'was illegal' Shirin Ebadi, a prominent Iranian human rights lawyer and Nobel peace prize winner, has told Al Jazeera that she is prepared to represent the family of a young woman shot dead during a protest in Tehran . The woman, named as Neda Agha Soltan on social-networking websites, has become a symbol for people protesting against the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president...
