"I could see them, dragged naked along the concrete corridor," reported the 18-year-old boy. "Their skin was tearing off their bodies and the extreme pain showed on their faces. Electric shockers such as are used on livestock had first been used on them. I saw the burns on their arms... More

　　It is estimated that 150,000-200,000 prisoners are detained in the camps, located in valleys in remote mountainous areas of the central and northern part of North Korea. 　　Deeply secretive North Korea does not publish any details of the camps or the detainees held in them, but accounts from former inmates... More

　　It was billed as a peace speech, but Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, echoed the words of a colonialist conqueror when he delivered his much-anticipated policy speech at Bar Illan University. 　　Without ambiguity, he told the Palestinians that their existence and future hinges on their acquiescence - the relinquishing... More

　　A record number of people were registered as forcibly displaced within their own country during 2008, the UN's refugee agency has said. 　　Last year, 14.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) were registered as living under UN care, compared to 13.7 million the previous year, according to a UNHCR study published... More

　　In the past few years, the Palestinians' 61-year-old tragedy has been given a new dimension. 　　The Palestinian refugees of Iraq, who became victims of persecution and violence before being chased from their Baghdad homes after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, are among the world's most vulnerable communities. 　　The... More

　　A leading Orthodox American Rabbi caused a huge row when he said the Jewish way of fighting a moral war was to kill civilians and destroys places of worship. 　　Rabbi Manis Friedman of the Bais Chana Institute of Jewish Studies, Minnesota, was responding to questions by a Jewish American magazine... More

　　Millions of North Korean women and children are facing a critical shortage of food as aid supplies to the isolated communist nation dry up, the United Nations' food agency has warned. 　　With sanctions against North Korea tightening and the North Korean government itself stepping up restrictions on aid groups, the... More

　　The murder of Marwa Sherbini, a veiled (and pregnant) Egyptian woman, as she prepared to give evidence in a German courtroom against a man who physically assaulted her, has incensed the Muslim World and re-ignited the debate over whether Europe is a truly tolerant society or one on the cusp... More

　　Once the cradle of agriculture for civilization, the Land Between Two Rivers - the Tigris and Euphrates - has become a basket case for its farmers. 　　Naj Habeeb and his son, Mustafa, grow rice in a field along the Euphrates River in Iraq's Mishkab village. Just ask Naji Habeeb, 85.... More

　　A new administration is in the White House. And the prison at Guantanamo Bay will soon be closed. But the investigation into war crimes must not close with it. Guantanamo is neither the end nor the beginning of the story. 　　The Bush Administration's blatant disregard for the rule of law... More

　　The networking Web site Facebook removed a fan page dedicated to supporters of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat reported on Sunday. 　　The report published Sunday, said the Web page titled "Commander Haniyeh" had more than 10,000 friends when it was removed without any explanation. 　　The Palestinian Maan... More

　　Thousands of migrants are being lured to Italy with false promises of work and forced to live in conditions akin to slavery, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Tuesday. 　　In a study of a migrant camp near the town of San Nicola Varco, 100 km (63 miles) south of... More

　　The exiled leader of China's Uighurs said nearly 10,000 of her people were detained or killed last month in ethnic unrest and appealed for the United Nations to investigate their fate. 　　Rebiya Kadeer, the US-based head of the World Uighur Congress, also said she was "perplexed" at the muted US... More