There are 846 articles

  • Millions of Muslims prepare for Hajj 2009

    Millions of Muslims from around the world have gathered in the Saudi city of Mecca in anticipation of the start of Hajj - the annual Muslim pilgrimage. Taking part in the pilgrimage at least once in one's lifetime is a major obligation for all able-bodied Muslims of financial means, and between two and three million people participate in the six-day.. More

  • Unborn children for sale in S Korea

    The illegal sale of children makes up more than half of all the cases of human trafficking around the world, according to recent estimates. Traditionally it has involved the exploitation of children in poorer nations, but an Al Jazeera investigation has found that it is also happening in developed countries, such as South Korea. For four months,.. More

  • 'British army used Guantánamo interrogation methods'

    Dozens of prisoners held at a secret British army interrogation centre in Iraq claim they suffered unlawful physical and mental abuse similar to that carried out by the US on detainees at Guantánamo Bay. Inmates at the high-security compound within the Shaibah base say they were held in solitary confinement and forced to wear dark goggles and.. More

  • Yemen's battle for the economy

    On a ridge of the rugged brown mountains that encircle Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, Qatari investors are building a little slice of the Gulf. "This project will be an icon of quality," promised Hassan Fadala, deputy CEO of operations at Qatari Diar, the real estate investment company pumping $600mn into Al Rayyan Hills, a luxury residential.. More

  • Israel lobby 'big influence in UK'

    A British documentary has alleged that any future Conservative government will be disproportionately influenced by a powerful pro-Israeli lobby in the country. Channel 4's Dispatches program on Monday said that at least half of the Conservative shadow cabinet are members of the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), one of a number of pro-Israel lobby.. More

  • China 'black jails' under scrutiny

    A new human-rights report claims that Chinese citizens are kidnapped and held in informal detention centers, known locally as "black jails", to prevent them from bringing complaints to the central government. The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the practice of locking up disgruntled petitioners has evolved into a lucrative cottage.. More

  • Settlers 'stone' school children

    Twaneh School in Hebron has seen some improvements since former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair paid it a visit as UN Middle East envoy last year. The track leading from the school to the new main road joining Jerusalem to Israeli settlements on the south eastern slopes of Palestine is now paved. There are two new school rooms being built where pupils.. More

  • Guantanamo conditions 'deteriorate'

    On the night that Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential election, 21-year-old Mohammed el Gharani was sitting in a segregation cell in Guantanamo Bay's high security Echo Block. He remembers the excitement among his fellow prisoners at the prospect of an Obama presidency. "Everyone was very hopeful; people were saying he was going to change things,.. More

  • Africa trial for malaria vaccine

    Scientists in Africa have begun trials of a malaria vaccine. Developed through two decades of research, the Mosquirix vaccine - also known as RDS,S - is being tested in Africa's biggest ever clinical trial, spanning seven nations, and involving some 16,000 children. More than 5,000 children have already undergone preliminary trials since testing began.. More

  • Besieged Gazans seek escape through painkillers

    Abu Abdullah got hooked on painkillers after his house was destroyed and his 12-year-old daughter was killed by Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip at the turn of the year. "I'm not an addict," said the 39-year-old father of five, who now lives in a cramped rented apartment in Gaza City, his home still in ruins. "The problem is that.. More

  • Israel 'cutting Palestinian water'

    Israel is denying Palestinians adequate access to clean, safe water while allowing almost unlimited supplies to Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, human rights group Amnesty International has said. "Swimming pools, well-watered lawns and large irrigated farms in Israeli settlements... stand in stark contrast next to Palestinian villages.. More

  • Atrocities haunt DRC child soldiers

    Militia brigades abducting children and forcing them to become soldiers, porters and sex slaves is a huge problem in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the last few months, fighting between the DRC army and Rwandan Hutu rebels and other militias has intensified. Aid agencies describe the situation as catastrophic, warning that recruitment is on.. More

  • Uighurs 'disappeared' in crackdown

    Dozens of ethnic Uighurs, including several children, remain unaccounted for more than three months after China launched a crackdown on ethnic unrest in the country's far west, a human right group has said. A report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) released on Wednesday, said the group had documented the cases of at least 43 Uighur men and boys who have.. More

  • 'Israel apparently buried spy devices in Lebanon'

    A U.N. investigation into explosions in south Lebanon indicated on Sunday that Israel had planted spy devices on Lebanese land in what a senior U.N. official said would be a violation of a ceasefire agreement. The UNIFIL peacekeeping force in Lebanon said its preliminary probe into two explosions in the south showed they had been caused by the detonation.. More

  • 'Leadership' let down Palestinians

    The position of the Palestinian Authority (PA) mission in Geneva regarding the findings of the UN's Goldstone report on crimes during Israel's war on Gaza earlier this year was rather surprising - even by the norms put in place when it was established in Ramallah following the 1993 Oslo Accords. On October 2, the PA supported postponing the vote on.. More