The apparent success of the Tahrir Square protest seems to have triggered a wave of demonstrations around the world over the weekend. Algeria was hard on Egypts heels on Friday with its pro-democracy rally, while the people of Yemen...

So as the Tunisian scent of jasmine wafts its way across Egypt and Yemen, speculation is growing as to whether this pungent aroma could be heading south. Many – including Amnesty – have speculated that the recent uprisings across...

A late blog today as we’ve been busy preparing for the launch of The Whistleblower book which is being hosted at Amnesty's headquarters in east London tomorrow. It's a gripping read which exposes how some private military contractors...

There are some stories which I read and see which simply fill me with a sense of outrage and astonishment, and this is one of them. It’s the recent incident of the three unarmed men in Nairobi who were shot and killed by three police...

The unrest across Ivory Coast may no longer dominate news headlines across the UK – in fact Tunisia’s unrest appears to be the ‘foreign news story of the day’ – but the Ivorian crisis is far from over. Just a few days ago, Amnesty...

There’s an arresting image in today’s Guardian Eyewitness – centrefold spread – of a Sudanese woman gathering rubbish on a landfill in Juba . Amidst all the media attention relating to Sunday’s referendum across Sudan, the image...

There’s an arresting image in today’s Guardian Eyewitness – centrefold spread – of a Sudanese woman gathering rubbish on a landfill in Juba . Amidst all the media attention relating to Sunday’s referendum across Sudan, the image...

With the UN calling for reinforcements to support its troops in Ivory Coast while saying there’s a “real risk” of civil war , and as France tells its citizens to get out of the country as soon as possible, it looks increasingly...

The unrest across the Ivory Coast following the elections shows no sign of abating. As Amnesty reported at least nine unarmed protestors were shot dead by security forces. The Guardian reports how Alassane Ouattara’s supporters intend...

Here in the Amnesty press team we posted our greetings cards yesterday. Just in time to arrive just before Christmas I think. Yet as I was signing them, I realised just how little I’d done so far to prepare for the festive season. As...

It’s heartening to see the news agenda give space to the issue of violence against women but it’s just a shame that it has to take an International Day for that to happen. As well as the Government’s announcement to allocate more than...

Over the past few days Amnesty’s press phones have been hot. Calls for interviews and comment about the release of Aung San Suu Kyi came thick and fast on Friday and Saturday. The release of the Chandlers sparked a few calls for us on...

Its hard to imagine being woken up in the middle of the night by bulldozers which are literally tearing down your house while youre still in it. But this is a reality for nearly 200,000 people living in Nigerias town of Port Harcourt...

Cheryl’s decision to not give Gamu a shot at the live shows was clearly a bad one. Putting through two wannabe pop stars – in fact the only two of the eight contestants who fluffed their lines – at the expense of excellent singers such...

Today's UN report detailing war crimes committed in the DRC between 1993 and 2003 has been beset with controversy and defensive rebuttals from first Rwanda and today Uganda. The much debated and well-leaked Mapping report details the...

Attention? Resources? Commitment? Finances? Or perhaps all of the above and of course, Greater focus on human rights. Today’s media is abuzz with the opening of the United Nations Summit in New York where world leaders will meet to...

That seems true for the Democratic Republic of Congo at the moment. Papers, blogs and broadcasts have been awash with a variety of news stories from the DRC in recent days. And they've not been particularly positive. Over the weekend...

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has at times blurted out an inappropriate remark or two. Never intended to be harmful or malicious, but sometimes it’s just the wrong thing. For example when meeting the brother of one of my friends...

In a bid to expose its execution practice, Japan will allow journalists to visit its Tokyo chamber of death for the first time. Richard Lloyd Parry in The Times reports that ‘executions are a mixture of the chilling and the...

As a wee young thing my mum used to send me to ballet lessons. A bittersweet pill I recall because while I disliked immensely ballet, I used to love the tap dance and jazz dance classes which followed. One of the reasons why I hated...