A lawsuit against torture advances as a U.S. judge rules that two government contractors can be sued for brutal interrogation tactics used in Washington’s “war against terror.” A protester against torture dressed as a Guantanamo Bay prisoner, London,...
Syrian refugee holds onto his children as he struggles to walk off a dinghy on the Greek island of Lesbos, 24 September 2015. (REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis) By Annique Browne What’s the biggest threat to U.S. national security? During this year’s presidential...
By Anne-Sophie van Wingerden Arriving at Beijing’s airport last summer, I glanced at the flight monitors. Taiwan was not listed among domestic destinations. Nor was it alongside international capitals. Taiwan exists in limbo, neither part of mainland China to...
By Nelson Graves “We have to find a political solution, in offices and not with arms.” So said Evgenia Chatziadamido, one of four students from three continents who discussed the causes and effects of Syria’s civil war during a recent online round...
Mountains of garbage encircling Beijing tell the story of a country whose infrastructure has not kept pace with its growing economy or population. River in Shunyi, Beijing, that led me to my first dump At a construction site in Shunyi Refuse behind a gated community...
By William Close Behind closed doors in the Saudi capital Riyadh, consultants and government officials are developing policies to prepare the country for what until recently seemed unthinkable: an economy without oil. For decades, Saudi Arabia has been the world’s...
By Ally Oh We’re always told to look for the good — the silver lining, the upside, the half-full glass — but it’s not always that easy or simple. On a recent weekend, listening to a heartbroken Turkish girl cry and yell at everyone in the bathroom to get...
By Abi Simpson Surrounded by “Keep Calm” posters, tea drinkers and all things stereotypically British, you wouldn’t know you were in anything but a quaint little café with a great view, sipping Earl Grey tea. Unless you looked behind you. The crumbling...
(All photographs by Christoph von Toggenburg) By Christoph von Toggenburg I took these photographs on Easter Sunday in late March when I visited various refugee camps right on Lebanon’s border with Syria. The welcome was warm and open. Suddenly, the numbers I...
This story was runner-up in the high school category in News-Decoder’s inaugural essay contest. By Aisha Malhas The flag of Jordan includes a white star with seven points, one for each of the seven hills on which the capital Amman was built. Today those seven...