The global human rights group Amnesty International has called on the government of Iran to immediately abolish the "grotesque and horrific" practice of publicly stoning people to death.

Christian-Muslim relations and the rights of the minority Christian community are among the likely discussion points when Pope Benedict XVI meets with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah next week - after his controversial UK state visit.

There is a continuing row between Amnesty International and the Vatican over access to abortion by women who have been abused and raped. Here AI explains its policy and contests representations of it by some critics and campaigners.

Britain has been accused of ignoring the plight of millions of refugees fleeing the violence in Iraq. A report by Amnesty International has said it was "staggering" that the UK had forcibly returned more refugees to Iraq than any other European nation.

The Catholic archbishop of Dublin and the Imam of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland marked World Press Freedom Day yesterday by calling for the release of the kidnapped BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston.