George Clooney, along with writer/activist John Prendergast and political analyst Akshaya Kumar, has written a New York Times op-ed about the human rights violations (which include, among other horrible things, rape torture) that continue to occur in Darfur in Sudan.

The United Nations has been trying for weeks to investigate reports that Sudanese soldiers raped over 200 women and girls in late October in the village of Tabit, North Darfur. A leaked internal UN report says the Sudanese military is deliberately making it hard for its peacekeepers to investigate the claims,…

Nuzzled right in between Egypt and Sudan lies Bi'r Tawil a 2060 sq km unclaimed territory that was the result of a colonial-era border discrepancy. Bi'r Tawil is one of the last remaining unclaimed territories in the world—that is, until a Virginia man took it upon himself to trek out there and lay claim to the…

Merely a day after her death sentence for converting from Islam to Christianity was canceled and she was released, Mariam Ibrahim was taken into custody again on Tuesday over supposedly suspicious travel documents. She was arrested trying to leave Sudan (reportedly to travel to the US via South Sudan) with her…

Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman who was sentenced to death by hanging for refusing to renounce her Christianity has won her freedom. In face of the slew of condemnation hurled at Sudanese authorities by leaders and citizens around the world, under-secretary Abdullahi Alzareg told the BBC that "Sudan guaranteed…

Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, a Sudanese woman sentenced to death for refusing to renounce her Christianity, has given birth in prison.

George Clooney led a protest in Washington, DC today, in which he and other demonstrators — including his father, Nick Clooney — called on alleged war criminal Omar-Al Bashir to stop the violence in Sudan and allow humanitarian aid workers to enter the country. Both George and Nick were arrested, as were former…

Peiti, Sudan, Jan 9: Southern Sudanese women wait to cast their votes at a polling station. About four million Southern Sudanese voters began casting their ballots in a referendum on independence that is expected to split the nation in two.

• George Clooney is in Sudan — along with an NBC news team and Ann Curry — trying to raise awareness about the upcoming election in January.

"Tall girls fetch more cattle because their daughters will quickly grow and can be married off to fetch even more cattle," explained the chief. How do tall girls feel about being traded for livestock? "Women have no say." [LAT]

[Khartoum, Sudan; November 18. Image via Getty]

Two Sudanese women were sentenced to 20 lashes and a $110 fine yesterday for wearing pants. They were arrested during a raid with Lubna Hussein, whose jailing related to the same "act of indecency" sparked international controversy last month. [Reuters]

Human Rights Watch says ambassador-at-large Melanne Verveer wasn't specific enough in her advice to the Senate on how to stop violence against women in Sudan. The group will be listening as she addresses a House panel on today. [UPI.com]

• A man from Australia has been named the "Aussie Fritzl" after police discovered that he raped his daughter repeatedly over the course of 30 years and fathered four children with her.

• We're so used to thinking of dogs as companions that we often forget the most basic reason people buddy up to animals: Food. A new study suggests wolves were first domesticated in southeastern China for their meat. •

[Khartoum, Sudan; August 4. Image via Getty]

Lubna Hussein faces flogging in Sudan for the crime of wearing pants. She tells the Observer, "It is not about religion, it is about men treating women badly." [Observer]

Today, Angelina Jolie writes for Time, "Friday is a defining moment in the history of justice." Why? Because the U.N. Security Council is getting the (obvious) results of the International Criminal Court investigation into Sudanese President Omar al Bashir.

• Barack Obama would like to sell you a new, fuel-efficient car with an underpriced voucher to save the auto industry. He'd prefer you buy American but probably can't make you. [Washington Post]