These labourers, working on station platforms in the Paris metro, are illegal immigrants. The conditions they work in, shown in the following videos, are simply deplorable. Read more and watch the video...

Jia Ze Wei is one of 150 million Chinese "Mingong" -modern slaves or workers - who leave their village in search of work in Beijing, one of the richest regions in China. Jia Ze Wei comes to Beijing's Liu Li bridge area every morning in a bid to make some money to support his family back in the village.

A report issued by human rights activists reveals that young migrant workers are labouring under sweatshop conditions for IBM, Microsoft, HP and Dell in a factory in China. Twelve hours a day, seven days a week, the people who put your keyboard keys into place are paid 60 euro cents an hour to do it. And they're not even allowed to raise their heads or go to the toilet... Read more and see the photos...

When a Chinese train passenger started panicking on board, staff taped him to the floor. Ten hours later, he died. Read more...

Romanian immigrants have been given such a bad reputation in Europe that the Romanian government has ordered for an expensive publicity campaign to improve the country's image abroad. Some see it as a hidden message- that not all Romanians are Roma. Read more...

Surprised to find photos of a young Chinese factory worker on his new iPhone, a British Apple customer decided to post the pictures online. The girl in the pics has managed to catch the attention of everybody, including her boss... Read more.

Forty-two people have been killed since the outbreak of violent clashes between native South Africans and Zimbabwean refugees in Johannesburg. A Zimbabwean immigrant tries to explain this sudden attack on his community. Read more...

Burmese stowaways step out of a police van in Thailand. Photo from the Human Rights and Development Foundation. Date unknown.

Fifty-four Burmese people have been found suffocated to death in a freezer truck on its way to the Thai tourist resort of Phuket on the other side of the border. The incident has shocked the world, but it's hardly an isolated case according to our Burmese Observer. Read more...

These desperate migrant workers from south east China, who often leave their wives behind to find work, are reduced to paying women ten cents to see their private parts. Read more...

Material compiled by Zhang, our editor for the Chinese region

Today there are an estimated 200 million migrant workers in China (120 million according to official figures), the majority of whom are peasants from the south who settle in the eastern cities to work in construction, restoration, and mining. They work 11 hours a day, sometimes more, under difficult conditions and for an average wage of 60 euros a month. They do not benefit from any social protection or medical care. And they have no rights to challenge their employer.