When widespread protests broke out in Syria in March, President Bashar al-Assad's regime turned to its feared security services to smother the anti-government movement. 　　The bloody response has so far succeeded where other attempts to put down the "Arab awakening" have failed, and President Assad remains in power. 　　Verifying the... More

　　Syrian protesters have been denied access to public spaces, such as the squares that have become famous in Yemen and Egypt. This has led to mosques playing an even greater role than they already would have. 　　With the number of dead from the uprising reaching possibly five thousand, funerals have... More

　　Forces loyal to the embattled Yemeni president killed 20 protesters as they dispersed a sit-in in Taez, an organizer said on Monday. 　　Security service agents backed by army and Republican Guard troops stormed the protest against President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Freedom Square in the centre of Yemen's second-largest city... More

　　More than 70 Syrian army commanders and officials have been named by former soldiers as having ordered attacks on unarmed protesters in that country, a US-based rights group says. 　　The report from Human Rights Watch names 74 commanders and military and intelligence officials as having allegedly "ordered, authorized, or condoned... More

　　The attack by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on an air force intelligence base in the suburbs of the capital Damascus on November 16 has raised the profile of the band of army deserters, who are seeking to end President Bashar al-Assad’s long rule. 　　Depending on whom you believe, the... More

　　A trainee doctor tells of the bloodshed he witnessed during the Syrian army's siege of the city of Hama. 　　The three young men were running to the Horany hospital to give blood when several shots rang out and 18-year-old Talha Khamees fell to the ground, his own dark blood spilling... More

　　Since the partition of India and Pakistan, Kashmir's voice has been largely ignored. 　　It's a question as old as you want it to be, but one that it is alive today, six decades after the decolonization of the Indian subcontinent left Kashmir divided between India and Pakistan, clearly suggesting that... More

　　The Palestinians have came under intense pressure to drop a bid for UN membership as diplomats worked behind the scenes to head off a looming clash. 　　Riyad al-Maliki, Palestinian foreign minister, said he was "amazed" by the US efforts to persuade other countries to not to support the Palestinian bid.... More

　　Two weeks ago, an announcement appeared on a French website, calling for "militants with military experience" to participate in a solidarity trip to Israel between September 19 and 25. "The aim of this expedition is to lend a hand to our brothers facing aggression from the Palestinian occupiers, and to... More

　　Talal Shreim could not stop beaming as he sat in his new living room in Doha, Qatar, finally surrounded by his family after having spent 10 years in an Israeli jail. 　　Less than 24 hours before, he was able to hug Tasneem, his 10-year-old daughter, for the first time since... More

　　The conflict in Libya will continue to take its toll on communities long after the war has ended as long as hidden bombs remain scattered across public areas. 　　Fifteen-year-old Misrata resident Mohammed lost most of his left hand and sustained shrapnel injuries to his abdomen in April after an unexploded... More

　　Anwar Haraga was 26 when men from Libya's Internal Security agency came to his door in Tripoli one night. 　　It was 1989. Haraga was newly married and had just returned from five years of study in England. He was heading toward a promising career in computer engineering. 　　But Haraga had... More

　　Less than 24 hours after the US military withdrew the last of its occupation forces from Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered an arrest warrant for Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi on "terrorism" charges. 　　Maliki, a Shia, leveled the charges against the highest ranking Sunni in the government - a move that... More

　　Libyans in Tripoli's seaside Martyrs Square have marked the first post-Muammar Gaddafi celebration of Eid al-Fitr, coming out in huge numbers to revel in newly gained independence. 　　At dawn, thousands of men and about 200 women gathered on huge green carpets to make the special dawn prayer, intoning praise for... More

　　Hazem Asili, from the West Bank, was 25 years old when he was jailed by Israel in 1986. Abdelhakim Hnaini, also from the West Bank, was 27 years old when he was incarcerated in 1993. On October 11, a deal was brokered exchanging 1,027 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel for... More

　　The streets of Egypt are teeming with the telltale signs of an upcoming election. 　　Campaign posters fill the once-barren spaces on the sides of buildings, and billboards featuring the faces of candidates vying for a role in the new Egypt loom over the crowded streets of Cairo. 　　However, what many... More

　　One thousand and twenty-seven Palestinians for one Israeli - this is the deal made between Hamas and Israel last week. 　　The agreement has been dubbed "the Shalit swap deal" - named after Gilad Shalit, the 25-year-old Israeli soldier who has been held in the Gaza Strip for more than five... More

　　The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) last month began to publish their findings in a study of the U.S. drone war in Pakistan. The study found that much higher rates of civilian casualties had resulted from the U.S. drone war than had been admitted by the government or than had... More

　　While outsiders debate when or if the Syrian opposition will turn to arms, on the ground it is clear that elements of the opposition have used armed resistance against the security forces from early in the uprising in response to the regime's harsh crackdown. 　　Over a period of seven weeks,... More

　　Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has issued a new report detailing the government’s dramatic escalation in the number of Palestinian home demolitions in the Jordan Valley, part of the eastern West Bank. 　　According to the report, the Israeli government has demolished 103 homes there so far this year, after 86... More