Heba al-Shamary (name changed for security reasons) was released recently from an Iraqi prison where she spent the last four years. 　　"I was tortured and raped repeatedly by the Iraqi security forces," she told Al Jazeera. "I want to tell the world what I and other Iraqi women in prison... More

　　On the morning of October 31, 15-year-old Yomna Abu Eissa was wearing her school uniform and carrying her backpack when she was handcuffed and taken into custody in Alexandria, Egypt's second-biggest city . 　　Her school uniform was ultimately replaced by the plain white garments worn by prisoners. In November, a... More

　　As crowds dominate political discourse in Egypt - on one end, those who support the military, and on the other, backers of deposed president Mohamed Morsi - a middle ground is mourning the loss of a dream. 　　"My hope was that we don't live in injustice anymore, because we were... More

　　Twenty-six Palestinian prisoners, some held in Israeli jails for more than two decades, were released to their families in a "gesture of good faith" by Israel's government. 　　But critics say Tuesday's move should have been made decades ago under the Oslo Accords, and that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is milking... More

　　Three years after fleeing their war-torn country, more than half a million Syrian refugees living in Jordan’s urban centres have become more vulnerable and destitute, a new study has revealed. 　　A household assessment released by CARE International on Thursday found that urban Syrian refugees are struggling to cope with inadequate... More

　　The number of attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank has increased every year for the past eight years, according to figures from the United Nations. 　　About 2,100 attacks have been launched by Israelis since 2006 and annual totals are up from 115 that year to... More

　　The United Nations has said that at least 733 Iraqis were killed during violence in January, even when leaving out casualties from an embattled western province of Anbar. 　　The figures issued on Saturday by the UN's mission to Iraq (UNAMI) show that 618 civilians and 115 members of the security... More

　　While the notions of peace and cooperation are celebrated in the Muslim world at this time of year, Egyptians are struggling with those concepts during the holy month of Ramadan after the divisive military overthrow of the elected government. 　　Egypt's Muslim population, which makes up the majority of its 84... More

　　Life hasn't settled down in Egypt, the state going through the most important days of its history. 　　Egypt's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) has left behind 36 days of demonstrations at Rabaa al-Adawiya Square which has become the center of attention of the world recently. Crowded groups, at times exceeding... More

　　Egypt's closure of tunnels used to smuggle goods into the Gaza strip has caused monthly losses of $230 million to its economy, a Hamas official has said. 　　The "closure of the tunnels caused heavy losses to the industry, commerce, agriculture, transport and construction sectors" of about $230 million monthly, said... More

　　The pictures appear to tell a familiar story. In one a pile of bodies lies on a street corner, shot down, apparently where they were gathered. Among them is a girl in a red blouse, perhaps five years old, spread-eagled among a dozen other family members, some covered in sheets.... More

　　Sara Atef was wearing her school uniform on the day she was arrested by riot police. 　　The 16-year-old had become a regular sight at anti-government rallies organized by Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated groups in her hometown of 6 October city, a sprawling satellite development an hour's drive from central Cairo. 　　Sara, who... More

　　The United Nations has accused both sides to the Syria conflict of grave violations against children. 　　Children caught in the Syrian war are being recruited as child soldiers, used as human shields, and tortured, according to a new UN report. 　　The report, released on Tuesday, found that in the early... More

　　One of the most memorable objects from the Bosnian war two decades ago was the sign that said "Pazi Snajper" (Watch out, sniper). Hundreds of Bosnians were killed by snipers up in hidden posts around Sarajevo. 　　Dozens of people collapsed in streets, shot dead silently. It was the "sniper death,"... More

　　A dream long nurtured by hundreds of thousands of Palestinians made refugees during the establishment of the state of Israel has become a concrete reality at a small makeshift camp atop a windswept hill. 　　A dozen young men have set up the camp at a site in the Upper Galilee... More

　　Two female Palestinian activists have gone on trial in an Israeli military court over their involvement in weekly demonstrations against an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. 　　Rights groups and activists said on Tuesday that the prosecution of Nariman Tamimi and Rana Hamadeh coincided with a rise in Israeli... More

　　Life in overcrowded refugee camps of Lebanon is proving difficult for Palestinians fleeing Syria. 　　"We are discriminated against here. The Palestinians think we take their jobs and other things. But you see, here, we have nothing. 　　We don't feel welcome." 　　The Palestinian refugee from Syria sits in the single small... More

　　Al-Zaatari refugee camp near Jordan's northern border with Syria is the second largest refugee camp in the world. On days when violence in Syria worsens, between 2,000-4,000 Syrians flood into Zaatari, and the stories they tell are horrific. 　　"Things are happening in Syria that our minds couldn't even imagine," 65-year-old... More

　　US policy on drone strikes has been questioned by a rights group who say a strike on a wedding procession killed civilians, not al-Qaeda fighters, as previously claimed by US officials. 　　Rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a 28-page report on Thursday that said all the victims of a... More

　　The United Nations has warned that a looming drought in Syria could push millions more people into hunger and exacerbate a refugee crisis caused by the three-year conflict. 　　Syria's breadbasket northwestern region has received less than half of the average rainfall since September and, if it stays dry up to... More