For four decades, the Assad family has ruled Syria, and while the popularity of the family among some sections in the country is undeniable, its run in power has not been without turmoil. 　　Hafez al-Assad, a military man, rose through the ranks and became Syria's president in 1971 after a... 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

　　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

　　Mohammed al-Jaburi, a 25-year-old architect, is emblematic of a growing problem in Iraq: He is an educated professional with a comfortable life in Iraq, and he is desperately hoping to leave that life behind. 　　After completing his studies in Jordan, al-Jaburi returned to Baghdad, where he now works for the... More

　　By: Ben White 　　Israel's crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories - like the settlements, the killing of civilians and the demolition of homes - are openly condemned in the West by human rights groups and others like never before. But as the peace process remains stuck, and Prime Minister Binyamin... 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

　　As the year of revolution draws to a close, a new "parallel revolution" against corruption is emerging in Yemen. Over the past two weeks strikes have spread across the country and are proving effective, leading to the hope that this Yemeni uprising of 2011 can truly bring change to the... More

　　As a daily drum beat of violence continues to reverberate across Iraq, people here continue to struggle to find some sense of normality, a task made increasingly difficult due to ongoing violence and the lack of both water and electricity. 　　During the build-up to the US-led invasion of Iraq, the... More

　　Iraq has been one of the deadliest countries in the world for journalists since 2003. 　　While scores of newspapers and media outlets blossomed across Baghdad following the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime in the spring of 2003, the media renaissance was also met with attacks on both local and international... More

　　The human rights situation in Iraq is worse now than it was a year ago, Human Rights Watch argues in a new report out Sunday. 　　Human Rights Watch says it uncovered a secret Iraqi prison where detainees were beaten, hung upside down and given electric shocks to sensitive parts of... More

　　When he got in the taxi, the Syrian worker unwittingly walked into the hands of kidnappers. Dumped blindfolded in a graveyard eight days later, he was glad to be alive. 　　Abu Ahmed, a 35-year-old house painter, is one of hundreds in the Syrian city of Homs who have fallen prey... More

　　In the early years of Bashar al-Assad's presidency, he was seen as a reformer, and was popular with everyday Syrians. 　　The slow pace of political change was often blamed on an "old guard" of aides, inherited from the era of his father, Hafez al-Assad. 　　But amid an uprising against his... More

　　Last week, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich was sentenced to a reduction in rank but no jail time for leading his squad in a rampage known as “The Haditha Massacre.” Wuterich, who was charged with nine counts of manslaughter, pled guilty to dereliction of duty. Six other Marines have had their... More