Middle East, Anti-government Protest | featured news

Iranians head to the polls Friday in a parliamentary election marking the first nationwide balloting since a disputed vote triggered massive protests nearly three years ago.

Security forces were out in force in Damascus on Sunday as rebels plan a repeat of protests that have threatened President Assad's grip on the capital.

Syrian security forces fired live rounds and tear gas at thousands of people marching Saturday in a funeral procession that turned into a protest in Damascus, activists said.

Syrian security forces shot dead at least five people in Hama on Friday, according to a rights group, as hundreds of thousands staged protests across the country.

The Obama administration is trying to avoid a repeat of what happened in Iraq, where the United States was not fully prepared for the aftermath of a leader’s fall.

Fighting erupted across much of Sanaa and the death toll for the worst violence in months rose to nearly 50 in two days of clashes.

Syrian troops killed at least 17 people Friday in raids on anti-government protesters, activists said, but failed to stop thousands from pouring into streets nationwide and taking their uprising against President Bashar Assad’s autocratic rule into a seventh month.

At least 2,600 people have died in the six months of unrest that has swept Syria, the U.N.'s top human rights official said Monday, as a panel was named to investigate abuses in the Arab country....

Syria saw a wave of violence and arrests Sunday as the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross visited Damascus to address issues including caring for the wounded and access to detainees during the government's crackdown on a 5-month-old uprising.

The European Union on Friday imposed an embargo on oil imports from Syria as security forces in the country surrounded mosques in rebellious cities to prevent worshippers from pouring into the streets for anti-government rallies.