Middle East, Syria | featured news

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....

Reuters reports that Syrian President Bashar Assad and Arab League Chief Nabil Elaraby have agreed to measures that could end months of violence. DP news reports that Syria said Assad and Elaraby agreed on a number of “practical steps” to speed up the reform process.

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.

Security forces in the Syrian capital of Damascus intensify checkpoints and patrols to keep an overnight surge of protests from spreading into the heart of the city, a stronghold for President Bashar Assad.

Visa and MasterCard credit cards are no longer valid in Syria under new U.S. sanctions targeting Damascus because of its deadly crackdown on a 5-month-old uprising, officials said Thursday.

The European Union has approved the list of 15 additional Syrian individuals and five new entities who will be targeted by an asset freeze, a travel and arms embargo, a person familiar ...

The downfall of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is likely to pave the way for increased Western attention to Syria and embolden protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

President Barack Obama called directly Thursday for Syrian President Bashar Assad to resign, saying the brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters makes the heir to a long Middle East family dictatorship unfit to lead....

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Beset by civil unrest at home and lambasted by the West and his Arab neighbors for his violent crackdown on dissent, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad can count on one firm ally: Iran.