Tens of thousands of Egyptians rallied Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of the country's 2011 uprising, with liberals and Islamists gathering on different sides of Cairo's Tahrir Square in a reflection of the deep political divides that emerged in the year since the downfall of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. Read More
With Islamists comprising the overwhelming majority of its lawmakers, the parliament elected in Egypt's first legislative vote after Hosni Mubarak's ouster nearly a year ago held its inaugural session on Monday.
The convening of the new parliament is a significant benchmark in the timetable provided by the generals who took over from Mubarak for the handover of power to a civilian administration. Read More
A civic group said Friday it would file an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights because authorities are blocking it from holding a protest on the March 15 national holiday by reserving all likely locations in downtown Budapest for official use.
Peter Juhasz, a spokesman for One Million for the Freedom of Press in Hungary, said the group is turning to the Strasbourg, France-based court because authorities are limiting its right to assembly. Read More
Unions suspended their nationwide strike on Monday, hours after Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan partially reinstated subsidies to keep gasoline prices low and deployed soldiers in the streets to halt widening demonstrations.
Union leaders described their decision as a victory for labor, allowing its leaders to guide the country's policy on fuel subsidies in the future while having gas prices drop to about $2.27 a gallon (60 cents a liter). Read More
Nigeria's government is warning that a paralyzing national strike risks "anarchy" in the oil-rich nation, as demonstrations over spiraling fuel prices and government corruption entered their third day Wednesday.
Attorney General Mohammed Bello Adoke's comments come as at least nine people have been killed in violence during the strikes over the government removing subsidies that had kept gasoline prices low in Africa's most populous nation. Read More
In his first speech since June, Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed Tuesday to respond to threats against him with an "iron hand" and refused to step down, insisting he still has his people's support despite a 10-month-old revolt.
Assad repeated claims that a foreign conspiracy is behind the unrest — not true reform-seekers — and he blamed the news media for fabrications. Read More
A civilian court in Bahrain overturned death sentences Monday for two protesters convicted of murdering two policemen during a wave of anti-government demonstrations last year. Read More
An explosion ripped through a busy intersection in the Syrian capital Friday, hitting a bus carrying police and killing up to 25 people in what Syrian authorities said was the second suicide attack in as many weeks. Read More
An angry mob protesting spiraling fuel prices assaulted a soldier Tuesday while police shot another man at the demonstration, a sign of growing unrest over the government's hugely unpopular decision to end a subsidy program that had kept gas costs down for more than two decades. Read More
Activists say Syrian security forces have fired guns and tear gas at thousands of anti-government protesters in the central city of Hama and killed at least six people.
Several thousand protesters were trying to reach the city's main Assi square to stage a sit-in amid a heavy security presence Wednesday when troops opened fire to disperse them. Read More
