TUNIS- A bill to criminalise offences against "sacred values," filed in parliament this week by Tunisia's ruling Islamist party Ennahda threatens freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch warned on...

CAIRO, Ines Bel Aiba- Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi swore in a new cabinet on Thursday that retained military chief Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi as defence minister while giving the Islamists and...

AMMAN, Mathieu Rabechault- US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta and Jordan's King Abdullah II on Thursday discussed the question of a political transition in "a post-Bashar al-Assad Syria," Pentagon...

SANAA- Yemen's security forces have regained control of the interior ministry, a top official announced on Wednesday, a day after fighting in the complex killed 15 people. "Forces from the central...

BENGHAZI, Libya- Seven Iranian Red Crescent workers who were abducted by an armed group in the Libyan city of Benghazi are being held and questioned by a local militia, a security official told AFP...

NEAR ALEPPO, Syria, Iskander Kat- Syrian troops and rebels poured into Aleppo on Tuesday as both sides battened down for the long haul after 40 police were killed on day four of a pivotal battle in...

WASHINGTON- The writer of a controversial Vogue profile of Syria's First Lady Asma al-Assad says she urged the influential fashion magazine not to run the piece as the Arab Spring took hold. Writing...

TUNIS- Tunisia's state of emergency has been extended by just one month, rather than the usual three, due to an improvement in the country's security situation, the president's office announced on...

PARIS- Female parrot finches can match their offspring's gender to prevailing living conditions, producing more sons in lean times, scientists in Australia said Wednesday. The finding presents the...