Political Dissent

CAIRO — He arrived with a prankster's aplomb. Bassem Youssef, a popular Egyptian TV satirist often compared to Jon Stewart, appeared before a prosecutor Sunday on charges of defaming President Mohamed Morsi. The mercurial comedian milled around...

BEIRUT -- A major Syrian opposition coalition took a seat as the legitimate government of Syria at an Arab League summit Tuesday, and the group’s outgoing leader promptly pushed for the United States to use Patriot missile-defense batteries...

BEIRUT — The head of the major, U.S.-backed Syrian opposition coalition resigned his post Sunday, a blow to a group that the United States and other nations have called the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. The departure of the...

CAIRO – The battle between censors and filmmakers over "Jews of Egypt" ended this week when authorities granted permission for the documentary to be shown despite fears it may agitate Egypt’s anti-Israeli hatred amid months of political unrest...

BEIRUT (AP) — On the second anniversary of Syria’s uprising, there were only small protests and a few firecrackers defiantly popping in the capital of Damascus — a grim contrast to the early days when crowds of demonstrators danced to...

BEIRUT -- Any government considering arming Syrian rebels should conduct  a “rigorous human-rights risk assessment” before  proceeding with weapons transfers, Amnesty International said Thursday. The group released a pair of  studies detailing...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) delivered a nearly 13-hour filibuster Wednesday of John Brennan’s nomination to lead the CIA. Paul used his time on the floor to question the legality of the White House's policies on drone use, beginning at 11:47 a.m. EST and...

TRIPOLI, Libya — Egypt slipped further into political disarray Wednesday when a judge suspended upcoming parliamentary elections and referred the country’s much-criticized electoral law to the highest court. An administrative judge struck...

BEIRUT — Syrian rebels must give up their weapons before the government will agree to hold peace talks with them, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in a newspaper interview published Sunday. “We are willing to negotiate with anyone,...

MOSCOW -- Russia charged Friday that the latest U.S. push to aid the Syrian opposition promotes "extremists" who have no interest in peace talks and are determined to seize power through force. The comments come a day after U.S. Secretary State John F....

A hot air balloon flying over Egypt's ancient city of Luxor caught fire and crashed into a sugar cane field on Tuesday, killing at least 18 foreign tourists, a security official said. It was one of the worst accidents involving tourists in Egypt and...

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov offered to step down after anti-government protests sparked street violence four months before parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place. The premier, who has been in office since 2009, told the Sofia-...