A United Arab Emirates court gave sentences of up to 15 years in prison to 69 academics, lawyers and other professionals who are among 94 on trial for planning an Islamist coup.
A Bahraini high criminal court acquitted two police officers on trial for the torture of six Shi’iite doctors during the uprising against the Sunni regime in 2011.
The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq released a report pressing Iraqi leaders to develop measures addressing the growing trend of human rights abuses in the country.
The Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza announced that it is suspending ties with Hamas, accusing Gaza authorities of being responsible for the death of one of the group’s members.
The Free Syrian Army boasts of receiving new weapons shipments that could “change” the course of the war—amid revelations that the US has been arming them secretly for a year.
Israel’s embassy in Mexico City denied widespread reports in the Mexican media that Israeli military advisors are training police in the southern state of Chiapas.
The Taliban have opened a "political office" in Qatar preparatory to talks with Kabul and the US—after years of propaganda about the US defending women's rights in Afghanistan.
Some 5,000 US troops are in Jordan to participate in the multi-national Eager Lion exercises—just as Iran is sending 4,000 Revolutionary Guards to support Syria's Bashar Assad.
Iraq unveiled an ambitious energy strategy to ramp up oil production to 4.5 million barrels per day by the end of next year—as sectarian violence escalates.
A Bahrain court issued sentences to three activists for taking part in anti-government protests as well as attempting to kill a police officer in a clash at a Shi’ite village.
Lebanon’s hashish heartland of the Bekaa Valley is increasingly embroiled in the civil war raging across the border in Syria, with a wave of sectarian clashes and abductions.
Turkey sees in the battle for Qusayr a strategy to create an Alawite mini-state within Syria, purged of Sunni Muslims, to which the ruling elite can withdraw for a last stand.
