The spiritual heart of Shiite Islam and a hub for religious tourism in Iraq is being badly hit as sanctions against neighbouring Iran have resulted in fewer pilgrims with less money to spend. Business leaders, shopkeepers and hotel owners in Najaf, site of a shrine to a revered figure in...

Gunmen staged overnight attacks on at least six security buildings and outposts throughout Libya's eastern city of Benghazi, killing five soldiers, military officials said Saturday. The brazen assaults, which included snipers, rocket-propelled grenades and explosives thrown onto rooftops,...

Iraqi press freedom activists on Saturday decried the detention for more than 10 days of two journalists accused of stealing the notebook of the country's defence minister following a meeting of political leaders. Mohammed Fuad and Afdhal Jumaa are alleged to have stolen Saadun al-Dulaimi's...

Prison sentences for a Tunisian rapper and three European activists with women's protest group Femen have heightened fears among artists, journalists and rights activists that the Islamist-led government is rolling back civil liberties. Ala Yaacoub, better known by his rap name "Weld El 15",...