Iraqi security forces cracked down on anti-government protesters in the strife-torn south Thursday, leaving 13 people dead in a bloody escalation hours after the torching of an Iranian consulate. Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, as commander in chief of the armed forces, dispatched...

Amnesty International warned on Wednesday that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government had built a "parallel justice system" to crack down on critics and dissent. The London-based rights watchdog said the key tools of repression were the Supreme State Security Prosecution...

 Sudan's cabinet Tuesday scrapped a controversial law that severely curtailed women's rights during the 30-year tenure of deposed autocrat Omar al-Bashir, state media reported. Thousands of women were flogged, fined and even jailed during Bashir's ironfisted rule under the archaic...

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Huthi rebels said Tuesday it will release 200 insurgents, as efforts pick up pace to end the conflict in the impoverished country. Patients needing medical care will also be allowed to be flown out of Sanaa airport, which has been closed to...