The second round of Syria peace talks has got off to a stormy start against a backdrop of continued rescue of civilians from the beseiged city of Homs. Members of Syria's government and opposition delegations blamed each other in Geneva on Monday for mortar attacks on convoys bringing...
Secular activists arrested last month on the third anniversary of the revolt against Egyptian autocrat Hosni Mubarak say they have been tortured, some with electric shocks, relatives and lawyers who have seen them said. The Interior Ministry denied any abuses. If independently...

A woman curls up in grief in a darkened room - an artist's image as powerful as any of the thousands of photos and videos from Syria's civil war flashing across the world's computer and television screens. The sketch is the work of 63-year-old painter and illustrator Youssef...