A dog came bounding over as Oleh Bondarenko walked towards the garden containing the burned-out house where he had been beaten, tortured and left to die. “Hey, friend,” he shouted, stroking her head and explaining the affectionate greeting. “I talked to her a lot when I was here”. He...

On a spring morning three years ago, a new recruit to a loyalist Syrian militia was handed a laptop belonging to one of Bashar al-Assad’s most feared security wings. He opened the screen and curiously clicked on a video file, a brave move given the consequences if anyone had caught him prying....

Syrians could be jailed for up to 15 years for minor criticism of the Assad regime following amendments to existing cybercrime laws. The draconian new changes were announced this week, laying out harsh penalties for vaguely worded offences including online criticism of the president,...

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon and the International Monetary Fund on Thursday reached a tentative agreement for comprehensive economic policies that could eventually pave the way for some relief for the crisis-hit country, after Beirut implements wide-ranging reforms. The four-year agreement,...