Afghanistan’s parliament has rejected a law banning violence against women in “a severe blow to progress made in women’s rights in the conservative Muslim country since the Islamist Taliban was toppled over a decade ago,” Reuters reports:

President Hamid …

“Qatar’s wealth, underpinned by the world’s third largest natural gas reserves, is a potent weapon in its quest for political influence in a Middle East undergoing transition,” analysts suggest:

Nowhere is this influence more clear than in Libya and …

Libya’s worst political crisis since the 2011 revolution “is precisely the time for greater engagement….not only with Libya’s beleaguered government but also with its increasingly assertive civil society,” says a prominent analyst.

After armed militias recently laid siege to government …

“The gas-rich state of Qatar has spent as much as $3bn over the past two years supporting the rebellion in Syria, far exceeding any other government, but is now being nudged aside by Saudi Arabia as the prime source …

Tunisia’s acting president and labor unions have called for dialog and consensus on contentious issues hindering the democratic transition, as the country braces itself for anticipated violent unrest ata planned Salafist gathering this weekend.

“Everyone must make the necessary concessions” …

“We’re going to keep working for a Syria that is free from Assad’s tyranny, that is intact and inclusive of all ethnic and religious groups, and that’s a source of stability, not extremism,” said US President Barack Obama …

The result of Iran’s upcoming presidential election” is related not just to normal domestic feuds, division of spoils, and concerns about the level of discontent in society, but also to the regime’s international policies,” says a leading analyst.

“No …

US President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) today discussed how to bolster the Syrian opposition and initiate a political transition.

“We’re going to keep increasing the pressure on the Assad regime, and working with …

Iranian hard-liners are pressing for two prominent candidates to be barred from contesting next month’s presidential election “in a further sign of intense political jockeying over the final ballot list,” AP reports:

The appeal by nearly 100 parliament …

“Together, the EU and the US account for around half of global GDP and almost two-thirds of global military spending,” say two leading rights advocates. “A coordinated, transatlantic approach to human rights would mean the world’s rising authoritarian powers could …