Laws on blasphemy and apostasy are being used to silence political dissent and suppress government critics, according to the U.S. State Department’s annual report, which documents a pronounced decline in religious liberty that has generated growing religious intolerance and …

Boko Haram militants in Nigeria’s north-east have been forced onto the defensive, says the country’s military, adding that the Islamist group is “in disarray” and retreating in large numbers as a result of the current offensive.

The insurgents …

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 …

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 …

Brent Scowcroft, a former National Security Adviser to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush, has been dismissive of Wilsonian “evangelizers of democracy,” so it will be interesting to hear his keynote remarks at a forthcoming symposium on Woodrow Wilson’s …

“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 …

Countries dependent on revenue from extractive industries are plagued by government mismanagement, lack of transparency and corruption, according to a new report.

A “striking governance deficit” prevents citizens of resource-rich states from enjoying the benefits of energy development and mining, …

“Some twenty-three years ago, Ambassador Max Kampelman (above) —former nuclear arms reduction negotiator with the Soviet Union and Counselor to the Department of State—decided that I needed a bit of diplomatic experience and invited me to be a public …

“Syria’s main opposition bloc wants to consult its allies before deciding on joining a U.S.-Russia initiative to negotiate a peaceful transition, Associated Press reports:

The time, venue and agenda of the conference have not been set, reflecting disagreements between …

Last month’s deadly earthquake in China’s Sichuan Province may have generated political as well as geological seismic shocks that could ultimately present a “fundamental threat” to the ruling Communist party, analysts suggest.

“The rapid grass-roots response to the …