Southwest Asia

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was Iran's president from 2005 to 2013.

Iran’s notorious Ahmadinejad is running for president again

Global Politics

Iran’s former hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took the shock move on Wednesday of registering for next month’s presidential election, going against the advice of the supreme leader.

Displaced person camp in Iraq

Displaced Iraqis struggle to stay cool during sweltering heat wave

Environment
Displaced person camp in Iraq

Displaced Iraqis struggle to stay cool during sweltering heat wave

Environment
Lebanese satirist Karl Sharro (known by his blog Karl reMarks) created this fictitious poll about what is most appropriate for American to wear in public. It was his response to a University of Michigan survey that asked  people in seven countries with Mu

What should women wear in public? That depends on how you ask

Lifestyle & Belief
Christine Levinson (R), wife of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, watches as her son Daniel Levinson

A retired FBI agent goes on an unauthorized CIA mission to Iran, then disappears

Global Politics
Karl reMarks profile photo

Three dictators walk into a bar… and a Lebanese satirist becomes famous

Arts, Culture & Media

From his satirical soapbox of Karl reMarks (and with the help of Twitter and Facebook), Karl Sharro has gone from London architect to renowned Middle Eastern satirist. His work includes “Three dictators walk into a bar” jokes to imagined conversations between Middle Eastern leaders.

Syrian cartoonist Akram Raslan was arrested by Syrian authorities on October 2, 2012 in Hama. He was last seen on July 26, 2013. Reports that he is now dead have been impossible to verify and many hold out hope that he is still alive.

News that a detained Syrian cartoonist is dead is still impossible to verify

Arts, Culture & Media

A Syrian cartoonist is arrested in October 2012 and disappears into the security services of Bashar al Assad. Now there are reports that the cartoonist died in prison, the cause described as everything from torture to an untreated illness. But not everyone buys the story. A dialogue begins on Facebook and Twitter about whether the cartoonist is really dead. His family — and many friends and colleagues — says he’s still alive though they haven’t seen or heard from him since the cartoonist was detained. Who to believe? That’s the morose challenge for relatives, friends and colleagues of those arrested in war-torn Syria.