Instead, he was found guilty of being complicit in the killings. Around 850 protesters reportedly died in the uprising, although some rights groups claim the figure is higher.

Syrian opposition fighters have overrun Taftanaz airbase, the largest in northern Syria, after several days of fierce combat, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said.

Uganda Muslims have urged the parliament to pass a new bill to allow shari`ah courts in order to improve services of jurisdiction in the African country and reduce case backlog in secular courts.

King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia has appointed 30 women to the previously all-male consultative Shura Council, marking a historic first as he pushes reforms in the kingdom.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi told CNN Sunday he backs Syrian calls for Bashar al-Assad to be tried for war crimes, and predicted Assad’s regime would fall in the country’s bloody civil war.

A Syrian regime media defector, who previously worked at the pro-Assad al-Dunya TV, informed Asharq Al-Awsat how the al-Assad regime fabricates news, misleads the public and distorts the reputation of the Syrian revolution on Syrian state television.

A defiant speech by President Bashar al-Assad calling for peace in Syria on his terms has met rejection by the opposition and internationally, with only his ally Iran on Monday backing his stance.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will deliver a rare speech on Sunday about the uprising against his rule, state media has said.

Syrian regime warplanes and troops have blasted away at rebels close to Damascus, the day after a car bomb in a mainly Alawite northern district of the capital killed at least 11 people, a watchdog said.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians joined a rare rally staged by President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah group in Gaza on Friday, as tensions ease with rival Hamas Islamists ruling the enclave since 2007.