Palash Ghosh

The Syrian government’s crackdown against protesters and demonstrators appears to be reaching a crescendo, as President Bashar al-Assad is apparently refusing to grant any further concessions to his rule and seems determined to squelch any further expressions of dissent.

Violence and unrest continues unabated in Yemen, despite an agreement by President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down after more than three decades in power.

Hosni Mubarak, the deposed president of Egypt, will soon be transferred to a military hospital in Cairo from a facility in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, after a doctor determined he was well enough to be moved.

Syrian army tanks have reportedly rolled into the southern city of Deraa as the regime of President Bashar al-Assad seems committed to intensifying its crackdown on anti-government protests, following a bloody weekend of killings by state security forces.

Italian police said they have arrested a top mafia boss from the southern province of Puglia.

International Business Times spoke to Dilshod Achilov, a professor of political science at East Tennessee State University, in Johnson City, Tenn., to discuss Turkey’s evolving role in the Middle East, how it is handling the revolutions in the Arab world and its chances for accession into the EU.

Two Syrian lawmakers have resigned in protest over the government’s brutal crackdown on protesters, according to reports.

Human rights groups have demanded that the government of Bahrain put a stop to committing human rights violations against protestors and halt the practice of detaining patients and doctors suspected of either having participating in protests or being sympathetic with them.

The U.S. military has confirmed that one of its unmanned Predator drone aircraft has struck its first target in Libya in support of the NATO-led campaign, but did not provide any other significant details.

Political leaders around the world have condemned the spiraling violence in Syria.

One day after the bloodiest day of the uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad (in which at least 90 people were killed security forces), at least five more protesters died when government troops fired on mourners attending funeral processions.

The Libyan conflict is heading for stalemate, the top U.S. military officer said on Friday, and Senator John McCain urged the United States to recognize the rebels and transfer frozen Libyan funds to them.

At least 1,000 demonstrators have assembled and marched through the city of Salalah in southern Oman demanding more jobs, higher wages an end to corruption and democratic reforms.

In what is becoming the bloodiest day of the uprising in Syria thus far, up to 70 protesters have died on Friday, as state security forces of President Bashar al-Assad are using live ammunition and tear-gas to disperse thousands of demonstrators across the country.

Friday’s demonstrations in Syria have taken a deadly turn as security forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have reportedly shot and killed at least 25 protesters across the country, just one day after the regime lifted the emergency laws.

Court testimony by Joseph Massino, the former boss of New York’s Bonanno crime family, indicates that a top capo in a rival family might have ordered the killing of his own son.

Hundreds of Roma (gypsy) residents have fled a village in the north of Hungary to escape possible vigilante attacks by far-right nationalist vigilantes on Easter weekend. Reportedly, some were moved to a camp in Budapest and others were transferred to an unnamed location in eastern Hungary.

Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, has warned that the civil war in Libya is moving towards stalemate, while conceding that air strikes by NATO and the U.S. have destroyed 30 percent to 40 percent of Moammar Gaddafi's ground forces.

Thousands of protesters have reportedly fanned out across Syria after Friday prayers to express their continuing discontent over the government of President Bashar al-Assad's government, one day after the 48-year emergency laws were officially lifted.

An Egyptian court has decreed that the names of deposed President Hosni Mubarak and his wife Suzanne should be removed from all public places.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has stated that President Barack Obama approved the use of armed, unmanned Predator drone aircraft to assist the coalition military campaign in Libya.

Famed television comic Jerry Seinfeld has pulled out of an event connected to Eric Trump, son of Donald Trump, because of the latter’s aggressive attacks on President Barack Obama, particularly his insistence that Obama was not born in the U.S., according to a report on CNN.

At least 15 people have died in an explosion in an illegal gambling den in Karachi, Pakistan, according to reports.

Delegates from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have offered the president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and a proposal for him to step down from power, after months of unrest in the small, poverty-stricken country.

Pakistan is frequently cited as being one of the most repressive countries in the world for women. However, it may surprise some to learn that many women serve in the highest offices of Pakistan’s government.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has acquitted five of six men who earlier had been convicted of gang-raping a woman named Mukhtaran Mai in a case that became an international sensation.

Not only is Prince William (eventual heir to the British throne) going to marry princess-to-be Kate Middleton in a highly anticipated wedding next week, but today (April 21) is also the 85th birthday of William’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Truck drivers in Shanghai, China have been staging a protest against rising fuel prices which they claim is deeply hurting their businesses.

A prominent former official of the Syrian government said he thinks that President Bashar al-Assad will eventually be overthrown as a result of the regime’s brutal crackdown on demonstrators.