Deborah Amos

Abdulnasser Gharem doesn't have the background you might expect for a successful artist – let alone one famous for edgy work from Saudi Arabia. He was once a lieutenant colonel in the Saudi army. He went to high school with two of the 9/11 hijackers.

But his first major ...

Bahram Mekanik was among the seven Iranians and Iranian-Americans pardoned as part of Washington's prisoner swap with Iran. He was accused of shipping millions of dollars in technology to Iran.

Here's something that never used to happen in Saudi Arabia:

In the wake of the crisis with Iran, Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's deputy crown prince and defense minister, as well as King Salman's favored son, gave a five-hour interview to a reporter from The Economist, and the ...

In power for a year, the Saudi monarch has been aggressive in confronting Iran at a time when many in the kingdom feel the U.S. is not doing enough to counter Iranian ambitions in the region.

It can be a provocative art show. Or teenagers going out for a walk. By law and tradition, Saudi women still face many restrictions. But they keep stretching the boundaries and the pace is picking up.

The flow of Syrian migrants from Turkey to Europe continues but it's more underground — with migrants hiding from Turkish police. The chill of winter has set in, too, making the journey more perilous.

Saudi Arabian women made history by voting and winning public office for the first time. But there are still many obstacles to an equal role in public life.

Up until now, women in Saudi Arabia had been barred from participating in elections — both as candidates and voters. Saudi women are still banned from driving.

It will be the first time that women there can vote or run for office. Women's groups have been pushing voter registration drives, but only a small percentage of the voting population has registered.

Saudi women gamers gather at an annual convention, dressing as their favorite characters and exercising freedoms they want to see more of in their lives.

The U.N. is resuming peace talks on the war in Yemen. At the same time, the U.S. plans to sell more weapons to Saudi Arabia, even as civilian casualties from Saudi airstrikes in Yemen continue.

For the first time, women in the country can run for office and vote. But they're still banned from driving and need a male guardian's permission to travel, work and pursue higher education.

Saudi Arabia will soon hold the first municipal elections in which women can both vote and run for office. More than 900 women are vying for seats across the country. Voter registration is very low.

As Secretary of State John Kerry heads to Vienna for talks on the Syrian civil war, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are countering Russia's entry into the conflict by supplying more TOW missiles to rebels.

Through years of brutal civil war, a Syrian film collective has been producing short films, which are now in a New York gallery, where the collective hopes to show a more human side of war victims.

Gulf states are the top donors to the United Nations, and they allow Syrians to come on work visas. But they won't resettle Syrians because the Gulf doesn't recognize the legal concept of refugees.

As more Syrian refugees board rickety boats on the Turkish coast, the Islamic State is cranking up its propaganda campaign.

The refugee crisis is also becoming a crisis for ISIS, as Syrians reject the group's claim that the so-called caliphate offers a safe haven, and the refugees instead opt for ...

Syria doesn't have a history of free and open elections, but in the past few weeks Syrians have been voting with their feet. After four years of brutal civil war, Syrians are registering a sense of hopelessness and are willing to risk dangerous journeys for a chance to start over ...

Hiba Ezzideen, a 29-year-old Syrian activist, recently made it to a refugee camp near the German border after a perilous 20-day journey. She had set off alone from southern Turkey, walked for hours, rode in a sealed truck, boarded an overcrowded raft and slept on the streets and in a ...

In a conservative country where opportunities for entertainment are limited, online video games give Saudis the chance for some fun. With powerful female characters, they also convey social messages.