Thousands of people rallied in the Syrian capital Oct. 12 in support of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, which has been shaken by mass protests for nearly seven months, as a court freed a top dissident. (AFP)
1．A handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad take part in a pro-regime rally in Damascus. Assad's regime is facing international pressure amid a violent crackdown on anti-government protests that broke out in March across Syria. (AFP Photo/)
2．A view of the boutique hotel Beit Al-Joury in the Bab Touma district in the old city of Damascus, October 3, 2010. Across cities, towns and rural parts of Syria, six months of pro-democracy protests aimed at overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad, and their violent suppression, have claimed hundreds of lives and put severe stress on the country's $60 billion economy. Picture taken October 3, 2010. To match Feature SYRIA-BUSINESS/ REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (SYRIA - Tags: BUSINESS TRAVEL)
3. Vendors (Vendors) display sweets at the Hamidiyah souk [（穆斯林国家的）露天剧场] at the old city of Damascus, October 3, 2010. Across cities, towns and rural parts of Syria, six months of pro-democracy protests aimed at overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad, and their violent suppression, have claimed hundreds of lives and put severe stress on the country's $60 billion economy. Picture taken October 3, 2010. To match Feature SYRIA-BUSINESS/ REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (SYRIA - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY TRAVEL)
4. Shoppers walk in the Hamidiyah souk at the old city of Damascus, October 3, 2010. Across cities, towns and rural parts of Syria, six months of pro-democracy protests aimed at overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad, and their violent suppression, have claimed hundreds of lives and put severe stress on the country's $60 billion economy. Picture taken October 3, 2010. To match Feature SYRIA-BUSINESS/ REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (SYRIA - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY TRAVEL)
5. A handout picture from the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) surrounded by youths during a ceremony at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Damascus on October 6, 2011.
6. Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during an interview with Reuters in Baghdad October 9, 2011. al-Maliki encouraged Syria to open up its political system to end one-party Baath rule as part of reforms in the face of months of popular protests. Picture taken October 9, 2011. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS)
7．Demonstrators protesting against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad march through the streets after Friday prayers in Homs October 7, 2011. Syrian forces killed at least eight people when they opened fire to disperse protests against President Bashar al-Assad after Friday prayers in Damascus and Homs, activists said, and Russia's president urged him to undertake reforms or step down.
8．Mourners carry a coffin during the funeral of a protester killed in earlier clashes in the Syrian city of Homs October 7, 2011. Syrian forces killed at least eight people when they opened fire to disperse protests against President Bashar al-Assad after Friday prayers in Damascus and Homs, activists said, and Russia's president urged him to undertake reforms or step down.
9．Yemeni Tawakul Karman (R) holds a baby as she receives congratulations from supporters after it was announced that she won the Nobel Peace Prize, in her tent at Tagheer square in Sanaa October 7, 2011. Declaring women's rights vital for world peace, the Nobel Committee awarded its annual Peace Prize on Friday to three indomitable female campaigners against war and oppression -- a Yemeni and two Liberians, including that country's president. Karman, 32, an Islamist journalist dubbed （授予称号） the "Mother of the Revolution", has been a key figure in protests in the capital Sanaa this year: "This is a victory for the Arab Spring in Tunis, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen," she told Reuters. "This is a message that the era of Arab dictatorships is over." REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi (YEMEN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)